Bridget the Midget

The journey from Abingdon to Modena had been largely without incident, the exception being our excursion through Piacenza. This classic Italian town is approximately 20 miles from Modena and we were travelling on highway SS9. According to the map this goes directly through the middle of town, but the problem with maps is that they don’t get updated with road re-routing, one way systems or, in this case, pedestrianisation (not sure there is strictly such a word).

Anyway, we entered Piacenza and found the usual glut of churches, cathedrals, narrow cobbled streets, etc. Then, as we approached the bustling centre of town we were faced with obstacles blocking the road and a sign that clearly (even with my poor Italian) was informing us that traffic was not allowed between the hours of 8:00 and 18:00, except for buses. In fact buses would not make it through the majority of streets because of their size. I looked around and decided I could probably find a diversion around the area and pick up our route again on the other side. After effectively three right turns we returned to the same spot although approaching from a slightly different direction.

I sat and pondered for a few moments and was just about to return back along our original route, hoping to find an official diversion, when a BMW 4×4 passed us and squeezed ever so carefully between two of the barriers. I did the obvious and thrust Bridget into first gear, and with my co-driver screaming “Noooooo”, followed the Beema. Mentally I was thinking if we get stopped just say “I was following him”, then pretend not to understand anything.

With Chris, somewhat alarmed, but hanging onto my shirt-tails, or rather Bridget’s tailpipe, we followed the Beema for about 40 metres before he pulled into a private underground garage! Undeterred, and refusing to skulk off back the way we had come, I gave an astonished pedestrian a wave and continued down the narrowing street. We turned left and right through streets only just wider than Bridget and on more than one occasion had to take several attempts to turn into a new ‘corsa’ (my Italian is improving).

We didn’t exactly scatter the Saturday shoppers, but many were certainly bemused, and some were delighted with the spectacle of two MG Midgets picking their way through their pedestrian precinct. I kept generally heading east, which was where I reckoned we would eventually pick up the SS9 again, having to divert around the main cathedral square which was completely blocked off. Finally with the drum and chant of “Boom, boom, boom – boom- boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, — ENGLAND” ringing in my ears we exited into the sunlit balustrades beside the SS9, our ‘Italian job completed.

We stopped a little way up the road and a somewhat grey looking Chris alighted from his car, Dorothy, and said, “Never mind the bloody doors, I don’t think we were meant to do that”.

We had Sunday free and decided to do some minor maintenance to the cars. The thermostat for Bridget’s Kenlow fan wasn’t functioning and I wanted to adjust her rear brakes that should have bedded in by now. Dorothy just needed her fluid levels checked and was running rather rich. Chris wasn’t sure whether to adjust the carburettors or not, as there is always the danger of upsetting the balance. Generally both cars are running well.

Monday morning we made our way to Marenello to find the Ferrari Museum and factory. Regular followers will know I am a philistine in matters pertaining to cars and although I love some of the cars produced by Ferrari I have no idea of the various models or much of the Ferrari racing history. However I can inform others like myself that Ferrari has won 31 Formula 1 titles, 16 Constructor wins and 15 Driver Champions. Ferrari’s cars original colour was not red, but yellow, the colour representing the province of Modena where Enrico Ferrari was born. However in the early Formula 1 racing all Italian cars had to be red until in the late fifties the rules changed and all the Italian teams changed their racing colour except Ferrari. For the Ferrari fans there is a collection of photos in the gallery and some special ones in Benji’s Odyssey.

Tuesday the 20th September saw us back on the road heading down to Ancona. The drive of 150 miles took just two and a half hours. Arriving, under cloudy skies, at 13:30 we were in plenty of time to say ‘arrivederci’ to Italy and sail aboard the Anek Lines ferry for Greece.

Following a pleasant overnight voyage to Igoumenitsa we drove the best part of 300 miles across the north of Greece to Kavala. This brought us back onto the original timescales having now made up two days. Although the cars behaved impeccably the weather was changeable, from sunny to torrential rain, thunder and lighting, and even fog. Dorothy misfired a little at one stage, but we think it was probably water getting into the electrics.

Another day of good progress followed, with us arriving in Istanbul a full day ahead of schedule. The border crossing into Turkey went well, around 40 minutes, and the road, although not in such good condition as the Greek/EU highway we had been on, was still in reasonable condition and light in traffic.

