Reliant

Following on from yesterday's photograph taken at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2016, here are photographs of six Reliants I took at that event.

This is a 1964 Reliant Sabra GT, built under license in Israel by Autocars Ltd.

This is a Reliant Scimitar GTE, and with the 'L' on the licence plate indicating 1972/73 it should be a Scimitar GTE SE5 or SE5A.

This one's a 1992 Reliant Scimitar Sabre Ti, the last Scimitar to be produced and re-using the name from the 1960s Reliant Sabre.

This is a 1981 Reliant Scimitar GTC in which the Ford V6 2.8 litre Cologne engine has been replaced by the 2.9 litre unit.

This one's a Reliant Kitten and the 'R' on the licence plate indicates 1976/77. It has an 850cc engine and apparently has a 'nippy performance', so I'd like to see how this one performs!

This Reliant Scimitar GTE has an 'N' registration, denoting 1974/75, so it should be an SE5A model.

Friday's Ferrari

The Sporting Bears Motor Club was giving passenger rides in their members' cars in exchange for a donation to charity at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2016. This is one of the cars participating.

It's a 4.3 litre V8 Ferrari F430 Spider, a successor to the Ferrari 360 in 2005, and itself replaced by the Ferrari 458 in 2009.

Honda S800

Here's a car that took part in the Cheshire Cats Trophy Race at the Jaguar Drivers' Club's meeting at Oulton Park in April 1987.

It's Norman Mortimer's Honda S800, a car introduced by Honda in 1965 to replace the smaller-engined S600.

Spice

This was one of the cars competing in the British Empire Trophy race for Group C Endurance Cars at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

It's the 1988 Spice SE88C that was driven in the 2 hour long race by Richard Piper and Nick Adams. The car had a 3.5 litre V8 Cosworth DFZ engine and was raced in the World Sportscar Championship in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Brabham BT4

This car took part in the HGPCA Race for Pre-1966 Rear-Engined Grand Prix Cars at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in May 2001.

It's Frank Sytner's 1962 Brabham BT4, a Tasman car that was a development of the BT3 using a 4 cylinder 2½ litre Coventry Climax FPF engine instead of the BT3's 1½ litre V8 Coventry Climax engine. The chassis number of this car is IC-2-62.

Jaguar XK150

This car competed in the Park Place Thoroughbred Sports Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners' Club Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1986.

It's David Newman's 1959 3.8 litre Jaguar XK150 S which was sold recently by Silverstone Auctions, and you can read a brief history of the car here. I've previously shown photographs of Jaguar XK150s on 10 February 2014 and 5 July 2016.

York Minster (2)

On 24 October 2016 I showed some photographs we'd taken in York during a holiday there earlier that month, and on 17 November 2016 some photographs of the exterior of York Minster. It's by no means a comprehensive record of the inside of the Minster, but here are some of the photographs we took went we visited.

When you enter the Minster through the west door you are facing the North Aisle.

The present Minster took almost 250 years to build, between about 1230 and 1472AD, and the Great West Window dates from 1338-39. The window is known as 'The Heart of Yorkshire' because of the shape of the upper stonework.

The Nave is some 80 metres long, 29 metres high and 30 metres wide, making it the widest Gothic Nave in England.

Behind the Nave Altar is the Kings' Screen, also known as the Quire Screen. This was designed around 1420 and was intended to have carved statues of all the Kings of England from William the Conqueror up to the then current King, Henry V, a total of 14 statues - 7 on either side of the doorway to the Quire. Unfortunately Henry V died in 1422 before the screen was finished making it necessary to add another statue, that of Henry VI, meaning that there are 8 statues to the right of the doorway.

These are the figures on the right hand side of the doorway: Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI.

There are several chapels in York Minster, and this is St John's Chapel in the North Transept.

The windows of the Chapter House, which is an octagonal building adjoining the main Minster building where the Dean and Chapter would meet to discuss the administration of the Minster. There are 44 seats set into the walls round the perimeter of the Chapter House.

This is the ornate ceiling of the Chapter House.

Looking up to the ceiling of the Central Tower.

The Quire, looking towards the King's Screen.

The Lectern in the Quire.

There are many tombs and memorials around the Minster, and this memorial in the South Aisle of the Quire is to John Dolben, Archbishop of Canterbury 1683 to 1686 and was sculpted by Grinling Gibbons,

The Crypt is the earliest part of the present Minster and the architectural style is late Norman.

Also in the crypt is the shrine of St William of York, Archbishop in the middle of the 12th Century. On the far wall is a mosaic of St William.

In the Undercroft is this Gospel book, over 1,000 years old and still in use at the Minster today - as these descriptive notices tell you.

Connaught B-Type

I've shown photographs previously of some of the cars that took part in a parade at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000 to mark 50 years of the World Championship for Drivers, and here's another one.

It's a 1955 Connaught B-Type driven by Tony Brooks, who won the Syracuse Grand Prix that year in one of these cars. This one is in the colours of Rob Walker's racing team which entered one of these cars in a few British non-Championship F1 races in 1956, in which it was driven by Reg Parnell. On 27 December 2014 I showed photographs of (presumably) this car at a 1987 meeting at Oulton Park.

Friday's Ferrari

Here's a photograph I took of a Ferrari at the Donington Park museum in March 1996, though the flash on the camera doesn't seem to have been terribly effective.

