Welcome back to Essex all, welcome back.
For this report we shan't dwell on Essex for too long...so, depending on what time of day you are reading this tome flick the kettle on, grab a brew, put your feet up and settle in for a lengthy picture heavy report of the Essex and Norfolk boys' Welsh invasion.
Firstly though we rewind the clock to Thursday when Matt continued the saga of Yolanda's broken half shaft, as alluded to previously.
Having put the kettle on Matt started work on removing the broken secondary.
With the secondary off, it was then time to remove the pulleys.
The secondary was supported in a vice in the barn...
...which turned out to be unsuitable so the bigger vice in the tractor barn was pressed into service...that's better!
Oops...first pulley came off in the little vice...second pulley needed the bigger vice to stop turning it.
That done, all was returned to the little vice...bearing next....
...but no luck.
Matt intends to look into getting hold of a bearing puller.
And so, the next day saw us on our trip to Wales.
For my own part this was a long overdue trip as we had promised Anglesey DAFs a visit for some time now and not followed through but this weekend was to be different.
Matt and I arranged to meet at Cambridge services on the A14 and we both made good time, Matt driving Dorothy the 44 estate and myself Priscilla the 66 coupe.
All went well and our next stop was in the Birmingham area. By now Dorothy had become a little noisy and further inspection was to reveal a hotspot pipe coming lose. the decision was made to break it off and clamp the pipe shut was pliers, which seemed to do the trick.
There was also the matter of a small oil leak but it didn't warrant any further investigation and so we set off again. Our route took us down the M54 and onto the A5 which took us over the Welsh border before diverting onto the A494 past Bala and onto the A470 to A5 once more at Betws-y-coed. We really enjoyed some superb roads in great weather with the added bonus of passing many vintage vehicles, steamers included, that had come out to play that day.
Time for some Priscilla's Speakerz and more Seventies kitch then...
After a long but enjoyable journey we finally arrived at our accommodation for the weekend...the Holland Arms.
This was to prove satisfactory albeit the shower in our shared bathroom was not working as more water was exiting the power shower unit than the shower head. In fact attempts to use it resulted in electrocution.
So, we elected to head to the camp ground and hook up with the others, being the Norfolk DAFs contingent of Lewis, Les and John who had travelled up in a 1983 Volvo 960 turbo (Tango the 46 was out of MOT due to excess work committments and time constraints), Paul Bashford plus mother and brother (sadly no classic car despite attempts) and of course our hosts Joe and Sian Horner who had treated us all to a chinese takeaway!
After filling up on fine food we made our way back to the hotel. The next morning we made an early start and alternative washing arrangements so avoiding the faulty shower.
Our hotel was a five minute drive to the showground and so we were soon lined up on our display pitch.
Our gracious hosts supplied the use of their tent which came in handy as, whilst the weather was dry, the infamous Anglesey wind was blowing hard which added quite some chill factor. It was a real godsend to be sheltered from the wind and yet again Joe and Sian laid on a lovely spread of various nibbles. Nobody needed to visit a burger van and nobody went hungry.
Tilley was the only DAF to need tinkering with that day due to a bad earth leading to poor starting.
Otherwise Dorothy was the only other vehicle necessitating repair as by then her exhaust was blowing badly. Arrangements were made for repairs on Monday.
There was plenty to see and do at the show, such as the fairground rides...
...but nobody seemed bothered about that. Perhaps we were too busy chilling out in the tent or perhaps the wind gave the fairground a craggy island feel...
...but make no mistake, this was a
BIG show indeed.
This was the first time I had seen tractor pulling and it made compelling viewing.
Opposite our pitch was a lawnmower racing track and although at first we would curse the noisy things, when we eventually started watching them it made for close wheel to wheel racing which was incredibly exciting. Hats off to the organisers for including such a wide range of automotive entertainment.
Because of the wind many owners sat in their cars and I don't like photographing exhibits under such circumstances. It would be churlish to evict the owners from their cars, nor would an old man gurnying behind the steering wheel make a good photo. So, here's some of my picks. I regret that gone are the days when I would photograph every exhibit and spend hours uploading photos, sorry! All I will add is that it is quite refreshing to attend new shows outside of one's usual regions and get to see some new metal rather than the same old same old. Sunday was to see a fuller field but there was still plenty to see. Commentary as and when I can be @rsed.
Nice 101 Landie
Mini steam engines on which old boys would be riding around throughout the weekend...slowly. They were really quite sweet.
Needless to say there were also larger steam engines galore.
Lots of Minis at the show but this was my favourite...
...although this clubman estate came a close second.
Yeah, I know. But it's a V8.
More miliaria than you can shake a stick at...
A Standard Nine wearing a shower cap. ;D
Lovely selection of classic commercials.
Rover!!!!!!!!!
A first so far as I am concerned...a display of vintage bicycles!
