The Last Post Indeed

Well our 2013 tour sank like a stone when the ferry hit the quay but the good news is that DFDS have now responded generously to our claim and we are back on for 2014.

Thanks entirely to Keith though we have managed to recoup much of our loss and can now finally put our disappointment behind us and look forward and focus our energy on next year - a year older and maybe a little wiser.

A firm date hasn't been set as of yet but looking to go over around the same time in 2014 with the same crew if James Dresch is mad enough to extend his invite.And yes it will feel like Ground Hog Day going back to Harwich.

So that mon petite braves is the last blog on here!

For 2014 it will be :


http://marlinsgotosweden2014.blogspot.co.uk/

The Last Post?

Well it seems like the ferry is going to be another week away from what my Harwich spies tell me. The boat was holed badly when it hit the quay so maybe some structural stuff came to light whilst undertaking the repair in Germany?

Two weeks out of service is a massive blow to all those passenegers like us who'd planned to drive to Sweden/Denmark as there really isn't much of an alternative other than going via Dover and through France/Belgium etc I suppose we could have been in Esberg when this happened and that would have been quite a detour to get home!

Rumours are circulating that the ferry captain was offered a tug and assistance that fateful Saturday owing to the swell but I guess we'll have to await the official inquiry for all the salient facts.

Either way nothing changes things and our 2013 Swedish tour was sadly cancelled, our generous host left with a freezer full of reaindeer steaks and all his (and our) year long planning in tatters.

Sincere thanks to June in Suffolk who kindly put me up for two nights at short notice and I enjoyed seeing Felixtstowe and Ipswich tho the weather was absolutely foul at times giving some indication of how the ferry came to grief. One minute it was fine and sunny then out of nowhere torrential rain and gusty winds

Financially we have currency losses (Swedish Krona is not the best denomination to be left with) continental breakdown insurance, out of pocket expenses for food & drinks, accomodation, parking, and fuel some of which would have been totally unneccessary if DFDS hadn't sat on it's hands for 36 hours when it was patently obvious that with the ship badly holed and a jetty twatted we were never going to get away on Monday.

Hopefully DFDS will treat our claim fairly and we can at least salvage something

Talking of which ...............

The Cotswolds or Bust

My lovely wife Tina swung into action with plan b) when she heard that, after 2 days waiting aimlessly in Suffolk, I was now coming home more than a little cheesed off . Unknown to me she'd been on the web and found just the ticket - a cheeky 2 night break in the Cotswolds - and yes it was going to be in the Marlin!

I had a day at home to check over the Berli (Harwich had been the longest run she'd been on since I bought her 10 months ago) and all was fine and the revised cooling system and thermo fan had done well.

With my holdall half emptied (well yes more than half emptied1) and Tina's stuff added we were off and had a lovely drive  to the Cotswolds where we just toured locally taking in the sights around Blockley, Broadway and Stowe. Great Marlin country and a good few classic cars and bikes were out to play too some in British classics from Holland.

Broadway Village Yellow lines? What yellow lines officer?

By the time we'd returned home I'd clocked up 580 miles since setting out for Harwich during which time the Berli ran beautifully so at least she had a good proving run. Compared to the roadster the extra storage is an absolute blessing and we had room for a large holdall behind the front seats and room in the boot too.

I loved my old Roadster but the Berli was an easy drive and the fifth gear makes touring a pleasure now I must say!  

The Berli emerges for an old coaching inn in Blockley - she certainly drew a good few smiles!

So yes my final post I daresay and we all now just await DFDS's response in terms of compensation. Reallistically we can never recover all of our outlay and considerable time lost but it would be a lovely gesture if they responded generously. 

 

Well the F**-k Up Ferry certainly arrived - our Swedish tour is no more!

Yes we had to wave the white flag after DFDS finally conceded Sunday night that there was zero hope of this boat ever leaving for Denmark (it's apparently now bound for a dry dock in Germany I've heard) and in any case part of the quay was also sunk too by all accounts and that wont be a quick fix either (After a dreadful day Saturday when it dawned on us that the ferry had collided with the quay, after much waiting, we'd decamped to the terminal where DFDS drip fed us with bits of info culminating with an offer several hours later to put us up on board Saturday night only to then kick us off the boat Sunday morning to stay wherever we could find a bed for the night with the possibility of a boat sailing maybe Monday night.



