In recent weeks I have made it to a few gigs at The Craufurd Arms in Wolverton, Milton Keynes. It was great to be able to do something ‘normal’ if you like. Prior to these events, I hadn’t been to The Craufurd, or to any other gig since March 2020.

The first outing on 17th November was to see Girlschool and Alcatrazz and the second on 7th December was to see British Lion.

I am not going to write gig reviews as such, but rather make some general observations about my experiences.

Girlschool/Alcatrazz

Girlschool has been going since the late seventies and was part of the scene known as the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). Girlschool was frequently associated with Motorhead because Lemmy collaborated with the girls on a number of occasions.

Alcatrazz was formed in the early eighties and, despite being old school rockers, are American, so can’t be labelled NWOBHM.

The bands were on an equal footing for this gig, double headliners if you like.

Having seen neither of the groups before, I thought I would buy a ticket because, frankly, no one is getting any younger. If you want to see these bands, you need to do it while you still can. The passage of time is going to be a key theme of this piece.
 
For any band that has been going for 40 years, original members are going to be pensioners or rapidly approaching retirement anyway. That’s not to say that musical skills will have been impacted, but these rockers are not going to look young anymore.

For Girlschool, you can therefore dismiss any thoughts of St. Trinians and instead start thinking more along the lines of the W.I. When the ladies took to the stage, it was clear that they have all aged in the same way that I, and pretty much all of the audience at the gig, have. Singer, Kim McAuliffe, 62; guitarist Jackie Chambers, 57; Tracey Lamb, bass, 58; Denise Dufort, drummer, 63.

The average age of the gig goers must have been fifty something, which I guess is no real surprise because folks in their twenties/thirties perhaps wouldn’t have even heard of the band/s.
   
With Alcatrazz the experience was similar, but the band was/is all blokes. Doogie White, singer 61; Gary Shea on bass 70; Jimmy Waldo, keyboards, 62; Joe Stump, guitar, 61 etc.

Whilst the girls and boys rocked, and were clearly having fun, it was a little bit like watching your parents, or your old school teachers (well perhaps aside from Jackie Chambers, who can still get away with the tight PVC).
A good gig though and worth the Covid risk to see the bands. I’d happily go and see either again.

British Lion

This band is not old school, it doesn’t have the heritage of Girlschool or Alcatrazz. but what is lacks in history, it makes up for by having Steve Harris as its bass player. Steve ‘Arry’ Harris is a legend, a heavy metal icon, headbanger royalty and the galloping rhythm behind the monsters of metal, Iron Maiden.

I’ll be honest, I am not a fan of British Lion - I was going to abbreviate to BL, but that makes me think of British Leyland … and so I won’t. I was not even particularly familiar with the band’s music.

When The Craufurd Arms dropped me a line to state that Arry was visiting Milton Keynes, I bought a ticket immediately. The chance to be six feet away from a fella that used to hang on my bedroom wall was not to be missed. I have seen Iron Maiden (and therefore Arry) a number of times since 1988 but never in such a small, intimate venue.   

Spotify helped me catch up with British Lion’s back catalogue.

British Lion was supported by a band called Airforce. I was not familiar with the group at all, but when the quartet took to the stage, it was clear that three quarters of the outfit were of an age. The singer, a much younger chap called Flavio Lino, announced that the band were part of the MWOBHM movement, I thought that he was fibbing because he was/is too young, or that I had missed a trick somewhere.

Subsequent research proved that Airforce, established in the late eighties, was primarily a touring band rather than a studio band … and I had simply never come across Airforce on the gig circuit. 
  
Bearing in mind that British Lion features Steve Harris, it was interesting to note that Airforce drummer Doug Sampson (64) was part of Iron Maiden in its early days. On top of that Lino sings in a way that bears a lot of similarity to Bruce Dickinson.

The Iron Maiden thing was a big deal in the audience too, Maiden shirts in evidence throughout the hall, which was packed with punters.

Airforce turned out to be quite good. My only gripe was that Flavio was too obsequious towards British Lion.

Arry

When British Lion took to the stage, Arry was directly in front of me, less than six feet away. I thought I might be a bit star struck but I wasn’t at all; to me he was just an ordinary person, no more exciting than anyone else on the stage around him, smaller than most of them too.

I actually found myself thinking that he was looking old and then, perhaps worse, I started getting distracted by wondering why his hair wasn’t grey. Clearly his long locks are being dyed to keep them their brown colour. I then started wondering why he felt the need to dye his hair instead of letting it be grey. Perhaps he doesn’t like looking like his 65 years. Bizarrely though, the brown hair was the thing that drew me to thinking about his 65 years.

