ON THE FIRST LEG OF MY JOURNEY FROM OSLO TO KIEL, THE COLOR LINE FERRY, AS USUAL, DESPITE IT`S CLAIMS OF "GOURMET DINING", WHICH IN REALITY IS A GROSS EXAGGERATION , WAS SERVING NORWEGIAN CHRISTMAS FOOD. SO IT WAS A SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE DOWN AT THE ITALIAN CAFF THAT SERVED TO PROVIDE ME WITH FUEL TO ENABLE ME TO CARRY ON. A BOTTLE OF UNREMARKABLE WINE HELPED ME TO GET THROUGH THE EVENING AS I SWITCHED BETWEEN CHANNELS OF NORWEGIAN AND GERMAN TV IN MY CABIN.
THE NEXT MORNING AT 10am MY JOURNEY PROPER STARTED BY DRIVING TO CALAIS ON THE AUTOBAHNS. OVER THE YEARS FROM 1967 TO THE PRESENT DAY i`VE SEEN THE STANDARD OF GERMAN DRIVING SLUMP REMARKABLY TO THE POINT THAT I FOUND IT TOO STRESSFUL TO DRIVE ON THEM. NOWADAYS THE STANDARD IS MUCH BETTER ALTHOUGH THERE ARE STILL SOME CLOWNS THAT LIKE TO DRIVE AT HIGH SPEED ON THE TWO LANE CARRIAGEWAYS. WELL I`VE GOT NEWS FOR THEM, THE SPIRITS OF DEAD TEUTONIC DRIVERS KILLED IN MOTORING ACCIDENTS DON`T END UP IN VALHALLA DRINKING WITH ODIN.
IN THE GARAGE AT MY HOUSE IN RUFFEC ARE GATHERED A COLLECTION OF UNFULFILLED DREAMS, THE ENGINES THE CHASSIS PARTS, PROJECTS THAT I STARTED BUT HAVE NEVER HAD THE TIME OR MONEY TO COMPLETE! ITS A DEPRESSION BOMB WHICH EXPLODES IN MY BRAIN EVERY TIME THAT I SEE IT. I GATHERED UP SOME OF THEM AND PACKED THEM IN MY ALREADY OVERLOADED CAR.
THE DRIVE FROM RUFFEC TO CALAIS WAS GOOD AS USUAL SINCE THE A28 MOTORWAY WAS FINISHED IT HAS CUT DOWN THE JOURNEY TIME CONSIDERABLY, ALTHOUGH THE TOTAL TOLLS ARE OVER 40 EUROS NOW.
AFTER DELIVERING THE BENTLEY PARTS THAT I HAD SOLD TO LUCKY BITSA BUILDERS AND CATCHING UP WITH THE CHILDREN IT WAS TIME TO RETURN TO NORWAY AS MY WIFE IS STILL UNWELL AND NEEDED ME BACK HOME.
THE JOURNEY BACK STARTED WITH THE FERRY FROM HARWICH TO THE HOOK OF HOLLAND WHERE I HAD ARRANGED TO OVERNIGHT AT THE PALATIAL HOTEL OF 4 LITRE BLOWER MAN BERT DEGENAAR NEAR AMSTERDAM. BERT HAS RECENTLY BOUGHT THAT FAMOUS 4.5 RACER "BLUEBELLE" AND TELLS ME THAT HE IS VERY PLEASED WITH HIS PURCHASE.
BERT WAS BUSY WITH BUSINESS COMMITMENTS SO WE DIDN`T HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO CHAT BUT DURING THE CONVERSATION WE TALKED ABOUT FUTURE PROJECTS AND ONE OF THOSE WAS THE PRODUCTION OF AN ALUMINIUM CYLINDER HEAD FOR THE 4 LITRE ENGINE. SEVERAL YEARS AGO I HAD SEEN THAT THE WAY FORWARD WITH IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE 4 LITRE ENGINE WAS TO DESIGN A HEAD THAT WOULD BE MORE EFFICIENT COMPARED WITH THE ORIGINAL RICARDO DESIGNED HEAD BUT HAD SHELVED THIS DUE TO THE USUAL STUMBLING BLOCKS OF TIME AND MONEY,
ON THE DRIVE TO KIEL MY BRAIN WAS ALIVE WITH THE POSSIBILITIES OF WHAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT AND MORE, THINGS WERE LOOKING UP, THERE`S LOTS OF WORK TO BE DONE!
I`M ADDING A PAGE TO THE SITE ABOUT THIS AND OTHER PROJECTS THAT I WILL PURSUE. LINK
ALAN