I must admit, I am late. This report was supposed to appear here earlier, but due to some happy developments (more about this later) I just couldn’t find the time to get the pictures ready. Parts one and two can be found here
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=38596
and here
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=45194.
The last report ended with Maggie being shown at the Retro Classics vintage car exhibition at Stuttgart in March 2012 and her breakdown on the way home. I subsequently fitted a new fuel pump, and everything has been perfect ever since.
The 1st May is a bank holiday in Germany, which I used for a trip to a nearby preserved railway, the 20 km long “Cuckoo Line”. The vintage trains use the electrified Frankfurt – Paris main line for the first 6 kms, and this is where I took the first shot. The 1904 built loco has to be pushed hard in order not to interfere with the main line trains.
It is much easier on the preserved branch line which runs through the Palatine Forest, the biggest forestry area in Germany. Before my interest in vintage cars came up I used to work with the preservation society for 12 years, doing jobs in permanent way gang, assisting with the restoration of the two steam and three diesel locomotives and the eight coaches or working as a ticket inspector when the trains were running. Most of my former colleagues hadn’t seen Maggie before, so they were rather astonished when I arrived with the vintage car. And many of the passengers found the old car as interesting as the steam loco.
In June we were invited to a small vintage car show on the car park of a large furniture store that opened a new department that weekend. It was nothing exciting, but we were catered very well by the store, and it was nice to meet some other owners of vintage cars and exchange views. As my wife and I had been thinking of buying new bedroom furniture we had a look at that department – and found the bedroom of our dreams. When the salesman learned that we had come with one of the vintage cars he gained permission to give us a discount. So Maggie has even helped us to save money.
The vintage cart meeting at Boppard in the Rhine valley had been excellent the year before, so we went again in July 2012. The exhibition is limited to 60 cars which are parked in their lovely historic market square. There is also an outing on scenic secondary roads.
That year they managed to park most of the British cars next to each other. Maggie met a very nice Trafalgar blue traveler which had also been sold by the Bristol Morris Minor Centre. But her owners had her converted to LHD.
Also in July my local vintage club had an outing with several tractors, an old Unimog and Maggie. We went to a nearby farm where we enjoyed an excellent barbecue in the farmer’s garden.
Before the meal we were guided round the farm and explained what they were doing. It is an educational farm, where whole forms of nearby schools spend a week as part of school projects. During the stay the pupils learn for example that chips are not grown on trees and that milk is given by cows and sheep and does not come from the container in the fridge. Although we live in a rural area, knowledge like that is slowly being lost. It was a very interesting lesson we all learned.
After our holiday we took Maggie to another preserved railway, called “Stumpfwaldbahn”, about 50 kms from our home village. It is a 2 ft gauge line. The track and most of the rolling stock have come from a network of quarry lines, it was all re-erected along forestry roads as a tourist line.
The preservation society also has a steam loco, but due to the fire risk with the line running through a forest they had to put one of the diesels into service. Nevertheless it was an enjopyable day out.
The last trip of the 2012 season saw us driving to Pforzheim, a rather big town about 70 kms away. On the last weekend of September each year they turn back time to the 1950s and 1960s in their pedestrianized town centre. Last year there were about 150 cars of that era. Bands were playing 50s and 60s music on three stages, and most of the spectators wore dresses of the era. The cars were displayed in three groups: European small cars, European limousines and sports cars and US dream cars. So Maggie found herself among Messerschmitts, BMW Isettas, Lloyd Alexanders and Renault 4 CVs.
We were happy we had given Maggie a wash because all cars took part in a concourse, a fact we had overlooked when we had entered. To our biggest surprise Maggie won 2nd place of the small cars. I had to drive her through the crowds to one of the stages and had to give an interview about the Morris Minor, as Moggies are quite unknown in our country.
This is the cup Maggie won for her 2nd place. This was the biggest success so far, but it shows us she’s a beauty. Next to it is the commemorative medal all participants were given.
