Bad Crash in Ontario

Received this e-mail from Tim R.:

I thought the group may wish to know about a fellow LBC driver who had a bad crash on the weekend in Ontario. It seems someone sideswiped him on highway 400 and left the scene. He and his wife are hanging on to life but improving.

Their names are Robin and Ria Searle from Toronto and they were driving a Triumph TR3A. BRG with black interior. They may have attended the British Car Days about 4 or 5 years ago.

The information came from the web site for MGB Experience. The story is available at here.

Regards, Tim R.

Freddy Beach Show and Shine

Jim McK. corrects me on a calendar item. Freddy Beach Thursday evening car shows begin on June 5th. I had incorrectly put it in for May 29.

L(little)BC ? !

And Stephen W. sends along this:
If you can't find a real British sports car here is a really L(little)BC.

British?!

Sent in by Earl S.

Details for This Saturday's Tour to the Internment Museum

Saturday's run will be about an hour and a half to Minto for lunch and a visit to the Interment Museum. Meet at the Ramada Inn just the other side of the Princess Margaret Bridge for a departure at 11:00 AM. Take the 105 south. Folks from the south side of town can meet the main group at the Burton Bridge. We'll continue south to McGowans corner where we'll pick up the 690. We continue on the 690 through a host of little towns and can stop for T&P at someplace convenient.
The Omega restaurant will be expecting us and we can tour the museum afterwards.
The weather is expected to be fabulous! Folks can return via Hwy 10 although I have it on good authority that it's pretty bumpy.

Bob E.

FABAC Events Calendar

At our last meeting, Barb G. submitted a wonderful list of proposed runs for our club. I have transferred them to a public Internet calendar. Please check them out, make suggestions, offer ideas, corrections, etc. This could be a great season for us. Join in and help/participate.

A couple of items have been added to the Calendar: MADD's First Antique Car Show on June 7 and the Rexton "British Car Days of New Brunswick" in August.

FABAC Events Calendar

New MG Unveiled

Thanks to Earl S. for this tip. http://justbritish.com/2008/05/15/new-mg-unveiled/

Sandwich Board

I have often thought that when we have a line of our cars parked together, that some identification would be nice for those ever-curious passers-by who wonder who we are. The "sandwich board" idea that you often see on sidewalks outside of restaurants could serve this purpose well I think. The information on them would be simple--something like this:

Any suggestions? (other than changing 'British' to 'Bavarian')
Thanks to Jim W. for offering to pick up the tab on this project.

Report on FABAC Meeting (May 21/08) by Bob S.

The FABAC May meeting was held at Isaac’s Way Restaurant and attended by over two dozen members. Prez Gary reported on communications he had with the PEI car show concerning their change of venue to Charlottetown. He passed along FABAC’s disappointment at the changes for this year’s show and received apologies from the organizers. Apparently, the location change was made due to declining public interest and the desire to get their attendance numbers back up.

Barb G. has developed a nice list of proposed tours and monthly meeting locations. Some of these were discussed and interest was expressed in attending runs to Minto on May 31st , to the Kingston Farmer’s Market on June 14th and the June club meeting at the Moon Light Inn in Pokiok on June 18th. There was also considerable interest in a Grand Manan overnighter at some point this summer – potentially the second weekend of August. Watch for details for these events on our FABAC site. More of Barb’s proposed runs will be discussed at the June meeting.

An interesting proposal was introduced that would see the club acquiring “sandwich boards” upon which would be placed club information for display purposes at our various run destinations. Such information as club name and contact information including our web site address could be included. Jim W. generously offered to pay to have the boards made; David offered to do the design.

Jim B. thanked the recent organizers for the Saint John run (Bob E) and for setting up the venue for tonight’s meeting (Dwight) and encouraged others to step forward to lead future events. Jim reminds members that the Fly-in Breakfast is scheduled for June 28th. More information on this event will follow.

No more news on the Rexton British car days has been made available however word is that some Saint John FABAC members do plan to attend.

Rumour has it that Bob E. is working on a web site for some sort of video. He is not very forthcoming with details except to say that it would be tastefully done and that no one would end up with a criminal record as a result. Oh oh! Watch for an official launch coming soon to a computer screen near you!!!

