[Mick O'Malley]

Yesterday's sortie was once again to this historic venue. I was a little late leaving home so took the M5 north which was busy with families returning from Cornwall and Devon after half-term. The forecast was for 10/10 cloud all day with up to a maximum 7% chance of rain early afternoon. Arriving at Shelsley I was once again ushered into the members' parking area and to the front row of the grid.





I was pounced on by a punter who took eight or ten photo's from all angles, commenting on the dramatic sky as a background. It turned out that she was mad keen on Jaguars and wanted to build a kit, so I gave her both Tribute's details and this site's.

The paddock wasn't as interesting as it often is, but there were some beautifully prepared oldies, the pick of which, for me, was this Crosslé.



As I sat eating my sarnies at lunchtime a Welsh couple came to chat about the car. They were very knowledgeable Jaguar fans and had come from Cardiff in their V12 E-Type Coupé. I wandered down with them to have a look and what a car! Not only was it in Regency Red, the colour I'd decided on for my Moss Monaco, but, when rebuilding it, they'd had it bored out to 6.1 litres. They popped the bonnet and what at first glance I took to be IDA Webers turned out to be throttle bodies. They'd had it on a rolling road and it chucked out 465bhp at the wheels. The chap fired it up for me and gave it a few decent blips. 'Awesome' is overused but it fitted the bill here.







It turned out that they are also going to the Le Mans Classic so we agreed to meet for a vin rouge or three. Furthermore, they pointed me at this fabulous looking event next weekend, something I'd not known of. Unmissable.....

I came home on the quiet A38, which the M5 replicates, in the blazing sun after a brilliant day out, although this morning my face is about two sizes too small.

Regards, Mick