It's a 1949 Ferrari 125, the car formerly owned and driven by Peter Whitehead and was the car that started Tom Wheatcroft's Donington Grand Prix Collection. I showed better photographs of the car on 7 February 2014 that I'd taken on other visits to the museum. The car behind the Ferrari is a Cooper F3 car that had been campaigned by Lewis (known as 'Pop') Lewis-Evans in the 1950s. 'Pop' Lewis-Evans was the father of Stuart Lewis-Evans who drove for the Vanwall team in 1957 and 1958 and who died following an accident in the Moroccan Grand Prix, the last race of the season, in 1958.

Leyland Comet CPO1

This is one of the vehicles in the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1995.

It's a 1950 Leyland Comet CPO1 with Park Royal body, and the programme of the event had this to say about it:

Leyland Comet CPO1, Park Royal B30F, 1950                                                 KMN519

Douglas Corporation 21

Entered by      Mersey and Calder Bus Preservation Group

Operated until 1968 and passed to a contractor. Purchased for preservation in 1979. Another fine

example of the quality restoration work carried out by Rob Wilson and his colleagues.

Ginetta G4

This is a car that competed in the John Lelliott Post Historic Road Sports Championship race at the HSCC's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986.

It's Trevor Needham's 1964 1600cc Ginetta G4. The car behind it is the 1965 1275cc Landar R6 of Alan Dignan.

Talbot T26

This car took part in the Redgate Mug Race for Standard & Modified Pre-war Sports Cars at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's the 1937/38 4½ litre Talbot T26 SS of Richard Pilkington, chassis #90202.

Originally built in 1937 as a Talbot T150C with chassis number 82935 it was raced for the Talbot works team in 1937 and early 1938 by Albert Divo, Raymond Sommer and René Carrière amongst others in the Le Mans 24 Hour race, the Mille Miglia and other races. In 1938 it was given a 4½ litre engine and became the second Talbot T26 SS, the chassis being renumbered to 90202.

The Talbot factory was in Suresnes, on the outskirts of Paris.

Cooper T51

This car took part in the Maserati UK Race for Pre-1966 Grand Prix & Tasman Cars at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's the 1959 Cooper T51 of Peter Gooch, and is in the colours of the British Racing Partnership/Yeoman Credit Racing Team of 1959-1960. The two British Racing Partnership cars of 1959 ran with 1½ litre Climax and Borgward engines, but the programme of this event says the car is fitted with a 2½ litre engine as used by the Yeoman Credit Racing Team in F1 races in 1960. On 20 May 2014 I showed a photograph of the late Sir Jack Brabham at the wheel of a Cooper T51 at the Coys meeting at Silverstone in July 1993.

Bugatti T39

Here's a car that I photographed at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in June 2008.

It doesn't have a racing number and isn't listed in the programme of the event, but it's David Hands' 1926 Bugatti Type 39, one of five works cars, and is chassis number 4604. On 7 October 2013 I showed a photograph of the car in action at Donington Park in May 2011, You can read the history of the car in this extract from The Bugatti Review.

Bentley 8 litre

This car competed in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race at the VSCC's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1982.

It's Gordon Russell's 1930 Bentley 8 litre and the programme of the event, talking about the Bentleys in this race, says: 'Gordon Russell's had a 4-litre single-seater chassis with an 8-litre engine and a single-seater body'.

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's a 1966 2 litre Ferrari Dino 206S, and appears to be that of Rosario Parasiliti - although his car is shown in the programme of the event as number 23 and there is no number 22. I've seen photographs of his car with this 'Sicilia' banner and the number 22. If it is his car it's chassis #030.

Maserati 250F

This is a photograph taken on practice day for the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1957.

It's the Maserati 250F (#2527) driven in the race by Harry Schell, who qualified in seventh place on the grid but retired on lap 39 with a broken water pump. I showed a photograph on 3 May 2016 of how this car looked in July 2000.

HWM Jaguar

Here's a car that competed in the Louis Vuitton 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

It's Douglas Jamieson's 1953 3.8 litre HWM Jaguar, and you can read the history of the HWM racing team here. I've shown photographs of HWM Jaguars previously, on 9 June 2014, 5 January 2015 and 8 November 2015.

Guernsey, December 2016

We paid our annual December visit to Guernsey recently to see our grandchildren and to deliver Christmas presents and presents for Edward's birthday. With the short days of winter there wasn't the opportunity to take many photographs, but here are a few that we managed to get.

 On the Friday it was Eliza's swimming lesson at the Beau Sejour Leisure Centre, after which she wanted to go on the outdoor playground, on the slide.....

.....and on the swings.....

.....and on what I believe is called a 'spring rider'.

Grandma keeping the children entertained the following day at home.

Edward briefly played outside on the swing.

Sunday lunch at the Copenhagen Bar & Grill at the Best Western Hotel de Havelet and Edward and Eliza commandeered Grandpa's iPhone.

On the Sunday we watched Edward unwrap an early birthday present from Grandma and Grandad.....

.....it was a camera and Edward and Daddy had to familiarise themselves with the controls. They soon knew a lot more about it than Grandad did.

On the Monday morning Grandma and Grandad looked after Eliza, and we went for a look at the Christmas display at Le Friquet Garden Centre where Eliza had to go on the big train there to ring the bell.....

.....and then watch the little train go round the big Christmas tree. This brought back memories of being taken to Wiles toyshop, next to Lewis's in Manchester, at Christmas when I was not much older than Eliza is now.

Afterwards another go on the slide in the play area at the garden centre.

In the afternoon daddy took us to the airport to catch the plane back home and here he is with Edward and Eliza at the airport.