Check out our bottom!!!!!!!!

Follow this link to check out our bottom.... Brooklands Museum !!

Yesterday afternoon we were just checking some event dates at the museum when we realised that a photo of the rear of our car is promoting the 2014 Super Car Day.  Our little "garage-built, recycled, up-cycled, costing about the price of a family saloon" restoration is sharing web space with REAL exotic super cars.
We were SO excited.  It's lovely when all Mark's hard work and creativity is recognised unexpectedly.  We've been asking people to 'look at our bottom' all day.... so I couldn't resist a quick post!

Into the 'Silly Season'...

Things have been 'challenging' recently.  In the last 24 hours alone my sister has declared a full 'Post Viral Chronic Fatigue' relapse AND my classroom has been broken into at work.  Nothing that can't be handled really.. but the relaxing Bank Holiday weekend seems a bit of a distant memory!

 

We spent the weekend at Donnington Park race circuit.  I found this lovely Bed and Breakfast in Kegworth - maybe 10 minutes drive from the circuit.

 

 

The lovely owners put us in the ground floor room.  Mark was in heaven... he could lie in bed with teddy bear and car (AND wife!!!) at reasonable reach!

 

 

It was a great chance to catch up with some of our Marcos owning friends...

 



 

..AND we got the chance to play on the circuit during the lunch break.  This is my view from the passenger seat at about 100 mph.  Apparently Race Control were 'amused' by the exploits of the silver Marcos on the club laps...

This is a race-prepared Marcos doing qualifying laps on the Sunday morning.  It was lovely to see a 50 year old race car being driven so well.

 

Another of our Marcos acquaintances was helping his nephew in the Classic GP2 races.  His nephew is driving the yellow car and went on to win this race convincingly.

Each afternoon there was a fly past by a Lancaster bomber, accompanied by a Spitfire and a Hurricane.  There something really special about seeing the old vehicles on the track and these beautiful vintage planes in the air at the same time.

 

On Monday we managed to be a bit more chilled - and even had lunch out in the garden.  I love eating a salad and cold meat lunch under the umbrella on the decking.  Sadly the weather doesn't look so great for next weekend...

 

Cleaning, sorting and other things...

It's been great to be on holiday for the last few days - especially when the sun has been shining and it's been blissfully warm.  I've started the process of 'catching back' on all the jobs that I didn't have time for during term time.  My harp - poor neglected instrument - received a general MOT and re-string this morning.  I'm also doing some 'in the corners' cleaning.  It feels nice to do things at my own pace for a change.

Mark and I spent Saturday at the 'Silverstone Classic' event.  The whole site was totally water-logged this year.  We managed to find a bit of hardstanding for the Kitten near the Marcos Club stand.  The Lotus Club owners were a lot less lucky and many of their beautiful cars looked as if they had been on a 4X4 circuit.

It's become a bit of a tradition to spend the first day of the summer holiday at this event.  It's generally very relaxed and friendly.  This year we chatted for ages to an Australian couple who had just driven their classic Bentley across Mongolia, Russia and Europe.  They'd been on the road for 51 Days - incredible.  I SO want to be doing that sort of thing when I retire!

I love the way that you can wander round the pit lanes at these events.  There are some fantastic photo-opportunities..

Plucky little number 68 was the only Marcos racing at the event.  Here it is in the process of over-taking an E-Type Jag..

There was a Balloon Display in the early evening.  This was the view from the passenger seat of the Kitten..

Here are the new pits in the evening sunlight.  Last year I wasn't sure if I liked the new architecture.  This year it's grown on me a little...

Here are the Group C racing cars thumping round the track in the twilight.  They are really fast and incredibly noisy.  I love watching them pull away in close formation.

Best of all, it was lovely to spend a whole day outside.  With all the oil, petrol and exhaust fumes it was hardly a day in the 'fresh air' - but it completely beats being in a classroom!!!!

Introducing Mark's "Girls"

While we were walking round Bristol there were periods of time when Mark didn't say much.  "Oh dear," I said to myself "I know these signs..."

It's got to that time of year when my lovely husband's thoughts start to stray towards his other girls... 

There are always weeks of planning and preparation (not to mention innumerable mugs of tea) before the season starts at Easter....

I am just about to become a 'garage widdow'...

These are the two other (extremely demanding) women in my husband's life...

This is "Annie" - taken on the track at Prescott Hill Climb

This is "The Kitten" - during a test drive to Aberaeron

To be honest, I enjoy being involved with these cars as much as Mark does.  We have a huge social scene round them and it's a fab excuse to spend days outside - doing nothing much - at racing tracks and other events.  When both the cars have to be driven to the same event, The Kitten is mine!

The only downside is the amount of time that Mark has to spend in the garage from January until March! 

While we were walking in Bristol he was planning steering modifications for "Annie" and a brake up-grade for "The Kitten"! 

It's a good thing that I love him!!!!!