There is a saying that “planning and preparation prevents p... poor performance” and this was brought home to me on our fish and chip run. We had a good ride through the lanes to Aldeburgh lead by John Swann only to find that the fish and chip shop was closed. No hassle, we will go to the one further down the road, but that was closed. As we walked back to the bikes we passed a Chinese take away and we enjoyed some different food which was very good, and somewhat cheaper than fish and chips. So remember, p and ppppp is worthwhile even when things turn out well. Oh! and always be certain that you have sufficient petrol.
Our trip to the races at Snetterton lead by John Swann,(again) was a very enjoyable day. The sound of several well tuned big singles accelerating hard has no equal and I could listen to them all day long, real rolling thunder! During the day there was a long pause in the racing due to an accident and we were able to take a slow wander around the pits to admire some wonderful classic machinery and not miss the excellent racing.
The ladies lunch was held at the Alma and a large number of members and their spouses enjoyed a good meal. Thank you Dot for arranging it earlier than usual so helping yours truly to fit it in with his hectic social life?
As a Section we did not take part in the AJS centenary but we did decide to visit the Woolwich Museum to see their display which turned out to be similar to the Matchless celebrations of a couple of years ago. Not particularly exciting but Alan Jones, who lead the way, was able to visit a friend in Kent on his return journey, so he was happy, and as the weather was good we had a good ride.
On a Saturday morning in September we visited the Maldon Shot Blasting and Powder Coating Company and what a morning we had. We were able to see how a rusty pile of metal was transformed into a shining piece of engineering practice. As we have been told over the years the art is in the preparation (more p and ppppp) and this we witnessed first hand starting with the blasting. Apparently most pieces need to be welded and /or filled before phosphating and filler priming. The application of the powder coating was fascinating and when the Commando frame that had been sprayed emerged from the oven we were all amazed at the wonderful finish. There has been considerable debate over the years concerning the merits of two pack, power coating, and cellulose but after seeing what can be achieved with powder coating I am an admirer. I sometimes think we forget the rate of improvement of modern products. They do not have to be around for a hundred years before being accepted. We in the classic bike movement should know this only too well with the improvements we have enjoyed in metals,paints and above all electrics.
Sadly Roy Mallows one of our members has recently died. He was a long term member of the Fenrunners before moving to Sible Hedingham and joining our Section. Rex Webb of the Fenrunners was friendly with Roy and together with Ted Snarey an obituary will appear in the Jampot. Indeed Ted used to bring Roy to our meetings and as his health deteriorated became a great help to Roy and on behalf of all our members I would like to thank Ted for all he has done for Roy. Also I would like to say thank you to the Section members who attended Roy’s funeral