Engine Punk

The 2012 Goodwood revival was actually very well attended - this little group was in the airfield enclosure We couldn't have wanted for better weather at the Goodwood Revival, leastways not on the Saturday. It was like the summers we used to have, with a threshing machine again on the inside of the circuit, and the opportunity for many of the lay-deez to show off in their finery. It was a sell out event but not everyone bothered to dress up. Those that did enjoyed themselves more I think - it makes for a far greater sense of occasion. The tax exempt car park was well worth a look The gentlemen were showing off, too, invariably in military clothes of some kind and after a bit I began to feel a bit uncomfortable. The Cold War was at its height during the fifties and sixties but I don't think we ever had quite that many admirals. Or brigadiers. There were even a pair dressed in WW2 German army uniforms at the entrance insisting we got our papers ready for inspection. ...

Me with cabaret performing friend at Summer Steam 2012 (photo : Jayne Blewett) Well, I didn't do a reading at Summer Steam but who cares? There was so much do and I had a great time despite leaving early (well, nearly midnight) to visit elderly relatives the following day. The party went on far into the night and ended with an extemporization with that doyen of chap hop Professor Elemental. Now, I don't rap but I do rock and his metal version of Fighting Trousers is highly amusing. Shame I missed it. With Pirate Copy and their followers we had everything - piartes, zombies and steampunks The playlist was running a bit late and there were about 3 more bands to go on when I left including the good Professor. Never was being bitten so much fun But best of all were the people - all walks of life, young and old, being creative, having a silly but very good time and with the most open of open minds. The Newsreaders gave us punk covers and some original materia...

As the sun sets on the Goodwood paddock I spotted the dull gleam of unpainted alleluiah I'd never heard of this device until I clapped eyes on it last year at the 2011 Goodwood Revival but it seems it's "world famous in Ulster". It's the McCandless four wheel drive 500cc racer and like most good 500cc racers from the early fifties it sports a Manx Norton engine. But in the spirit of pioneering experimentation every wheel was driven. McCandless to me is synonymous with the designer of the Norton Featherbed frame and it was the same Rex McCandless behind that piece of rolling sculpture that produced this little four wheel drive car. Its purpose was to gain first hand experience of how powertrain, steering and suspension would interact when all wheels are driven. Not a great picture but you get the idea In 1951 McCandless met fellow Ulsterman Harry Ferguson and the two embarked on a project to develop a four wheel drive car for the military. Believing ...

Tarkus still seeks a new sponsor Tarkus is up for sale again. Incredibly, it didn't sell at the last auction so Jake Challenger is offering it through Bonhams again at their sale at the national Motor Museum at Beaulieu on 8th September. As you can imagine I would like this device very much but don't have the money or anywhere sufficiently dry to put it. I hope it goes to a good home. To those with the resources, I say buy this extraordinary machine. Alternatively, buy my books - The Horsepower Whisperer and The Wormton Lamb - from Amazon and make me the eccentric millionaire I am properly destined to be (I'm merely eccentric right now).