Swalesmoor 1995

Saturday morning we got up to Swalesmoor to set out the trial with Russell, Carol
and David. Michael turned up with the horsebox.

The first section I set out was near the horsebox and was for both RTV's and CCV's.
When I drove it on the Sunday morning in the CCV trial we got a ciear but got stuck on the mound and had to be pushed off. Carol and David had trouble with their lumphammer - the head fell off - they used mine whilst I had my dinner.

The second section I had a go at, I thought everyone likes getting out of ruts so I
gave it a wide gate for the RTV's and down across some tough holes and back onto
the track and then sharp right. I thought the RTV's would not get round without bend- ing their sills, so I made it go round a small mound to the right and down a small gully across a small ridge to a small lump for gate one. I finished off the CCV part of the section and waited for Russell to drive it with me walking in front. I turned round and thought he was going to run me down so I jumped off the bank and he followed me banging his knee on the dash. He said thats a bit rough. I said you should have run off the end of that bank not followed me. Sunday morning I was getting lined up for scrutineering and got stuck on the ridge for the RTV part of a section and I had to be pulled off by Dale in his lightweight. Thanks Dale. We got through scrutineering OK. We were told to do 7 sections before dinner. Off we went to Carol and David's section first. Brent said "watch this one Keith you might roll over" - laughing as he does. We did OK and got a clear. The next one we had a go at was a small stony hole in the ground. As usual I struggled with the steering wheel to get my motor through the eleven and ten gates and some of our friends had trouble with turning right, back down in the hole. Keith Tidswell set out this section. His motor fell over at the 11 gate. The next one was on top of the quarry, which dropped off to the left down a windy track in the bottom, turned left over a lump which threw our motors to the right off the track. I was told to go wide at 4 gate which, when up to the right, I ended up bang in front of the large wall. I did not want to back off and as did not want to fall over backwards so we did a lot of shunting to get out of the section. Most of the V8's got clears, Clive Cocks bounced a lot at the top and I thought he was going to roll his motor over but it just stayed there. Clive shouted that he had a good handbrake.

On the next section I bent the end of my bumper into the tyre and it was even harder to steer. There was a deep puddle on our left at the bottom of the bank and a bit of a step at the top - we completely cleared the section and suddenly found ourselves in the next section. It was a good job our friend in his green V8 had good brakes. They let him restart after I had moved. We straightened our bumper and then had our dinner.

We then went to do a section at the tip end of the land. We lined up for a long sec-
tion with bushes to drive through then we saw Clive rolling his motor on the next section. It did not land very well and Clive looked in pain. The recovery team soon had his motor back on its wheels. 1 said to Penny I do not like that one. Brent set it out on Saturday altered by Russell on Sunday. The start was a bit rough with a lump of tarmac to get over. We got to the next bank with some deep ruts and we could not get up. I did not really want to go down the other side. On the next section it looked good. A long sharp right up and a long down hill with a hole in the left side of the track then out of the bottom turn left up a steep wide gate 3,2,1. Good for V8's. I only got to gate 10. I had broken a front half shaft. I said to Penny have we to retire or have we to struggle on. We might get a placing - so we carried on. Section 13 the only number I remember because of Brent having trouble with some spectators standing in the section and got 3 points. We had trouble getting out of the watery hole. Someone shouted keep it going Keith. My back wheels milled their way out and we got 2 points. We got in a traffic jam and I said to Nigel "move your motor I've only got 2 wheel drive. He said "so have I - what a pair". Then it rained, Nigel got a good rangy drive to drag him up to the top. We drove up the next section and got a 9. On Saturday Russell had a really dodgy moment and nearly rolled his motor. Next on was the reversed section with a leany bit to the right. I was surprised we kept going, but the back end swung round and we hit the 10 stick. Our last section was mostly down hill. I said to Penny we'll try to get a hub through 9 gate. Brent let us go first,we had no problem and got all the motor through. We watched the rest go through.

Thanks to all the marshalls and setters out
Keith Normanton.

Letter From America

Dear friends

Belated greetings for Christmas and the New Year. Must send my apologies for
absence from the AGM. It is now just over a year since I emigrated and 3 months
since Pauline joined me. In this time we have bought a house (with a 32 ft x 48 ft
garage) and started to arrange things to our liking. On our shopping list has been a
lawn tractor (pushing a mower for 2 hours is hard work) and recently a snow blower.
The latter is an essential part of winter life in these parts, shovelling a foot of snow from the driveway to get to work is a health hazard, bad for the ticker. Plus when the local council plough the roads they pile 2 or 3 feet across the driveway.

Late in August our 109 arrived. I have been using it on British licence plates (no road tax!') which I can do for up to a year. It attracts some attention. In September we went to the local "cruise" night where all the hot rods and street rods and old American cars with lots of cylinders and chrome go. The traffic cop asked me to move the Land Rover because the area was reserved for classic cars, the Philistine.
We went to a meeting of the Toronto area Rover Club and participated in a treasure hunt, we actually came second, missed out by 1 point from a win, during the drive were stopped by a Traffic cop on a Harley, wanted to know where our licence plates were, when I pointed to the number plates and the GB sticker he was surprised to find us so far from home, they are not used to the International letter plates over here, at least in this area, US and Canadian cars cross the border without formality (that is reserved for us Brits and other aliens) and do not display country letter id's.
This event was followed by a British car meet where there were some fine examples of a complete cross section of British cars, the majority were the MGB, TR sports car ranges but there were also some ordinary saloon cars as well.

