Firstly, I have to report the death of Ken Fraser on 16th February last. Ken was a well-known figure in Motor Sport in the early 50s. If you remember, a few months ago he kindly lent us his Motor Sport scrapbooks, the images from which were scanned on to the website. These can still be seen in the “Tales from the Past” section. There you can see 50+ images relating to Ken’s Motorsport experiences during that time.
The 5th Flying Scotsman 2013, 19-21 April – Organised by the Endurance Rally Association.
Officially there were 106 starters who set out from Hertfordshire, not far from Heathrow, up through central England via Bosworth Field then north into the Peak District to stop overnight at Buxton in Cheshire. The second day they went through Lancashire and the Yorkshire Dales before heading north into Cumbria and eventually stopping overnight at Gretna Green. Not all managed up to Scotland but by the 3rd day, the remainder went through Dumfries and Galloway and the East Stewartry Coast area before turning north for an early lunch at Drumlanrig Castle, then over the Lowther Hills to the final test sections of the event. The first was at the Kames Motorsport Complex and the second at Forrestburn Hillclimb circuit run by Monklands Car Club.
I am very grateful to Bill Barr who took these photographs at the Forrestburn Hill Climb. Details of the event can be seen at their interesting website. You will see looking at their entry list, that although the vast majority were from Great Britain (133), there were entries from many parts of the world including Argentina (1), Austria (2), Belgium (3), Canada (3), Denmark (1), France (2), Greece (3), Germany (14), Holland (22), Ireland (5), Luxemberg (1), Spain (3), Switzerland (4) and USA (3).
Click on a thumbnail below to see a larger version 
Spring Run – 3rd to 5th May 2013:
This is nearly upon us. Bob Baillie tells me that the entries close on 20th April, but he is still able to take a late entry if you are thinking of going. He has laid on some interesting stuff. Knowing Bob it will be varied to say the least. Bob can always be contacted at 07721 755917, but hurry.
Members’Database and Website Changes:
New Email addresses are available for the following members: John Barker, Alasdair Pearson and Ronnie Thom (who also has changed his abode in Auchterarder).
May we welcome Clive Reeves from Helensburgh as a new member into the VSMA fold.
All these changes and additions can all be found in the Members and Details section.
There has been a bit of housekeeping on the website – the Archived News Item section has been tweaked slightly. Hopefully, you will now find it slightly more easy to find articles from previous Newsletters.
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“How’s this for coincidence?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Charlie Young
Charlie Young has responded to my plea for personal incidents in the past. Have a look at what Charlie has provided in the Tales from the Past section. Indeed quite coincidental! Thanks Charlie.
Another from Charlie Young: For those of you have never competed in a modern rally this will amaze you, and for those who have …… just weep at the skill shown by 28-year-old Finnish rally driver Jari-Matti Latvala in a Ford Escort MkII RS BDA on the 2012 Lahti Historic Rally in Finland. He was a World Rally Championship driver for the work Ford Team from 2008 until the 2012 season. He has since signed up with the new Volkswagen WRC team. CLICK HERE for thirteen minutes of YouTube unbelievable driving which is nerve-wracking. Skip the ad – watch in full screen.
They certainly don’t make them like this anymore . . . .from Mike How
Mr Allen Swift (Springfield, MA.) owned & drove the same Car for 82 YEARS. Can you imagine having the same car for 82 years! “How Long Have You Owned a Car?” He received this 1928-Royce Piccadilly-P1 Roadster from his father, brand new – as a graduation gift in 1928. He drove it up until his death last year…..at the age of 102! He was the oldest living owner of a car that was purchased new. Mike thought you’d like to see it.
It was donated to a Springfield museum after Allen’s death. It has 1,070,000 miles on it, still runs like a Swiss watch, dead silent at any speed and is in perfect cosmetic condition (82 years). That’s approximately 13,048 miles per year (1087 per month)….. 1,070,000 that’s miles not kilometres!! That’s British engineering of a bygone era.
World War II Jeep:
Donald Gordon submitted this interesting YouTube video. This might take a few of Lanarkshire Car Club members back to the days of petrol rationing when rallying had to stop. Instead of running events, the club went down to Croft in a bus to compete in an inter-club competition. Events, such as all the navigators going round in a bus together to find a route, and service crews competing in a timed removal and replacement of a Mini’s wheels, etc. All very friendly fun! We were not quite like this clip from Donald Gordon, which lasts around 4 minutes. Quite fantastic! Click Willy’s Jeep. This is about eight C-Battery soldiers pulling up on the main street in Toms River, New Jersey for some holiday. They’re in a standard issue WWII /Korean War type Willy’s Jeep. In the span of about 4 minutes, they completely disassemble the vehicle and reassemble it and drive off in it fully operable! The idea shows the genius that went into the making of the jeep and its basic simplicity.
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More Funnies from Members:
From Glen Mortimer…….
A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a car when he spotted a regular customer in service reception who was a very successful cardiac surgeon.
The surgeon was waiting for the service manager to come and take a look at his car when the mechanic shouted across the
garage, “Hey Doc, want to take a look at this?”
The surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and said, “So Doc, look at this engine. I opened its heart, took the valves out, repaired or replaced anything damaged, and then put everything back in, and when I had finished, it worked just like new.
So how is it that I make £20,000 a year and you make £250,000 a year when you and I are doing basically the same work?”
The cardiac surgeon paused, leaned over, and then whispered to the mechanic….. “Try doing it with the engine running.”
From Jimmy McInnes……
A Check for Alzheimer’s which was developed as a mental age assessment by the School of Psychiatry at Harvard University. Take your time and see if you can read each line aloud without a mistake – you’ll find this Pretty Amazing. The average person over 40 years of age cannot do it!
1. This is this cat.
2. This is is cat.
3. This is how cat.
4. This is to cat.
5. This is keep cat.
6. This is an cat.
7. This is old cat.
8. This is fart cat.
9. This is busy cat.
10. This is for cat.
11. This is forty cat.
12. This is seconds cat.
Now go back and read the third word in each line from the top down and I betcha you cannot resist passing it on…..
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Yet Another from our “beloved Chairman” James W:
The Talking Centipede
A single guy decided life would be more fun
if he had a pet.
So he went to the pet store and told the owner that he wanted to buy an unusual pet.
After some discussion, he finally bought a talking centipede,
which came in a little white box to keep the centipede in.
He took the box back home, found a good spot for the box,
and decided he would start off by taking his new pet to the pub for a drink with him.
So he asked the centipede in the box,
“Would you like to go down the pub with me today? We will have a good time.”
But there was no answer
from his new pet.
This bothered him a bit,
but he waited a few minutes
and then asked again,
“How about going
down the pub with me? but again there was no answer
from his new friend and pet.
So he waited
a few minutes more,
thinking about the situation.
The guy decided
to invite the centipede
one last time.
This time he put his face up against the centipede’s house and shouted,
“Hey in there, would you like
to go to the pub with me?
…..
YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS ……
This time a little voice
came out of the box !!!
“I heard you the first time!
I’m putting my bloody shoes on”
Finally, just a few PARAPROSDOKIANS:
I’m sure, like me, you’ve never heard of these. Apparently, they are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected – frequently humorous. Winston Churchill loved them !
“Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.”
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”
“Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. On my desk is a work station.”
“Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.”
“You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.”
“I’m supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one now.”
That’s all folks………………. !
Stuart Parker, April 2013