Where It All Began......

Today was a scorcher and with plenty of locks to work it wasn't going to be flash. Heading for Stratford on the Stratford -on-Avon Canal we stopped briefly at Hockley Heath for Leonie and Pam to walk to the village post office funilly enough to post a post card.

Upon their return Leonie told me of a race car in a window. I better check it out.

I jump on the push bike with camera and find the target in a  Up Market  looking show room with new Bentleys, Rolls- Royce and Porsche cars in another room.  I tried to take a photo through the show room window but to much reflection. Then I see a dude in Flash clothes walk across the show room floor so I give him the "Gidday Mate" wave, Nothing. So around the building to the reception entrance I pedal, park the bike up to resemble a Porsche and in I go. Explaining that I was from NZ and that that race car thing all started from there and could I take a photo met with a "Sorry that show room is closed".
Well I explained again about smudgeing the windows trying to get a photo so please can some one let me in sort of thing.
After some interrogation of my objectives and  two phone calls another dude comes down stairs and explains that everything in there is so valuable, well I new that because I saw that Dudes clothes. If I promise not to touch he'll let me in, escorted, and stay by my side and it won't be for long. Okay mate..
 The Show room belonged to Rybrook  Specialist Cars, thanks for the session..

Nobody in that whole building seemed to dress appropriately for the heat of the day..

 

 

 

Couldn't have been my dress code that made them Wary. Add the camera round the neck plus the bike  and I looked like a Million Bucks I reckon....


The race car was a McLaren F1 that was driven by the late, 3 times world champ, Ayrton Senna.
NZer Bruce McLaren started it all in 1963....

My chaperone told me 2,000,000  value on this.....

 

Plenty of Down Force at this end.....

 

First F1 design to have the driver in a "Lay Down" position...  Now standard...

 

The Senna  name on the top air intake...



Then there  were  McLaren cars for the road. The company is to produce several different models with production at about 1000 cars per year....

 

In the 140,000 to 260,000 Quid bracket depends on your choice of Extra's....



They also had a McLaren road car with no body....  Aparrently I couldn't afford that either...




Rear end and motor...

 

Centre and side section... Extremely strong Monocoque type construction...

 

Front on with Large chassis rail  protection and built in Crumple Zones...

 

Then a couple of locks along a Fine English Gentleman drove over us, on a bridge, and pulled into the Lapworth Cricket Club. Had a chat and  Leonie went on photo duty...

A Nice Morgan was his wheels.....


The Mother in Law wanted a push bike to check out the tow path or venture farther...
So we got a new one off the net...

.

It's a fold up job, 20 inch wheels and a carrier..  Out of Retirement to assemble it...

Happy as a " Pig In S - - - " ......


Pams been hangin out to do some locks,  well today we done 25 and she's not hangin out so much...


This was the first lock ..  you do one side like this....

About 11 seconds after this photo shot the Windlass in her hand was in the bottom of the canal......
"Not like That"......

Another windlass, that's more like it......   22 to go....

You can use Anything You Like to Push With....

Tomorrow an easier day,   24 locks....