In October we went to Canada for the Annual British car toy run, this is a charity
thing where the cars make a convoy to drive to a collection area and people donate
toys for distribution at Christmas. When we drove into the assembly area we were
asked to leave because the area was reserved for British vehicles. On the run there were 2 Land Rovers and a Disco, the rest were MGB's Morgans, Triumphs, Rolls, Healeys, and Lotus. The Land Rovers were shown on the TV news.

I have mixed feelings about using the 109 on the roads here in winter, they use more road salt here in a day than was used in England for a month, consequently there are a lot of rust buckets on the road. Most people keep a clunker just for the winter and garage their better cars. The salt will just exacerbate the corrosion between the aluminium and steel.

It is surprising how many people in the area have a collectors car for the summer,
just round the corner is a fine XK120 Jag. and there are lots of the usual Corvettes etc. and plenty of B's and TR's.

The National will be missed this year for only the fourth time since 1973 (once for a seized engine and twice for overseas work). I certainly miss the Land Rover activities and friends. We hope to be back in dear old Blighty in August for a few days, maybe get to meet one or two of you. Good luck in the years inter club events.

Regards
Bill and Pauline Leacock

Hameldon Hill 1995

Hameldon Hill is on the left side of the Pennines.l got through scrutineering OK.
Brent had big trouble with a broken front half shaft. His team soon changed it.

On the first section I almost rolled my motor and got 5 points. The second section
was down the long track with the deep ruts that throws your motor to one side. I was first on the section and I had broke something at the front. I got towed out and dragged through the deep ruts with a slipping clutch. I managed to get back to my gear and reassembled my motor and handed my card back to Joy. I watched some sections at the top end as I don't like walking over moorland. I saw an old friend and had a good chat. After the last section was done we all collected the sticks and I went back to my motor.

I then went to sign on to Marshall for the Point to Point - they gave me two cones
and a section marker. Carol said it's the last on the right side before you drop off the end. I found four sticks in the ground and put the cones on and section marker. I forgot to ask how long it was going to last. I did not know how many motors were flying round. The ground was very dry but cold and windy so I sat down to get out of the wind. I saw a train go by in the valley going west, but no Landrovers for ages. Then I saw one, Mick Higson's white motor and then the rest turned up. Phil Bailey walked over with his kids and he said they had 11/2 hours. I gave 10 minutes + the estimated time and started walking with 4 sticks, 2 cones and section marker. Carol and David came down to give me a lift back to the horse box. I like Hameldon Hill normally with all that boggy ground.

Thanks to all
Keith R. Normanton

Crosshills Comp Safari

30 SECONDS! 15! 5 4 3 2 GO!!!! I had been practising this very moment at all the
traffic light junctions that I came to during the previous week. This was my attempt at a comp safari since I competed at the NATIONALS, LAND-ROVERS as is.

The previous day, Peter, Fiona and Clare arrived from Gateshead to assist in the
repair of the comp motor. I think that Fiona uses it as an excuse to go shopping into Bradford. I had spent 11/2 hours on Saturday morning in the pouring rain getting our trailer out of its resting place. This included winching the trailer through a gap of 2.3 metres and uphill, to have the rope (now in bin) SNAP!!.. OH DEAR, the trailer is now running free and heading towards a 12 ft drop into a wood. I managed to yank on the handbrake within 6 inches of the drop. PHEW!!

I am now at the garage where I attend during the week, with the trailer. In a shed-
closeby resides the competing motor which I now find has a "FLAT BATTERY". All
this aggro is no good for anyone on an empty stomach. Put the battery on charge
and start eating.

Peter turns up at 3.15p.m. so we both work on the motor till about 7.30p.m. An early start is called for, as Peter is to be the scrutineer for the event and Fiona will be my navigator. The early start arrived to find that Fiona has been very poorly all night and will not be entering the event. Mark Barnes was pressed into service to point the way around the course.

On the walk around to find any shortcuts, I asked Brent (C of C) if a run round was going to be done. The reply was NO!!, he also implied that I should not linger in my bed. What he did say is almost printable but the words are not in my dictionary. If any of the direction arrows were missing on your first run, go and have a word or two with the donkeys roaming the fields.

Strapped in and ready to go with the transfer lever slotted into high range. GO.....we are off on the first of 8 runs, through the gateway and up the hillside on a trial section (only three wheels on the floor at anyone time or seems to be), mind a huge hole on our left and eventually follow a wall to another gateway, hard left, creating a megga four-wheel drift (I'm glad that I didn't have 4-W.S!) bear right and up a slippery slope that Mark and I couldn't scramble up on our walk. Round various corners to arrive at the hole in the wall, forget the brakes and use a lower gear for the 10 ft. drop.
Further on, we found ourselves heading for a rocky fern strewn track partly across a hillside that would put a trial section to shame, into the bottom of the field and then back up the set route. On the downward part approaching the end of our run was/is a left then right hand bend which saw me making a mess of it. I observed many competitors making a complete....of this part of the course with the father and son team of Baldwins in their blue thing creating a new route, more speed = leave track and find a new route or less speed = staying on the track!

Second run saw us going faster until about 100 yds. into the course and then,
"BANG" the motor came to an abrupt halt, we came off the course to find that I had driven into a "hidden rock" bending the front bumper into the front wheel and also bending the dumb iron backwards so tearing part of the chassis. We had lost about a minute by this time and rejoined after the next motor had passed by. As a finish of all the runs were called for, the plan was now to take it easier on the motor with adequate fuel stops for men and machine. I confess to leaving early and not staying for prize giving as I wanted to put away the motor and trailer in daylight. I did personally thank Brent and also the start marshalls for their dedication to duty. A big thank you to Gareth Almond and the other marshalls for their time and effort before and during the event.

MICHAEL CHALONER 009

but if I fall over, it's 600

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