In which Sid and Doris visit friends Joe and Betka, take part in a local charity road rally and go to a 1960s themed party at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, before giving Mr Jolly back to Matt in Parsipanny.
Joe and Betka are great ones for cars and sailing so we are soon making preparations for two charity events. You should not get the idea that life in here is all beer and skittles. Oh no, we are vairy busy and besides … have not seen any skittles.
Intermezzo, the excellently named Venetian water taxi, must be fuelled and prepped for duty because Joe has offered a group outing in the elegant boat of the world as a lot in a charity auction. By the time the happy winners arrive we have been down to Oxford, fuelled, had lunch and polished the boat to a high shine. It is all work here. Nearly all work.
The first charity event is the Oxford Community Centre Road Rally. Joe has some cars to get ready. First we start to prepare the very pretty Fiat. On our test drive Sid feels the seats are not well secured. Actually the seats rotate so that Italian ladies in pencil skirts could get in and out without showing their lingerie to the ragazzi. Despite this delicacy it is leaking more oil than is normal and despite Joe and Sid tending to it no solution is found. Happily the ever-reliable VW Bug is running well and of course there is no danger of any underwearing impropriety.
Next up is to get the Mini fit again. Since Sid and Joe got it running a few weeks back it has started to leak from the heater, so the driver gets a hot and wet foot. This is not unknown on Minis. Joe bypasses the heater so when Sid, Doris and Betka sally froth to Cambridge for supplies it behaves well. We have cars for the rally.
Saturday’s road rally has plenty of variety. See for instance the 1980s Pulse. Designed by American aircraft engineer Jim Brede as ‘a ground cruising recreational vehicle’ it has low drag and with a Goldwing engine can reach speeds of 130 mph. Mercifully local speed limits prevent such derring do. Before you ask, it has a list of FAQs on an information board and the first one is “Can it fly?” To which the answer is “No”.
The event is soon after we heard the Queen had died. This Jaguar was much visited.
The VW 21 window bus will be out front at the Maritime Museum’s ‘60s party so it must be test driven and fuelled. Doris took her driving test in a 1972 Dormobile conversion and is happy to relive her youth at the wheel, although she observes Joe’s one lacks a gas stove, fridge, sink, bunk beds and wardrobe.
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum at St Michaels is a favourite cause of Joe’s, where he is sponsoring the renovation of Choptank, which was a ‘buyboat’ and will be an expedition boat for students of marine biology. A buyboat was a motor boat that would go out to fishing boats (generally sail boats) to buy their catch off them so they could stay at sea and catch more fish. Soon the hold will be full of students’ cabins. It is nearly finished. Some of the wood is from old Choptank, but not much (which is so often the case with wooden boat restorations, cf HMS Victory).
The sixties party is most glamorous and at our table we have S’s best fans, Jenny and Schuyler. A local Republican candidate cruises the crowd shaking hands looking for votes and funding. To continue the political theme, Sid gets chatting with Washington politicos (DC is not far away) and soon we are invited to a Mid Terms election night party in November.
By the time we get the VW 21 Window home it feels like a vairy busy day. Onwards to Parsippany in NJ tomorrow to reunite Mr G with his glamorous metal companions and then to Newark Airport, NJ, NY (?).
SMALL AD: Vintage 60’s kaftan for sale. Contact Doris.