Well at St Albans it was all going well and on time


I totally accept accidents happen but it must have been abundantly obvious that with a boat holed below the waterline and a jetty out of service there was zero chance of a boat going out that night or in any hurry yet they still had us gamely lining up when we first arrived then frankly fannied about.

There was no water /tea/coffee being handed out to the queues and a couple of young DFDS employees were fed to the howling mob to explain the comapnies position - not that they knew that much either

What happened to all the staff that should have been sailing that night and why werent they drafted over to help those poor couple of girls and offer help to the passengers - especially the elderly ones and those with young children?

DFDS need to urgently review how they handle these kind of emergencies so that :

a) passengers are not kept waiting when there is patently no chance of a sailing and whilst an alternative crossing may be still possible
b) keep people properly updated with regular bulletins
c) provide asssistance in terms of food and beverages
d) be clear about what the support is and issue realistic timescales

We now have a trip that has been a year in planning completely written off, our Swedish hosts without our much anticipated classic car tour making its very first visit and an enormous waste of money on our part.

I'd like to think that DFDS will handle our claim sympathetically and I can't tel you how gutted we all felt. Its taken me a few day's just to make this post!

June and Daisy "Wave us Off" 

And a final shot



Filling up "before boarding" - If only we knew what was coming!


I guess it will all come out eventually - hopefully it won't be another Costa Concorde with some idiot captain showboating his seamanship and I guess the very gusty weather that day may have been a factor

As I said, accidents do happen and apparently the crew did a great job plugging the leak after the collision but DFDS badly need to up their game on how they handle such emergencies on dry land too so that we passengers are treated better in future.




Saturday 23.59 pm

Dunno wot's going on?!

Well, we should be on the ferry at this moment and probably tucked up in our cabins. However, thanks to a rather unfortunately timed gust of wind, El Capitaine managed to crash his boat into the quayside on the way in from Sweden and make a hole in it. Silly man! Sadly it meant that we were not destined to sail today and we were herded to the Terminal offices where chaos ensued while we tried to find out what would happen next.

Marlins take over the Morrison's forecourt

Earlier, Bob and I had arrived at the Mayflower, Brewers Fayre pub at a decidedly unpicturesque location just outside the Port. The rest of the intrepid travelers were expected any minute. However an unplanned detour in the opposite direction to where they should be heading caused a delay to their arrival and they had no chance to catch up on my and Bob's already-downed 2 pints. A friend of Pete's told us she'd heard there was a problem at the port, something to do with a Stena ferry.We weren't initially concerned at first. Off we set to fill up at Morrisons, after which we all managed to go three different way before we got to the queue. Then we heard that the distressed ferry was indeed ours and not only was it delayed, it had a hole in it that would need repairing before we could sail again. Eventually we ambled over to the Terminal to find out our fate and, to cut a long story short, we re-booked for Monday.

I'm writing this from home. Bob is home. Pete is with a mate nearby and Keith, Margaret, John and Dave eventually got loaded onto the stricken ferry as a floating hotel for the night, got given food around 11.00 pm and they are in a Travelodge in Colchester on Sunday night. On Monday we will re-group and try again to get the Marlins to Sweden!

I was able to speak to James in Sweden to advise of our fate and sadly we will miss out on the Reindeer steak tomorrow!

Check out: http://news.sky.com/story/1107006/harwich-ferry-crash-500-stuck-for-three-hours

Hi Sue,
As my old uncle George used to say "gosh!" Thank goodness the accident didn't happen with you on board in the middle of the North Sea. I have just spoken to my neighbors and they have promised to come in for dinner tomorrow so the reindeer steak I intended to treat you to wont be wasted!
To try to save at least part of your holiday you might all consider trying to get cheap air flights to Malmö or Copenhagen. Malmö airport is only 20 minutes from here and Copenhagen 40. I can make all 3 of my Berlis available and I also have the Toyota so getting around would be no problem. Ryanair do flights from Stansted to Malmö and the flight only takes 100 minutes.
Just a suggestion, at the moment I can't think of any better suggestion.
Big hugs to all!
James

Yes she is all ready for the big off to the Nordic climes!

Well she's all ready and raring to go and just waiting for Dave to come up from Somerset on Saturday morning then we can gradually pick up some other waifs and strays somewhere near St Albans.The boot is bulging with spare parts and "get you home" bits and bobs which you instinctively pack when youve done a few tours. With the Berli there's still space to tuck the holdall behind the front seats so I do sympathise with the Roadster folk who have to ration what they can physically take.

