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| the British Leyland MGB GT V8 in 'Harvest Gold'. Click to enlarge all images |
We once owned an MGB GT V8. It was long, low, corn yellow and fast. In those heady days, when we were in our thirties, it mattered not that to alight from this car one needed to roll out onto the pavement, nor did it then concern us that the boot ['trunk' to our valued American readers] held only a vanity case and then was full. Those were the times when we were supple enough to cope with such manoeuvres and when the erratic availability of 5* petrol, combined with limited luggage space, did nothing to discourage forays into the remoter counties of England and Wales. We loved that motor car with a passion which subsequent vehicles of convenience never managed to equal.
And we are reminded of our golden speed machine as the Magyar Nagydij [Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix] circus rolls into town. This weekend an international crowd of drivers, mechanics, bodyguards, press officers, WAGs, groupies and aficionados will gather at the Hungaroring at Magyoród near to Budapest. All in the name of crowning the 2011 Hungarian King of Speed.
The Hungaroring has been the site for this annual contest since 1986 when Bernie Ecclestone historically negotiated a slot in the F1 calendar for Hungary, a country at that time behind the Iron Curtain. And so it remains to this day the only country in Eastern Europe represented in Formula One Grand Prix Racing.
The track is the slowest, the twistiest and the driest of all those in the F1 series and has earned itself the dubious reputation of a 'procession race' as it is, apparently, so very difficult for drivers to find opportunities to pass.
This year's race will be the centenary for the 2.4 litre V8 engine, compulsory since 2006.
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| the bonnet lifted to reveal a V8 engine designed to run on 5* petrol |
And we are reminded of our golden speed machine as the Magyar Nagydij [Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix] circus rolls into town. This weekend an international crowd of drivers, mechanics, bodyguards, press officers, WAGs, groupies and aficionados will gather at the Hungaroring at Magyoród near to Budapest. All in the name of crowning the 2011 Hungarian King of Speed.
The Hungaroring has been the site for this annual contest since 1986 when Bernie Ecclestone historically negotiated a slot in the F1 calendar for Hungary, a country at that time behind the Iron Curtain. And so it remains to this day the only country in Eastern Europe represented in Formula One Grand Prix Racing.
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| a highlight of the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix at Magyoród near Budapest |
The track is the slowest, the twistiest and the driest of all those in the F1 series and has earned itself the dubious reputation of a 'procession race' as it is, apparently, so very difficult for drivers to find opportunities to pass.
This year's race will be the centenary for the 2.4 litre V8 engine, compulsory since 2006.
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| the tailgate of the MGB GT V8 motor car |
So when in a day or so those gleaming, low slung , metal bullets on wheels roar round the tight bends, as they will, then we shall raise a glass and drink a champagne toast to our own erstwhile days of burning rubber!
We have such a race in Trapani, Sicily too...people get on their "vintage" cars and race upt to the Mount Erice...scary, but very exciting! I'm following you from Rome!
ReplyDeletethat is a sweet car!...i can imagine that it was a lot of fun cruising in the banana yellow...i once owned a MGB myself...those were the days. My husband just came across an austin healy that he wants to buy....so we might be sporty again...(getting in and out might be slower this time)but...life is short and having fun keeps us young!
ReplyDeleteCiccia:
ReplyDeleteWe are so delighted to welcome you as our latest Follower and have been pleased to return the compliment.
The vintage car race in Sicily sounds very interesting but not for the faint-hearted we are sure!!
Mermaid Gallery:
ReplyDeleteSusan, go for it!
The Austin Healey sounds wonderful but any fun sports job would be good. We have no car at all now and riding a bus, no matter how interesting the fellow passengers, really just is not the same!!!
What a fabulously fun car. It must have been great to drive. My husband loves Formula One and will no doubt be glued to the tv in a couple of days. Have a terrific weekend and enjoy the champagne. Fifi
ReplyDeletethat is a beautiful car! how lucky you were to have owned one. our favorite car was a 1963 corvette stingray. while in our early 20's driving up and down the california coast we really thought we were something. oh those were the days. then #1 son came along and responsibilities set in and it was sold. today i can't bear to hear larry tell me what they now go for.
ReplyDeleteOh that is top banana! I love the idea of you two rolling out onto the pavement - and before cocktail hour too.
ReplyDeleteI would love a vintage car, although mine is so old now it almost is!
Oh how lovely! Sadly by the early '80s when I got my 1st car it was more function over form. But I did love my little Honda Civic with it's white body & black vinyl roof. I'd 'appropriated' it from my mother :-)
ReplyDeleteAntoinette
Life without wheels would be difficult for me. I've been cruising since the late '60's, but never in so cool a vehicle as this. The closest was a boyfriend with a dark green Austin Healey, once upon a time, long ago.
ReplyDeleteYes, rolling out onto the pavement is a good description. :)
What a totally cool car you had! I love the color. I have a teeny tiny wild streak in me, and that is to drive a race car around the track, "burning rubber". :) I join you in your toast. I fondly remember those days when nothing was a problem, it was all good! xo
ReplyDeleteThat is a car! What a beauty!
ReplyDeleteFifi B:
ReplyDeleteYes, it was enormous fun, but the garage bills were not so funny as the car was only produced for a short period and parts were very expensive.
We have never really seen the attraction in watching cars go round and round a track but watching all the goings-on around it all is fascinating.
The Gardener's Cottage:
ReplyDeleteOh how we like the sound of your 1963 Corvette Stingray. And, how well we can imagine the two of you zooming along coastal roads, wind in your hair and never a thought of how a mortgage was to be paid. We were there too, in spirit, but not in California sadly!
I lost something of importantance in an MG, I then became known for my supple manoeuvres...
ReplyDeleteSx
Happy Days...
I've promised myself one of these when I no longer have truck loads of boys to ferry around everywhere. I bet you cut such a dash racing through the countryside. Were chiffon scarfs involved?
ReplyDeleteYes, the V8s were the only ones worth having, and fun - in straight lines...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful car!
ReplyDeleteMy dad used own an Austin car which i thought was very unfashionable. I think differently now.
That car faithfully took us to the seaside for years and years. The camping tent would go on top od the car, food and other important stuff were packed inside and my mum would create a little make shift bed for me and my sister. We would set off on our journey around 3-4am and travel for about 8 hours. Our parents would drive and we would read and sleep at the back. As we would approach the coast, we would make a bet that who ever 'sees' the sea first, gets an icecream. Of course, it was always my sister or me that won the bet!
Lovely memories inspired by your post. Thank you for that.
Also, there is a little message in my comments on my blog.
Enjoy your champagne and the rest of the day.
Bourbon and Pearls:
ReplyDeleteThose were indeed the days when 'rolling out' was all part of the fun. As was playing with the electrically operated windows and wireless aerial- a complete novelty at the time!
Those MGB GTs were wonderful. I lusted after one of its contemporaries, the Triumph Spitfire. Read all about it, ordered the brochure, and planned on British Racing Green with tan interior. Unfortunately the dream died when I went to the dealership and sat behind the wheel. I was too tall to have any foot room for shifting.
ReplyDeleteNiall and Antoinette:
ReplyDeleteOne always remembers one's first car with fondness, rather like a first love. Perhaps it all has to do with the new found freedom that one suddenly has? And the world appears to be one's oyster!!
Now that is style and the colour is so fitting for such a classy car and couple.
ReplyDeleteYour description neglected to mention a back seat,so I shall ask no questions and rest my case.