As you have already worked out, I was more interested in my thoughts around one of my idols than I was in British Lion’s music. Some tunes sounded a bit Maiden like, others just washed over me without having any impact at all.  
At one point when Arry was to the front of the stage on the left side, there was some wince inducing distortion from his bass that ruined one of the tunes and took my mind off on a tangent about whether heavy metal/hard rock should be the preserve of the young.

I decided ‘absolutely not’ because the age of the musicians has no impact at all on the music … and I am not going to stop loving heavy metal just because I am getting on a bit. But I do think that age probably ought to have an impact on the way the musicians dress, keep their hair and how hard they try to be cool.

Chop Pitman, Tony Hatton and Doug Sampson from Airforce made no effort to hide their ages or keep their hair long and they looked more authentic/better for it.

And that sentiment pretty much brings me to the end of the post because I thought that Airforce was better than British Lion. Steve Harris, a legend though he is, was not enough to make British Lion a standout act.

This gig posed a much greater Covid risk than the Girlschool outing because there were so many more people, no social distancing and very few masks evident. I took a chance and got away with it, but I wouldn’t have taken the risk if the event had been closer to Christmas. And British Lion wasn’t a good enough band to justify being ill/isolated afterwards.

I have a ticket to see some other aging rockers at the Craufurd in late January. The Diamond Head gig has been cancelled twice already because of Covid.  Thanks to the Omicron strain, I bet that the next few weeks will see gig going becoming less and less palatable/justifiable and I have no idea if the date will get changed again. 

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A week has passed since the Abu Dhabi grand prix and I am still angry about how it ended. In my opinion, Lewis Hamilton, having led almost every lap, was robbed in the last one by race director Michael Masi’s poor decision making.

Masi effectively broke the racing rules by allowing just a handful of cars to unlap themselves following the safety car period. He put Verstappen right on to the back of Hamilton and effectively left him a sitting duck. The race should have finished under the safety car if there wasn’t time to get all the out of position cars passed the safety car.

If it was football; it would be like a draw where one side was given an undeserved penalty in the 89th minute and then the goal posts were moved further apart for the poor goalkeeper facing the spot kick.

To make matters worse, apparently the FIA relied on a caveat clause that the race director has the authority to pretty much do what he likes in a race. That scuppered the appeals process. It was Michael Masi that was effectively allowed to choose who won the 2021 drivers’ championship.

The season end had been quite exciting with Hamilton and Verstappen evenly matched. In the last race of the championship both were matched on points and it was going to be a winner takes all situation in Abu Dhabi.

Verstappen had performed well all season and was a deserving winner of the championship, but the way he won it in the end had me screaming at the telly. If the race had been fair at the end, all the out of position cars had been allowed through, and Max Verstappen won it then fair enough. To be frank, I’d still have been disappointed for Lewis, but I wouldn’t have been so bloody cross.

I have watched/listened to F1 for the last 20 years or more and I am a fan of the sport. But if Masi keeps his job or Lewis decides he’s had enough, I’ll never watch or listen to another race again. If F1 is going to be run like the Conservative Party, it won’t be a sport anymore, it’ll be a laughingstock. 

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This month sees my website reach 10 years old; I can hardly believe that so much time has gone by.

More than 550 different types of post have been created in that period and that equates to an average of an article a week, every week for a decade. Now I know that the posting hasn’t been anything like as orderly as that, but the volume of work is there for all to see.

It’s been entertaining to go back and read some of my own stuff; I’d forgotten that I’d even written about some of the things I have covered.

The site was originally created when I found myself out of work and with more time on my hands than was normal. An interesting thing to reflect upon is that I had one job in the prior ten years and four in the ten years since this site was launched.

Aside from employment, much has been rather more consistent, Mrs. B. is still the same model; my enjoyment of seventies stuff, unabated; the pleasure derived from heavy metal and punk music, undiminished; the appreciation of old cars, unaffected; I am even still running regularly; and … the random nature of the articles posted remains – you still never know what you are going to read about next.

But that has got me thinking, because there is no plan as to what happens next and into the future. More of the same? Something completely different? Nothing at all?

Writing is a curious pastime, it can be entertaining, cathartic, creative, but it is introverted, often revealing, can be lonely, the output is hardly noticed, and it takes up time that could be more productive if put to different use.

All that aside, reaching double figures is something. When I started this, I never expected the environment would be around for that long.

While my interest levels in my own site have waxed and waned over the years, I have arrived at this anniversary and I am pleased with myself to have kept the momentum going. Ten years feels like a proper achievement.