I still remmeber my wife lovely wife Tina trying to smuggle a pair of trainers into the Roadster at the last minute and having to wedge them just past her ears!

I was chatting to my pal who knows his cars and he reccomends using the Super unleaded in our sort of cars as he reckons that todays unleaded is virtually two star and the modest price premium could be offset by better performance and maybe even economy.

They also found that some of the older pre-unleaded Jap performance cars really don't run at all well on Regular unleaded

I'm glad that James mentioned a 200 mile range from a 7 1/2 gallon tank as that was pretty well what I guessed I was doing at around mid/late twenties mpg. Hopefully touring in fifth gear will be a bit better especially at Swedish pump prices!

My fuel gauge is a bit flakey and never quite sure where empty realy lies so I was especially pleased to find my tripometer was working again as that gives me a rough range to work to.

All ship shape and Bristol Fashiomn - I just love those flowing lines!

Well I've attended to all the obvious stuff so now it's as ready as I can make her and there is a sense of satisfaction when taking a properly checked over and maintained car away so you dont go breaking down with something silly.

One thing I always remember is keeping an eye out for anything unusual and thats where a good sense of smell often comes in. I once had an old car start to boil up (despite the gauge saying all was fine) but because I had smelt that certain smell of hot rubber/anti freeze etc I had a peep and sorted it before terminal damage occurred.

Also when driving of it often pays to throw a rearward glance for any other leaks as an oil dip stick on the B Series engine inmy old Roadster was once not pushed fully home (by me!) and again was leaking.

Anyway Im sure we'll all have a great drive and at least if one of us has any mechanical gremlins we have a mature and experienced pit crew!

News just in from Sweden!

Sweden look set to outlaw bestiality and close the "animal didn't suffer" loophole.

Zoophiles, you have until January 1st. Phew still time then! 

  

Final Word

But the final word on this section of the blog must go to our generous host in Sweden, James "The Judge" Dresch who is so kindly putting us all up. We are all very grateful James and sincerely hope that your enighbours will have forgiven you by Xmas!

Hi All,

Just a last minute update before you leave. The bloody Nordic gods have made their usual botch up of the weather. I distinctly said when cremating the chateau briand that I wanted nice weather NEXT WEEK. After arguing among themselves (and not finding the original request that has probably been filed under the wrong heading) they came to the conclusion that I wanted nice weather for this week.

 

 

 

 

Proof that yes they do have (some) sun in Sweden

 

God Thor (who had another opinion) reacted in his usual manner (I suspect he might suffer from Tourettes syndrome) with thunder and lightning but the other gods fought back and yesterday and today we have had 25C mixed with thunder. Finally, according to the Swedish Met office, they came to an agreement of nice weather tomorrow, thunder and rain on Saturday and Sunday and to continue negotiations about the weather for the rest of the week.

The conclusion is BRING RAIN CLOTHES and brolleys! (Wimbledon weather)
Today the weather has been fantastic and all your bedding has been washed and dried in the sun. Tomorrow I will vacuum the house and clear away some of the spiders webs!

Drive carefully and welcome to Sweden!

James

 

Swedish Tour 2013 - Final Planning

Yes the Final Count-Down!

Well Swedish Tour sounds very Abba esque and funnily enough a bio on the lovely Agnetha last night provided tantalising images of Sweden in the 1970's - I expect its changed a bit .........rather like Agnetha bless!

Cars are gradually being prepped and checked and some old hands have chipped in with various tips which should keep us as trouble free as is possible with our old jalopies   You learn from past expereince that obtaining a clutch cable for a Ford Sierra isnt what it was whether you ae in the UK or Sweden and a careful pre flight check can often flag up potential issues before they get to be a problem..

I had the odd leak with one from the petrol pump where it meets th eblock but all sorted now plus on efrom the  speedo drive. I also had a temperamental cooling fan switc so this is now set at 80 degrees plus  a manual override

The last job was to shift the HT coil up onto the bulkhead as itwas originally mounted very low down by the fuel pump so potentially not good for puddles!

We seem to have most bases covered though bar anything terminal like a gearbox though James has kindly offered his garage facilities at the other end.

As ever our limited luggage space will need to accomodate not only our personal gear but the usual car spares plus of course a goodly supply of food and alcohol.