I once had a Datsun 280ZX black and silver with a "t roof" I just loved it and nothing has matched up to it since.
Enjoy the Grand Prix
Helen xx
Teresa Evangeline:
ReplyDeleteWe can well appreciate that for you, as for so many who live in the country, a car is a necessity. For us now, a car is a burden since in both Budapest and Brighton parking is very difficult and hugely expensive. In addition, Budapest has a wonderful public transport system which is totally free [including trains] for every EU citizen over 65.....we are nearly there!!
how exciting ! to have an F1 in your area!!! now about cars, i can`t say much. i got my driving license when 38 ( thats not long ago by the way) and i drive a used polo - but is blue and thats something i like a lot about it ; )
ReplyDeleteenjoy your champagne my friends : )
Barbara F:
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect gift [to yourself if need be]this would be for your next birthday. Perhaps a 'go' at a skid pan would be fun too!!
Yes, the freedom of youth was wonderful. We are not sure, however, if we have ever really become what one might call sensible!
Nina:
ReplyDeleteThank you. We loved it too.
You lucky people - the MGB GT V8 is beautiful, and no better colour than corn yellow. I have a penchant myself for the classic Mercedes - it has such sturdy, elegant workmanship - but I can certainly see the appeal of belting up to the Ritz in the MGB and rolling out in a thrilling tangle of hat boxes, pearls and white boots. In comparison, modern cars are awful and should be kept well within the confines of the housing estates.
ReplyDeleteThat certainly is a beautiful motor car. I have never been able to drive, but for a car like that I would have tried much harder.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beauty is that MG and Harvest Gold is so apt - just the right colour to drive around in glorious countryside! Oh yes, I can just imagine the two of you rolling out on to the pavement!
ReplyDeleteI must say Formula One kind of passes me by (scuse' the pun!) but the OH will sit and watch it on TV, just waiting for something exciting to happen ...!
Have a great weekend - are you going to be there?
Jeanne
x
Scarlet Blue:
ReplyDeleteWe always regard you as someone who would rise to any challenge!! Did you take up Gymnastics?
Beautiful narrative and great pictures; sounds like a wonderful time
ReplyDeleteHi Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteWow, wow, wow, love that car. An acquaintence has a restored MGB that he keeps in his garage and may take out once a year. It is one attention grabber! How lucky you are to have had the experience of owning one. I'd say that you are one cool couple.
Caroline Lovis:
ReplyDeleteWhere scarves are concerned, we have always borne in mind the fate of Isadora Duncan!!
Had we had children, then things, and cars, might have been very different.
Tom Stephenson:
ReplyDeleteYes, great fun, and there were only ever under 3,000 of them. At high speeds, we do recall something which the garage would refer to as 'wheel wobble'. All very alarming!!
We're both big fans of F1 and try to not miss a race (on television sadly, not in real life) so we will be glued to Hungary for Saturday qualifying and Sunday's race.
ReplyDeleteThe MGB GT was one of the most beautiful cars ever built and the mustard yellow was perfect for it.
If only they could have made them with more reliability...
We still have a Mercedes sports for sunny days and as the years progress a crane is almost required to exit the beast so I can relate to your comments!
I am a car nut, or as they call in Great Britain " a petrol head" and therefore a great Formula1, fan as well. The only thing that comes to mind with F 1, racing is a lot of noise of those V8 engines, smell from burning tires and exhausts. The way you have romanticized F 1 racing in your post, is brilliant. You have given a totally different perspective to F1 racing.
ReplyDeleteWe are excited here since next year F1 racing is coming to our neighbors in Texas. It is just a few hundred miles, and in our land it is just a stone's throw away.
Your MGB reminds me of my 1976 yellow Mercedes 450SL, in 1976 I was 13, and could not drive, now in this century I can enjoy one. It gives a great nostalgic feeling, since the car smells like the Morris Minor we use to ride in, 35 years back.
Boye by Red:
ReplyDeleteHow lovely all of this sounds - a real family holiday of the kind which, we suspect, no longer takes place. Seaside holidays also form a part of our childhood memories.
Friends had an Austin which we now think was called Austin of England. Could there have been such a car?
Hold on a second. I'm still laughing over your conversation with Scarlet Blue.
ReplyDelete*takes deep breath*
Okay. Hey, that is a serious case of awesomeness on four wheels! I'd give my left (non-writing) arm to be able to take something like that out for a spin. (I'm referring to the motoring, not the aforementioned type.)
Lx:
ReplyDeleteHow sad to have had your dreams shattered at such a young age.
British Racing Green was, of course, the colour to have. Friends in London who had and still have an MG, bought in the 1960s, chose that particular green so that the car, parked in their Putney garden, would merge into the surrounding foliage.
Helen Tilston:
ReplyDeleteBe assured, dear Helen, that the back seat was in fact no more than a shelf, albeit covered in carpeting.
But, since you are commenting upon back seats, we can reveal that a friend of ours, when he was VERY much younger, lost [we are not quite sure what] on a back seat of a motor car in an encounter with none other than Dirk Bogarde. And this is FACT!!!
Dear Jane & Lance,
ReplyDeleteHow Mrs. Peel and John Steed you two must have been, and dare I say still are. While only knowing you through blog post I feel this may have been the case more than not. And I suspect that if give such an opportunity today you both would be off in a shower of peeling rubber and flying gravel.
The only thing I can not picture is who would be driving for I surmise you both have a little Formula 1 driver hidden in side. – gary
Demie:
ReplyDeleteYour car sounds to be the greatest of fun and we are certain that it brings you much pleasure.
We shall definitely be drinking the champagne, but it is very unlkely that we shall attend the Grand Prix as, entre nous, we have absolutely not a clue about motor racing as a sport.
Mise:
ReplyDeleteAlas, we never graduated to a Mercedes, although we should have loved one.
Your description of arriving at the Ritz has caused us much merriment, and, dear, wicked Mise, you may write of ' modern cars and housing estates' but we certainly could not comment!!
Susan T:
ReplyDeleteNot to be able to drive is, we think, exceedingly stylish in today's world. By way of encouragement,one of us [and we shall not reveal which of us]only passed the Driving Test after ten attempts!! At the time, becoming a Belgian National was considered as a possible way out as in those days Belgium did not have a Driving Test.
Lovely car and good times.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a MGB GT but I did have a Golden Karmann Ghia and named it Goldfinger after the Bond Movie. Hey I was very young
I so wish I had the Karmann Ghia today. What a wonderful car.
cheers, parsnip
Cottage Garden:
ReplyDeleteIn Summer, we agreed the colour worked exceedingly well, particularly in the countryside. It was, however, considerably less golden on a grey, rainy Winter's day in town.
Rather as you, Jeanne, our interest in Formula One racing does not extend to actually watching it.What a great deal of champagne, we always think, is wasted by the winner.
Starting Over, Accepting Changes:
ReplyDeleteWorldwide there does seem to be a huge amount of interest in MGs in all their shapes and guises.
We loved having the car at the time, but increasingly it became more and more difficult to obtain the right octane level of petrol. And there is nothing stylish, in our view, about walking down a country lane carrying an empty petrol can and looking for a garage.
Craig:
ReplyDeletePerhaps one day you will treat yourselves to a trip to the one and only Eastern European F1 race in Hungary?
We very much like the sound of your Mercedes sports car. Not too many years ago we had a BMW Z3 which we would delight in driving with the roof down in the depths of winter with the heating on full blast.