Lots of classic tractors and some entered the pulling event.
And that just about sums up Saturday and we went our separate ways, Joe and Sian returning home and the Norfolk boys off to the campsite leaving Matt and I to return to the hotel.
We decided to explore the environs of Gaerwen to find there's not a lot there...a chippy (which we never saw open) and another pub. One thing that shocked us southern chicken farmers was the total lack of poultry livestock yet fields upon fields of strange white fluffy quadrapedes. Very odd indeed as we have never seen so many pigs roaming free.
The good news on Saturday is we were shown another bathroom with a working shower. The bad news is that after our little walk-about the pub had finished serving food, so there was no option but to jump into Priscilla and hunt for food in the capital of the island, Llangefni. We were fortunate in finding a kebab shop, and this tower a photo of which would prove our attendance somewhere other than the showground and hotel.
We returned to the bar to find a hub of activity as one would expect on a Saturday night...the two of us and two locals having a quiet drink. Fortunately there was a pool table and widescreen television plus an underworked bar staff who were happy to chat.
Sunday was an early start for us as we were rudely awoken at 6:15am by the pub's fire alarm. We quickly got dressed and evacuated the building to the car park being the designated muster point. It soon dawned on us that no proprietor nor staff member was resident at night. It was too noisy to re-enter the pub without contracting tinitus so we sat out and waited for staff to arrive...at 7:45am. Still, they were apologetic and we got a free breakfast for our inconvenience.
And so, refreshed and bellies full, we set off again for the showground, having first made a detour to the island's local DAF dealership for a photo opportunity.
And so to the line up once more.
This time there was no tent as it was also bootsale day and Joe and Sian needed it for Anglesey Watches and Clocks.
But again, our hosts wouldn't see us going without shelter in case of inclement whether and so a gazebo was erected. There was still food left over from the day before too.
In fact, we needn't have worried about the weather as it turned out to be a balmy 17 celcius and t-shirt weather. Still, the Anglesey wind did arrive from time to time but that probably had more to do with the previous night's kebabs...
;D
Today one could actually see the mountains. That's where we made a mistake in Essex see. I know we've got Bread and Cheese hill, but that doesn't really cut it compared to the topography around these parts. We need more mountains in Essex. I blame the government you know. I'm going to lobby them for more mountains!
Anyway, enough of this banter and on with the show.
Hmmm... 'Trusty' and 'British Made'...an oxymoron if I ever did see one...
Two well behaved mutts...
...who Matt and I treated to a walk...
Oi! Sammy...that's our food...noooooo!
Cor blimely guvnor...Les making a cuppa? Nah, just keeping his hands warm.
Now, where were we? Ooh, a Routemaster.
Little static machines like this one. Odd. Just odd.
There was a craft fair in one of the on site buildings.
As you can tell, there were plenty of other distractions so a good day out for the family. Now, back to the classic vehicles...again.
Although Sunday had more exhibitors, they started leaving earlier. Apparently many of them came from over the water in Ireland and were trailered over, even some of the classic lorries came over on the backs of larger modern tractor/trailer units.
The Norfolk boys then announced that with the left over nibbles and some of their food there would be enough to feed us all and so we made our way to the campsite for a BBQ.
At one point the field was invaded by a stray heard of pigs that almost found their way onto our BBQ. Well, we contemplated it anyway.
After tucking in Joe and Sian turned in for the night as it had been an early start indeed for them. Having mulled over our options with the Norfolk boys we decided to do some sightseeing. The lads jumped in the Ovlov whilst Matt and I took Priscilla, giving Dorothy's exhaust a well-earned rest.
First up was a trip to Llanfair PG as it's known, but that's just an abbrieviation for this, the longest placename in the UK...
For non-Welsh speakers having trouble pronouncing this, here's a little help...so that's clear as mud then.
We then went on to find this...
Why is it that when one finds an area of outstanding natural beauty there's always a local p!sshead loitering about? We relieved him of his can of Tennants Super.
It was cosy in here...
...then that Anglesey wind came back and forced us to make a quick evacuation.....come on lads, which one of you was it?
Poor Yorick, I knew him so well...
We got lost looking for the next item and so we pulled over to let a local car past. The young lady driver then engaged us in conversation, told us what we were looking for was naff and, it being a bonzer day and all, we'd be better off seeking out the coastal road and enjoying the sunset, is it?
So, that's what we did.
As night fell, the lads accompanied us back to the Holland Arms where a 'winner stays on' pool tournament ensued and Lewis could not be beaten...
...that is until Matt, trying to uphold some honour for Essex, tried to distract Lewis by waggling his tongue in front of the pocket when Lewis tried to pot the black ball...resulting in a missed shot and a mouthfull of 8. Lewis couldn't contain his amusement....
...Matt composed himself and managed to save face.