And finally, everyone is buzzing about the latest additions to Alex and Lise’s car – the new red-lined tires, mini-light wheels and stainless steel muffler. Looking good folks!

Bob S.

(Thanks to Ellie for the great photos.)

More photos from the Saint John Run


Thanks to Stephen.
Click on the photo for more.

Next FABAC Meeting - May 21

Dwight Ball has paved the way for our next meeting--very efficiently too you will note. The following note from Dwight:

We are set. I reserved the back room at Issac's Way at noon today for May 21, from 5 to 9 PM. The room can hold 36 set up in an open horse shoe consisting of three noncontiguous lines of tables each seating 12 people. It's spacious with plenty of room to move around each of the three lines of tables.

Issac's Way is located on Carleton St between Queen and King. After 5, we can park on the street, in the church parking lot next to the restaurant or across the street in the parking lot behind the NB Power building.

Dwight

Saint John Run Report from Bob E.

(To be read while listening to Fr¸hlingsstimmen, Waltz Op.410 by Strauss)

It was just another Sunday morning sitting in the Jag at a gas station swatting at the cloud of black flies around my head wishing for the wind to pick up and blow them away. I was also wishing that 10:30 would "Hurry up dammit!" so that I could follow the rest of the gang and leave the black flies behind.
10:30 came and went... no FABACians. Wait! is that the clatter of an MGB engine?... No! darn! just another motorcycle.
A welcome gust of wind cleared my car of the incessant buzzing insects while I (again) checked my watch then remembered that the Jags clock worked perfectly (thanks to a transplant of Timex guts). That too said no FABACians.
Then what to my wondering eyes did appear?, Ya, there they where, motoring around the curve. With a great waving of arms, blowing of horns, and flashing of lights, I fell in behind the good folk of FABAC.
A perfect day had been forecast and indeed, had arrived. We drove under blue skies but kept a wary eye on the approaching clouds. At the service station just past the Trans Canada we stopped for PT (pee & tea). The first few runs of the season see the people who we've not seen all winter tire us with tales of warm southern ocean breezes and this was no different. I hid my jealousy by showing off the mini video camera I'd installed in my car. This would (hopefully) be the start of the great FABAC video.
We where waffling a bit since we had to wait for Karen and Terry to catch up with us. They couldn't put the top down on the TR3 and the fearsome aerodynamic drag was slowing them down. Having said that, they crested the overpass and joined us. A bit of friendly ribbing ensued and we headed off.
I was leading the gang and did my best to be 'leaderly'. The skies had darkened and taken on the air of impending rain as we headed south. The 102 has to one of the best drives in the region but was not as pleasant today as I'd hoped. It continued to get cooler and 'it's gonna rainy-er' as we got closer to Saint John. I was wishing I'd brought a jacket... and a hat... and maybe some gloves. I turned the heat on and rolled up my windows which did little good. Sure enough, just as we turned onto the 177 after the Nerapis marsh (and someone ELSE made the wrong turn) it began to rain in earnest and we stopped to put tops up. Somehow I got separated form the rest and had to find my way to Ralph's place all by myself.
Much to my surprise, I didn't get lost. Ralph's new dog did its best to tie me up with its rope
and we chatted on his lawn for several minutes while the rest of the club pulled in.
Now at the B&B, we, of course, had to check out the Church of Ralph. True to his description, it was an honest to goodness hundred year old church next door to the B&B. We toured the partially gutted remains and made numerous suggestions for it's use (some immoral and a few illegal). The place sorta smelled funny so we all left. Outside, the clouds had miraculously disappeared revealing a beautiful blue sky and pushing temperatures towards something more comfortable. A quick flurry of top lowering ensued as Ralph got us both a place to eat and special parking privileges. We where led down to the wharf and through a barricade to park on the roadside beside the patios.
As we sat on the patio, we watched as our cars attracted more than a little bit of attention. People took plenty of pictures (I'm sure we'll be all over 'YouTube' tonight) and posed with the cars. A few even got down on their hands and knees to check them out more closely. For once, the slow service was welcome. It was a positively pastoral afternoon and we chatted away. The smell of rotted seaweed and dead fish (the more romantic among us referred to it as "That ocean smell") added to the atmosphere. Maybe that was why so many of us had seafood. We where even treated to a small historic re-enactment of some type.
Apparently, on this day 400 years ago, the disloyalists were kicked out of somewhere and landed here because no one was here at the time to tell them to go somewhere else.
Finally on our way out, we had a contest to see who had the shortest turning radius. I believe that my six point turn-about on the road qualified me as the winner. Most of the crowd decided to take the dull, boring highway 7 back to Fredericton while myself, ever the dissenter, headed towards the 102.
The drive back was everything the drive down HADN'T been. It was warm and sunny, beckoning a relaxing cruise along the river. I barely say three cars during the hour and a half drive and my favourite road lived up to it's reputation. I'm looking forward to rubbing that in during the meeting this week.
...oh yes, I almost forgot! We had eleven cars and 17 folks.
Bob E.