Last winter came early. During the first week of December my wife’s Peugeot 206 CC was in for a service, and I decided to use Maggie to give her a lift to pick up her car. The intention was to let her stretch her legs, because I don’t like to mothball a car over the winter. On the way back home it started to snow very gently.
It paid that I usually have a camera with me, so I could take the first shots of Maggie in the snow before she was put back into the garage. In the background of the pictures you can see two sights of the village where I live, the 11th century castle and the 17th century chapel in the vinyards.
Last winter brought lots of snow and a longer break for Maggie. We are not allowed to drive on snow covered roads without snow tyres, but there aren’t any available for Maggie’s size. But in February 2013 the roads had been cleared and it was sunny, but due to subzero temperatures there was still some snow on the soil.
These two shots were taken during the first trip around the village, just to slowly revive each part of the car. In the background is our castle again.
Easter was the beginning of the running season for our preserved railway line. So on Easter Monday I went there again. I had hoped to see the society’s other engine in service, but it was the same as seen above, an 0-6-0 tender engine from 1904.
In April 1963 the then famous British race driver Jim Clark died in a crash on the Hockenheim racecourse. To commemorate this there is a big event on the racecourse each April, featuring races with all sorts of vintage race cars. This year the sponsor Bosch Automotive wanted to break a record for the Guinnes Book, the largest running motor museum of the world. They would have won if they had managed to assemble at least 946 cars of 30 years of age or more, and let them run at least one lap on the racecourse. Of course we had to go, and we met Gertie, the green Moggie Pickup, owned by Dieter Hedrich. MOT participants will know this car and the owning family.
Unfortunately the two Moggies were separated on the way from the car park to the racecourse. But nevertheless it was a wonderful experience, being among masses of vintage cars and driving along one of the most famous racecourses in Europe. We did five laps, but the following day we learned from the Bosch homepage that the record was missed. Probably because of the bad weather during the morning only 723 cars had turned up. But this means there will be a repeat next year.
Early in June I took Maggie for a service in a garage specialized on vintage cars and got an invitation to an exhibition in a winery in the same street the following weekend. It really was a promotional event of the winery, but we all enjoyed it.
If for nothing else, we were served excellent food, my wife enjoyed the wine, and we met some very nice people. Most of them were quite astonished when we told them about our plans for the following weekend. And that was to be the greatest enterprise with Maggie so far.
The following weekend we started our journey to the Morris Centenary at Cornbury Park. We departed from home on the Thursday and had an easy journey to Calais, although the weather was very wet and stormy. Next morning Maggie went by sea, back to her native country once again. We overtook some Moggies on the M 25, and there was a lot of waving and sounding of horns. Maggie showed us she was happy to be back at home and performed faultlessly. Many drivers of overtaking cars showed us “thumbs up”, which made the whole journey a pleasure.
When I made the first plans to go to Charlbury my wife wasn’t too impressed and didn’t want to join me. I finally conquered her by booking the accommodation at Heythrop Park Hotel at nearby Enstone.
Heythrop Park proved to be the right surroundings for people who have arrived with an old car. Apart from Maggie there were five other Morris Minors and a Morris Oxford MO in the car park, some had come from Holland. By the way, the hotel is not as posh and expensive as it may appear; we found it quite affordable and good value for money.
Saturday and Sunday were spent at Cornbury Park. Those of you who have been there will remember the unbelievable atmosphere, created by over 2,000 vintage cars, most of them Minors of all variants. This shot was taken from the queue at the entrance on the first day.
My German society, the Morris Minor Register Deutschland, had sent six Minors and a Landcrab, and we arranged a little display of our cars behind our banner. Unfortunately the space allocated for foreign societies had already been occupied by over 40 cars from Holland. Congratulations, we would be happy if we could get so many cars together for our annual meeting at home. Well, at least the German club was represented at the Morris Centenary. And for my wife and me it was nice to meet some old friends from England during the weekend. One of them was my first English pen friend who can be made responsible for us now owning a Morris Minor: When I stayed with their family on my first exchange visit in 1973 they had a Morris Minor Traveler.