Locating accommodation, however, was a nightmare. Every hotel was full and on enquiring what was going on we were told it is like this all the time in the city. We ended up taking a suite in the Best Western (seperate beds for those wishing to start rumours), which was very nice but a tad expensive.

This actually marks the end of the European leg of the adventure.

Hi Fans, MG Benji here. I am somewhere in Italy according to Roy. He has fired me from my job as navigator saying “Even GPS would be better”. It wasn’t my fault because the maps are much too big and he handed it to me upside down. Anyway I told him we had just crossed the border into Belguim and he snorted and said it was just a speed hump we had driven over. He’s taken the maps away from me now, but otherwise it’s been great fun.

I loved the WW1 battlefields. I was able to crawl about in the trenches and peer through lookout posts, and I even found some sort of gun, but it wouldn’t fire. Roy took some pictures of me.

I have a secret that Roy doesn’t know about, but had better not say what it is here or someone might tell. I heard Chris and Roy discussing a car museum but I might take myself off to a pizza factory instead

The planning was over, the route confirmed, all the paperwork was completed and even following a late health scare for Chris, from which he was given the all clear 4 days before the departure, our African Odyssey adventure was beginning.

The weather forecast for Sunday 11^th September was atrocious but the God’s changed their minds and although the winds were gusting at up to 45 miles per hour the sun managed to shine for much of the day. MG’s started gathering in the Abingdon Town square a little before midday and before the official flag eventually dropped at around 3:30pm there were at least 30 MG’s of differing vintage.

Both Chris and I were kept busy chatting, not just to the many club supports, but also to interested passers-by. One particular senior lady approached on her mobility scooter and asked if she could escort us! Her scooter was capable of 8 mph and she had lived in North Africa for many years so her experience would be invaluable. I reluctantly spurned her offer as I was afraid she would out-run us.

At 3:00 pm the official town-crier announced the impending ceremony. Paul Plummer, the clubs International Director, made a presentation of a plaque for me to deliver, on the clubs behalf, to the South African MG Car Clubs to mark the occasion. Then with the rain threatening to drench every last one of us it was time to get on the road.

Jo Thoenes, from BBC Radio Oxford, had very kindly agreed to be the official ‘flag waver’. She had been commentating at the Blenheim Horse Trials until 2:00pm and had to hijack a car to bring her safely down to Abingdon in time for our departure. Jo also brought her parents along who just happened to be visiting from Nairobi at the weekend and they have offered us a nice cold beer when we get down there.

The first day driving and I was, for the moment, travelling in my traditional mode i.e. alone! Chris’s health alarm last week had put him a couple of days behind and so I went ahead to Arras, France to wait for him to catch up. Arras is some 70 miles from Calais and north of Paris. It is a pleasant market town, twinned with Ipswich, and has a picture postcard town centre. Just 5 miles away is the Canadian Cemetery at Vimy. The monument there is quite spectacular, commemorating the losses in the Great War 1914-18 and in particular those that perished in the Battle of Arras. I cannot help but think, every time I visit one of these First World War cemeteries, of the courage and bravery of the individuals, but the stupidity of man. The losses, on both sides, were almost beyond conception but they continued to waste lives for four years.

Arriving in Arras at around 3:00pm I knew immediately that I was to receive a warm welcome. As I parked in the square two middle aged couples were standing nearby with beaming smiles. As I eased myself out of Bridget one of the men could barely contain his delight as he rushed over to greet me. Although he spoke no English it became apparent that he is also the proud owner of a 1976 MG Midget garaged at his home near Paris.

I spent the rest of the day and the next exploring Arras and on Wednesday Chris arrived.

The next day was to be the first for us driving together. We left Arras at around 8:30 am with the sky clear of clouds and the wind more or less back to normal. We drove south skirting Reims then on to Chaumont, finishing in Nuits St George. The villages in this part of France are all very Disney image, complete with the classic Chateau. Nuits St George is certainly of that ilk but additionally the aroma everywhere is of sweet fermented grapes. It was really pleasant.

From here we would continue in the morning down to Chambery and then across the Alps via the Cenis Pass. Back once again to one of my favourite themes, mountains, and the scenery is just breath-taking. It turned out to be a long day starting at 8:00am and finishing in Asti at almost 6:00pm. We found a hotel almost immediately and also found out that the Palio di Asti was to be held on Sunday. I have always wanted to see the Palio and this chance just fell into my lap. Then I found out that there was not a hotel room available for miles, so I had to forego the opportunity until another time.