So far we have myself ,Dave,John and Keith meeting north of Watford near St Albans and then we go as a mini Marlin convoy to Harwich where we will meet Sue & Rob outside the Mayflower and Lidl.

Tour Nick Names

As some nick names have emerged here are some suggestions for your perusal


Sue (Rodders)
Rob (Bobb)
Keith (Wallace)
Margaret (Grommit)
John ( Mister Brice Guy)
Dave (El Fikko)
Pete (Seaweed)
James (The Judge) Dresch

Where we are headed

Not long now !!!!

Keep Calm and start the countdown

Yes we are finally off to Sweden this month which will see the largest number of Marlins ever (well double figures just) to grace the shores of this Nordic country.

We have 6 cars from the UK then James has 3 cars (all left hookers) plus Jan and maybe another couple perhaps. This will be first time this number of Marlins have ever assembled in the Nordic regions. 

Not all mooses are on the road itself - airbags a bit superflous methinks in her case!

On  a purely selfish level travelling solo does mean I can pack a bit more stuff as Marlin's are not designed to take an enormous amount of luggage but having switched from a Roadster I now of course with a Berli have a lovely boot too! 

 

......So an Intinerary is gradually shaping up for the Swedish Tour 2013

Message from Bob Cawte


Hello All Not long now, may be time to think about what we will be doing in Sweden. I don't wish to set a strict itinerary for the week, but it would be good to have an idea about how many days of driving we want to do/handle. The number of rest days to break up the week so we don't come back needing a holiday ( OK for those who lay about all year ) James

Is there beaches we can have a picnic ( weather permitting ) or places like woods to stroll around ? 

Yes a wonderful array of wild life can be found by beachcombers

 


Don't want specifics at this moment, but would be good to hear what everybody thinks. Regards Bob

 

And a reply from our Swedish Coreespondent and host James "The Judge" Dresch

 

Hi Everyone,

I am awaiting the local "event" calander that I will be sending to you but it is not yet available. I thought I would make a few suggestions but leave the itinerary completely open, nothing arranged in advance.
Only 2 miles from me there are nice sandy beaches (bloody cold Boltic water) and fantastic woodland walks with great facilities for picnics. We also have exciting "Marlin" country roads for shorter or longer trips and even interesting bronze-age and viking remnants.

Well I'm all up for embracing Swedish Culture!

 

There are a couple of museums that I am sure you will find interesting and I have a garden that is a good area for anyone just wanting to chill out - have recently purchased a Weber type grill.
Please don't hesitate to ask any questions or give any suggestions, I will try to answer as best I can.
Offerings are now being given to the weather gods for June/July
James

 

From the editor

Its easy on these trips to try to pack too much in when sometimes its also nice just to take it easy and chill out a bit otherwise you can end up spending rather too many hours driving in my humble opinion.

 

 

We'll have a nice drive there and back so I guess Im probably personally in favour of going easy on the intinerary but I'll go with the flow.

Hi All,

I have just been to the tourist office in Ystad and they informed me that the "things to do" brochure will be available this Thursday. I will be there to collect some and if I can get post addresses to those of you that would like one I will post them to you. 

The journey to Elsingor (Helsingör) is worth the trip and is a whole day excursion. Normally, one would drive to Helsingborg on the motorway and take the 15 minute ferry to Helsingör and return via Copenhagen across the bridge to Malmö. On the coast road between Helsingör and Copenhagen there is a fantastic art center (www.louisiana.dk) that is in itself worth the trip and a good place for lunch.

The local museum I mentioned previously can be found at (www.johannamuseet.se) and is about 6 miles from my home - but it has no English text, only pictures. The motor museum can be found at (www.autoseum.se). The coast road to the automuseum in Simrishamn there are several nice Barbour villages and good places to picnic or eat lunch.

 

 

 

I would suggest that the group may on some days split up and decide to do different things. Even if I am unable to clone myself I can supply information and tips to anyone desiring to do their own thing. For those interested in doing Copenhagen or Malmö I would advise traveling by train as city parking is an expensive issue.