Thanks to all of you that have joined me on the journey.

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A few months ago, I wrote about an approach from the Viking Group, a Californian motorcycle apparel/accessory business that offered to send me riding gear in exchange for reviews.

Well, it wasn’t a complete surprise if I am honest … that nothing ever happened. Despite some promises, the company didn’t end up sending me anything to review, and so that was that. Unreliable lot those Vikings.

On the biking front though, much is new to report. At the end of June, I bought a 2008 Honda CBF1000 GT. The CBF was my first foray into four cylinders and my first Honda too. My decision to get an alternative bike was driven by my desire to expand my skills and experiences by riding a machine with different behaviour and handling characteristics.  I had test driven a CBF and had decided that it was the next bike for me - the extra ‘go’ and smooth four-pot power delivery won me over.

For a few weeks before my Yamaha TDM 900 went to its new home, I had two bikes in the garage. The TDM had served me well, been utterly reliable and, over the 5,000 miles I had ridden it, the Yamaha had become a mechanical friend to me. When I sold it, I was genuinely sad to see it go, but at least it went to a good home.

The Honda and I are getting along well enough now; though the bike is newer and has a lot less mileage than the TDM, teething troubles marred the start of our relationship, and for a while I regretted my decision to upgrade.

It was like changing an old girlfriend for a younger, sexier model and then finding out that age, performance and looks aren’t as important as shared beliefs, values, attitudes and history.

Though the honeymoon period with the Honda was all too brief, the challenges are now largely in the past, and my plan is to keep this machine for the longer term.

Since acquiring it, I have added over a thousand miles to the odometer, that’s more miles in less than four months than the bike had done in its previous four years.
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I took part in Rugby Bikefest on 26th September. On the bright Sunday morning, I joined the ride-in from the truck stop on the A5. It was good fun, hundreds and hundreds of bikes riding in convoy, two abreast with a police escort into and around the town centre.

​Next to me for the ride-in was the chap on a Harley (see left). A distinguished gentleman rider if ever I have seen one. Burgundy velvet jacket, open face helmet and a pipe for gawd's sake. The velvet did look rather cool, but it wouldn’t do to fall off in it, and you certainly wouldn’t want to ride in the crappy weather either.

He did look dapper though in his shades and bike-colour-coded smoking-room attire. And the pipe just cracked me up. His machine was nice and noisy too, so he wasn’t struggling to get noticed. The MC in the town centre targeted him specifically for an interview.

Unfortunately, having picked up a slow puncture, I had to contend with a deflating rear tyre  – my tyre was literally screwed. It’s not much fun riding with a flat. In the gallery photo (below far left), you may be able to see that my rear tyre isn't at its correct pressure.

People lined the streets through rugby to watch the parade thunder by, and the town centre was packed full of people, motorbikes and concessions. It was the busiest I have seen anywhere in more than eighteen months. So busy, it was rather disconcerting. Not many face masks in evidence.

​My final biking related update is that I have got myself booked on to a Biker Down course organised by Northamptonshire Fire Service. In November, I am going to find out how to help fellow motorcyclists that end up in trouble. I am sure it will be an eye-opener for me.

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I saw a TV advert earlier in the week for Marmite beer and decided that I had to get some. The ale, brewed by Camden Town Brewery in conjunction with Marmite, is limited edition and limited in terms of availability – for example sold by Tesco but only from the Extra stores; available at Sainsbury but not at Asda.

As a Marmite fan who sought out Marmite chocolate, rushed out to buy Dynamite chilli Marmite, loves Marmite peanut butter and even has Marmite shower gel in the bathroom, I had high hopes that the beer would be something special.

I went out on my motorbike on Saturday determined to find some and scored a hit at Sainsbury in Sixfields, Northampton.

At £1.80 per 330ml can, it’s not cheap in Sainsbury though.  I later went to Tesco’s large store in Hunsbury, Northampton and you could buy a four pack for £5 with a Clubcard. I paid £9 for five cans and felt that I had badly been ripped off. If you want to try some of this stuff too, I wholeheartedly recommend you seek it out at Tesco.   

Yesterday evening the first can was cracked open and the tasting could begin.

Here’s my review. The beer is dark in colour and nice enough; it isn’t devoid of flavour, but there just isn’t enough Marmite about it in my opinion. It could smell better, and it could taste more authentic too. I think that Camden/Marmite missed a trick – they played it too safe. If it didn’t say Marmite on the can, or I had blind taste tested it, I would have had no idea it had anything to do with Marmite at all.

If you like a flavoursome ale, Adnams Broadside is an excellent brew and it totally outclasses Marmite beer. Guinness Export is also terrific for flavour.