Dear Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful car you had! Such a pity you did not keep it. I wouldn't mind being seen in a car like this :-). When I was in my twenties it was my dream to buy a red MG. Somehow It never came to it.... well, you never know...
In the seventies I used to go to the F1 races at the Zandvoort circuit with my father and brother. I always enjoyed it immensely! The huge crowds, the noise, the stickers you got at the entrance gate. It was all so very exciting!
Have fun this weekend!
Lieve groet, Madelief
Hi Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteSuch memories you have bought back for me of times, in my late teens and early twenties when we all bombed around the countyside in MGB's, MG midgets and TR4's !! If you were anyone, you had one !!....and, how lovely that you did have one.
.....and, Mr. Home and I are great fan's of Formula 1 ....we watched Lewis Hamilton win last weekend in Germany but, I fear that he won't win this weekend, as McClaren are better in the wet than the dry, but we shall see. I will have to record it as we are off to Steyning in Sussex to Whites restaurant, for my cousin's 60th birthday. When I watch the race I will be thinking of you Jane and Lance. XXXX
I LOVE vintage cars!!! every car is great if its little bit atleast over 30 years old :)
ReplyDeletePaisley Curtain:
ReplyDeleteHow exciting that Formula One will be on your doorstep, so to speak, in the very near future. You must be looking forward to this.
Mercedes cars are, of course, one of the iconic makes, both in the past and up to the present day. Your own sounds wonderful and all the better, we are sure, for having waited for the opportunity to drive it.
Jane and Lance, I could not get by with pretending to be a car person. In that area I have always been a "kept" woman. I always have an opinion, but pretty much leave everything up to someone with more knowledge and better bargaining skills than I. I do, however, have fond memories of my first car, a yellow Camaro. Among my high school group, I was usually the designated driver. It was great transportation to places we needed to go and places we probably shouldn't have gone. Cars do have a way of bringing back memories of more carefree days.
ReplyDeleteBryce Daniels:
ReplyDeleteWe are so pleased that you like the V8. Unfortunately, to 'go for a spin in it' was something that happened with rather too much frequency for our liking, particularly in heavy rain!! And, with the price of petrol as it is, we doubt that now we should scarcely be able to afford to take it much beyond the length of the drive.
Gary:
ReplyDeleteYou do allow your imagination to run riot, dear Gary. Although we rather fancy playing 'The Avengers'!!
However, these days, we are simply Mr and Mrs Average who feel positively frightened if we happen to be travelling at a speed in excess of 30m.p.h!!! That said, we do rather yearn for those distant days of 'flying gravel'.
Angryparsnip:
ReplyDeleteNow this sounds to be some car! At the moment, we do not know of a Karmann Ghia but as soon as we are finished here, we shall be straight on to Google. The very name sounds fantastic and we love how you named yours 'Goldfinger'. And when we were young, weren't those Bond films wonderful?!
I love the MGs, my brother had a TF in what was then Rhodesia, I wonder if it is still around! Diane
ReplyDeleteMadelief:
ReplyDeleteHow very exciting to have gone with your father and brother to race meetings. We can well imagine the thrill of it all and you describe the atmosphere of it so well here.
We are sorry that you did not ever have your red MG, but it is never too late.....!!!
I'm no petrol head, I believe that's the expression, sure I like F1 Grand Prix for the speed and I watch the old cronks slinking into to town for the London Brighton Rally. But I'm not good with cars, I cant identify them really. I mean I was with an ex for three years before I finally found out his car was a Polo. However, the only car I could identify is the beautiful MGBGT. It's slinky design it's cute small but powerful shape is astonishingly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJacqueline:
ReplyDeleteWell, the fortunes of the F1 drivers may well be upset this weekend as, usually, the Hungarian Grand Prix is known for the very dry and dusty conditions. However, as we write it is cool and wet, so we shall see!!
Yes, Jackie, we can well imagine you and your chums 'bombing' round the lanes, tops down [so to speak] and fancy free. Happy days indeed.
Have a lovely time in Steyning, such a pretty part of the country. And, White's restaurant, how wonderful. You are still living the high life, we see!!
Akissfromthepast:
ReplyDeleteWe really think that you would have loved driving around in the MGB GT.
We do agree with you about vintage cars and very much enjoy the vintage car rallies which are often held in Brighton.
Bonnie:
ReplyDeleteWe love the sound of the canary Camaro, and can well imagine you chauffering your chums all around, particularly to those places to which you should not have gone!!
Bargaining with car dealers is an absolute art and to get the best deal it is always best to leave it in the hands of experts.
Food, Fun and Life in the Charente:
ReplyDeleteWe always felt it rather sad that the MG marque was never quite the same after the demise of British Leyland. However, it would be rather fun to think that your brother's car is still being driven around somewhere.
Jason:
ReplyDeleteContrary to what it may appear, we have never been hugely interested in motor cars and nowadays feel totally liberated that we no longer own one. But, like you, we do go down to Madeira Drive and look at the vintage cars and the Minis if they are there when we are in Brighton.
Oh, yellow sports cars are the very best kind!
ReplyDeletewow too cool......moderen cars just don't compare....I remember well going in my uncle's MG with his girlfriend after a family Sunday lunch and driving at 100 miles an hour, sat in that little space in the back with the top down.....I must have been about 7.......round the country lanes of Horsham's hinterland....not a seat belt in sight!!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in North Carolina in a time where boys who drove "hot" cars were very popular with the girls. We would just drive around .. make sure everyone saw us in the car.
ReplyDeleteMy first serious boyfriend drove a rusty Austin Healey with not top, we had to be sure to never go out if rain was forecast.
Strangely, a few years later, I married a man whose first car was an Austin Healey, although he bought his in London, drove it to Paris and brought it back to NY with him.
Sad to think that now, I live in a place where my car is called Taxi.
Gorgeous car... what fun!
ReplyDeleteWhite Horse:
ReplyDeleteThose were the days indeed. And, we wonder what the vehicle of choice would be for the Modern Cavalier!
Une femme:
ReplyDeleteWell, they certainly make a statement on the road!!
Young at Heart:
ReplyDeleteA small child of seven was probably all that the shelf-like space could accommodate. But, how exciting and, at the same time, terrifying that experience must have been.
ABroad:
ReplyDeleteHaving a car, especially one which is either fast or stylish or, preferably, both has always been and probably always will be a magnet for attracting attention. Austin Healeys really do seem to have been popular both in England and America. They were such fun cars.
Taxis certainly are our vehicles of choice. They come with a driver, they arrive when summoned and are not one's responsibility for taxing, insuring and filling up with petrol. The only drawback - the fare!
The Daily Connoisseur:
ReplyDeleteThank you. The V8 was enormous fun.
Car memories can be deep and delicious or dank and dangerous. You have had the best of memories with your MCB GT V8 car. Nice -- barbara
ReplyDeleteDear Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteAfter your kind comments posted on my blog, I had to pop across and see yours. What fun!
The MGB GT was a jolly good car; my Grandad (Edgar) drove a Costello version for a while and both it and the official MG version were SO much better than the horrid MGC. What sort of Father was HRH The Prince of Wales to give one to his Son and Heir?!
Jennifer's ex-husband, Roddy Alffiah, had an RV8 - a nasty car only ever driven by bookies wearing sheepskin coats and trilbys.