Now for the depressing bits. I have spoken to a friend who has a fully equipped garage so emergency repairs (god forbid) will not be a problem. Should serious problems arise on the road between Esbjerg and my place I can come and collect with a flatbed trailer. Spare parts for Ford based cars should not be a problem but BMC and Rover would be. I have many Cortina bits myself and my local scrap dealer will be open for the duration of your stay. Sorry to be pessimistic but it can be good to know these things.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

 

Best wishes

James

 

Well the Long And Winding Road Ahead Beckons Mon Braves

I see no moose - the long & winding road

 

 

Well its over 40 years since the Swedes switched to the right and can you imagine the insurance bill for the first few years? Ive just got back from Spain and managed to drive consistently on the right so hoping that the omens are good for next month.

 

Yes, its finally happening and I'm starting to check the car over and get my "what to take" list sorted with wine boxes at  the very top of this having just found out that lager is a tenner a pop in Gothenberg tho knowing my corespondent this could have be in one of those dodgy bars he frequents.

 

Returning from a short drive recently I decided to try the switch for the manual cooling fan and zilch

happened. Fuse seemed OK then later my wife reported a loud roar from the garage where the Marlin (stone cold) was growling away with the fan going despite the pull switch being off. Sounds like  a dodgy relay?

 

She does keep remarkably cool it sems when compared to my old B series engined Roadster but the crap weather has helped obviously and it was only just a random thought that had me checking it out so I'm glad I did rather than await a hold up on the M25 to boil up.

 

She is going into my pals garage next week for a once over and a thermo switctch fitting and Ive also noticed a bit of wheel wobble that I could do without when touring

 

As ever , best get these jobs sorted now rather than a week before you go so do get fettling folks!

 

I'm still trying to get to grips with Sweden but am relieved that English is commonly spoken as I think I would struggle given the following linguistic insights:

The verb of gråtrunk (Swedish for 'cry-wank') is grunka. Which makes these Ikea products seem a bit

weird:

http://bit.ly/10eSIEX

And if you think that was bad

 

American size 12 model Jenny Runk is the face/body of swedish H&M's swimwear collection. The spin H&M is putting on this is that she has a "normal sized body".

Which is admirable. Though it is likely to be drowned out at home by the fact that, in Swedish,

"runk" translates as "having a wank".

Yes I think I'll ditch my Swedish phrase book!

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

Yes although Sue kept it quiet late last year she officially hit the big 5-0 which makes her the kid of our Swedish Tour. Just as well as we were starting to look like Last of The Summer Wine cum whacky races so good to have Penelope PitStop on board.

 

Well almost the end of April and pretty soon we'll be talking about Sweden next month so amazing how its come around so quickly and now s the time to sort a few jobs. I discovered recently that if I want to use 5th gear I have to relocate my cigar lighter for the Satnav! There's also a coupl eof small jobs to sort but other than that ready and raring to go!      

Wheeler Dealers - Trading Up Watch out for this week's episode 3 as it features Sweden!

Wheeler Dealers - Trading Up

A spin off from regular show (where classic cars are bought then turned around for a modest “profit”) the eponymous Mike Brewer is currently on a worldwide quest to use the profit from each car sale to gradually trade up to a $30,000 motor.

 

The show goes out on Discovery Chanel and the upcoming episode has him going to Sweden by the very same route as us via Harwich to Esjberg

I think he is taking a Yank Pick Up over as American muscle cars seem to be very popular over there.

http://www.discoveryuk.com/web/wheeler-dealers-trading-up/episode-guide/

 

 

Snowdon snow versus Swedish snow?

Well, Bob Cawte and I have just got back from a trip to Snowdon, trekking up the mountain in prep for Kilimanjaro later this year. It was very snowy! I'm not sure how cold it gets in Sweden but I reckon there's more snow than we'd be happy to deal with in the UK, hence the reason why some fortunates are able to leave the country for a while and let the rest of the natives get on with battling through the snow drifts. I was glad of all my warm gear while we were away but hopefully we won't need any of that in June!

Hard to believe this is theUK

Nowhere near the summit yet!

Highest point in Wales :-)

On a completely separate note, the other day I drove into the car park at my gym and as I was walking away from the car, a man in a high vis jacket came striding towards me. Thinking he was a car park attendant I was ready for an argument as we don't pay in this car park. But I was greeted with the question "Is that a Marlin Berlinetta?". "Yes, well spotted" I replied. We then conducted a 10 minute conversation about how he'd always been interested in kit cars but marriage, family, fuinds etc had always got in the way of becoming an owner. He seemed ready to own one now so I gave him me card and suggested he contact so I could put him onto some people who copuld help him source one. He seemed keen but I haven't heard from him so I guess marriage, funds (the kids are grown up now) etc are still getting in the way. Shame for him but you can't have everything!

