Hello all,
the first cars that I can remember were all LBCs. I suppose since I was
in England at the time that is not too suprising. My family did not own
a car for many years, but various relatives did. One of my uncles had
an Austin 7 with an aah-oogah horn. My grandmother had a Mini Traveller
(woody). My other uncle had an Autin A40 which he used to take me on
many enjoyable sunday drives. In the more exotic line, my Godmother who
was a minor member of the aristocracy, (Viscountess Faulkland), used to
have a new Jag each year. She lived in Fowey (Cornwall) and I remember
one occasion when she took me around to visit another local car
enthusiast. This was Prince Chula of Siam who was a racing driver of
some note in past times, (relative of Prince Bira). I don't remember
much of the visit beyond seeing a large cabinet full of cups. It was a
pity I was too young to have the sense to ask to see what he had in the
garage. My first exposure to MGs was a neighbour who had a MG in a
semi-permanent state of disassembly. He did get it functional one day
and take me for a ton-up ride on the local main road.
In 1962 we moved to Beirut, (Dad worked for the BBC). We had
company car in the form of an LWB Landrover. We went everywhere in this
car, (maybe because we got free petrol). We used to go camping up in
the mountains. Had wonderful picnics above the Bakkar Valley, (not
recommended these days). We visited Crusader castles in Syria and made
a trips to Damascus and Jerusalem. The Landy was a wonderfully sturdy
car; one night my Dad came upon an unmarked ditch that someone had
decided to dig across the road. The car hit the earth bank and jumped
right over the ditch. The shocks were a bit worse for wear but
otherwise it was unharmed. I also seem to remember going for a ride in
someones Sumbeam Alpine.
In 1968 we emigrated to Australia. I bought my first car there, a
1963 Mini. I learnt to drive with this car and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I wish I could afford one now. My first experience with 'collector
cars' was with a friend of the family who had quite a few old cars in
his garage, (the Mercedes and BMW daily drivers had to sit outside). He
took me to a car show in his 1929 Rolls Royce. Elegant piece of
machinery. Straight 8 about 8 litres. 10-80 in top gear, and you could
play tennis in the back seat.
Enough of this for now. Thanks to whoever started this thread. I
enjoyed the memories that writing this brought back. I also thoroughly
enjoyed reading about everyone else's experiences. There is a wonderful
collection of memories out there.
Cheers,
Simon
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