Asti is a pretty little town from much the same mould as Sienna although not quite as nice, but the people are great.

From Asti we made our way on to Modena. We plan to stay here for a couple of days and wanted to visit the balsamic vinegar vineyard (OK guys, if you don’t know what it is ask your good lady). However it appears that they are all away on annual holiday and so on Monday we will have to visit a small car factory just down the road instead.

That’s the end of this chapter of the adventure. There are a number of photos of the various parts mentioned. Because of the number of comments left from my round the world run and as I can’t reverse the order that they are in, I intend to delete all comments prior to this adventure. Sorry to anyone that left a comment to which they were particularly attached, but you can always try again. Finally, the charity donations are doing very well but please don’t stop now. The kids need your cash!

With only three weeks to go before the ‘off’ Chris and I visited Nuffield Place, the home of the late Lord Nuffield, previously William Morris. Nuffield Place was recently handed over to the National Trust who is trying to raise £600,000 to enable them to open it to the public next year. 

The cars are pretty much ready, just minor tinkering required, and the route still remains as originally envisaged (you can view the Google map of it on the Route page). We now have most of the required maps, carnets to enable us to temporarily import and export the cars through the different borders and visas for ourselves. 

We have produced a postcard showing the team outside Nuffield Place which is available for anyone that contributes to our chosen charity, CoCo. Once you have contributed, if you want a postcard sent from somewhere in Africa, then give us your address on the blog below (they will not be published). 

We have established a Twitter page, http://twitter.com/midgeteers, which we will be updating whenever we can, however not all countries may allow this. So if you want the most recent events follow us on there and help spread the word by re-tweeting whenever you can. Of course, this site will be updated and photographs added whenever we get a chance. 

Finally, we will be in Abingdon Town Square for the wave off between midday and 3:30pm on Sunday 11th September and will welcome all that are able to join us.

With nine weeks still to go before the planned departure day most things are in place for our adventure. However, nobody will be surprised to hear that the definitive route is still not set in stone because of the political situation in the Middle East. Our preferred route will take us through Syria, Jordan and into Egypt but we have two possible alternatives should this not be possible. The final decision will not be made until around mid August. The proposed route is shown in full on the page headed ‘Route’ and includes all the overnight stops.

Moss Europe is gathering together all the spares that we are likely to require and we will take delivery of those at the end of June. Scorpion Signs of Abingdon are putting the finishing touches to the artwork for the cars signage, including a route map for the cars bonnets in case we get lost. Also Frontline Costello will be doing a nut and bolt check of Bridget at their premises in Steventon in May just to make sure that I’ve done everything properly.

The cars are roadworthy and, hopefully, only require minor adjustments. There are a number of MG events where Bridget will be appearing between now and September such as The Old Speckled Hen run, Midget50 and MGLive, so if you want to see her in her ‘African garb’ pop along and say “Hello”.

We are receiving fantastic support from a host of MG enthusiasts based in South Africa, with some of them driving into Namibia to greet us.

Our finalised plans, together with details of our chosen charity, will appear here during August so please keep watching.

Since my last post Bridget has undergone further serious surgery. It started with my decision to replace the front springs and finished with completely replacing the springs, wishbones and king pins! One of the pins was so badly worn is wobbled around like a loose tooth, except when upright when it appeared to have minimal play. Anyway now the work is completed she handles very much more positively when cornering.

Our plans for the “Into Africa” adventure next year are progressing well. We now stand at five MG Midgets and seven people, including one very intrepid lady owner/driver. Unfortunately we have not to-date had anyone from Australia or New Zealand sign up but we live in hopes.

We have held our first official meeting and now have a confirmed route that will take us from Abingdon through France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Macedonia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and finally into South Africa.

We will be leaving during September 2011 arriving before Christmas.

More details to follow.

The early responses from Midget owners keen to join the “Into Africa” adventure had me worried. Several times during that week I went to the front door of my house to check that the doorbell still actually worked! It was devilishly quiet. Still it takes time for word to spread with something like this.

I am making good use of my time however and have started preparation work on Bridget. Her original wheels, she had Minilites on for the world drive, have been sat out in the elements for almost three years and so I have cleaned them, removed all traces of rust and repainted them. Steel wheels are far more suitable for African roads, I am told.