Sue

The Swedish Moose Test

Yes Moose's (maybe that's Mice?) can really fly it seems so maybe all that bit about Santa may be correct 

A moose test is a type of vehicle safety test designed to simulate the effect of a collision with an animal. The moose test
originates in Scandinavia, where large ungulates, or hoofed mammals, often roam the road, posing a serious hazard to
motorists. Not all car companies use moose testing, although many Northern European car companies including Saab
and Volvo do. Some companies refer to the test as an elk test, due to the greater frequency of elk in the region.

Collision with a large animal can cause serious damage to a car and its occupants. Especially if the animal has horns
which penetrate the windshield, the collision could potentially be deadly for all parties. At the very least, a vehicle that
collides with a moose will need serious body work on the front end. Most drivers in rural areas have the dangers of
animal collisions drilled into them from an early age, and will therefore go to great lengths to prevent collisions.

Swerving to avoid an animal can be as dangerous as hitting the animal itself, especially if the car is heavily laden
with people and cargo and the road is slippery. The moose test is designed to account for both animal collisions
 and swerving to avoid them, and is usually performed on a closed course with a professional driver, although
 some car companies use automated safety testing systems to perform a moose test

 

  Personally I think I'll give our furry friends a wide berth!

What are Swedes like?

What are Swedes like? Well rather than just rely on Mr Dresch here's something I found online.

Every country has its own distinctive characteristics. What you find most peculiar about Sweden will obviously depend on your own cultural background. Sweden has long been an open and accepting society and international influences have shaped and enriched Swedish culture.



As in all cultures, however, many old customs and usages remain; foreigners may at times find these unusual, puzzling or even amusing.
Swedes are generally held to be punctual, law abiding and respectful of rules and regulations.

Smoking, for instance, is not permitted in public places such as restaurants, banks, post offices or in shops. These restrictions are respected. When Swedes wait for something they form queues.
Queuing systems have been installed in many larger shops and most banks and post offices. Customers take numbered tickets from a dispensing machine and wait until their number comes up on a display. Bank clerks will simply ignore you if you don't have a queue ticket. If you're in a large store and there is no queue, look for tickets and a number display. This may seem strange at first but it usually ensures quicker service.

The habit of forming queues may in part stem from the importance attached to egalitarianism in Swedish political thought and practice which, in turn, has permeated most aspects of Swedish society. This is reflected in the large number of women represented in parliament and government but is also apparent in everyday occupations.

For example, people are normally expected to pay for their share when eating out with colleagues or friends, and tend to calculate the exact amount they owe. As a foreign woman you may be surprised to find that your Swedish date does not offer to pay for you. By the same token, Swedish women may insist on paying for themselves. However, many Swedish women still respond positively to a bit of old-fashioned courtship. On the other hand, it is not unusual for men and women to form friendships without being romantically involved.

At first, you may find Swedes a bit difficult to get to know. They may seem distant and reserved. But they can also make loyal friends once you get to know them. As a student living in a student dormitory with access to various student activities, you will have ample opportunity to make friends.
Swedes generally like hobbies and activities and pursuing them together with others is probably the easiest way to meet and get to know new people. If invited to someone's home it is customary to take off your shoes, especially in winter. This custom is upheld more strictly in smaller towns and rural areas. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, it may be a good idea to ask. It is also customary to be on time when invited to a dinner party. Eight o’clock means eight o’clock.

Most people moving to a new country usually find many things confusing or strange at first. This will probably be true of your first time in Sweden. Remember, however, that if there is anything you are unsure of the best thing to do is to ask someone. Swedes are informal and willing to help. This is especially true of young people and students, many of whom have traveled widely themselves.


 

Denham SHEB

Well, we all managed to-hook up in the tiny village of Denham on Sunday. In hindsight, having been there only a couple of weeks previously and having noticed how bijou the place was, I should have suggested somewhere else with a car park! Having once before arranged a SHEB at what looked like a very nice village pub, it was on the assumption that they would have a car park. Wrong. There were Marlins dotted all round the nearby roads and we all had fun and games squeezing into places that we probably shouldn't have!

They all had puddings but still wanted to see what mine was! 

Anyway, as Pete says, the pub was very accommodating and we had a good lunch and a natter.