(Click on the photograph for more pictures from Ellie B.)

What is Bob E. up to Now?!

A few leftover bits of camera gear and some creative hacking has produced the start of the Great FABAC Video (GFV). This contraption will be improved and should start appearing in YOUR car soon. Being camera shy is no excuse. Start rehearsing your lines today!



Bob E. sends along this interesting site.

Here's a link to the British magazine 'The Telegraph' with an article on the 100 most beautiful
cars of all time. A lot of our cars are in there, and just guess which was voted number one with almost four times as many votes as any other?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/03/10/mfcars110.xml

Report on the Dumfries Run (May 17/08)

With nary a single LBC present, two soft and one metal-topped Japanese and German mounted FABACians made their way to St. Clement’s Church hall in Dumfries led by run organizer Steve. There we were treated in royal fashion to a delicious lobster dinner with all the fix’ns. Our Nackawic members Alex and Lise were there waiting for us and were already plunging into those juicy, sweet tasting crustaceans. And boy, were those home-made pies terrific!! One of our members managed to taste all but one variety at the insistence of course of our gracious hosts. Was that 5 or 6 pieces Alex and how did you miss that apple pie? A great time was had by all with everybody looking forward to tomorrow’s Saint John run.

Bob S.

Two Runs to Choose from this Weekend

If you can't choose, why not do both?! :-)

Saturday's suggestion from Stephen:

Weather permitting I am proposing the following car run:

Saturday May 17, 2008
Dumfries, Route 102

St. Clements Anglican Church is holding a Lobster Supper.
$25 per plate includes 2 lobsters, coleslaw, potato salad, a roll and pie.
Ham dinner available for $12.
Continues from 3:30 to 6:00PM.

Planned run would gather at Tim Horton's, Woodstock Road, at 4:00PM with expected arrival at the Lobster Supper for 5:00PM.

Stephen

*****************************************************

Sunday's suggestion from Bob and Jim:

Saint John Tour

Saint John tour via River Road Sunday, May 18th providing the sky stays blue and the temperature is seasonably warm as predicted (by not-to-be-trusted meteorologist)

No rain date

1) Gather at new Tim Hortons on Hanwell Rd.

2) Leave at 10:00 AM via Route 8 south, cross the Princess Margaret Bridge.

3) South on Route 105 and cross Burton Bridge.

4) South on Route 102 to Coytown Shell Service Station, our 1st rest stop.

5) Continue on Route 102 to Lingley, left on Route 177 to Grand Bay, left at Martinon to Morna and Westfield Rd. to Manchester Ave., left onto Manawagonish Rd., then onto Main St. and Simms Corner.

6) Cross the Reversing Falls Bridge onto Douglas Ave.

7) Rendezvous at Ralph and Karen Holyoke's Homeport B&B, 60/80 Douglas Ave. in their large yard with the beautiful harbour view. I am sure Ralph will know of a few fine places to eat, perhaps Grannans' without reservations.

Jim B. & Bob Earl officiating.