The positioning for Marmite is love it or hate it – in this instance, and in my opinion, neither label applies. Marmite beer is okay, but that’s all it is. If you drink lager, you might hate it, but I can’t see a real ale or a Guinness drinker stating that they love it.

All in all, I was a bit disappointed, which is a shame.
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I have a collection of Seiko automatic watches from the seventies, one of them is even featured in my ‘stuff’ gallery. The collecting bug started back in 2008 and a number of watches came and went over the next five years or more.

One watch I always wanted and could never really find at the right price was a 6105-8110 diver. This particular dive watch was immortalized in Apocalypse Now because Captain Willard, played by Martin Sheen, wore one. As a result, folk will often refer to the style of watch as the “Willard”.

The Vietnam era Seiko always did, and still does, command a high price. As such I never had a 6105, but I did have a 1979 6309-7040 diver, affectionately known as the “turtle”.
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I recently found out that Seiko had issued a 55th anniversary edition of the iconic time piece and a wider range of reissued Prospex models with different coloured dials - black, blue, green, grey. 

I’ll be honest, my first thought was “I want one”. But, and the but was big, the new watches ranged from £1000 to £1250.

https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/products/prospex/spb183j1
https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/products/prospex/spb151j1
https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/products/prospex/spb153j1
https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/products/prospex/spb237j1

​A grand for a Seiko feels very steep to me. The brand is not exactly a prestige one and yet the price tag would suggest it thinks it is.  Would you pay Mercedes money for a Toyota?

​I got in touch with my watch repairer friend, Rich, also a fan of the Seiko brand and he advised me that the watch forums had been abuzz with dialogue about the re-issues … and that the consensus of opinion was aligned to my thinking on price.

But he went on to state, “If you want a 6105 without the £1200 price tag, have a look at the Steeldive SD1970. Their 6105 'homage' is just £109, powered by a Seiko NH35 movement and comes with both a solid link stainless bracelet and a rubber strap.”

What’s more, Rich had already bought two watches from the Steeldive range and was mightily impressed with them; his comment “the quality of the watches is unbelievable for the money.”

I had never heard of Steeldive, and replicas are not normally my thing, but a recommendation from a friend whose opinion I respect was the game-changer for me. And a Seiko homage powered by a Seiko derived automatic movement felt rather acceptable.

Steeldive has a website, this is it - https://www.steeldiveuk.com/ - and off I went to visit.

Impressed by what I saw, I set about acquiring myself an SD1970 … and a few days later was very pleased with my purchase. The watch has been worn constantly since and not only does it look great, the timekeeping is spot on. And, like Rich, I am already contemplating my next buy.

It’s a word-of-mouth thing; thanks to Rich, I went from a complete lack of awareness to advocacy within days, avoiding the scepticism I would have entertained otherwise. I am now sharing my opinions to spread the ‘word’ a bit further.
 
The story doesn’t end here though. I got in touch with Steeldive UK and spent an hour chatting with director, Matthew Burgin.

The Steeldive website tells some of the story about the business, but here’s what else I gleaned from Matthew.

He’s a serial entrepreneur (he runs a number of businesses) and a watch enthusiast. He became the UK distributor and stockist for Steeldive some eighteen months ago and is quietly building himself a nice little business in Cardiff. The desire to get involved with Steeldive came from owning one, genuinely appreciating the quality/aesthetics of the watches in the range, realising that there was a business opportunity to establish the brand in the UK and a chance to make some money whilst doing something he was interested in.

Lockdown meant that Matthew had a little more time (no pun intended) on his hands than normal and that gave him the scope to deal with the legal stuff, the Chinese, the importing and the statutory reporting.

Matthew likes a Seiko (we both own Pogues for example – named after Nasa astronaut Colonel William Pogue who took one to the moon - his blue dialled, mine yellow); his choice of watch from his own range is also the SD1970; we both like classic cars; and it turns out that we are almost the same age.

Chatting to Matthew was easy and I could have whiled away more time, except that I started to feel guilty for distracting him. I had literally called out of the blue and he was good enough to engage with me; I didn’t even buy anything else.
  
I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and came away thinking that Matthew is a decent chap and that not only could I/you buy a good watch at a good price, I/you could buy one from someone likeable as well. Next time I buy a Steeldive, and there will be a next time, I am going to phone my order in and hope to get another chat while I am at it.
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If you like diver style watches, I’d recommend that you check out Steeldive. My friend Rich was effusive in his praise and so am I.