The raciest car we ever had was a black SAAB 900 Turbo, with yellow leather seats, low and long and very sexy. It was sold to a film company and used in a TV thriller series. Those were the days.
ReplyDeleteAlas, we now tootle round the countryside in very sedate little motors, although I still sometimes think I'm behind the wheel of roaring beast.
Folkways Notebook:
ReplyDeleteOh Barbara how we have laughed at your most witty comment. Sadly, the 'dank and dangerous' moments were rather too frequent than one cares to remember but, happily, they are erased over time!
Camilla Jessop:
ReplyDeleteWe are not really very au fait with motor cars in general and have not, alas, heard of the RV8, driven by Jennifer's ex husband. Come to that, we are not at all sure that we have been introduced to Jennifer, nor indeed her ex husband. Was he something of a bounder?
However, we have delighted in your description of the nattily dressed bookies in their horrid 'motors'!!
Friko:
ReplyDeleteHow marvellous the 'Black Beast' sounds to have been. In fact, in more recent years, we only had black motor cars, thinking them to be so much more stylish than any other colour. Nowadays, we are on the buses!!
AAhhhhhhhh! You have brought back such great memories. In my twenties I owned a fire engine red MGB convertible. I had a good chuckle when you described the agility needed to get in and out of the thing. That is a distant memory now I am overweight, have no knees and a back that would not be capable of bending at the correct angles. Those were the heady days of youth and beauty. I shall fall asleep thinking on this tonight. Thanks for the memories guys :-)
ReplyDeleteDianne
XOXO
It is very possible that the car was Austin of England, but i am not sure. We had it in the 70's.
ReplyDeleteI must say i don't drive as there is not much need for it in London. I either take a bus or walk, but still love old fashioned, good looking cars.
Fabulous post--what fun to imagine you tooling around the countryside in that wonderful car. Though can one tool around in a car with a V8 engine?
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather was a race car driver in the 1920's. In the early 1950's he bought an MG roadster which my mother inherited. She was so happy he left it to her and not her brother.
There is no other sound in the world quite like that of a V8 MG. I guess 5* petrol would be high octane?
ReplyDeleteAs for the F1 event, we have one here in Melbourne and you are most welcome to host that too. We no longer want it and many of us never did.
Love the car and the slight glimpse into your salad days. Cars have a romanticism all their own, everyone has nostalgia for one. Enjoy the Grand Prix and "Cheers!" to you.
ReplyDeleteYours was a very sporty car. My favorite was Felix, a forest green VW bug, and my first car. It was a 1969 model and made from a very heavy gauge of metal (unlike today's cars - if they're made of metal at all!). I once dented a fender, tapped it with a hammer from underneath, and it sprang back into shape - no dent. How could you not love a car like that!?
ReplyDeleteGoodness! I used to own a Triumph GT6 in corn yellow colour too, when I was about 19 or 20. It was totally impractical, as you say, especially in Hong Kong, where airconditioning is de rigeur, and it didn't have any. The folly of youth!
ReplyDeleteMy dear Hattatts, here is something very strange, indeed.
ReplyDeleteI am madly in love with your car.
Sports cars are always fun. I've driven lots, but only ever owned one; a TR7. I'm thinking of buying a silver BMW Z3, but Lady Magnon is doing her best to stop me!
ReplyDeleteYonks:
ReplyDeleteA red sports car! Now that really is something and you must, in today's parlance, have looked very 'cool' indeed. But, looking back, none of those cars was particularly comfortable, and certainly not compared with modern ones.
I'm afraid I am a total lummox when it comes to cars. All I have ever really cared about is if it is comfortable and reliable.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, you guys have rather grown on me in oh so many ways. I read your comments on a number of blogs I frequent and you are always right on spot, caring, and interested in all sorts of people. I find I respect this greatly and am happy you are part of my world.
Boye By Red [again]:
ReplyDelete'Austin of England' does conjure up a past era, and a fun one at that. When we lived in London we seldom used the car and now, in Budapest and Brighton, we manage without completely and are rather glad not to have the trouble of owning one.
Thank you so much to the reply to our comment on your latest post.
Jen of Country Weekend:
ReplyDeleteHow romantic, and very exciting, to have had a grandfather as a racing driver and even more so in the 1920s, those heady years of motoring.
We too thought it wonderful that the sports car should have been left to your mother rather than her brother. No sexism or gender preference there!
Andrew:
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right. The 5* petrol was high in octane and even in the 1970s, when we had the car, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find. Always a worry on a long journey.
We have very mixed feelings about the Hungarian Formula One. Apparently after 2016 it may not take place here. We shall see.
xoxo:
ReplyDeleteWe do so agree about the romance attached to cars, and in particular older ones. Whilst we are not at all mechanically minded, we do sometimes, even today, yearn to have some very stylish model from the past. Totally impractical, of course.
Mark D. Ruffner:
ReplyDeleteFelix sounds to have been great fun and, as you say, made of proper metal! Those were indeed the days. It is strange how mostly we can all remember not only our very first car, but also that intense longing, when young, to own one. Now we are glad to be without!
columnist:
ReplyDeleteA Triumph GT6 must have been hugely stylish and, we suspect, the envy of your friends. Practicality did not, of course, as you say come into it. Perhaps it never does with the very young.
Suze:
ReplyDeleteAnd here we find you dreaming of cars when, all the while, those children are needing to be fed and that washing machine is yet to be emptied!!
Cro Magnon:
ReplyDeleteNow a TR7 was something of a car! As for the BMW Z3, we say go for it. We had one, 2.8 litres, as our final car and enjoyed it immensely. We do, from that experience, recommend an electrically operated roof as it made putting it up and down child's play.
Linda:
ReplyDeleteOh, but Linda, we know absolutely nothing about cars nor are we at all interested in how they work. Like you, we require them to go, and to be comfortable, in that order. And at the end of the day we do recognise that they are no more than metal machines, and expensive ones at that.
Thank you so much for the kind things which you say here. It is good, we feel, where possible to try to relate to people and to what they say; we know that you feel and do the same and we are so pleased to have 'met' you and greatly enjoy and are interested in what you write.
I hope you have your earplugs and hankies ready when the engines roar and the rubbers starts to burn! Great lookin' car!!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Rose Stanton:
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! But, do you think that we shall need them in the champagne tent where, if we were to go, which we shall most certainly not, we should be permanently installed?
Hello Jane and Lance!
ReplyDeleteThat is a very, very beautiful car, and I want one! My husband and I joke about the things we will buy when I write my novel and secure my six-figure advance (!) and a pretty little car is high on my list, even though I don't enjoy driving. An MG would fit the bill nicely...
Thank you for your link to the work of Elizabeth Rose Stanton. I visited her website from the link and think her work is absolutely exquisite. It really is wonderful what you can discover in the blogosphere!
Best wishes,
Sophie.
Sophie Keates-Gazey:
ReplyDeleteWhen [not if] that huge advance comes your way a pretty car would be a lovely idea and you would be bound to remember it with fondness for ever more. We rather like the new Fiats indeed anything Italian usually has an appeal for us.
We are so pleased that you have followed the link to Elizabeth Rose Stanton. We think that she is incredibly talented and her drawings, in our view, are not only beautifully drawn but capture the essence of her characters in a way in which only an intelligent observer of human behaviour could achieve. We are very fond of her and her work.
Bring back the days of supremely stylish, albeit impractical cars!! And call me crazy, but isn't a below-par racetrack an opportunity for those most skilled at driving to shine?? Any idiot can drive in perfect conditions, right?? Or is that just me ...
