Daybreak, puddle & beach

• 
• 
• 
• 

It seems as if the use of the British understatement is dying off, which is a pity. So if you don't mind we 'll dust off some old phrases and describe the morning of last Sunday at Hyde Park Corner as 'rather damp' or 'not too bright'. In other words,  the proverbial cats and dogs landed with short intervals.  We softhearted continentals use days like this to either fettle or polish our vehicles in a well heated shed. Not so the British! They embrace any type of weather as a gift of the Allmighty, and the greater the hardships to be expected, the wider the grin on their faces. We were most kindly invited by Bernard Williamson of The Veteran Car Club of Great Brittain  to witness the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run aboard of the 1902 Panhard et Levassor 16 HP of Brian & Ruth Moore (Ruth will be the first female chairman of the VCC as of March 2013!). The  comfortable, fast & convincingly reliable French motorcar must have been ahead of its time by decades. It just murmled and dipped through puddles as if it was the great grandfather of all LaRo's. Out of respect a threesome of the most modern Panhards  (type PL17)stood with pointing noses along the route. It was a grand day never to be forgotten. We did not undertake an exact counting, but our guess is that we counted some 15 broken down cars - mostly ignition issues; can't tell you why - along the first London miles. The first two-three hours of the drive down to Brighton it was impossible for us to make any photos due to the anglo saxon weather conditions. Only during a petrol stop and a bit later in Cawley we took out the camera. Heroic was the arrival at Brighton. The sun had come out with a generous welcome and the giant atlantic waves applauded with wild white jumps. Thank you so much VCC! Thank you so much to our hosts Brian & Ruth Moore. And finally a deep bow for the brilliance of René Panhard and Émile Levassor..  

P.S. heartwarming was the start of the 1896 Salvesen; take note of the man in charge of the combustion chamber

Plaats een reactie, stel een vraag, geef uw mening, deel aanvullende informatie of start een discussie door de onderstaande velden in te vullen