The Steeldive SD1970 isn’t presenting itself as a Seiko, it isn’t claiming to be something that it’s not. It’s not a ‘fake’, it is instead an homage and respectful to the original. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea I accept; I wasn’t even sure it would be mine … but I am now wearing my watch with satisfaction and with pride. And, if I end up duffing it up a little in the course of living, it won't be the end of the world.

The SD1970 is a cracking piece; the quality is great and the price makes one accessible to any fan like me that always fancied a Willard but couldn’t afford one. The Seiko Prospex re-issues are ten times as expensive and justifying the price difference is tough. For those that are into detail, the case on the Steeldive is even more faithful to 6105 than the latest Seiko re-issue.

To be brutally honest, the SD1970 feels every bit as good in terms of weight, finish and time keeping as my branded Seikos and, as a Seiko fan, that is difficult to comes to terms with.  Probably not good for Seiko either.
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But nothing is ever clear cut; I have read that customers have bought Steeldives and then, having liked them so much, they have gone and bought the original watch that the homage was based upon. I have also heard that customers have bought Steeldives because they own the original watches already, but don’t like to wear them in case they get damaged.

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Some months have passed since I really took my site seriously - that feels like the kind of thing a blogger might say in the internet equivalent of a confessional booth. I have been quiet for a while, but the approach from the Viking Group enthused me back into action and so I am back at the keyboard and ready to share a personal update.

Though things are starting to get back to something approaching normal, my life, like most of my readers I expect, has been a bit dull of late. Not much has been happening, things have been a bit “Groundhog Day”, and writing about them … largely pointless. 

Though it’s now May, this year has so far felt like an extension of 2020. Last year really didn’t get a thumbs up from me and I was damn glad to see the back of it.

After my post in June 2020 about furlough, I ultimately got made redundant at the end of October. Whilst not exactly a surprise, it was nonetheless a depressing blow. I didn’t join the ranks of the unemployed however - because I got myself a job at Tesco instead.

To quote Jon Bon Jovi, “when you can’t do what you do, you do what you can”.  Jon donated his time to a food kitchen, and I went to work for a supermarket.

The last time I worked for minimum wage, the formal structure didn’t exist. Going back to basics was an eye opener for me. Still, whilst the pay, hours and working environments (often outside, regardless of the weather) were grim, I cracked on. I made the most of it and tried to positively influence the other, less motivated, minimum-wagers around me to do a good job on behalf of the customers.

In January, when I turned 50, I was earning less money per month that I did when I was 18. Still that money was better than no money, and the job was better for my soul than no job.

The fact is that in 2020, I had never known so many good people be out of work at the same time.

I digress a moment to reflect. As I get older, I am conscious that I have stopped wanting more and more and have instead reverted to a state where I spend more time concerned about keeping what I have already – health, relationships, home, career etc. Is it just me? Do you dear reader ever have similar thoughts? I certainly don’t yearn for status symbols, or celebrity, or great wealth – though saying that, I do fancy upgrading my motorcycle ... again.

Perhaps it’s just that age is weighing heavier on me than usual right now? Normally it’s irrelevant, I mean I still behave like I am 30. But, in facing risk, I have felt more exposed than I did before. Maybe being 50 doesn’t present a roadblock to ambition, or career, or new experiences … but equally, it would be naïve to think that all the old doors can still be opened.

Anyway, introspective digression over. When facing redundancy, I had started applying for the kinds of roles that my skills and experiences would properly suit. The job market though was, and still is, brutal. For me, the outright rejections and complete silences had me genuinely worried about my career, each ‘hit’ another blow to roll with.
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After 50 applications, for positions I was well qualified for, I only got interviewed twice. Fortunately, I made it through to second interviews on both occasions and got offered one of the roles.

I was beating myself up about my personal performance ratios, when someone, whose opinion I value, suggested that my 50:2:1 result wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t expect to get praised for failing so often that’s for sure.
 
In February, I was fortunate to secure myself a 15-month fixed term contract and get back to doing what I do - marketing management - and with a proper salary again. Normally I wouldn’t have been keen on a short-term role, but given the circumstances, I was delighted to take it.

I am currently working with good people, for a good business and am adding value and enjoying myself.

As we are finally easing out of coronavirus restrictions (and let’s hope there are no more reversals), my life feels like it has the balance back that it was missing for a year (again hoping for no reversals).

I guess that what I am getting at is - I am back. Normal service about to resume; you’ll be hearing from me more often. Probably.

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Every so often something interesting happens with my site, people get in touch and new connections are made.
​
The latest of these approaches came from a chap called James Wilson, a marketing associate for Viking Group - a California-based company serving bikers with products ranging from apparel to saddlebags. 

