2025 Rendezvous

[midgetman]

Not exactly mainstream is it? I've never heard of Blaze and can categorically say I've never watched it.

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

[ChrisA]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Not exactly mainstream is it? I've never heard of Blaze and can categorically say I've never watched it.

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

Blaze is on Sky and Freeview, amongst other platforms. Not a bad channel, but a lot of what they transmit has to be taken lightly, unless you believe in aliens and ghosts ??

[midgetman]

Which I don't, so it's probably not the channel for me.

I watched a documentary about paranormal investigators once, maybe it was on Blaze without me realising. They went round hoovering up ghosts and ended up with a big puffy type one on the top of a building. Most unbelievable, showed me that the whole paranormal "industry" is just a load of rubbish. The team had a cool car, though, reminded me of my dad's American estate car in the 70s.

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Which I don't, so it's probably not the channel for me.

I watched a documentary about paranormal investigators once, maybe it was on Blaze without me realising. They went round hoovering up ghosts and ended up with a big puffy type one on the top of a building. Most unbelievable, showed me that the whole paranormal "industry" is just a load of rubbish. The team had a cool car, though, reminded me of my dad's American estate car in the 70s.

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

Did that car have " Ghostbusters " written along its sides ??.

In the UK the ministry of defence had a department which dealt with UFO sightings . After 50 odd years it was closed down because there was not one piece of evidence for out of this world origins.
But , [ no names ], one of its top blokes now makes a lot of money from inventing stories about UFOs .
So , just like ghost stories , it is a large entertainment industry , and we continue to get these fantasies .

[midgetman]

Yup!

And I found it about as realistic as most paranormal/alien "documentaries".

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

[Peter Mallett]

Sooo, yesterday was a bit of a mare. I hadn't started the convertible XJS for a few weeks and the battery was flat, so having jumped it I left it to run for a few minutes then set out for a quick run.

Almost (about two miles from) home, the Throttle Position Sensor died. Car popped and banged a few times then that was it.

Had to call the police because it was stopped just below the brow of a hill and between two left hand bends. I called my local friendly garage man who gave me the name of a recovery chap.

We got the car back to my drive (big thanks to Thames Valley Police for their assistance), and we got talking about stock car racing and Spedeworth in Tongham (Aldershot) which was just across the road from me when I was a lad.

And guess what? Ian, the recovery man, still races with BRISCA; would you believe it, he knows Gordon from back in the day! So, we passed a pleasant 10 mins reminiscing about George Polley and the others who used to race at the track before he had to move his truck, which was blocking the road.

[Peter Mallett]

Sooo, yesterday was a bit of a mare. I hadn't started the convertible XJS for a few weeks and the battery was flat, so having jumped it I left it to run for a few minutes then set out for a quick run.

Almost (about two miles from) home, the Throttle Position Sensor died. Car popped and banged a few times then that was it.

Had to call the police because it was stopped just below the brow of a hill and between two left hand bends. I called my local friendly garage man who gave me the name of a recovery chap.

We got the car back to my drive (big thanks to Thames Valley Police for their assistance), and we got talking about stock car racing and Spedeworth in Tongham (Aldershot) which was just across the road from me when I was a lad.

And guess what? Ian, the recovery man, still races with BRISCA; would you believe it, he knows Gordon from back in the day! So, we passed a pleasant 10 mins reminiscing about George Polley and the others who used to race at the track before he had to move his truck, which was blocking the road.

[Mike Harte]

Until I took up flying plus spending most of the year travelling abroad, I used to take my boys to spectate at Bovingdon oval track - sadly long gone - a few times a year and I cannot full describe my admiration for the short track racers we used to see; just how close and fast they raced each other without ever coming together which was a change from watching the bangers.

I cannot remember the his name now, but the regular winner was a guy driving an Escort; all I can recall was that the surname struck me as being Irish.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

I cannot remember the his name now, but the regular winner was a guy driving an Escort; all I can recall was that the surname struck me as being Irish.

Probably / likely Barry Lee (#351 IIRC). Aldershot on a Thursday night was a regular spot for my Dad to take me when we moved back to the UK from c.1970-75 at least. Conversations with Gordon a decade ago have confirmed I witnessed him racing, and indeed as I always had a thing about Anglias I would have without doubt being a secret fan of his (I owned one which over time got the 'boy racer' treatment, 5.5Js, (steel) lowered, remote gearshift, 1500GT, all inspired by the likes of Gordon and George Polley. Mine was you guessed it, purple with a big yellow stripe. Im sure I have a photo somewhere

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by E.B

Probably / likely Barry Lee (#351 IIRC). Aldershot on a Thursday night was a regular spot for my Dad to take me when we moved back to the UK from c.1970-75 at least. Conversations with Gordon a decade ago have confirmed I witnessed him racing, and indeed as I always had a thing about Anglias I would have without doubt being a secret fan of his (I owned one which over time got the 'boy racer' treatment, 5.5Js, (steel) lowered, remote gearshift, 1500GT, all inspired by the likes of Gordon and George Polley. Mine was you guessed it, purple with a big yellow stripe. Im sure I have a photo somewhere

