The Bears last mini tour of the U.K......................
 

........................................... of 2018 starts tomorrow, when she along with the rest of the Southwest Crew, including our honorary member Keith24 and wife, start our yearly trip to the IOW. The Bear has not had a decent run for a few months, so this will blow the cobwebs out. Plus keep the petrol stations in profit.

Starting off in Saltash with Allen, Val and Debbie. Then collecting Paul and Linda on the way. Then we meet up with the rest of the crew at Route 5, American Diner, at Haldon Hill on the A38. (The rest of the crew are Matt, Shirley, Nathan, Emma, John, Nina, Paul, Sue, Donna and Burt). After breakfast we set off towards Lymington but stopping off at the Teddy Bears picnic layby on the A35 at Dorchester.
Once watered, in and out, then we continue onto the ferry port where we will team up with the last of the crew, Keith and Anette.

Then over the Solent and onto the short drive to the hotel at Norton Grange. For a well earned cuppa, or a couple of pints before dinner.
So should you see, or hear, a convoy of 75's and ZT's don't forget to wave, toot or flash.
I'll keep the diary running as I know we have avid readers.
This in not the final trip as Redfive will be doing the Xmas trip.

See you tomorrow mate, safe journey....looking forward to hearing the Bear again :xmas-smiley-008: and a few cold ones at the bar.

Looks like it could be a rough crossing. 50mph winds forecasted.

Will be leaving Reigate soon, pouring down with rain and windy :snowball1: should be cosy and warm in the bar though :xmas-smiley-008:.....see you later.

The Bear and her cubs were.......................
 

.................................................. soon parted.
We set off from Saltash with Leafy leading the Bear, Allen n Val in Leafy and Debbie was with me. It was raining as we crossed the Tamar and into England. There were short bursts of sunshine but we was resigned to the fact that the rain was here to stay.
Now Debbie has changed her job and works peculiar shifts as a coach driver commuting between a Plymouth and Bristol airport, mainly night work with some days thrown in. So it was not a surprise that she was tired having finished her shift at 4am.

So as Debbie settled down for a snooze with the fleece blanket, I always carry a blanket in the car, covering her the sun came out. Soon we were growling along up Haldon Hill, I was tempted to let the Bear roar up the hill but the services are at the top and can catch you out if you are in the wrong lane. But we pulled into the Diners car park ok. We found the Citroen Piccasso of Paul, Sue, Trevor and Donna parked up. Paul has never heard the Bear and he was quite gobsmacked by how loud she is.
We went in and sniffled the two large booths, well there was 14 of us.

Soon the rest arrived, we was only missing Keith and Annette, but they was joining us at the ferry port. I had the Americana breakfast which comprised of two sausages, two bacon, two fried eggs, two hash browns and two pancakes along with a jug of maple syrup. I know I’m not supposed to eat this but once now and again is nice. No doubt I would pay for it later on.
Once we had our breakfasts we paid up and left. The Bear was designated lead car up as far as the Dorchester stop off.

So with the cubs following we set off. We had 1 Rover 75 Tourer, 2 ZT’s, 3 ZTT’s and the Citroen in the convoy. Trying to get them to keep up as we cruised at Warp Factor 3 was a nightmare. Soon they were strung out across the county, I knew that the Moonstone 75 did not know where we was stopping so I done my best at keeping him in sight. Eventually I pulled into a lay-by to let them re-group but you always get one that sails straight past. So now with Nathan leading, well till I caught up and whizzed past, as he was also unsure where we was stopping.
We eventually pulled into our stop over point and parked up. Tea and a wee but not necessarily in that order.

Matt wanted me to lead again, ok, but will the others try and keep up. Matt promised that he would push them along as he would be the sweep car. Well that plan lasted about 3 miles. All I could see behind me was the Citroen, even when we dropped down to Warp Factor Harrisop, 50 mph, they still did not catch up. I could see the Moonstone as the 3rd car but he was way back. I wasn’t going to keep stopping to let them catch up. Still if they all have their sat navs on we should all get there at some point. Only one car did not have there satnav on, yup! The Moonstone.

So it was just us and the Citroen zooming along, traffic was quite heavy so the We could not stick our paw down too much. By the time we pulled off of the A35 and onto the A377 we was just us two. Now I have strict rule that I will not answer my phone whilst driving but someone was trying to get hold of me as the phone kept ringing. Eventually Debbie, who was now wide awake, got my phone out of my pocket and answered the call from Matt. Matt said not to wait for us as they were going a different way. It seemed that the cubs had caught up to the Moonstone and was following him. Well he turned off and they all followed him. Seems that Linda, navigator in the Moonstone, had put the maps on her phone and they were following that route assuming that we were in front somewhere.

So as we romped through the New Forest with the Citroen keeping up, well till we lost him in Brockenhurst. He got caught at the level crossing. We carried on towards the ferry port. As we passed a pub in Lymington we spied a Odessey Blue 75 pulling out. Keith and Annette had spied the main convoy going past, so were just pulling out as we sped past. It seemed that the others had shaved 4 minutes off of the journey by coming in from another direction. Still not to worry as we were all here now. The Citroen had caught up as well. The only problem we had now was that one car, the Ignition Blue ZT, had the wrong paperwork. His sailing date was for December 2019. And Matt had handed out the passes as well, just had not noticed the typing error. But it was soon rectified and he was in the queue again.

Onto the ferry but we were all split up again. But the Bear had Grovey to keep her company on the crossing. Whilst the cars had a rest us humans found our way up to the seating area. Allen, Nathan and I did venture up onto the top deck but it was too cold to stay. But the sky was blue and the sea rough. Oh! This should be fun. Wow! It did roll a bit but we chatted and had a laugh about the trip down.
Soon we was docking and we made our way back to our cars. Everyone apparently everyone heard the Bear start up.

Off the ferry and onwards to the hotel we went in convoy. Soon the luggage was unloaded and the truck took our cases to our chalets. We went and booked in. As per normal I was booked in as Bob Banana, improvement on last year as then I was Pukely Banana. Matt will have his fun. Still all in good taste. Other than Debbie and I all the others were in the same block. We were in the singles block.
Chalets found, cases unloaded.
We then all retired to the bar for a well earned cuppa or a couple of beers.

Dinner time....................
 

.................................... in the restaurant started at 18.30 and we was in by 18.35. But they never puts us together. One group was on a round table in the corner whilst the rest of us were on a long table in the middle. Mmmmm!!!! My starter was Poached pear on a pastry base topped with crumbled blue cheese and crushed walnuts. My main was from the Carvery and was honey roasted gammon with veg. And for dessert I had the strangest baked Aslaska. No ice cream or meringue. Some sort of cake with a cheesecake topping and fresh cream.

Once our tummies were filled we made our way to the ballroom for the evenings entertainment. There was a group playing, and singing, tunes from the 70’ and 80’s. We were sitting in our designated area but as there was so many of us we was strung out in a circle. But at least the bar was not too far away. The group gave way to the comedian, who was topping the bill. Oh! He was good, most of the gags I have heard, he must have read some of mine on here and copied them.
He was on for over an hour. But as he finished some of our group turned in for the night, but the rest of us retired to the bar for it was Karaoke time. Not for me all that singing but I did watch. Annette got up and sang a few songs.

It was now mid night and I was tired so I said goodnight to the youngsters and made my way back to my chalet. All in all a great day and night with a great crowd.
We are off to a Xmas fair at Ventor this morning, but first breakfast. Mmmm!!!!! More food.

Thanks for reading.

Kippers and marmalade sandwiches.....................................
 

.................................................. , well not sandwiches but on toast instead. No holiday of mine would not be complete without me having my favourite for breakfast. Once breakfast was over we agreed to meet in reception at 10.30.

The plan was to visit the Xmas fair at Godshill near Ventor. But my Satnav was unable to locate the place so Paul in the Moonstone Tourer said he would lead as his Satnav was showing the location. Allen and Val joined Debbie and I in the Bear. I wanted to get some go go juice before returning back on Monday. Now I don't know if anyone has ever been on the island but petrol stations are few and far. On our way to Godshill we passed only one and that was a supermarket garage. I'm not very keen on supermarket fuel, so we gave this one a miss.

Not sure if there was a quicker route to Godshill but it seemed like forever before we found the place. We found the Xmas fair and the car park was heaving, and there were coaches pulling in. But we found spaces. The market wasn't very big and if you was not into homemade food or jewellery there was not much else there. We re-grouped and split into two parties, our lot went for a wander into the village but because of the winter season there was quite a few places closed.