ReplyDeleteRed Nomad Oz:
ReplyDeleteYes, perhaps much to our own personal discomfort, we have always been ones for putting style before convenience or comfort and we have the bad backs to prove it.
Evidently, the Hungaroring does attract viewers, particularly Finns, keen to see racers having to drive as well as go fast!!
Whilst on the subject of F1 racing. Wouldn't it be much more fun to have just ONE set of tyres, and ONE tank-full of petrol. Then it would be just man and machine against each other. All this 6 second pit-stop business is crazy!
ReplyDeleteCro Magnon [again]:
ReplyDeleteNow that would be an interesting idea. Yes, let the best man win....it would perhaps be much more of a level playing field [or racetrack!!]
I'll join you in that glass of champagne!
ReplyDeleteYour initial comment about getting in and out struck a chord with me. About 10 years ago (in my opinion, part of a midlife crisis!) my husband decided that he wanted a sports car, and we went for test drives in the frontrunners. I remember having to literally crawl out of a Lotus - I did have a bad back at the time!! Needless to say he chose the Audi .......
Enjoy the Grand Prix, we'll be watching with you on the BBC, although next year possibly not, as we don't (and won't) subscribe to Sky!
I was going to say, Jane and Lance, that you have 'hattattitude', but you've probably heard that... What a lovely little ripster your MGB must have been, and how lovely to recall the elastic days of youth...I'm so very glad Hungary has its race, for it shows a fighting spirit, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteGaynor B:
ReplyDeleteYes, we can picture your having to crawl out! Many sports cars are terribly low and we were always thinking, whilst driving along country tracks, that the bottom would be ripped out one day.Thankfully it never was but the exhaust often took a beating!
How sensible, in our view, of the BBC but as we do not have a television, perhaps this is all immaterial.
Gardener in the Distance:
ReplyDeleteWith the sheltered lives which we have led[!!], we have never heard the term 'hattattitude' but we shall coin it forthwith!!
Yes, we suppose that F1 racing is a modern form of combat. Now it is radiators and not gladiators for which the crowd roars!!
Jane and Lance, I hate to say it, but Melbourne too has an F1 race, which a great many, including myself, have been against.
ReplyDeleteDespite all the hype, it's now costing us more to run the race than we earn from it, and, not being much interested in watching cars whizz around, but only in being in a car that may whizz around, I can think of many better ways to burn the fuel, so to speak.
Gardener in the Distance [again]:
ReplyDeleteThe Hungarian F1 race takes place some distance outside the City and, at present, seems to be an important source of revenue. However, we shall most certainly not be in the grandstand nor watching on a television.....we shall just be drinking champagne. No change there then!!!!
Jane and Lance! I have a passion for British cars, and believe it or not I used to own a Triumph Stag which was a similiar colour to the MG which you have shown. Alas, the Stag was a lemon and increasing high costs to get it repaired made me get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteI loved my little MG convertible from my university days! Unfortunately, once I graduated and had to, you know, get a job...I had to trade the MG in for a car that was more comfortable for a long freeway commute.
ReplyDeleteToday I'm very glad that I have a super sensible and comfortable sedan to drive.
Enjoy your race!
David Toms:
ReplyDeleteWe think that you were in very good company for, at one point, we are fairly certain that the present Princess Royal drove a Triumph Stag. Possibly she was not over concerned about running costs! Nonetheless an iconic car and great fun to have owned one.
Belle de Ville:
ReplyDeleteHow smart to have had an MG during your time at University. There cannot, we are sure, have ever been a shortage of friends wanting a lift!
But yes, in the real world, one is forced to graduate to something rather more practical for everyday life. Now your sedan, not an English term, sounds wonderful.
What a beautiful car...an MG in that color and on a gravel drive...there's something just so romantic and carefree about it. When it comes to cars I realize I am so boring and practical. It was time to get Madeline a car of her own, so I gave her my 2006 Audi A4 wagon and bought a new small Volvo wagon. Could I be anymore mundane?
ReplyDeleteannie:
ReplyDeleteIt was all great fun at the time but as the years have progressed we have come to realise that, although exceedingly useful, cars are, for the most part, a complete waste of money and very expensive to run.
But we are sure that Madeline must be delighted with your old Audi.
I'm not a big fan of cars in general. However, I like the aesthetics of cars that have a special design and special history. These two things are perfectly combined in your car. I think that it's a great post.
ReplyDeleteOlga:
ReplyDeleteWe are with you, Olga, regarding cars in general and cannot say how relieved we are that at present we do not own a single one.
However, as you say, some cars have a mystique and our MGB GT V8 will always have a special place in our hearts. So many happy memories, we guess!
Lol! Great title. It's funny the attachment we all have to our cars, esp our first one. I still miss my old 5 speed VW Jetta and doubt anything will ever compare for me:)
ReplyDeleteHa! Quite right, quite right ...
ReplyDeleteAs a present for passing my driving test first time, my parents presented me with a little run-around. It was a battered old Citroen Dyane in green. I could have wept! If I had been presented with your MG I would have jumped for joy.
ReplyDeleteJ & L,
ReplyDeleteI feel compelled to comment again, since I am so flattered and humbled by your and Sophie's incredibly kind words about me and my work. Thank you! It is remarkable the way you two seem to attract the nicest, most interesting people--and I am thrilled that
my persona swings in to their view occasionally via your wonderful, engaging blog--and that I can be, even in the smallest way, on "the radar screen" of such a group as this! :) xo
The V8 was a "proper" MG and the best they ever made IMHO. The sunroof shown in the picture from memory was made by Webasto and was an after market roof. I say that as we had a licence to fit them. The first cut was not necessarily the deepest but definitely the bravest as "dinger" who had been on the course was the only one allowed to fit them. Happy days!
ReplyDeleteThe Hungaroring will enjoy the normal F1 pomp and ceremony followed by a race that is traditionally as dull as dishwater. And I am a fan!
Far better to focus on the memories of a British sports car that could stir the soul like few others at that time.
M reg would be 1974?
Lucky you. I've always wanted to have a car like that, but somehow I didn't manage. Company cars couldn't be sports cars and then the children and now the madness of the crisis making one think twice before doing any thing that could be extravagant...
ReplyDeleteWell, you know I am fond of older, more vintage vehicles. However, for a Modern Cavalier in 2011 it would be hard to beat a sporty Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. Then agin, it's hard to be beat a MGB!
ReplyDeleteOoooh. Cars! And….very fast racing type cars! Oooooh, like this, fairly, a lot, very much.
ReplyDeleteJó napot kivánok Jane & Lance.
Nice set of wheels you’ve got there Jane & Lance. Good mota’s they was. Best of the later MG’s. Epic big engine. Which is still about the only epic thing that Leyland Rover ever managed to pull off. Surprisingly neat colour too on that car. MGBV8 mustard brown, really did work very well.
Evokes great memories for me and my team too, does this. I was a passionate member of the TR Register, and the proud owner of a TR6 for many years. We used to socialise a lot with the MG owners club community, and being a speed freak, I always orientated towards the Moggy V8 owners. Loved chasing them round the race circuits later too, when I took my TR permanently off the road to race and sprint it. Epic days. Thank you.