Open the garage door! Please!!! ;-)

This from Bob E.:

How does it fit Pat?!
With a flurry of pomp & circumstance, our very own Patricia Strang tries on her brother's Aston Martin. I'll bet it feels nice in there, all cozy in that sumptuous leather seat and drinking in the aroma of 'Aston Martin-ness'.
Hopefully Pat will get to experience the six litre V-12 engine roar and supply us with a road test in the future.

AAAARGH!!!!

Don't you hate it when this happens?! We cancel a great run because of miserable weather reports only to wake up to a beautiful sunny day. My advice: Jump in your little car and enjoy your own great little Mothers' Day tour. :-)
- David

CANCELLED ** Annual Spring Chowder Run - May 11th

WATCH for UPDATES

Bob Earl reports:

The Spring chowder run is on! Yup!...that's right! (UPDATE: NOPE! NOT ON.)
We'll meet at Ralph's in Saint John, then a short hop to a restaurant on the Bay for a chowder lunch on the patio. Price is expected to be $12 to $15 per person. In the spirit of the run, a surprise tour will follow lunch. In order to get a good price we need our normal good turnout, so plan early to attend.

Details will follow.

A Report (from Bob) and Photos (by several) of the May 4th Tour

"A write-up eh? Let's see now..."
It was a dark and stormy night...
"No that won't work, it's been used before. How about..."
It was the best of times, it was the wo-...
"No that won't cut it either. Jeez Jim! It's hard coming up with something new all the time ya know!"

I was sitting in my den with the heater going (ran out of firewood two weeks ago) with the music on my computer barely drowning out the sound of the Jag ticking herself cool in the garage. I'd let Jim talk me into writing an article about the days run but didn't know where to start. There really wasn't much to say. I'd left the house early enough to make several detours due to floodwaters but was pleasantly surprised to find all the roads open. One could see where the road had been cleaned after the water had receded in a few spots, but there where no other signs. I arrived early at the rendezvous spot to find Jim-n-Ellie sitting forlornly in the B wondering if others would show up. As we discussed the dank and dreary weather we where thrilled to see a new Healey (in light Healey blue!) purr into the lot. Curry Alden grinned like a kid while Sherrie just shook her head. Points to them for the matching (and tastefully done) wheelchair bag. An elegant solution to carrying a sizable item which proved to be just a teensy bit too big to fit in the boot.

Others arrived soon after and everyone stood around oohing and ahing. I'd been afraid that it would turn into a non-event due to the weather but we eventually gathered ten whole cars. A few sissy-marys kept their tops firmly in place but the rest of us braved the coolish temps and occasional rain drops to welcome the start of the summer season.

The route took us north along the river (lotta junk in the head pond today! You'd think there'd been a flood or something) to someplace just past Kings landing where we stopped for a few minutes and decided not to stop there (?). Continuing inland we left the swollen banks of the river (sorry about all the descriptive phrases...I get paid by the word) and puttered towards Harvey. I didn't remember much about Harvey or why we should be going there but I followed everyone anyway.

As we motored along I kept thinking what I could write about since it had been a pretty uneventful outing so far. Oh it was certainly neat to see the Alder's new Healey but this wasn't going to be a memorable run. My revery was broken by a flurry of brake lights up ahead as the column ground to a halt beside a cottage. Chris Painter was trying to act like he didn't know any of us (how to explain US to his neighbours?) but finally grinned and waived as we left. I made a note of his location thinking about what a great place it would be to crash at 2 in the morning with a case of beer and a pizza.

A few moments later we pulled into Harvey where we tried to smash each others car up in the parking lot ("We've just gotta get our parking drill organized folks!") Jim led us to Banks or Blacks or something for a late afternoon snack. We chatted, warmed up, and ate cakes we didn't really need.

aaaaaaaand that's it. The weather sucked but we all seemed to have fun despite it. Even Steve's BMW was so excited to be back in Canada that it peed itself leaked antifreeze in the parking lot.

"There ya go Jim, here's your article."

Bob Earl

It seems there is Water in the Fredericton Area as Well. ;-)

These great shots from Earl S. from the top of the NB Power building:


Just Checking Sunday's Tour Route

Bob E. says he hopes the water will subside by Sunday. Here are some aerial shots by Bob of the proposed route(Click on photos for great detail.)