We went to UK for 10months. This plan included getting to as many Triumph activities as possible. That was the plan but that's not the way it turned out. I had left my latest edition of Triumph World in Oz and bought the latest one on arrival in UK. That was when the problems started. For years they had had all the events listed but the new owners of the magazine decided not to put this information in the magazine, as they said "As you are all in Triumph clubs you know what is going on". Maybe they do but nobody else does.
We went to the Triumph 3 day weekend at Malvern at the Three Counties Showgrounds. We had arranged to meet the people we had met the year before but on arrival there was really no one there. It had rained for 3 days and the place was flooded. I went into the pavilions where the organizers were trying to run the show, no matter what. I did what I had to do and found the man from Triumph World, he was packing up. I commented about the lack of information in the latest magazine, and the fact that we were not all members of a UK club. He said he would heed my comments and see what they could do. Next month there was no reference at all to the UK events at all. Bye bye Triumph World.
Went to S&S Preparations, had a talk with them about buying some cars but after a close look I could buy better in Oz. More rust than paint, but the price was right. We decided not to carry on with that venture. After touring Scotland, Ireland and Wales where we saw very few Triumphs (saw more Morris Minors than anything else) we went to Robsport International. We had not dealt with them before but after this visit, I was impressed. Yes we did go to Rimmers as well and bought some sedan parts.
When we read the brochure from P&O about luggage on the cruise ship "Aurora", it said "bring as much as you want". So we did, 23 suitcases, with a lot of Triumph parts inside, and 2 TR7 nose panels. The Aurora did not even sink down a millimetre!. For those interested in engines, the Aurora is fitted with 4, V14, M.A.N. diesels. These drive 4 alternators which supply electrical power to the 2 electric motors to drive the 2 propellors and the rest goes to run the ship. (ie, keep the lights on in the bar) This gave a cruising speed of 26knots and about 28knots flat out. One engine runs all the time in port as there is a large enough hotel load to keep one of these large engines under a decent load. Despite Reception saying there were no engine room tours, I did get one. Depends how you write the letter and being a Marine Engineer helps too. In other words, do not take no for an answer.
Now, back to Triumphs, I was impressed with the turnout for the Tech Talk at Greg Tunstalls recently, if you did not go you missed out on a good day. My son said he learnt something, not bad for an accountant. I'd like to go to the next one but it depends on what we are doing. We will not be attending the Qld National Rally as we want to go to WA next year and we cannot afford to go to both, even if it is in Brissys back yard. So we will put the money for this years event towards the WA trip. (Have to get the TR7 registered now.) After being able to move a medical appointment we now are able to go to the trip to Bowdens museum. It will be Gladstone to Brisbane on the Thursday, medical on the Friday, Bowdens on the Saturday then back to Gladstone after the museum.
Is this enough to qualify for the "C" word.? Commitment to you!
Chris Roberts. Gladstone.