Pleasant weekend

Went grocery shopping twice on Saturday, once for us and once for my Mum.  Watched the Grand Prix qualifying and didn't do much else.  Didn't have time to do much else because we didn't get up until late. Our Su7nday lunch guests cancelled and for a while I considered a trip to Bristol to watch/marshall on the Allen Trial.  Sharon talked me out of it and she is probably right, I wouldn't have coped with being outside that long and I certainly wouldn't have been running up any hills.  However, thanks to all who provided info and especially to Michael (ClassicalGas) for the offer of detouring to pick me up and driving me to a section to help Marshall.  It means a lot to me that so many people are out there listening and supporting in whatever way they can.  Also thanks to Richard for his email, I will reply.

Today our guests had to cancel because Samuel has Chickenpox.  Wish I had Chickenpox, so much easier to deal with.  So we had an unexpected free day.  We braved the flooding and went to Moreton In Marsh for lunch and a bit of a mooch.  Excellent toasted sandwiches in Tilley's Tea Room.

There is a Wellington Bomber museum on the edge of the town, I have been driving past it for 20 years and have never been in.  So we went there.  If you are planning to get there, go quick, not sure how long the curator will keep going.  He told us he joined the RAF as a Wellington mechanic in 1940.  Lets say he was 16 then, he is 88 years old.  The museum is about the size of our front room and is stuffed full of pictures, manuals, a Merlin engine and allsorts of other memorabilia.  The highlight of the visit was when we left.  The door had been blocked with sandbags to keep the flooding out and making it difficult to step in and out.  The curator insisted on stepping outside before me to help me step over the bags by holding my hand.  He didn't just do it for me, he did it for all 5 of the people who left when we did!  What a gent.

He is also a skilled engineer.  Here is his model of a 1930's AutoUnion racing car made entirely from scrap metal.

 I know they look like tyres, but they are actually concentric washers welded together.  The aerodynamic foil running behind the drivers head is an old wiper arm.

Drove back via Dover's Hill and had a walk to enjoy the view of the Vale of Evesham, could see all the way to the Malverns.  We then went across through Shipston on Stour and braved the floods back to Banbury.  I think the wading depth on the Polo is probably about 18 inches, it coped with everything today.