After the Centenary we came home on Tuesday night after another excellent journey, having covered exactly 1,125 miles with Maggie. The following Saturday one of the bigger vintage car rallies came through our area. Every second year about 70 cars go on a one week trip from Landau through France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. The last leg was from the French/German border near us back to Landau, and Maggie and I went to see the cars at the border. Some of the spectators had come with vintage cars, and a space was reserved for them.
To my surprise there was a Morris Minor, a 1968 Convertible among the participants, and he was kind enough to park his Moggie next to Maggie. Of course we had lots of stories to exchange during the break, he about the rally and I about Cornbury Park.
A fortnight later it was Boppard again. Other than last year it took place in perfect sunshine, so we could drive to0 and fro with the top down. This year Maggie was the only Morris, but there were many more interesting Brits around.
On the first weekend there was an exhibition of vintage cars in a small village, a first for this village. The whole village centre was closed for the 30+ cars.
The nice thing with these exhibitions is that many owners go out on a trip, park their cars at the exhibition for an hour or two to have a look around, and then carry on. Therefore there are always changes among the exhibits, which make it very interesting.
In July I was saying to my wife, it’s been over a year since Maggie was requested last time as a wedding car, I would fancy doing it again. A week later I was approached by someone, asking whether I would drive her daughter and her husband from the registrar’s office to the reception. Of course I would! And it was the first time I was able to decorate Maggie with the white roses I had picked up from ebay a few months before.
I enjoy these weddings. As a chauffeur you are among the wedding guests, but as you don’t know them, you can keep some distance and just watch them. I always find it amazing that a ride in an old car can make a happy couple even happier. This was also the case with this couple; you could feel how much they enjoyed the day.
A week later we went to another great event in our area. Most of the local clubs cater for tractors, agricultural machinery and vintage cars and motorcycles. The biggest is at Ottersheim, and their bi-annual meeting is the biggest in the area. This year there were about 300 cars and almost the same number of tractors. Well, Cornbury Park was much bigger, but we are not in Britain, and for Germany we could call that a big event. I saw my first Riley RMA in Germany, another car I like very much. The owner told me that he bought the car out of a barn in Belgium. After 9 months of repairs this was his first outing to check whether all the mechanics work well. He hopes to strip the car again over the winter and have it fully repainted for the next season.
Here again the wardens were able to arrange displays of British cars together. There were many MGBs, a few Spitfires, but only one Moggy.
Now we have arrived in the present time. Last Friday we went to a vintage car parade in another village. As you see, Maggie met again her friend Gertie, and we were happy to meet her owners Dieter and Anita.
At this event 30 cars, tractors and motorcycles went through the main street in a cavalcade. At the village square each car stopped by a grandstand and was described by the mayor according to fact sheets each owner had to prepare. The audience must have enjoyed it, the reactions and the applause were fabulous.
Afterwards we parked the cars and all the drivers and passengers were invited to a buffet with the mayor. It turned out that he had owned several vintage cars during his university years, including a Triumph TR 4, a Reliant Scimitar SE and a Jenson Interceptor (which he sold very quickly after too many breakdowns).
The 2013 season is now almost finished. There is another rally nearby next weekend, and in September we’ll go to Baden Baden for the annual meeting of the German Morris Minor Register. But I still owe you the explanation why I was unable to tell you this story earlier. Maggie will get a garage of her own! In January a neighbor mentioned that she is going to sell a piece of land on the opposite side of our street, where they had previously intended to build a house for their daughter. We agreed a sale and now own the land. But there was a large wooden shed on the land which we had to demolish before the contractor can move in. That took us quite some time, and most evenings we were just too exhausted to do anything else. The drawings are ready, if all goes well construction will start in September, and by December we should have a double garage with a set of jacks for Maggie.
I hope you didn’t find the report too boring and will enjoy the photographs.
Cheers, and happy motoring
Hubert