I’ve just watched Fridays F1 practice for this weekends Hungaro GP over here. Looking good for our boy Lewis Hamilton again, after his last weekends win up the road in the German GP. Wish I could be there. Until this season, it’s always been a very tough, narrow, twisty circuit to race on as you say, and can be quite a bore to watch. Although this season, the cars are equipped with a trick rear wing device (DRS) that gives then a short boost of speed to enable more overtaking opportunities down the main straights. So just maybe, we’ll have an exciting Hungaro race to watch this time.
Hungary has been good to our Brit F1 racers too in the past, sealing two world championships for us and a first ever GP race win in the career of Jenson Button a few years back. Fingers crossed for this Sunday then.
Enjoy the bubbly you two Pesti’s. Egészségedre! Again. Teeny bit envious over here!
Off to cook up some nosh now, it’s late and I’m famished!
Lovely post Jane & Lance.
Minden jót!!
hi Jane and Lance, your sporty auto brings home sweet memories from my twenties. Hubby and I dated in a mellow yellow MGB and we drove it on our honeymoon into the future. Sure wish we had it today. Your gold MGB GT looks fab and I'm sure it was. I can only imagine how much fun it was to drive the winding country roads of England and Wales. Sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing yours..........
~Emily
The French Hutch
What a fantastic post! I so enjoyed reading this. Your MGB looks very nice and I am sure it must have been a lot of fun to drive. Although not practical, there is something about the aesthetics of British sports cars that really sets them apart from other cars. My husband is a car aficionado and also very much enjoyed this post. We attend a British car event every autumn and there are many MG owners in attendance each year. Thanks very much for sharing these photos!
ReplyDeleteA very beautiful car, and the memories you two have of it are the most dear. These cars were so much nicer than the ones we have now. :) My father loved old cars, my Mom used to laugh that he wouldn't take his tie off to tanker with it, even... Holy ground
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Surely you didn't burn rubber back then? You didn't drive like me, did you? That is one awesome little yellow car!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful car you had! I have always loved MGB's and at one point dreamed of owning one. Alas, it was not meant to be. I once dated a guy who owned one and I had dreams of us cruising down the freeways and off through the country roads. But the whole time we dated (3 years) it sat in his garage (along with seven other cars he owned) in need of repairs he never quite got around to doing!! Which is one of the reasons why he turned out to be an ex-fiance rather than a husband!
ReplyDeleteAs usual I enjoyed your post very much. Have a wonderful weekend!
I am absolutely smitten by this post. I had been thinking of doing a car one as well, thanks to an experience last week, so just remember that imitation is the highest form of flattery! I absolutely love cars, especially the classics - power steering be damned.
ReplyDeleteMark Noce:
ReplyDeleteFirst cars do occupy a very special place in the memory and are always looked back upon with great fondness which, most likely, they did not deserve. For were they not always, unless very lucky, breaking down?
Suze [again]:
ReplyDeleteDon't we all know that the lot of the busy housewife [or husband] is never done? But, take heart, Cinderella does, finally, get to the ball - and a whole lot more too!
Mitzi:
ReplyDeleteVery sadly, and too often, parents have no real sense of what their off spring desire. And when it comes to cars, they are, understandably, looking for rather more than a battered green Citroen! Poor you!
Elizabeth Rose Stanton [again]:
ReplyDeleteEvery word of which is meant [and we know that we speak for Sophie here too]. We are the ones who are privileged to be connected to you and, besides, your own blog gives us immense pleasure.
Andy:
ReplyDeleteWe were most interested in what you have said here about the Webasto sun roof and we can well imagine the trauma attached to cutting into pristine, painted steel.
As it happens our own car, bought new, and identical in all other respects and an 'M' registration, was without a sun roof. But we could not find any picture of a V8 in the right colour without a sun roof so settled for these. Out of sentiment we do still have the original brochure.
Pet:
ReplyDeleteNo, we can well believe that company cars have always tended to be on the more practical side, certainly where very young employees are concerned.
However, we feel we were fortunate to have had such a car and, at the time, we enjoyed it immensely.
Bish Bosh Bash:
ReplyDeleteFirst, we continue to be very impressed with the fluency of your Hungarian which, had you not revealed otherwise, we should very happily have believed, and continue to believe, that you are a mere stone's throw across the Danube and we are, in fact, near neighbours. Doubtless if we had bothered to look at our Sitemeter we should have known differently, but we never remember to look and cannot now think when last we checked it. Ergo, a useless piece of technology.
Secondly, we are delighted to know that you are following this weekend's events from afar. The city is, for good or bad, now gripped with Formula One fever. Only yesterday afternoon we spotted Lewis Hamilton sitting at a pavement café signing autographs and last night, out to dinner at a restaurant with friends, everywhere was teaming with F1 wannabes!
We shall now imagine you glued to your television screen until it is all over, checking out on the DRS in action! Have a really good time.
Emily:
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely image you give us here of you and your husband driving off into your futures in your 'mellow yellow' MGB. How romantic is that?!!
And yes, thank you, we did have great fun in ours and look back on those times with very happy memories.
Louise:
ReplyDeleteWe were, of course, most intrigued to know that you and your husband attend a British car event each year and had not, of course, previously thought that there might be such a thing. Perhaps there is something similar with American cars in the UK?!!
In the 1950s an uncle, who worked for Shell in Venezuela, would come home on leave via New York on one of the Queen liners bringing with him his American car [a Chevrolet, perhaps?]. The excitement of that in a small, rural English town at that time!
Kasia:
ReplyDeleteA wonderful story of your father. But we can well identify with his love of old cars, a love we share, except in our case we are totally inept mechanically and to own such a vehicle would be a disaster.
Even today we sometimes yearn for a 1960s Jaguar Mk II!!
Auntie Bliss:
ReplyDeleteNow we do not believe you for one moment. The truth is you are, most likely, a former, or even present, professional racing driver who certainly knows how to handle speed when she sees it!!
But yes, the car at the time was great fun.
Sissysmom:
ReplyDeleteWhat a very good job you turned down the former boyfriend with a stack of cars in the garage and none in working order. You would, in effect, have become a mechanic's 'widow' when, all the time, you should have been speeding through the countryside, the wind blowing in your hair.
As always, Michele, thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to read and comment. It is much appreciated.
Maggie Asfahani Hajj:
ReplyDeleteOh, Maggie, we really do hope that you will do a 'car' post which in no way is imitation. Just the very mention of 'power steering' has set our minds racing and, as well, has reminded us of 'overdrive', something which happened as the result of a switch on fast roads or motorways. Was it the equivalent of an extra gear?
Hi Jane and Lance
ReplyDeleteThat must have been great fun to drive around in, wonderful! Heady days!!!
Hope you enjoy the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix when it comes to town!
Thanks for your comment on mine - I love the idea of ticking used as an upholstery fabric, and with a few chairs waiting to be re-covered and some new ticking to hand, I may borrow your idea if you dont mind and have a go.
I hope you have a great weekend Jane and Lance!
What a gorgeous car! You are right Jane and Lance - as long as the car looks the part who cares about the lack of space in the boot or whether or not it is easy to get into and out of. As long as you look uber cool when you are in it and driving around that's all that matters!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the Hungarian Grand Prix - so fascinating. Champagne and burning rubber - sounds like a winning combination!
Have fun! Stephie x
Gillyflower:
ReplyDeleteWe did have great fun in our V8 but when the difficulties outweighed the enjoyment that is when we parted company with it.
Ticking as an upholstery fabric is wonderful, in our view, so please do use the idea. We are very fortunate to have a splendid and very affordable upholsterer here in Budapest, something quite rare in England these days.
