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- Created on Sunday, 27 May 2007 15:23
Magnettes at Kingston Lacy
Although not such an intrepid journey as Jose's Peking-Paris trip, I thought it was worth recording that four Magnettes braved the weather to support the Dorset Midget+Sprite club event at Kingston Lacy (27 May 2007) on one of the wettest ever holiday weekends even by British standards. This heroic act was probably more a triumph of unfounded optimism (oh well, the rain might blow over by the afternoon...) since the forecasters had confidently predicted rain, wind and unseasonably low temperatures for Sunday and Monday. Nevertheless we managed to gather the complete Magnette range, with the ZBVs of myself and Peter Martin, a ZB with Bob Hough and friends, and a ZA belonging to David from Sussex. This was actually more of a display than the Midgets and Sprites, although the club had obviously put a lot of effort into the organization beforehand and must have been somewhat disheartened by the poor turnout.
When standing talking under umbrellas began to lose its appeal we headed for the National Trust tearoom and watched the rain from there, over coffee and some excellent flapjacks. I've recently fitted Avo adjustable rear shock absorbers, and it turned out Peter had been looking into the different options as well. As a matter of interest the Avo's work quite well on their middle setting and have eliminated the rear-end clunks I experienced when hitting bumps at motorway speed, but I'm still conscious of a slight oscillation on some surfaces so may experiment with the other settings.
Both the tearoom and the main house were doing brisk business with visitors. The house is noteworthy for the woodcarvings and collections of Old Master paintings in the main rooms, and also for the number of other rooms that are open to visitors, right up to the servants quarters. The Japanese garden and other formal gardens were quite atmospheric in the rain, but would have been worth spending much longer to see properly on a fine day. By early aftenoon the Midget owners had packed up to go home, and we followed fairly soon afterwards. I hope the Dorset area are not discouraged from staging the event next year, as it's certainly one of the most picturesque venues I've come across.
Stephen Tickell
