And then five turn up all at once

Well almost.

So where do we start. First I checked on the Talbot front battery - still not fully charged almost 36 hours later. Then an errand cropped up - meds to Harkstead. Well which was the most inappropriate car ?

Yes the Imp got a run in the sun. Bumpy as hell but no not really smoking at all.

By 11:45 the front Talbot battery was charged (at last) then the rear came green in less than ten minutes. I'll have to charge the front a bit more. It started after getting in fuel (I think I do need a small pump to prime it) but worse - it looked like the charge light was not going out until 1500 rpm ?

Later it was time to get the car out. It started fine again and that light was teasing me. In the garage it glowed.

When I got it out of the garage and into the shade it was out. So it's just the sunlight shining on it. I must get a grip on my worries.

I took it to the antique shop in Manningtree and was following/chased into my parking place by a keen chap with a 1900's wooden boat. He liked it a lot.

On the way back I spotted a blue Rolls I recognised Joe Burge's. He turned off behind me so I headed for his unit to show him the car. He liked it a lot too.

Then we looked at what he was working on. First a late 1930's Buick LeSabre.

A flat head V8- the carb was surrounded buy three exhaust headers so it was always vaporising the fuel. Then a Woodie Rolls Royce. Well a 1928 20HP Rolls Royce converted by Freddie March and owned by Sir Malcolm Campbell. The engine looked very tidy.

As tidy as Joe's own Rolls in fact.

Finally he showed me a 1920's Rolls with a windscreen even lower than TAS. Add the Rolls Herse he is still working on and the other in the garage and that's er - 5. So home again I went thinking it was a great selection of fascinating cars.

I'd also booked the Ferrari in for a quick check over late May so we may be going 'continental' after all.