Here are some websites that you can visit and see for yourself.
www.vikingcycle.com
www.vikingbags.com

Here’s what he had to say “I visited your website randomly but I must say I like the content you are producing and the reason why I am outreaching you is that I am very interested in having a collaboration with your website.”

After I’d got over my surprise, and verified that the whole thing wasn’t a hoax, I was quite pleased that a cool, Californian, motorcyclist-serving business came across adrianbaldwin.com. .net .co.uk etc.

So, I replied to James with this:

“I am a rider and would have to express an interest in cool biker gear. My site does have a number of biking related posts, but my blog is wide ranging, and it's UK domiciled.

What would you like from me? A link is easy, but I'll do more depending upon how you respond. I'll write up a whole post about our engagement if I am inspired.”

And clearly, I was, because look what you are reading now.

He came back to me with a proposition, basically he’ll send me some products over from the U.S.A. at his expense, and that I’ll get to keep, in return for honest product reviews and some links from my website.

I’ll admit to being intrigued. Let’s be frank, getting free motorcycling gear in exchange for honest product reviews works for me. Given that motorbike riding and writing are two of my most favourite pastimes, what’s not to like? I get to try out some new stuff and get to write about it too. And I don’t have to lie about my experiences if they aren’t positive.

Being very British though, I didn’t bite James’ hand off; instead I went back and gave him a chance to change his mind. I pretty much apologised for my bike, my age, my site and my country. Here’s what I stated:

Hi James,
Okay, you’ve got my interest. Writing honest product reviews based upon user experience works for me.
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I have visited both websites and can see that you stock the kinds of products I genuinely use all of the time.

I attach a photo of my bike, it’s a Yamaha adventure bike rather than a cruiser or a café racer, so not as much of a lifestyle statement as a Harley for example. You’ll note that I already use saddlebags too; these are slung over the bike and secured under the seat. I have a Givi rack that can accommodate hard panniers, and the bags are also attached to that frame. The bags aren’t dissimilar to items you stock.

​In terms of riding gear, I wear leather when the weather is good and fabric (because it’s waterproof) when it isn’t – and in the UK we have plenty of rain.

I ride about 5,000 miles per year. While I prefer the sunshine, I ride in all weathers.

I am 50 years old in case that is relevant to you in terms of your target market.

I have shared this insight so that you can determine if I am the right fit, or not, for the Viking brand.

If you are interested in moving forwards, please let me know what the next steps are. If you are not so sure anymore, that's fine, no hard feelings.

Kind regards,
Adrian

Being frank again (he’s like a alter ego), I expected that my honesty would have killed the deal stone dead. But, after a slight pause, James got back in touch, said “Thank you for the detailed reply” (seriously, that’s verbatim) and offered up some choices as to what I could test first.

So we’ll see what happens next. I’ll follow up this post regardless of whether or not anything actually arrives.

If some product arrives - and I am excited to think that it might - you’ll get to read a review; if it doesn’t, well it doesn’t matter because I have had some fun already just by being approached.

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www.vikingcycle.com
www.vikingbags.com

On 19th September, I was lucky enough to be taken for a spin in the glorious 1973 Vauxhall Firenza you see pictured here. It is owned by Gary Lewin, who, in a bizarre twist of geographical fate, just so happens to live on my estate. Aside from car shows, it’s rare enough to see a Firenza anywhere - to find that one is garaged just around the corner from my house is amazing.

I have been a fan of HC Vivas and their derivatives for a very long time now. Regular readers will be familiar with the plethora of articles posted since 2011 - some shared below in case you need reminding. In my life, I have owned two Vivas and a 1973 1800 Firenza.

In September, I posted a Facebook comment and a photo but thought that a full-blown article was also worth creating. Why, well there were lots of comments and plenty of people clearly appreciated this car.

Gary’s Firenza is far from standard, the base car was a 2300 Sport SL, but it has been augmented with the Magard “Old Nail” body kit, it sits on Wolfraces, has a pair of 48 Dellortos feeding petrol into the slant four, a Getrag 5-speed box, a rear spoiler, a rather smart custom rocker cover, and it has the battery, water reservoir and fuel pump located in the boot.

The Firenza has been featured in the media too, it appeared in the December 1988 edition of “Fast Car”. And on the subject of speed, that article suggested that the car was good for 175bhp and a 0-60 time of about 7 seconds. Top speed 138mph.

LUR440L is glossy black with red accents inside and out and the car just looks sleek and so damn cool. In my opinion, if “Knight Rider” had been filmed in the UK, Hasselhoff wouldn’t have batted an eyelid at driving this KITT contender. Seriously, it’s that cool.