The next morning we made our way to Joe and Sian's and then over to the workshop for some fettling. We were joined early afternoon by the Norfolk boys.
It must be said that Joe's workshop is in an absolutely idyllic location, absolutely lovely.
It was also nice to see Betty again.
The main reason for our attendance was to take care of Dorothy's exhaust...
The idea was to weld it but then Joe realised he didn't have any welding wire. As we've discovered in Angelsey, nothing is 'just around the corner'. Everything needs to be considered and planned. If you didn't bring it with you, you're screwed. Fortunately, Joe is a resourceful chap and managed to pop rivet some plates in place and with some exhaust gunk a repair was fashioned. There was no guarantee that it wouldn't blow again but at least it wouldn't disintigrate on the road.
Whilst this was ongoing there was a steering rack rebuild for Priscilla in an attempt to cure the vagueness and play she has in the straight ahead position.
The answer was evident as the picture shows...very tired bushes.
These were replaced but it was not all good news. The vagueness has disappeared but the pinion needs removing, turning and replacing as the steering wheel is very off-centre. Worst of all is that the steering is very stiff and doesn't want to self-centre. It had that problem before but the replacement bushes has exacerbated the situation. Joe suspects that a suspension component may be to blame and certainly further investigation is warranted but, as I type this, such matters are the least of her worries at the moment.
So, with our repairs in place it was time to do more sightseeing, Sian and Boris being our guide and Dorothy being our stead.
First up was New House, muted as a burial chamber but now suspected to be a neolithic dwelling. Well, the bones of one anyway as there would have been an earth covering too.
A Welsh style, built into drywall. Simple but clever.
Stopping to enjoy the view...and the landscape.
And onto South Stack at the western end of the island.
The stairs up and down to the lighthouse darn well nearly killed Matt and I. Sian had the good sense to stay with the cars!
Once recovered, we made our way to a secluded beach named 'Druid's Bay', which appart from lovely scenary gave Matt an excuse to make donuts in the sand with Dorothy.
Then onto Valley Airforce base.
It was a real surprise this as the beach and base were reached via an unmade road with MOD signs warning agains low flying jet planes and instructing not to loiter!
We then made our way to the Menai bridge.
Sadly we could not see as much of the bridge as intended because somebody had jumped off it that afternoon and the place was buzzing with police and search and rescue. The view from the bridge were lovely though.
Our final stop of the day was Holy Island in the Menai straights which contains the smallest church in Wales.
It's fair to say that we would have missed so much had it not been for Sian's local knowledge and seen just the run of the mill touristy things. Plus Sian knew just where to find my welshcakes. We can't thank you enough Sian and Joe too for being the perfect of hosts and making our stay so enjoyable. For my own part I had wanted to see Anglesey for over twenty years now and was not disappointed. I would happily return to see the parts that I didn't get to see, and would be more than pleased to attend the Anglesey Vintage and Classic Car Show once more.
And so, Tuesday morning we sadly bade farewell to the island. A quick fuel stop and check over found that Dorothy had lost a lot of oil.
Matt could not contain his amazement at finding 20W50 oil on the shelf inside the petrol station.
We made our way back on the A5, not stopping until we'd crossed the border into England, by which time Dorothy's exhaust had started blowing again, but not too badly. The fluids that really needed topping up was our own and so we stopped for a cup of the brown stuff.
The journey back was fine, aside from the M6 being closed due to an accident and having to divert around Coventry. Our last stop together was there, by which Dorothy was blowing a little louder. I made a stop at Cambridge services for fuel and Matt continued on. He tells me that car and driver arrived home fine, albeit something fell off Dorothy but Matt has not found what it was yet. That's why our DAFs are collectors cars I guess...we run around collecting the parts that fall off them! ;D
For my own part I left the services and took the M11 and then the A120. Just past Stanstead and for no apparent reason Priscilla's windscreen suddenly shattered which was startling to say the least and I had to punch a hole through to see.
I really don't know how this happened as there were no other cars at that time and no bridges for something to be dropped from. Perhaps the shell was resonating at a certain frequency that the glass didn't like? Perhaps it was a presurisation thing?
I pulled in at the next junction but it was apparent that the windscreen wasn't going to see me home, so I kicked it out, picked the glass out the best I could and proceeded home with the heater on full bore and my coat zipped up.
So, that matter rmains with my Insurers, Footman James who referred to me National Windscreens. Having told them twice that Priscilla is a coupe and
not a saloon I am now confident that they have got it right. This was corroborated when they called me to say the replacement windscreen would be fitted "...before the end of June...".
So, that's all from us from now.
Cheese,
33g.
Oh yes, winner of last report's caption competition is Mr. de Bruin, not least that his is the only entry but it's also the best! You've already got all the paraphanalia John but let us know if you are needing anything else and we'll send it out to you.
"I come with pieces...take me to your leader"