Stephie B:
ReplyDeleteWell, we imagined ourselves to look 'uber cool' when in our V8, but whether that was really the case as we crawled out onto the pavement, trying hard not to reveal too much underwear or acquire an injury, we somehow doubt with hindsight!!!
We have had enormous fun seeing the F1 crowd take over the town but we shall not venture near the track!!
This brings back memories! I used to own a white version with blue leather seats, overdrive switch to give you an extra burst of power for those overtakes. I used to feel like the bees knees when I drove that car.
ReplyDeleteSue:
ReplyDeleteOh how we love the sound of your snow white version with the blue leather seats. And, you too remember the overdrive switch. We now imagine that this must have been instead of a fifth gear, something we cannot recall.
Do please let us know if you have a blog as we should love to keep in touch.
White Horse [again]:
ReplyDeleteYet again, we have just found you after a foray into the spam box!!
A very Modern Cavalier we really do think should be seen around town [or anywhere really] in a Porsche 911 of whatever vintage or make. Glossy black would be our colour of choice and we should be forever in 1st gear in order that the admiring public could catch sight of us! We have ridden in one but never driven one and felt it to be the ultimate speed machine.
For some people, nostalgia for good old days would be related to the car. I think I know how you loved the corn yellow sport car, it's beautiful and cool. "Harvest Gold" is a nice naming of the color. I’m not so much a motor fan myself, however, I like to see how my families and friends are particular about cars. When they talk about it, they are really young, young at heart. Have happy days ahead, Jane and Lance.
ReplyDeletestardust:
ReplyDeleteAh, but in those days we were young and carefree and it was, or so we thought at the time, fun to travel fast. Nowadays we have almost no interest at all in motor cars and no longer even own one.
However, that said, we have young friends with very smart and sporty vehicles which, from time to time, we get to ride in.
One more example of why I love Britain! Why, oh why don't we have cars like this here in the states!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your visit! I'll be around here often, I'm sure!
Pamela Terry and Edward:
ReplyDeleteNo, the cars are not at all the same but most people in the UK would be very impressed if one arrived in an American car!
We are delighted to have discovered your blog to which we look forward to returning. Thank you for becoming a Follower of ours.
Fabulous car! We had 2 MG roadsters when we were first married in our twenties and went roaring around the UK and France in it! I ran one right off the road in the Highlands, on ice, but they were great days I will always treasure as you do yours! Bxx
ReplyDeleteBelinda @ Wild Acre:
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you had enormous fun with your MG cars, although the ice manoeuvre sounds rather scary. We never did take ours abroad although we now rather wish that we had as it would have been perfect for the long stretches of autobahn.
Though I know nothing about the workings of cars, the photograph of the engine is wonderfully appealing, somehow. And, ah, youth recalled: "it mattered not that to alight from this car one needed to roll out onto the pavement." I had nothing so exotic, but was nonetheless quite pleased when the garage mechanic looked admiringly at the slant 6 engine of my very first car (a ghastly frog-green color Dodge Dart), even though I hadn't the slightest idea what about it there was to admire.
ReplyDeleteSusan Scheid:
ReplyDeleteTo be really honest with you, Susan, we have absolutely no idea about engines of any kind nor how cars in general work. But, as you say, it is always rather gratifying to have a car which, when the bonnet is opened, attracts admiring glances from mechanics. The 'slant 6' engine of your Dodge Dart sounds very impressive; the same could never be said of something like a Citroen 2CV!
Hi there Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteYou can relax, for shy and humble me has finally come over to grace you with one of my 'award winning' and yes indeed,'highly cherished' comments.
Good grief, some serious scrolling down to leave a comment on your mighty fine blog. Heck, even Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet star, doesn't get this many comments. Although, she does get way more comments when she does a 'pawsting', than I could ever imagine getting in even my wildest of dreams. Then again, she is a much better writer that I could ever possibly be and I must learn to accept that fact. In fact, she has even thought of becoming a 'pawblisher'.
Now, where was I? Indeed, where am I? Oh yes, back to your posting. I think there's a certain romance about the cars of the past. They had character, an ambience, that I just don't think you get any more. This a fascinating article with with informative info accompanying the photos. I used to own a 1973 Dodge Polara, a regular 'Smokey and the Bandit', type car. However, I look nothing like Burt Reynolds. Okay, maybe a bit like Burt, cause I've got a moustache and that's so 1972 :) I've been in a MG Midget and that was one peppy little car.
Thanks for a great article and may you have a peaceful, positive weekend.
With respect and kind wishes, your way, Gary :)
klahanie:
ReplyDeleteAre we grovelling? We most certainly are. For to receive, as our zillion and first comment, one from the 'award winning', Burt Reynolds look alike is, of course, beyond our wildest dreams and expectations. Our one hope now will be that on some august occasion the very lovely and totally exclusive blogger, Penny, may just lift a paw in our direction as she passes en route for yet another interview on BBC 5 Live [or whatever].
And now, dear 'shy and humble' [we think not!!] Gary, if we may be so bold as to address you by name, your 1973 Dodge Polara sounds, as you Canadian/British might say, one hellava car! We love the description 'Smokey and Bandit', conjuring up as it does a taste of the Wild West or, as it is Canada, The Rockies.
We do hope that you are enjoying a peaceful and relaxing weekend and we leave you with further expressions of our eternal thanks and gratitude for this most humbling of visits.
Oh my, I am deeply saddened to not be the first to make the all to evident "Avengers" comparison but then again, that is what I get for being late to the ball.
ReplyDeleteAs you both know, I don't know how to drive but the only reason I ever will learn might be linked to the possibility of driving such a speed machine.
I also highly appreciate the F1--my Dad did as well so I have heard that metallic whine in my ears since childhood.
Wishing you both an outstanding weekend!
Lost in Provence:
ReplyDeleteWe do not mind how many times we are likened to the 'Avengers' since that is rather a dashing image of how we should like to think of ourselves. However, try as hard as we might, we really cannot see an all black leather jump suit or permanently fixed bowler hat as part of our attire, sadly!!!
And, dear Heather, no matter how late or early to the ball, we love to hear from you and are so pleased that you have a moment to spare from undoing the packing cases. We hope that your weekend in your new home is going swimmingly!!
Hello and thanks for visiting my blog...I just started to read yours and I love it.....
ReplyDeleteRegards from a cold Amsterdam
Erna
Erna:
ReplyDeleteThank you so much to you too and we are delighted to have you as a Follower.
The hot weather here in Budapest has deserted us for the last few days but we note that by Wednesday it will be warm and sunny once more. We trust that the sun will move northwards!!
What an incredible blog!!! I love the life you share with us... full of wonderful things and people that you portray so eloquently... a great find!
ReplyDeletelostpastremembered:
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this very generous comment. But we,in turn, are delighted to have discovered you and are much looking forward to more!
In the meantime, we shall very much hope to welcome you here again.
How fun! Sounds like you made great memories in your MGB. Thanks for your sweet visit to my beach table this week.
ReplyDeleteMid-Atlantic Martha:
ReplyDeleteYes, it was great fun, A car which we loved to be seen in, although getting out of it was more problematic!!