I found a nice metal sign depicting a squadron of Hurricanes diving through the sky. And only £9.99. I bought that for my mates little boy as one of his birthday presents, he is Hurrricane and Spitfire mad. Debbie, Val, Shirley and Allen all bought something as well. But now the heavens we're opening so it was time to return to the cars, where we found the rest all sitting in there cars waiting for us.
So onto our annual visit to Busy Bee's garden centre and Xmas shop, which is huge and over three floors. Worth a visit if you've never been. Paul volunteered to lead us. And again we only saw one petrol station, but too late to pull in.

Once at Busy Bee's we played hunt the parking space but the Bear sniffed out a spot. It was raining quiet heavy now so that meant a quick sprint into the store, well it was a slow sprint for me. Once inside and we met everyone else, we split up but agreed to meet up in the cafe about 13.30 for tea and cake. Like all huge garden centre complexes they sell everything. Now I had a bit of a funny turn and came over all sweaty, not very often I get my wallet out to buy clothes but I saw a very nice waterproof jacket, made by the Regatta clothing company and at half price it was a bargain. I did need a new one as the one I normally wear my Val bought me. Allen tried on a nice lightweight jacket, which Val bought for him as a Xmas present. And I bought a nice shirt.

We all met up in the cafe and sat down for tea and cake, naturally the women compared there purchases. Shock and horror was seen on many a face when it was discovered that I had bought NEW clothes.
Once food was consumed we then said as their was no need for all of us to convoy back to the hotel, it is a pretty straight run, we would then make our own ways back. But I still needed fuel and gave into buying Tesco fuel, still I got my points. Only put £44 worth in, not bad as it was for 180 miles. And I still had just half a tank left.
The Citroen needed fuel along with Grovey, the Orange ZTT. So we travelled back together in the dark and heavy rain.

We was the last car back, everyone else was already there. Unloaded our purchases and agreed to meet in the bar at about 17.30. Once back at the chalet I had a shower and tried on my new shirt, again. Did not wear it that tonight but I'll wear it tomorrow. I'm wearing my Poppy rugby shirts during the day.
I met Keith in the bar, then Allen arrived followed by Val and Debbie. Gradually everyone else appeared. Then it was nose bag time.
I started with the Garlic mushrooms on Brioche bread. Nice but they forgot to put the garlic in as I could not taste it. My main course was beef casserole with veg and new pots. Dessert for me was the cheese board although I did share some of Debbie's de-constructed cheese cake.

Then once food was consumed it was back to the ballroom for the resident group. Our top spot artist tonight was a tribute act to George Benson. Half of our crowd had to google the name to find out who he was. Sadly he was rubbish, he was that poor that half the audience left including some of us. Me included, now for me to leave it showed he was not good. For those who know me will tell you I love my music.
We went back to the bar and stayed there till about 23.30 when I turned in. Some of our crowd had returned to the ballroom as the tribute act had finished and the resident group were back on.
Been a long day and I was tired.

Sunday and we are off to the photographic museum, one of my strong interests. I have been involved with photographic work all my life and I've just bought another Nikon camera off of Matt. He just could not get into the art of being a photographer. Then we will go onto another garden centre complex. Before taking a scenic drive around the island, providing it don't rain, otherwise it will be back to the bar.

So thanks for reading and the kind comments.

where are you going to be Sunday 9th and Monday 10th and what times?

macafee2

Sorry just seen this post. Back at the hotel now after visiting the camera museum and Oasis.

We are leaving here tomorrow on the 13.05 ferry back to Lymington. Where we will part company with Keith24 & Annette as they head back to Surrey. The rest of us head back West with only Allen, Val, Debbie and I travelling back over the Tamar into Cornwall.

You'll never believe what I have bought..............
 

................................................. Today, Debbie is a bad influence on me.

We split up this morning after breakfast with Paul and Linda off to explore the Island. Keith & Annette also wanted to go off on there own. John, Nathan, Emma, Nina, Paul, Sue, Donna and Trvor were all off to the Oasis centre. That left Matt, Shiley, Debbie, Allen, Val and I to go to the camera museum then we would also go onto the Oasis centre.