Keith and Margaret Howell. Our token couple on the Sweden trip.

John Brice showing patriotism (!)

Peter had a 1940's newspaper picked up from one of his boot fair scavenges and we had some fun and games reading the quaint articles. Note the headline!


Well done to Dave Elphick for coming up from Curry Rivel in Somerset. It was great to see you and I was impressed, nay, horrified, that you came all the way up in that cold with the hood down!

Dave Elphick wearing his sheep

I would have suffered frostbite if I'd tried the same thing. In fact, even if I wanted to, which is unlikely in this life and the next, I had the hard top on anyway so that was that!

 Don't worry. I will have the soft top on by the spring and I will partake in topless driving in Sweden. They're very broad minded over there so I'm sure it won't cause a riot....

Sue

Swedish Tour - The inaugral Green Man meet

Well a good meet and a few waifs and strays turned up too! Sadly I still had this image of Denham from 40 years ago so it was rather busier than I'd expected and parking a bit disparate!

It was good to meet some fellow Swedish tourers plus some other SHEB members and we did get 2 Cabriolets and two Berli's turning up which was nice

On the left is Adrian Bull and on the right is Big Kev - wonder why they call him that, ha ha!

The pub was very good at accomodating us (see review on Trip Advisor)  but next time hopefully we can find a pub with a car park so we can muster a few cars parked up.

Dave Elphick's very smart Cabrio

Sue Roedel's hard top Berli. Luckily you can't see the dirt from here!

Pete Seabrook-Harris' topless Berli

We didn't frankly get to chat much about Sweden tbh but then again everyone agreed we are all pretty much on board/on the same page here.

Sue will hopefully post one of her reviews at the weekend so I shan't go into any further details right now.

Peter SH

Denham - Sunday Lunchtime Meet February 24th

Yes a joint SHEB/Swedish Tour meet at the Green Man Denham. See earlier posts for details!

 

From Jan Fagerberg in Sweden

From Jan Fagerberg in Sweden

Hi there – I heard from James about your planned invasion. I am Jan and me and my wife joined MOC recently. We hope to join you a day or two during your stay in Sweden. When going back you should avoid the way you came in,(over the bridge), by driving along the West Coast up to Gothenburg (250K from James) and then the ferry back to Fredrikshaven in Denmark.



Then you drive along the Danish West Coast down to Esjberg.
If you stay a day in Gothenburg we can show you our beautiful archipelago. Whatever you plan we will try to meet you guys.

Greetings From Lanzarote

Well Im still in Lanzarote but "looking forward " to our wet sunday in Denham next week! Sue will hopefully post later


Peter

SHEB update!

Well, I can vouch for Denham being the place to go for lunch as I was there on Thursday night for dinner at a lovely little restaurant called Da Remo. Denham village is delightful. But tiny. However they manage to have not just a very good Italian restaurant but TWO pubs withing spitting distance of each other. And guess which one was opposite the restaurant  Yes, the Green Man, where we will be for SHEB on 24th February.

Now I know where it is I can't possibly get lost getting there can I? ...........Ahem!!

Update from Sue since the last ramblings...

While I'm waiting for my friend to arrive for the theatre I thought I'd update the blog with a few bits about what's been happening in the life of La Roedel.

You'll recall I had to MOT the Escort and I had a couple of bulbs changed as well as a new fanbelt fitted. I also had to take the Marlin to my favourite pipe man in Basildon as the exhaust bracket had broken and the back pipe was resting on the axle.

Well! The following week I had to take BOTH cars back. The Escort fanbelt was squealing like a good 'un and the front headlamps weren't matching brightness. It was pretty inconvenient having to go back again but luckily I was working from home so I could drop it there and back without too much disruption. Turned out they hadn't tightened the fanbelt enough. Hrmmph. And although the headlamps weren't the same brightness, apparently it wasn't an Mot  failure so they didn't bother to correct it. Lazy I thought. Oh yes and they had fitted new wipers but one was already hanging off after 2 days and was beginning to carve a groove in the windscreen. They corrected that too. At least it was all free of charge. I should think so too!