Hi Jane and Lance, I just love your MGB, it was always a toss up for me between the MGB and the E-type Jag, although I have never actually been in either. I always fancied going off on one of those Vintage Car Rallies, sporting a rather fine hat or Hermes scarf and doing a lot of eating and drinking! Many thanks for your comments, you did make me smile. Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. With love, Linda x
ReplyDeleteFlowers on my table:
ReplyDeleteWe should find it a difficult choice too between the MGB and the E-Type Jaguar, but possibly the Jaguar might, with hindsight, have been in the lead by a short [or long] bonnet.
When the vintage car rallies take place in Brighton we really do imagine ourselves dressed exactly as you say with a picnic hamper lashed to the running board,champagne flutes in hand and a chauffeur at the wheel......!!!
What a gorgeous car! Not surprised you loved it. I will confess that I'd rather have one like it than any racing car.
ReplyDeleteJenny Woolf:
ReplyDeleteWe are pleased that you like it too. As for a racing car, no, far too frightening. We have never even been tempted to watch a Grand Prix race at first hand!!
Well there ya go then Jane & Lance – only the most exciting to watch Hungarian F1 Gp we’ve ever had, this afternoon. And Jenson Button wins for the second time there in his racing career, to celebrate his 200th GP race start. Perfect dodgy weather too.
ReplyDeleteFancy you two seeing Lewis in your local Café. Amazing.
Hello Jane and Lance
ReplyDeleteBe assured, dear Helen, that the back seat was in fact no more than a shelf, albeit covered in carpeting.
A shelf in the back seat is sufficient to rest my (suit) case.
Now the back seat and Dirk Bogarde, well anything could happen and you must not blame your friend. I am sure that this was the inspiration for the title of Dirk's book "A Postillion Struck by Lightening"
Now I must go to confession!
Helen xx
Bish Bosh Bash [again]:
ReplyDeleteWell, now you know that it is all happening here. Or certainly was up until yesterday afternoon. This morning, with all the razamataz departed, we shall, doubtless, slump back once again into that sophorific nothingness which is the Hungarian Tourist industry and wait on our laurels, so to speak, for yet another year.
But what excitement it has been with, as you say, dodgy weather to boot!
Helen Tilston [again]:
ReplyDeleteNo, we are the ones who should be off to confession for not only knowing, but spreading the word. But our friend was, as we have said, very young at the time and therefore, we think, the innocent party!! But we doubt, knowing him, but not of course DB, that neither was that innocent and, in the case of DB, not that young!
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to our comment at such length - it is much appreciated.
Hello Jane and Lance
ReplyDeleteIt is rare to get a sighting of an MG here in Norway. However, when visiting Durham Cathedral recently, I was thrilled to find the Cathedral Green parked-up with a couple of hundred MGs. Their proud owners were happy to talk car while eating sandwiches from plastic lunch boxes. There was not a champagne cork in sight.
I've just re-checked my photos and although I spotted at least two V8s there was not a single yellow banana to be seen.
Anna
Anna at the Doll House:
ReplyDeleteWhat fun to have arrived at Durham Cathedral, certainly one of our favourites in the whole of the British Isles, not least for its magnificent setting appearing to crown the whole city, and then to have discovered all of the MGs and their owners. We love the image of these car enthusiasts eating sandwiches from plastic lunch boxes. So British!!
Of the V8 cars there were, or so we believe, only ever around 2500 made.
Jane and Lance... What a beautiful car full of memories! Really top banana! You're lucky to have it:)
ReplyDeleteSihirli Yazilar:
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed great fun at the time but we were much younger then. Today we do not even have a motor car, let alone a sports car!
What a fabulous car!! We have a vintage Mercedes that we are restoring right now. This post made me eager.
ReplyDeleteKristin H:
ReplyDeleteThis sounds absolutely wonderful and really exciting. Could you not include it when completed as an art work and do a Mercedes post? We hope so!!
Dearest Jane and Lance, I so appreciate your visiting me, and i love your new, or newly noticed by me, subtitle...the 3 E's...and also Elegance...
ReplyDeleteHelen is green with envy just looking at that fab yellow car. Except then she thinks of that limited 'boot' space and decides to stick with her big-ass red truck - the better to haul treasure in.
ReplyDeleteAngel-Star:
ReplyDeleteHow very kind and generous of you. We shall treasure your comment.
It is always a pleasure to visit your blog which never fails to inspire and challenge.
DearHelenHartman:
ReplyDeleteTrust you to have the biggest, reddest truckiest truck. So much easier for you to ride around unnoticed we assume!!!
Often it happens that the cars we have owned in the past remind us our former times. Sweet and nostalgic, beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteHello again Jane and Lance, it is so bizarre when you read through the comments on your blog, all the little stories within stories...terrific fun! Many thanks for your comments, you are so right, there is a lot to appreciate. Till the next time, adios amigos, love Linda x
ReplyDeleteI remember the car extremely well, although I never knew it could be available in V-8; possibly, it was not exported to the US? My gosh, I'd think the engine would shake the thing to pieces; the chassis must have been impressively strong, but light of course. I also am dazzled by the harvest colour; again, I don't think we saw a B in the US in this paint.
ReplyDeleteI learned on my cousin's MGA and I adored grinding all its gears - really not intentionally, I think I can say - when banished from the house when a lady would come to visit. Of course, he was all of 19, and I was not. We can't say enough for how much the MG marque contributed to the lark of growing up!
As for F1, be still my heart! I was glued to the exploits of "my" drivers, as who wasn't in "those" years? Perfectly marvelous that Hungary has its place in this spectacle! I'd be following it avidly, too. In Virginia we do horses, but doesn't everybody.
Dona:
ReplyDeleteThat is so true. Somehow those cars which we all once owned continue to have a draw and allure. Oh, the power of the past.
flowers on my table [again]:
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely as you say, Linda, so many of the comments are a story in themselves or, if not, add to an on going narrative. Such fun and people are so kind, yourself more than included, to add to the tale.
Laurent:
ReplyDeleteAs it happens there were only a few over 2500 of the V8 MGB GTs ever produced and, presumably, these were all for the home market. The 'Harvest Gold' was clearly a standard colour in the UK for our previous car, before the GT, was an MGB in that colour.
How splendid to have learnt to drive on such a car and to have had the opportunity when your older cousin was otherwise occupied!!
We are delighted to know that you enjoyed and follow the Grand Prix. Somewhat different from, and certainly faster than, horses!
Loved this post, and for the first time ever, my husband pushed me over to peer into the computer screen. Obviously some great memories of this car ! xx Ava
ReplyDeleteAva:
ReplyDeleteWe are so pleased that you enjoyed the post and that it was of some interest to your husband as well!! We did have huge fun with that particular car but it was, of course, many years ago now.
I just read your comment over at Tabitha's blog - I reached that age, too, when you only do what you want and go where you want to go.
ReplyDeleteLooking at you, there is obvioulsy nothing to be afraid of, when having taken that road. :-)
The car is perfect! Speaking of Harvest gold - our harvest is a bit paler than yours:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SzW94AVezQk/S7jI1vcHXWI/AAAAAAAAAG0/K_7Ck1sufwA/s1600/20100404_06.jpg
Are you going to visit Vienna this fall maybe?
Paula:
ReplyDeleteWe are so pleased that you are in agreement that, as one becomes older, one is far less concerned about doing the 'right' thing and that one can, very easily, indulge oneself by doing what one wants.
We had great fun in the car, and others too, but nowadays we mostly travel by train [an excellent service to Vienna] and bus. At the moment the sunflowers en route are a wonderful harvest gold. Thank you so much for your comment.