I have also fitted an upgraded anti-role bar on her steering and this week fitted Spax telescopic dampers to her rear suspension. Both of these things have improved her handling and should assist the rear springs to cope with the additional weight we carry on these journeys. I took her out for a test drive down to Wantage using the minor country roads of Oxfordshire there and the main arterial roads back. Before departing I made a number of checks because the last trip out she was misfiring at the higher revs. I found the spark plugs were sooted-up and leaned off the carburettors one and a half flats.

Bridget ran beautifully, no sign of any misfire but I need to consider fitting upgraded springs to the front suspension. It’s starting to sound as if I actually understand the technical bits! Whenever she hits a pothole or large drain the steering column shudders and the front end jumps.

I have now received no less than two requests from potential adventurers, making three cars including Bridget. That is enough to make the project happen although I will continue to try to recruit more.

I will keep you updated on our progress leading up to the start of the adventure and please spread the word that I am looking for volunteers. Also I need a cameraman/woman to join the expedition so if you know anyone that enjoys safaris please pass on the word.

Turning out my loft this week I came across my old stamp collection from my childhood. I collected only stamps of Great Britain and the Commonwealth many of which kept me, as a child, captivated by their exotic pictures and I often thought of travelling to some of those places when I grew up.

I never did grow up, but then I had one of those Eureka moments, why not drive Bridget the Midget to Cape Town in South Africa? We could drive to Turkey then down through the Middle East into Egypt. Heading south we drive through Sudan, skirting Abyssinia into Kenya. Maintaining our heading we will go into Nyasaland, through part of Rhodesia into Tanganyika, and finally South Africa. Can’t seem to find some of these countries on Google Maps but never mind the details.

I plan to embark on this adventure in 2011 leaving around the beginning of September and invite any Midget owner interested in joining me to contact me ASAP. It would be wonderful if at least one South African would join us as well as an Australian and even a Kiwi. Let’s make it an international celebration of the modern Midgets 50^th anniversary.

The total distance is approximately 11,000 miles, so we might be a little late for dinner. We will travel through approximately 20 countries and take around three months depending on where the group wants to stop, Kanak Temple, Mt Kilimanjaro, The Kruger National Park, Legoland, the possibilities are endless.

Please register your interest within the next three weeks and pass the word around, “Bridget is on the move, again”

Sorry I have been a little dilatory in posting this final report on the UK Tour, but I have been busy at MGLive! More on that later, but now the completion of the tour.

My last report finished with me in Whitburn, Central Scotland where Bridget was shown off to around fifty enthusiasts. Once again the weather was unexpectedly good for us and the Scots were their usual appreciative selves; not at all the hard to please audience of music hall fame.

The following day I drove Bridget down to Gretna Green where we would stop over on route to Knutsford in Cheshire. Bridget is a hopeless romantic and wanted to see the famous forge and listen to the lilt of the lone piper. In the morning we moved on to Knutsford, a place name, that until now, had only denoted a service station on the M6 Motorway to me. However the town of Knutsford is a charming ancient place mentioned in the Domesday Book as “Cunetesford”. It is said that the Danish King of England, Canute, forded a stream here around 1000 AD, hence the name.

I was parked behind a new Aston Martin DBS watching the world go by when a man approached and asked “Did you really go around the world in that?” Having assured him that I had we chatted for a few moments before he asked if he could phone me the following week as he had to go now but wanted more information about my journey. He finished off saying he also wanted to do a similar trip in his Aston!!

Once again I had another atypical venue, this time a cricket club. The talk started around 8:00pm and we finished around 11:30pm keeping the poor steward well past his bedtime. This was not the first time that Bridget and I have been thrown out!!

The pen-ultimate venue was at Bromsgrove in the West Midlands. Organised by Brian Osbourne, who had given us great support whilst we were still striving to complete our adventure, he had booked a local sports club with a truly great selection of fine British ales. Again, a very appreciative audience, no doubt helped by the beverages, it was a fine way to round off the travelling part of the tour.

The final presentation was back where we had started, at Kimber House in Abingdon. With an even bigger audience than the first event, clearly word hadn’t got around, it was a very successful last night.

My personal thanks to everyone that helped organise the interestingly varied venues, to the MG Car Club for promoting the tour and to Chris Seaward for his hard work co-ordinating everything, even if he still hasn’t worked out how much we raised for UNICEF!! Also my thanks, and UNICEF’s, to all the enthusiasts that turned up and supported us making it all worthwhile. I know we raised a little over £2,000 for UNICEF and it is very much appreciated.

Next stop MGLive.