So glad we went to the camera museum, what a fantastic place. We were shown the glass plate cameras and how they worked. We was allowed to dress up in Victorian clothing and have our pictures taken, they will appear on here once I'm home. Allen, Matt and I was dressed up in ladies clothes.
The cameras that were on display were amazing right from the earliest known right up to the ones of today. They even had my first ever proper 35mm camera. A Zenit with the 300mm lens with the pistol grip and flash. All mechanical, no batteries or motors.

Nice shop and the tea room was fantastic. We had the most amazing Christmas cake and proper tea in proper cups. We bought just one cake but it was huge and cut into 6 equal parts. Truly Scrumptious. Even more cameras on display in the cafe along with the most amazing black n white photo's.
There was also back in the main part of the museum the first aerial photo's with aircraft taking photo's of other aircraft over various places of interest. My favourite was of a Bristol bi-plane flying over the Firth of the Forth bridge. And the original photo was For Sale. A snip at £4500.

Then with Allen leading we set off in the two ZTT's for the Oasis centre which is on the other side of the Island. Our Satnav had a hissy fit when we got to a junction and the little car on the display done a complete 360 degree spin before settling down and showing us where to go.
As we arrived at Oasis the others that were there were just on the point of leaving. But we had a quick chat before they departed.

To be continued as it's nose bag time.

And not only have I spent lots of dosh...........................
 

............................................. But last night they had me up dancing, not been on the dance floor for nearly............. Well it's been awhile.

Going back to the Oasis shop. It originally started life as wood carving shack and now it's a huge shop selling wood carvings, plus other associated stuff. We wandered in and around, plenty to keep our attention. We found the amazing wood carvings, absolutely stunning but very reasonably priced. Then there was this chair made from old lumps of wood from the coffee wood tree. No two chairs are the same. I sort of fell in love with it.
As we know there is no such thing as coffee wood but what it is, and this is the interesting bit, when the coffee beans grow they grow on a bush. Each year the bushes are harvested but after a time the bush becomes tired and stops producing but does not stop growing.

So the bushes are just left to grow till the trunks of the bushes grow to the desired size. Only then are they cut down. And then the wood is cut into various lumps and planed flat, some of the thicker branches are left round but just smoothed off. Then everything is varnished. And hey presto I now have a large wooden chair. They can be used outside but for now in the winter months it will remain inside.
I have two favourite flowers the Beautiful Orchid, which always reminds me of my Mum and my wife. T'other flower is the Poppy, again reminds me of my Dad and what his comrades fought for in both World Wars and various conflicts since.

So I've been looking for a Poppy duvet set, Debbie found one. And she also found a couple of cushions. And what else did she find for me, a beautiful Teddy Bear blanket. This will be used when I have passengers in the Bear, but will remain in the house when not in the car, if that makes sense.
After all this parting with my money I needed a sit down to give my credit card a rest. So we retired to the cafe.
Val and Allen bought a beautiful hand carved fish, carved from one peice of wood, when cleaned and preserved with teak oil it has brought amazing colour's out on one side yet on the other side the wood as remained basically just one colour.

To be continued, battery running out of puff.

Good morning Bob, good morning team IOW :smiley::smiley:...A Teddy Bear blanket, a Poppy duvet set, warp factor Harrisop, such rare finds.
Have a great day.

Now where was I? .......................
 

................................... ah! Yes, exhausted. Another amazing item for sale was these amazing glass bowls in the shape of a brandy glass. Those of more senior years may remember these glasses were all the fashion at one time, huge glasses with bonsai trees growing in them. Well, the upper section was the same shape. They are all made from recycled broken beer glasses. The glass is melted down, once heated up they are drawn out and the brandy glass shape is turned, now the base of the glass is kept hot all the time.

The wooden bases of that, the glasses sit on, are pieces of tree branches with all the knobbly bits. So the heated glass is then sat onto the wood and allowed to cool. The glass then settles into the shape of the wood. Again no two pieces are the same or size. Both Debbie and Matt bought these. Plus Debbie bought a few other things. Well, lots of things actually.
Once we had our tea it was time to load up Leafy. Well with the chair taking up most of the space we managed to get everything in.
Allen suggested that we left everything in and I would take all the luggage home. Saves a lot of hassle.

