Blog

Instead of my usual diary update I want to share a seasonal experience that has happened during my visit to Australia’s Gold Coast. It started when I received a message via our Bridget the Midget website, that said "I have just been reading in the local press about your adventure and may be able to help you." Ah, I thought, another willing MG-head offering me possible solutions to Bridget’s mechanical problems, but they don’t know that I have already resolved them. I will call this chap and have a chat and thank him for his trouble. I tried calling the number he had left for me but there was no answer so I decided to leave it to later as I needed to do a couple of tasks and then get ready to go out for the evening. Gary and Anita Lock, who have so kindly allowed me to stay in their home, are taking me out for dinner this evening so I...

On my first day in Sydney I was invited to attend the Tasman Revival Race meeting. This meeting is an annual event marking the races that took place in the 1960’s and in particular the period when Jack Brabham was at the peak of his racing career. There were many excellent cars both on display and racing but for me the piece de resistance was not one, but two genuine D-Type Jaguars. There are only 54 known surviving models of this classic racing car and they are worth in the order of £2Million each. The next day as Bridget was not running well I, with the able assistance of Lindsay Trevitt the President of the Sydney MG Car Club, removed the petrol tank and checked it for blockages. It appeared to be fine, but later in the day she stopped running altogether and left me standing at the side of the road. After half an hour things seemed to settle down again...

Rather than taking the major highway north all round Melbourne I decided we would go down to Queenscliff and take the ferry to Sorrento. From there we could pick up the South Gippsland Highway and eventually the Princes Highway keeping close to the coast all the way to Sydney. After a reasonable breakfast and a chin-wag with the motel owner we set off to Queenscliff arriving just in time…. to watch the stern of the boat moving off from the jetty. We would have to wait for an hour for the next boat. Finally at 9:00am we were aboard and on our way. We had Port Phillip Bay on one side and the Bass Straits on the other. I left Bridget on the car deck and went up to the first passenger deck to watch the dolphins. A pod was playing in the ships wake all the way over to Sorrento and they fascinating to observe. From Sorrento we made our way...

Geelong is a small town approximately 35 miles from Melbourne. It is built on the hills running down to Corio Bay and has a classic English style seaside resort pier. It was once dependant on the wool trade and there is now a museum telling the detailed story. There is a good selection of wineries, as they are known rather than vineyards, as there has been in almost every town and city we have visited so far. I made contact with the MG Car Club the first morning after my arrival and as at previous towns they have been tremendous. I had dinner with John and Sandra Bennett the first evening. John is President of the club. It has been arranged for Bridget to lead a gala procession on Saturday as a guest of honour. This is an annual fund raising event for the local hospital. I thought it would be a good idea to get some signs for Bridget so that...

We left Adelaide Saturday morning and set course for Geelong. I had decided to take the advice of several people and follow the Princes Highway to Port Fairy and then The Great Ocean Highway. The journey was uneventful and, not wanting to drive too far on the first day after Bridget’s repairs, I stopped for the night at Mt Gambier. The following day we left around 9:00am and continued towards Port Fairy. The countryside around is far more cultivated than any I had seen before and the animals to be avoided on the road now included Koala bears. So far I had seen very few animals of any type although there is plenty of evidence at the side of the roads of kangaroos being killed by traffic, mainly at night I am told. Bridget was driving well with no signs of any of her previous troubles and she was cruising quite happily at 70mph. I kept an eye out on all of the...