Friday's Ferrari

This is another car seen at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998. It's a 1972 Ferrari 312P, serial number 0882, which was driven (if only for a short time) by the German, Christian Glaesel.

This is the car in the paddock preparing to go out on a practice session.

Leaving the pit lane to take part in the practice session.

This is what it looked like when it was brought back into the paddock. Where it left the circuit and sustained the damage I don't know.

Friday's Ferrari

Three Ferraris today photographed at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992 from the same point as the Maseratis shown in the post on Tuesday.

This is a 1958 Ferrari 250TR, serial number 0606 ,driven by the Italian Paolo Sebastiani, otherwise known as 'Stingbrace'

A 1957 Ferrari 500TRC, serial number 0682MDTR, driven by David Cottingham

A 1953 Ferrari 250MM, serial number 0390MM, driven by Jeremy Agace

Maseratis at Silverstone

These photographs were taken during a practice session during the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992. I don't remember taking the photographs, but looking at the circuit layout as it was then they're obviously taken from inside the paddock at some point between Priory and Brooklands corners.

This is a 1957 Maserati 250S driven by Robin Lodge

A 1957 Maserati 450S driven by German Thomas Bscher, one time head of the Bugatti Automobiles division of Volkswagen AG. Thomas Bscher won the 1995 BPR Global Endurance GT Series driving a McLaren F1 GTR and finished fifth in the 1999 Le Mans 24 hour race driving a BMW V12 LM.

A 1959 Maserati T60 'Birdcage' driven by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason

Guernsey Classic Vehicle Club Show 24 June 2012

I recently posted some photographs taken at the Tame Valley Vintage and Classic Car Club show in Ashton-under Lyne. When we were in Guernsey recently our daughter-in-law Anna took us to see the car show organised by the Guernsey Classic Vehicle Club at Saumarez Park. Below are a few of the photographs I took:

An Austin A90 Atlantic from the early 1950s. The Austin Atlantic was designed in the early post-war years specifically to appeal to the North American export market, but it did not sell a great number there. The engine was a modified Austin A70 unit which was later used in the Austin Healey 100.

This is a Moretti, but I don't know which model it is. Moretti was an Italian manufacturer and achieved some competition success with its cars in the 1950s.

Morris Minor convertible

Morris Minor Traveller, with the back half of another Traveller as a trailer. Anna loved this one! It's one of several vehicles which travelled from Jersey to the show.

Another Jersey car, a Standard 10 from the mid to late 1950s

I remember these Austin K8 trucks and vans from my early youth. This one's in the form of a breakdown vehicle.

An AC Cobra Replica - the original car was built in the 1960s and more recently Shelby Automobiles Inc, AC Cars and AC Heritage have produced 'continuation' cars and there are several manufacturers making replica models.

Friday's Ferrari

Today's car was photographed at the Aston Martin Owners Club race meeting at Oulton Park on 25th May 2002. It's a 1996 Ferrari F512M of which 500 cars were produced and it's the last of the Testarossa road cars with a 4.9 litre Flat-12 engine.

The AMOC meetings are always enjoyable and usually include an intermarque race where owners of other vehicles such as Ferrari, Jaguar, Porsche and Lotus are invited to compete against the host club's cars.

Ashton-under-Lyne Car Show 12 Aug 2012

I had a trip to Ashton on Sunday morning to catch the first hour or so of the Ashton-under-Lyne Classic Car Show organised by the Tame Valley Vintage and Classic Car Club. There are a series of photographs of the event on their website and here are a few of my own.

A view of the main display area from the Town Hall steps

1930 Austin 7

1948 Sunbeam Talbot 10

Triumph Bonneville

1928 Essex Super Six Tourer

The Mayor of Tameside, Councillor Brenda Warrington, admiring the motor cycle display

Tottenham Hotspur

Our eldest son Paul's father-in-law, Martyn, is a Tottenham Hotspur fan. Tottenham Hotspur is one of those clubs that in the 55 years I've been watching football have always tried to play play attractive football and are always a pleasure to watch. 

In the 1960-61 season Tottenham became the first English team of the 20th century to achieve a League and FA Cup double, and although they're not my team I can still reel off the Tottenham team from that period: Brown, Baker, Henry, Blanchflower, Norman, Mackay, Jones, White, Smith, Allen and Dyson (reciting the names of football teams like that always makes me feel like Michael Palin's character Gordon Ottershaw in the Ripping Yarns episode 'Golden Gordon'!). John White was tragically killed on a golf course by a lightening strike in 1964. Danny Blanchflower was the brother of Manchester United's Jackie Blanchflower who survived the Munich air crash but received such severe injuries that he was never able to play again.

