My meet up with !TTM!Zed

[!TTM!HeadUK]

On Monday morning I met up with Peter (!TTM!Zed) in the Brunel shopping centre in Swindon wiltshire, beings he flew from Ireland on the saturday to spend the week in Discot Oxfordshire with an Irish friend and wanted to meet me. I left Newport in south wales just before 9.00 on monday morning, and drove to Swindon which took me about 55 minutes. Just before i met Peter he asked me via a phone message to guess who he was out of the 2 guys waiting for me in the Brunel centre  . Luckely i guessed the correct person  .

We then had a coffee and a chat in the shopping centre, then i drove them both to the Great Western Railway Museum of steam in Swindon. We then spent just over the hour touring the Museum and looking at several steam trains and many other displays. After visiting the museum I drove them back to Swindon town centre, where they intended having a look around the shops ect before returning to Didcot. I just want to thank Peter for giving me the opportunity to meet him in person, and thank him for the generous donation he gave me just before we parted company  . 

[!TTM!slasher]

nice 1 rob sound like you had a great time 

[!TTM!DonPietro 比利]

Excellent mate, sounds good.

[!TTM!Zed]

It was nice meeting you too Rob, And thank you for the coffee

[!TTM!DavJaVu]

sounds great, wouldn't mind checking that museum out myself, love anything that's to do with motors or trains.
glad you had a nice day !

[!TTM!HeadUK]

If your into cars David, then i found the Haynes motor musuem in somerset very interesting  .

https://www.haynesmotormuseum.com/visit-us/how-find-us

[!TTM!DavJaVu]

thanks for the link Rob, gotta say that looks well worth a visit and i certainly will be putting that on the agenda. I've just bought another caravan so looking for places like this to visit during next summer.

[!TTM!HeadUK]

Its a great place to visit, and on the way to Devon/cornwall (Depending on the route you take). Plenty of classic cars from all over the world, plus some F1 cars as well. My favorite was the classic mini cooper beings i owned 5 during my early 20's. wish i could turn back the clocks 40 odd years  . 

[!TTM!DavJaVu]

haha, think we all wish that Rob, although not 40 years for me as im only 40 next march ( but a good 26 would do me fine )

I've never been a fan for minis if honest, only because im too much of a big guy to drive 1 of them - my very first car i drove though was a sweaty metty ( Austin Metro ) at 15 years old, god that brings back memories, i used to buy and sell cars in my younger days mainly for salvage and breaking!

i always kick myself now as i once picked up a 1962 vauxhall viva and also had a MG roadster, i could of had a beetle camper van for peanuts aswell but i left it thinking it was too far gone. god if i only knew then what i know now haha, i suppose that's life though !

i love stuff like the mark 1 cortinas, escorts, golfs, that sort of era. they dont make them like they used too that's for sure

[!TTM!HeadUK]

When I say turn back the clock 40 years, I meant when I was in my mid to late 20's and could afford to insure certain cars like the 5 Morris/Austin cooper S cars i owned. My x wife's father owned a breakers yard long before i married her, and he was always trying to palm me off with Jags and Daimler Darts that always needed major work doing to them.  The only car I had from him was a classic Wood & Pickett convertable 1275cc Mini cooper S with a rotten rear subframe and worn out engine. I had the engine bored out to 1473cc and the crank reground, then new oversize pistons and a 775 race cam fitted.  I replaced the rear subframe then exchanged the car a few weeks later for a Black MK2 Lotus Cortina  .   However I found the Cortina very arse happy in the wet, so I sold it and bort another Cooper S.  I also owned a Red Rover 3.5 V8S P6 car and a Yellow Jaguar 5.3 litre coupe but found both of those really thirsty on fuel, especially when i could fill up a cooper S with twin petrol tanks for £9 in those days  .

Nowadays the majority of people look for economy and cheap insurance when buying any car, and i'm no exception now that i've just turned 69. I currently own a fully loaded Fiat Panda Eleganza which does me perfectly  .

           

[!TTM!DavJaVu]

the good ole days eh Robert. you had some nice motors, i particularly like the sounds of the Cortina and yes your very much correct that when purchasing a car its about economy these days, seems things are about to get very expensive for us in the UK.

i also have recently bought a new shape kia sportage simply to tow my caravan, its a great spec and comfortable, has all the toys onboard with a panoramic roof also being the 1.7 diesel its cheap to run however it wouldn't pull you out of bed, but it just about pulls the caravan fine so it will be good.