I caught a sideways glimpse of this car a few times before I actually got a proper look at it. In one instance, I literally ran from my back garden and down the drive to see the car just as it turned right out of my estate. Once I knew for sure that the street machine was a Firenza, I took to my estate Facebook group with a request for more information. I subsequently found out who owned it, and then went to meet him.

Gary expressed his surprise that someone actually knew what the car was, he is more used to people asking him what it is. He certainly didn’t expect to find a super fan on his door step. But to his credit, even if he thought I was a weirdo, he was kind enough to show me around his pride and joy and let me take some photos.

The thing about cars like this one is that they bring people together and it’s not the first time that I have made an effort to contact someone with an eye-catching motor. Back in 1994, a bright yellow Firenza with the same body kit was the catalyst that created a twenty-year friendship with a fella that, in the second bizarre twist of this post, was also called Gary. I wrote about the encounter with Gary Martin in this piece -  https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/gary-martin-good-bloke-gonegutted - please have a read, but in the meantime, here’s an extract:

“The manner of our meeting amuses some because (uninvited), I just went up to his front door and introduced myself. At the time he lived in Barton-Le-Clay, Bedfordshire; I used to drive past his house almost every day on my way to work in Flitwick. Gary had a 1971 Vauxhall Firenza (EXE674J) with an “Old Nail” fibre glass body kit fitted to it. The kit meant the car had a pointy nose cone, large bonnet bulge and flared wheel arches. What was also eye catching was that the car was painted in a very bright shade of yellow. At the time of our meeting, I was driving a 1300 GLS Vauxhall Viva and made a spur of the moment decision that I should say “hello” – my thinking was that we might have some stuff in common. And it turned out that we did! We became firm friends as a result.”

Having seen LUR440L in the garage, I was quite excited to be taken out for a drive a few days later. Though it hardly seems believable to me, more than a decade has passed since I last went for a ride in an HC.

The run out towards Welford was a delight, the car was fast and noisy and there was this sense of drama that is completely absent from a modern motor.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being able to smell a car, the whiff of petrol is something that used to be the norm, but is now a dim and distant memory.

All too soon the drive was over but I thoroughly enjoyed myself in the time it lasted. Honestly, I spent the whole time smiling from ear to ear and the experience is one of the highlights of my year.

Many thanks to Gary Lewin.

Click on any image to enlarge

Previous Posts:

1) https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/gary-martin-good-bloke-gonegutted
2) https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/september-car-shows-at-billing-aquadrome
3) https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/vboa-annual-rally-market-harborough-showground
4) http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/annual-vauxhall-pilgrimage-washout.html
5) http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/vboa-all-car-club-rally-2013.html
6) http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/that-petrol-emotion
7) http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/reflections-from-the-vboa-national-rally-billing-2015
8) http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/vboa-national-rally-at-billing-aquadrome-july-2016
9) Not Billing – a VBOA National Rally review
10) http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/a-trip-down-memory-lane-pot-holes-and-all
11) http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/the-droopsnoot-celebrates-its-40th-birthday
12) http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/vauxhalls-heritage-centre-ndash-a-nostalgic-trip-to-luton.html

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​As part of my birthday present in January this year, Mrs Baldwin bought me a red-letter day driving experience from fivestardays.com. Given that my appreciation for these kinds of car is well known, the voucher was for a blast in an American muscle car.

The Background
I arranged to redeem my voucher with a business called Everyman Racing and to utilise its Prestwold venue, which is near Loughborough and thereby geographically closest to me.

When I originally called to book up a visit, I was advised that I could choose from a series of cars to drive, the lady was going through the list and when she said the “General Lee”, I said “stop there, yes please”. No further options needed to be explored.

Not only was I going to get to drive a 1969 Dodge Charger, it would have the legendary orange Dukes of Hazzard livery. I was well chuffed.

But patience was required because Everyman Racing was shut down in light of coronavirus and gratification would have to come once lockdown was lifted. So, though my birthday was in January, I had to wait until last weekend (18th July) to be able to enjoy my present.

During the booking procedure, I was subject to upselling and ultimately purchased a collision damage waiver (£20), a couple of track demo laps (£10) and a photo (£10). More on the value of these later.

On the 18th July, Mrs B and I made our way to the circuit, me dressed in a vintage leather jacket and wearing a tee shirt celebrating 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landings (another reference to 1969).

Most of the vehicles being driven around the track were modern sports and supercars, but there were a collection of much more interesting vehicles including a Smokie and The Bandit Trans Am, a Knight Rider KITT Trans Am, an A-Team GMC van and a sixties Ford GT40.

