To Angouleme by Alvis 12/50 - Days 6 to 8

Returning to Brighton...
...Plus de repas, plus de vin, plus de fun

On Monday we set off to Saint Malo and stopped the first night at Le Lion D'Or on the Loire where we discovered that Monsieur Basil Fawlty was alive and well...

Tuesday night found us in Dinan at a lovely little hotel and Dinan is certainly worth a weekend break - it’s really beautiful.

Wednesday was an 08.00 start but in the event we arrived at the port in time to hear the announcements of the industrial action; resolved for us fortunately, but afterwards, expanded into a full blown strike.

We had a lovely day trip back to Portsmouth past the Channel Islands and then the drive home - what could go wrong?

Well, the driver in the overtaking lane on the Worthing by-pass had obviously had a brain by-pass as he cut from the right hand lane across me so that he could turn left. Fortunately I'd tweaked the brakes before we left Brighton but even so, our friends who were following in the Bugatti were not the only ones who thought the Alvis would fall over as I swerved and the car tried to do one of those clever stunt drives along the A27 on two wheels to avoid the "by-pass" man.

Luckily he drove off otherwise I think some damage may have occurred which wouldn't have been covered by my fully comp insurance.

And the end of the tale?

Just as we were passing Guernsey, the postman was trying to deliver the 120 Solex jet which had been stuck for nearly three weeks in the sorting office because the postage should have been 59 pence rather than 50 pence - Jobsworth?

I fitted the 120 jet (the manual recommends 115) and the car ran perfectly; slightly rich at tickover but no spitting and of course more reliable revving when double-declutching. The received wisdom is that Ethanol in petrol makes the fuel:air ratio leaner so if your car shows similar symptoms you should consider contacting the very helpful Carburretor Hospital.

It was a lovely laid back event and one which I would recommend to any Francophile but we could have done with three whole days in Angoulême as I never got to see the Cathedral, the paper mill or the famous comic museum.

We did 836 miles and apart from the spitting, the Alvis ran perfectly - enough to make the Bugatti owner go out and buy an Alvis, but that’s another story....well, let me put it this way, if we go again it may be the ex-Tony Leech Shooting Brake in front instead of the Type 40...or perhaps the Shooting Brake behind....

To Angouleme by Alvis 12/50 - Day 5

Race day at Angoulême

On Sunday we decided against public transport and we drove in to Angoulême; the sun was rising through the mists of the fields and it was a magical drive particularly when one of the marshals mistook us for the €300-entry rally cars.

We parked and escaped before the Gendarme pressed his case for us to move on - they're not really going to tow away a Bugatti are they?

Panhard

For Toni and I the morning practice was rather easier to follow than the racing in the afternoon. I of course walked round the paddock but Toni, despite my training (as I apparently snore) found the pits...well, the pits and very noisy, so she went to look around the Cathedral.

The winning Bugatti

I met up with Barry O'Sullivan, a new member who is looking to lease/borrow/beg a 12/50 (see Autumn Bulletin, Page 3) in the paddock who had driven down on Friday night and was driving back on Sunday night(!).

Citroen

In the event we only watched two races; the first comprised Panhard and Citroen single seaters. The Citroens appeared to be 2CVs turned back to front.

The second race was for vintage cars and comprised  Bugattis, Rileys, MGs, an Alfa etc....very exciting to see them sliding round the corners.

But 30 degree temperatures were beginning to take their toll and so we headed back to the Relais before all the racing had finished and the exodus had started. This time we opted for the à la carte menu which was to prove a big saving over the €39 menu and the Paris effect was still working!

Alfa Romeo approaching Carnot corner