Unfortunately not Barry Lee; it was a name that started with Mc, but that's all I can remember now.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by E.B

Probably / likely Barry Lee (#351 IIRC). Aldershot on a Thursday night was a regular spot for my Dad to take me when we moved back to the UK from c.1970-75 at least. Conversations with Gordon a decade ago have confirmed I witnessed him racing, and indeed as I always had a thing about Anglias I would have without doubt being a secret fan of his (I owned one which over time got the 'boy racer' treatment, 5.5Js, (steel) lowered, remote gearshift, 1500GT, all inspired by the likes of Gordon and George Polley. Mine was you guessed it, purple with a big yellow stripe. Im sure I have a photo somewhere

Yup, about the same time as I used to go. I joined the St John's ambulance service so I could get free entry. I bought my Anglia in 1975. It also gained a 1500 engine, 5.5j's and classic front struts. I bought the wheels (Escort Steel Slots) and tyres from G Force Tyres, which is still there. The tyres were BF Goodrich and they always squealed when cornering. Happy Days.

[midgetman]

Well that was an emotional 60 minutes of TV. A documentary about Billy Monger completing the toughest Iron Man in the world, the World Championship in Hawaii. And in the process smashing the world record for double leg amputees.

What. A. Hero.

Totally rebuilt his life after that awful crash and is now dedicated to helping others along the way.

If you get chance to catch the programme on the iPlayer, please do so.

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

[gary396]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Well that was an emotional 60 minutes of TV. A documentary about Billy Monger completing the toughest Iron Man in the world, the World Championship in Hawaii. And in the process smashing the world record for double leg amputees.

What. A. Hero.

Totally rebuilt his life after that awful crash and is now dedicated to helping others along the way.

If you get chance to catch the programme on the iPlayer, please do so.

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

Agreed, quite inspirational. I’d heard about it but to see the work he put in and the effort required on the day was very impressive.

[Lancsbreaker]

Just back from watching a film premiere as part of the Manchester Film Festival - Hill - essentially the story of Damon's F1 years, but picking up on how his Dad had raised him and how he coped with the loss of his Dad - and of course later the loss of Senna as his team mate. Quite an emotional and and engaging film - largely featuring historic film clips and interviews with Damon and Georgie.


The show was compered by Steve Berry (ex old Top Gear) who I've known for years, and Damon attended to answer questions from the audience after the screening. It made for a good evening.


Film is apparently to be screened on Sky later in the year, and there will also be a copy available on DVD.

[Peter Mallett]

Happy birthday to Delta.

[E.B]

Happy Birthday Iain.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by E.B

Probably / likely Barry Lee (#351 IIRC). Aldershot on a Thursday night was a regular spot for my Dad to take me when we moved back to the UK from c.1970-75 at least. Conversations with Gordon a decade ago have confirmed I witnessed him racing, and indeed as I always had a thing about Anglias I would have without doubt being a secret fan of his (I owned one which over time got the 'boy racer' treatment, 5.5Js, (steel) lowered, remote gearshift, 1500GT, all inspired by the likes of Gordon and George Polley. Mine was you guessed it, purple with a big yellow stripe. Im sure I have a photo somewhere

Thank you FB I had a long career in Anglia's from1968 to 2014 with a 10+ year break to go moto crossing on two wheels and to get married ! I even used to use a twincam engined Anglia van to tow my Hotrod all over the UK and Germany/Holland ! at 15mpg When I went into circuit racing in1998/99 I won the first race that I entered and had a great time from then on.
I was very lucky in that I was sponsored by some very good people that threw money at me and had most of my racing paid for.
I remember winning a race at Brands and I was putting the car on the trailer when this guy approached me and offered me sponsorship to do the support races with the BTCC circus !

[GORDON STREETER]

I was up at Brands on Monday to make a video of a trackday for a friend who was running this Capri for it's owner. The driver was Charles Rainford who is driving in this years BTCC for West Surry Racing. He was certainly not hanging about to "impress" (probably terrifying) the passengers

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

I was up at Brands on Monday to make a video of a trackday for a friend who was running this Capri for it's owner. The driver was Charles Rainford who is driving in this years BTCC for West Surry Racing. He was certainly not hanging about to "impress" (probably terrifying) the passengers

Is it his dad, Shaun, who runs CCK Historics?

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Is it his dad, Shaun, who runs CCK Historics?

Yes he is a long time friend of mine that lives near me in the UK.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Yes he is a long time friend of mine that lives near me in the UK.

[GORDON STREETER]

Although I don't race anymore I still go to a few meetings and follow Moto GP and F1. I got interested in F1 again because my great nephew (on my sisters side) was headhunted and works at McLaren on the design side.

[GORDON STREETER]

I won't put the complete video of Charles Rainford taking people round Brands in the Essex engined period Capri, but this is the pace that he was going !
https://youtu.be/RLoTzZGV1CQ

[midgetman]

That's one hell of a passenger ride!

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk