Lotus Show @ Donington 29/3/08

[graeme]

Soggy in Sheffield. Forecast is dry Saturday AM, then rain PM.

G

[Wallsy]

Just wanted to say a big thanks to Campbell for putting the effort in with the meal, hotel, tram times, etc.

I for one had a really great weekend & it was nice meeting a lot of you.

Cheers

Wallsy

[spaced_chris]

Hope you all got back ok!

I enjoyed coming along as a spectator and cheers Kenny for the pax, it was also canny to catch up with you and Jill, as well as Dave/Ed. Shame about the weather as it was looking alright in the morning.

Good to meet some of the other club members.

The more I see a Lotus, the more I want one! We'll see once I get the wedding out of the way

[tigger2]

what a good weekend

friday night meal and banter was cracking. tut asking the waitress when she was finishing was and her reply was even funnier.

thanks to Dave for the pax in Ed's Caterham i enjoyed that
i never got the chance to get my camera out, i was going to take some pics in the afternoon but the rain started and that put me off. thanks to Campbell aswell for organising the curry on saturday night, was a fantastic meal.

was good to catch up with you aswell chris, maybe see you in the summer.

[Robbie]

Had a great weekend - enjoyed the run down with Stew, Stewart, Andy and Clarke; track day fantastic, even in the wet; thanks John for the pax and showing me where the kitty litter is (I managed to keep out of there myself ); the curry night, once again, was excellent - thanks to Campbell - it was good to meet new and old SE'ers. Look forward to next year!

[haggis catcher]

Had a great weekend - enjoyed the run down with Stew, Stewart, Andy and Clarke; track day fantastic, even in the wet; thanks John for the pax and showing me where the kitty litter is (I managed to keep out of there myself ); the curry night, once again, was excellent - thanks to Campbell - it was good to meet new and old SE'ers. Look forward to next year!

MEEEEEEEOW Robbie. It was a good run up also Robbie, especially where we stopped by a field just before heading off up through Moffat. Where Andy commented why the sheep were making a noise

[Robbie]

It was a good run up also Robbie, especially where we stopped by a field just before heading off up through Moffat. Where Andy commented why the sheep were making a noise

Isn't that about the time Andy found his banana???

[brian]

Just like to echo big thank you to Campbell for organising meal, directions etc,etc.

I really enjoyed the route through the Dales.
It was nice to put faces to names and the 'banter' on Friday and Saturday night was excellent.

Enjoyed the track but really frustrated by the lack of power (vtec not working or blocked cat?), only hitting 85/90 mph at the end of the straight before the chicane compared to over 120mph when out with Robbie which showed how forgiving the Exige is.

If I tried to throw the Elise around the same way as Robbie I would have been off the track… … well off the track more! Two spins on the tarmac but the off at the bottom of Craner Curves with the car spinning down the grass and the wall looming too close for comfort convinced me that it was time to call it a day, with only 10 minutes to go.

Didn't feel that great on Friday and felt worse as the weekend wore on due to some fluey bug. Having the roof off all day Saturday probably didn’t help nor the pitiful excuse for a bacon roll.

Show was disappointing, thanks for the ticket Tut, so left for home at 12:00 and apart from a couple of reroutes due to roadworks, was home by 7:30.

Felt much better once I got home and had some Beechams cold relief!

I hope everyone had a safe journey home and hope to see you at the next SE event.

Cheers,

Brian

[haggis catcher]

Donnigton Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph1Y10vPHMA

[Andy A]

Woe woe woe wait a minute , the sheep were not bothered about me and my banana Robbie
More like the fact that stew the haggis catcher and professional sheep worrier was in town running around trying to find somewhere to relive him self.
Great weekend guys hope we can get together for more.

Andy

[campbell]

Pics now up, here:

http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... =9&t=13950

[campbell]

OK time for a quick review, better late than never.

Route south on Friday full of water, literally. Five S1s together (a first for a while, noted by Tut), and John led us into a most exciting segment from Hawes to Bolton Abbey via "Langstrothdale Chase". Worth a drive for sure. He reached the first major flood first at full Tuts, for which his reward was a bow wave into the cabin (over the screen and through dash vents etc!!). For my part, only washed in through footwell vents but that was enough to require the mats to be dried off in the hotel bath overnight

Somebody needs to tell Ian "nxy" Nixon that Hawes is NORTH of Skipton, by the way. Nuff said.

John's satnav did a storming job of taking us through the switchbacks to Bolton Abbey but amazingly it lost the plot around Ilkley and Ian and I pressed on on the correct route then waited for the sheep to catch up. Rain off so roofs off, unless you are Neil (Mags said no chance) or Tut (getting too old for it). Some fun at Otley with a 450 degree rotation of a roundabout (the sign for Otley was hidden by the trees honest...actually just wanted to see 4 Elises doing a full r'bout waltz in my mirror!)

Lots of light-flashing and we're into the well-hidden Ferrybridge Services to let the thirsty cars get some go-go juice. I led everyone in via the truck park, cos I could, but then was unable to find the access road to the car side of the fuel station, doh. I left and circuited the m-way roundabout again for another bite. Everyone else just drove across the pavement.

Fine steady cruise on A1M, M18 and M1 and even the roadworks for last 20 miles were not too bad. However they were bad enough to distract me from picking J26 and I sailed past while watching Tut dive off in my mirror..."Where the feck is he goi...ah...sh!t...you prat Fordy". U-turn at next junction and a bit of queuing for the roadworks in the other direction and we are just 20 mins behind the rest

Dinner on Friday - usual Beefeater standard, no complaints. Tut doesn't molest the waitress (Natalie) as much this year but does try to order Sunday Roast. "We only do that on Sundays, sir" says Natalie. I get off to bed before any hangover-inducing drinking occurs but several stay up. Including Mags, allegedly...

Show itself was OK-ish, plenty else said about that so I'll leave it there. Enjoyed trudging round the Donnie infield with the camera, though was glad for the thermal underwear. Colin Murray was especially feeling the cold and the over-exercising by the end of that!

Back to the hotel in good time for showers and the 5.46 tram into town for well-earned grape juice at Sinatras. Good chat in there, when we attempted to persuade Graeme to modify the h£ll out of his otherwise standard special edition Sport 160

Beaten to the Curry House by the Beefeater Barflies, panic sets in when a whole table of 12 remains empty but then Robbie and the Hilton Hotel crew show up and all is well for another full team SE curry once more. Top grub, beer and chat then ensue, and stone me is Tut not dressed to kill. Again covered elsewhere (including BBC website, Sky News and Darwin Awards online so no more said here).

One thing to note. I had the feeling that someone was missing. But I'm sure I heard him laughing at some of the jokes.

Leave 4550 Miles from Delhi £35 lighter, 10lbs heavier but very happy, and head for Sinatra's for nightcap. Note, Tut goes home instead

Make the last tram home with Ed and crew eyeing up local jailbait totty, bar closed at Hotel and just as well I say.

Well-earned lie in the next day, make breakfast with a minute to spare and my dedicated wingman nxy has pre-ordered my full-cooked before the kitchen shuts, ah bless. Colin itching to get down to the show to flog his wife's 135R so we get cracking. Still need to spend some money there in fact. Pick up a wee Elise model for young James, nxy picks up the bargain of the century Exige exhaust for £30, and depart Donnie Services at 12 noon on the dot with just nxy for company.

Smooth cruise up the m-way to Pearcebridge, quick carvery lunch at the Inn, then offski x-country for the last laps to West Cumbria.

For reference. The B6277 from Barnard Castle to Alston is a total gem. Few wee villages to clear in the first 10 miles then it opens out into an Eliser's paradise. Turn south-west from Alston to take in the Hartside Pass to Penrith and you have the makings of a great afternoon out. We rag the cars onto the A66 for the last few miles and turn up at the inlaws at 5pm on the dot.

Ah, another great season opener. Wish it wasn't so long until next year's!

Great company, great driving standards en route and also on track from what I could see, great accommodation (where DO Premier Inns get their pillows, mmmmm), great routes there and back and of course great curry. What more can we ask for. Vive les Scottish Elises.

Campbell

PS - 42mpg for the run home. Nae bad, stick that in your carbon footprint pipe and smoke it Comrade Brown...