The weather had been kind to us all day, although quite chilly but the sun had stayed out. As the sun started to set the sunset looked promising. So with Leafy following Grovey we set off back to the hotel. I managed to get some pictures of the sun reflecting onto the clouds before the battery died, must buy a spare battery.
Once back at base, we agreed to meet in the bar at 17.30. I went into the chalet, put the kettle on, made the tea then promptly fell asleep. Was 1700 when I woke up. Not a great lover of cold tea, so made another whilst getting ready.

I knocked on Debbies door and we walked to the bar together, we are just good friends no romance. We met the others and Allen told the everyone about my credit cards experience. Then it was nosebag time. I started with ginger beer infused salmon, I couldn’t taste the ginger beer but the salmon was gorgeous. My main course was lambs liver, bacon, onions and mash plus some thick gravy. Very nice indeed. Cleared my plate. Dessert for me was Red Velvet cheese cake with layers of sponge and crushed raspberries plus clotted cream I shared this with Debbie.
One of the other desserts on offer was blackcurrant and liquorice pudding which apparently was scrumptious.

Then time to hit the dance floor. I’m a bit of a wall flower when it comes to dancing, I’m happy to sit and watch but not tonight as I was dragged onto the floor to bop the night away. There was a break and the main act came on spoiling my fun.
The act was the hotel staff paying tribute to the “Blues Brothers”, and they were very good. Although some of the songs were not in the original film. I was disappointed that they didn’t do Rawhide.

So with the act over, the cider was flowing along with some whiskey that John bought me. It was back on the dance floor till the end of the night. As most people had either retired to the other bar or gone to bed we stayed in the ballroom. There was a chap who was still letting the gramophone play, and taking requests, although he never got the hint. And so the dancing started up again. The night was finally rounded off by the conga.

So we packed up and found our way back to our rooms. We passed Leafy with her boot packed to the gills. Tired? Who me? Yup, and aching. Soon I was in the land of nod chasing those fluffy clouds.
The plan today is as we have 3 hours to kill from leaving till the ferry leaves we might have a run into Newport and a look round the shops, although i’ll stay in the car.

All in all it’s been a cracking weekend with fantastic company.
I would normally return either straight back to Essex or return to Cornwall for a few days but this year Cornwall is now my home. Still be strange not following Keith off of the ferry.

Sorry we could not meet up with those members that have been in contact, and these that live on the mainland, if any members live on the Island we never heard or saw them.
Having said that we never saw any 75’s or ZT’s either. A few ZS and ZR’s about plus a couple of TF’s. There is a MG garage and we did see a few MG 3’s.

So thanks for reading and the comments. Will do the final roundup once home and upload a few pictures. Don’t forget if you see the convoy travelling back, wave or flash or toot.

First aider needed,..........................
 

...................................... as one of our party was feeling very unwell, not me but our John. He had been sitting with us when he started to feel a bit unwell. He went to get some fresh air when he almost collapsed. Debbie is a qualified First Aider and immediately went to his aid. She shooed everyone away, to give him some breathing space. Nathan went and got some water.
Wow! John looked everso pale. John’s wife Nina said that providing he was well enough to travel she would drive the ZT home. Think this news must have rallied John.

The plan was that after breakfast we would drive into Newport and go around the shops till time to catch the ferry. But with the emergency we decided to stay close if we was needed in anyway. By now the hotel had tracked down their first aider but Debbie had everything under control. The accident book was already filled out by Debbie.
Allen tried to get John & Nina away on a earlier ferry but we found out that an earlier ferry had broke down, so spaces were limited. We decided to stay with a John so that we could all catch the same ferry at 13.05. That way we would make sure Nina was able to get John home. We did have 3 spare drivers on standby.

But the thought of Nina driving his beloved ZT must have made John better.
So at Noon we ushered the team out to our cars ready for the convoy but not before everyone thanked Debbie for her quick response in helping a John.
We lined up with Matt leading in Grovey and off we went to the ferry terminal. We stopped at the barrier to have our paperwork scanned. I was asked my reg no. My reply was, “ Bob Loves 54 Much Wasted Petrol”. You can work it out.

To be continued as the grey cells are getting tired.

Well, that was a spirited drive home...................
 