In September of the season after the double Tottenham played Manchester United at Old Trafford and I took my camera along to the game and below are some of the photographs I took - the colour transparencies have deteriorated somewhat in the intervening years.

Teams:

Manchester United - Gregg, Brennan, Cantwell, Stiles, Foulkes, Setters, Quixall, Viollet, Herd, Pearson, Charlton.

Tottenham - Brown, Baker, Henry, Blanchflower, Norman, Marchi, Jones, White, Smith, Allen, Dyson

Gregg saves during a Spurs attack in the first half. The other defending United players, from left to right, are Stiles, Foulkes, Brennan, Cantwell and Setters with Quixall in the background. The Tottenham players are (I think) White, Smith, Jones and Dyson.

The closest Spurs player here is, I think, Cliff Jones and the two United players next to him Foulkes and Stiles. Canwell's in the middle with Setters just beyond Harry Gregg.

Harry Gregg punching clear from Bobby Smith with Bill Foulkes in close attendance.

The second half and the nearest United players are Bobby Charlton, Dennis Viollet and David Herd, and I think that's Mark Pearson on the other side of Spurs goalkeeper Bill Brown. Danny Blanchflower's the Spurs player between Charlton and Viollet and I think that's Ron Henry on the other side of Charlton.

United players from the left are Nobby Stiles, Maurice Setters, David Herd and Bobby Charlton hidden behind the Spurs player in the middle. Tottenham players are Ron Henry, Danny Blanchflower and, I think, Peter Baker and Tony Marchi. Bill Brown in goal, of course.

One of the problems of taking photographs in a crowd. This is the United winning goal scored in the 67th minute. The ball's in the net behind the big head of the man in front of me. Albert Quixall, the goalscorer is also out of sight to the left of the picture. The United players are Charlton, Herd, Setters, Pearson and Stiles. To the left of the photo is Spurs number 5 Maurice Norman, Ron Henry's the number 3, and Danny Blanchflower's the player to be seen to the right behind the goal stanchion. Not sure who the Spurs player in the centre is - it could be Tony Marchi again. And that's Bill Brown's leg just beyond the arm of the man in front of me.

A close match ending in a 1-0 win for United, but Dave Mackay was missing for Spurs and that could have made all the difference.

Friday's Ferrari

Another car from the featured Ferrari display at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's a 1953 Ferrari 250MM, serial number 0250MM, Pinin Farina Berlinetta and was the first car of 18 built. The history of the car is shown here.

Guernsey and the German Occupation

One thing that most people in mainland Britain don't appreciate is the fact that the Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied during the Second World War. In Guernsey it's difficult to escape the fact - there are fortifications built by the Germans all round the island, museums recording details of the occupation, and in the bookshops there are many books giving details of that part of the island's history. The ninth of May is celebrated each year as liberation day. The story of the occupation is detailed here and there's also an interesting site giving details of fortifications which have been preserved. I took several photographs during our recent visit and here are some of them:

The German Occupation Museum

The Naval Range-Finding Tower known as MP3 has been restored and re-fitted with optical and communication equipment that it would have had during the war and the two photographs below were taken there.

My fading knowledge of the German language dating back to my schooldays of over 50 years ago tells me that the warning stencilled above the telephone on the wall seems to mirror the wartime reminder in Britain for people not to indulge in careless talk because 'walls have ears'.

This one seems to carry the same warning that ARP Warden Hodges in 'Dad's Army' used to frequently shout: 'PUT THAT LIGHT OUT!!'

The gun emplacement at the restored coastal artillery battery known as Batterie Dollmann

Many of the children of Guernsey were evacuated to Britain in 1940 and in Stockport, not far from where we live, a blue plaque was recently unveiled at the railway station commemorating the children who were cared for in Stockport until the Channel Islands were liberated in 1945.

Gordon Ford of Stockport - Model T Party (Part 5)

Four more photographs from the Model T car run of 10 May 1987.

1922 Pick-up

1924 Flat Truck

1923 Mifflingburg Suburban

1927 Tudor Coupe

Friday's Ferrari

Another car which was on display at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997. It's a 4.9 litre Ferrari 410S of 1956, serial number 0598CM, two of which were originally built to take part in the Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico. That race, however, was cancelled and the only time the cars raced for the official factory team was in the Buenos Aires 1000 km race, but both the cars retired with transaxle failure after which they were sold to private teams.