Once I went through the socially distanced checking in protocols and driver briefing process, I was able to get my demo laps. My driver pointing out the track apexes, braking points and general track etiquette.
    
Then it was my time to have a drive with The General and my instructor, Nathan, because it turned out that I wasn’t going to be unsupervised on the circuit.  I was led across to the car and allowed to spend a few minutes appreciating it and taking some photos (shared here for your enjoyment).

The General
I was pleased to find that the doors on this Charger weren’t welded shut, because I really wouldn’t have looked elegant climbing in through the driver’s window.

Once in the driving seat and belted up, Nathan, who also instructs on the Lambos, joked with me that I’d have the slowest car on the circuit, with the potential exception of the A-Team van. And despite the roll cage suggesting raciness, he was right.

The Dodge was a column shift auto and once it clunked into gear, we headed to the track. We queued at the circuit entrance for a moment to have a photo taken and await our launch slot. When it was time to put the hammer down, the General’s V8 made a lot of lovely noise, but advancement was rather more pedestrian. The carburettors caused some fuelling related lag, and presumably the engine had been detuned – it certainly wasn’t set up for the drag strip put it that way. No smoking or squealing tyres.

Progression around the track was shall we say, stately, like a galleon. The long bonnet and low seating position reminded me greatly of my old HC Vauxhall Vivas. Obviously, there was a lot more auditory drama with the Dodge, but the driving experience wasn’t all that different, rear wheel drive, vague and heavy steering, rubbish brakes, body roll in the bends and all accompanied by a cacophony of rattles, shakes and squeaks. With little pillar obstruction and no head rests, visibility was good though.

To be frank, the car looked lovely on the outside, but on the inside, it was rather more tired and its 50 years of service and relatively poor original sixties build quality were obvious - cheap plastics, missing trim elements, there was even orange hand brushed overpaint on some of the internal trim panels. To be frank, the car felt like the kind of film set car that it was. For filming purposes, the outer appearance is key, and in this respect the Charger was wonderful.

On the track, the advice I had been given on my demo laps was irrelevant because Nathan had me braking much earlier than the posted braking points and was very keen that I took different lines into the bends so that the car would stay on the track instead of going straight on.

After two laps of the Prestwold track, the experience was over and it was time to park the General – fortunately there was plenty of space for its considerable turning circle.

The Verdicts

The Package
The basic cost of the experience was good value. I would however have liked more time in the car, two laps of the circuit and circa three miles of travel just wasn’t enough, and the drive was over within minutes of it starting.

The professional photo was good value.

The demo laps were a waste of money at least as far as my experience went. When I agreed to them, I didn’t know that I would be accompanied when driving the General, or that Nathan would demand that I ignore all the instruction I was given during the demo process. The demo laps helped one determine how the most track speed could be extracted from a car. All ultimately irrelevant to me.

The indemnity insurance was a waste of money. Having never been to the circuit, when I booked the package, I was being sensible. I didn’t know the risks and felt that the extra expense was justifiable. On the day though, the actual chances of an accident were minimal, the performance of the car underwhelming, my instructor firm, the focus on safety by Everyman Racing - second to none.

Of my forty extra pounds spent, thirty of them would have been better allocated to getting a few more laps, or diving one of the other vehicles as well.

The Process
Getting the package booked was easy and the communication in the run up to the 18th was excellent. The organisation at the venue was good and the coronavirus safety measures all taken very seriously. The people that I interacted with were all friendly and accommodating in as far as they could be.  For example, I got to take some close-up pictures of the KITT interior, shared below, after being allowed to go trackside (accompanied) with my camera.

The General
To be brutally honest, driving the car wasn’t particularly pleasurable, a modern car would kick its butt in every meaningful measure. Once you are in the driving seat, you can’t even see the beautiful body.
 
You might be thinking that the car was a bit rubbish and that I didn’t enjoy myself …

… but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Don’t get me wrong, I spent the whole time smiling and I BLOODY LOVED IT.

I wouldn’t have swapped driving the General for any of the supercars that were on the track with me.

The End
​
I want to go again. Next time, I will most likely opt for a multi car package with the aim to drive some of the other film set vehicles. I particularly want to drive KITT.

And I’d like another tango with the General.

My thanks to Mrs Baldwin, who doesn’t share my love of old cars, but dutifully accompanied me to Prestwold anyway. She pulled an absolute blinder with this year’s gift, an inspired choice.
​ 
Thanks to Everyman Racing, I look forward to my next outing.​

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