........................................ Once the cars were loaded onto the ferry. John said he felt a whole better, thinks he may have had a touch of food poisoning. But he insisted that he was driving and didn't need us stay with him. He would catch up with us at our stopping point in Kilmington.
Keith and Annette would be Surrey bound once off of the ferry so we wished them a safe journey, merry Xmas and a happy new year.

Once we had docked at Lymington Allen led us off, then it was the Bear followed by Nathan and the Citroen. Next off it was John followed by Paul in the Moonstone. Last car off of our group was Matt in Grovey. Not stopping at Kilmington was the Citroen or the Moonstone.
Soon we was on the A35 and the pace was hotting up. Debbie settled down for a nap, she had to go to work Tuesday morning. Her coach had to be out of the yard by 4 am.
I followed Allen with Nathan travelling close behind, the Citroen was holding on for dear life. The traffic was quite heavy in places and it was only 2pm.

Once clear of Ferndown we was able to clear the traffic, Nathan kept pulling out as to overtake but then dropped behind. Once on the Tolpuddle, and with my passenger fast asleep, I wound the elastic band up on the Bear and hurtled past Allen at Warp factor Actros and a bit. Nathan went to follow but chickened out. We left them and continued for awhile before dropping down to Warp Factor Harrisop to let them catch up but they were so far behind that I opted to pull into a layby and wait. Soon they came into view with the Citroen keeping up. Once past and it was safe to do I slotted in behind. And Debbie was still asleep.

No sign of the rest of the convoy. We pulled into the Route 35 diner at Kilmington. The Citroen whizzed past followed by the Moonstone, tooting as they went. Next in was Matt followed by John, who now was back to his proper colour.
Wee wanted then food. To save me cooking once home I went for the egg, ham and chip sandwich. Comes with side salad and some crisps plus a pot of tea. That will do me. T'others had various bits of grub.
Then it was time to carry on. We said our goodbyes and the on yo left. Matt led out with Nathan and John following. I followed Allen out but stopped to let a tanker out.

It was on the A30 the next time I saw Allen, his ZTT is quite distinctive at night as he has a reflector on the tow bar. I soon slotted in behind. We caught up with the others at the end of the M5. They split from us towards Torquay whilst we remained on the A38. Toots and flashes done with we climbed Haldon Hill with the Bear in full song. By the time we got to Trago Mills the Bear was leading. The traffic was quite heavy again, and as per norm the inside lane was moving better that the outside, which is where Allen was.
I was dropping Debbie off anyway.

Soon the Tamar bridge came into sight. Across the bridge, pulled off left and up Fore Street. Turned into the side road and reversed up the Lane to the gate and Debbie's house. Murphy's law, someone wanted to get past. So it was a quick unload, quick cuddle and a kiss and I was off again.
Allen was dropping Val off plus there stuff before coming round to me to drop my new chair plus my other bits off. So I knew I had time to reverse in and unload before Allen turned up. In fact Bear was unloaded and parked up in her space before Allen arrived.

Chair and bits unloaded and he was off home, again. Boy! Was I tired. But a quick put away of bits, read the post and poured out a wee brandy. Time to unwind, and try stay awake. I down loaded my photo's, all 198 of them.
I'll get them edited and a few posted up over the next few days.

So the Bear covered a total of 358 miles. Used no oil or water and averaged 20 to the gallon. Not bad for a 400 bhp runaround.
Many thanks for reading and the kind comments.

Next, and last, tour of the U.K. 2018 Starts on the 21st with Redfive.

Some photo's
 

A few photo's from the trip.

1 Across the Solent
2 The Needles through the window.
3 My new pocket camera.
4 Xmas cake.
5 Front of the museum.

Few more photo's. Not all are loading up.

1 "I woz 'ere".
2 Plaque at the front of photographic musem.
3 Sunset over Yarmouth IOW. Photo take thro' windscreen on Leafy.

The Bear........................
 

......................................... covered a total of 358 miles and used no oil or water. We averaged 21 to the gallon.

And it’s 3 years today I bought her from SonicZS aka Paul Collins. And we have covered 20k since then. Other than routine servicing plus the wee blip we had last year she has been quiet cheap to run. ((I have spent more on Redfive in the last 10 months than I have on the Bear in 3 years)).