The Marlin had been driving really well following the mended bracket. However the very next week I noticed a noise coming from the back that sounded like a loose seatbelt reel. On inspection, all was in place and solid so I investigated the boot. Nothing seemed to be rolling about so I carried on driving around. The next day it was worse and the next day so bad I had to drive back on the drive as I thought the exhaust must be falling off again! Looking under the car with the engine running, I could see the exhaust bobbling around and I thought the back pipe had come away from the back box. Blimey! Thought I. I've only just had that welded. How can Dean's welding be that bad all of a sudden?! Resolving to take it back to Dean the next day, I jumped in the Escort and drove off to my appointment.

The next day I blatted down the A127 back to Essex boy racer Mecca, Basildon. I noticed on the way that the noise was less some times than others. When I arrived at the unit, we got the car on the ramps straightaway and the first thing we noticed was that the exhaust was fully in tact. Huh? However there is another bracket holding the back pipe on and the bolt was loose, loose, loose! All I had been hearing was the bracket bumping up and down. Doh! 2 Minutes and 2 tightened nuts later, I wended my way back home to carry on with work. And the moral of the story? Check your nuts are tight before you worry where your pipe is going to end up!

Driving In Sweden

Useful Stuff About Driving In Sweden

The well-maintained, toll-free and vast network of roads and highways in Sweden offers any traveler the pleasure of driving. The minimum age for driving in Sweden is 18. You are allowed to drive on the right and overtake from the left. A warning triangle is a must at least 50 meters behind the vehicle. One of the most important requirements, generally not needed by other countries, is that the headlights must be on 24 hours a day. Like these requirements, there are several others to follow as you drive down the picturesque roads of the countryside.

Speed limit laws are enforced strictly for important reasons. Because Sweden is a heavily forested place with 54% forest area, there are several wild animals that can cross the roads at any time. As a result there are “Animal” signs posted at intervals that must be taken seriously. The general speed limits range between 50-110 kph depending on where you are driving.






                                                                   

Having got rid of a dodgy mascot on my Berlinetta I'm not too keen on gaining one of these either!

Seatbelts are compulsory both at the front and rear. Children under 7 years of age must be controlled in standard seats. If you are an international tourist, it is advisable to carry your driving license, insurance documents, vehicle registration documents and your passport.

Sweden is one of the few countries in the world that still has functioning trams. Therefore, trams have priority over cars. If a tram stops and there is no road crossing for the passengers to reach the sidewalk, the cars must stop to allow the passengers to cross. Although pedestrians have priority over cars, they are required to cross only at designated crossings.

The wide roads in Sweden allow you to drive relatively slowly without causing trouble to the other drivers. However, you must be careful on narrows roads where solid white lines are drawn at intervals to indicate that visibility is impaired in either direction. Therefore one must take extra precaution while driving on these roads.

Although fines are taken for offences, the police are not authorized to collect fines on the spot. If two or more offences are on record and the next fine brings the total to over 2500 Kr, the driver must go to court.

Sweden imposes heavy fines on violation of parking laws. Most cities operate on parking meters usually checked between 8 am and 6 pm. Parking is usually done on the right hand side of the road. You must be careful while parking at night to ensure that you do not park on a road that is going to be cleaned.

It is always useful to know a few words in Swedish to ensure a smooth ride down the countryside of Sweden. Keeping these rules and regulations in mind will definitely help you to make the best of driving in Sweden.

Police are not empowered to collect fines on the spot. Fines range from 300 to 1200 Kr, but if two or more offences are already on record and the new fine or fines brings the total over 2500 Kr the offender must go to court.

Maps showing parking regulations and zones in major cities may be obtained from police or local offices of the national motoring clubs. Parking metres are usually checked between 8am and 6pm. Park on the right-hand side of the road. If parking on the street overnight, check the signs to be sure you're not parking on a street that's slated to be cleaned that night. A yellow sign with a red line across its bottom means parking is somehow restricted in the vicinity. Sweden imposes incredibly high fines for parking violations.

Foreign licences are accepted for a duration of one year, after which a Swedish licence must be obtained.

Some pumps accept 20 kr or 50 kr or 100 kr notes; These pumps are called sedel automat; old-fashioned self-serve pumps are called tanka själv. Generally, fuel stations are open from 7am to 7pm, but in cities and along main roads they stay open until 8 or 10pm, or for 24 hours. You'll have to exit the expressway to find fuel stations; but on the expressway, signs abound pointing to them. In general, credit cards are accepted. Leaded super petrol has an octane rating of 96 (normal) or 98 (premium). Unleaded petrol is called blyfri 95 (or 98); and it has an octane rating