Rumblings, February 2006

The Malvern ‘Christmas Lights’ celebration had a display of Malvern-built cars, from early three-wheelers to the latest model, in Church Street, which was closed for the occasion. It almost makes me want to get my 1927 Family model on the road again.

The Bonhams VSCC Lakeland Trial is usually the toughest of these trials. In the most recent, held on November 12, nine First Class, seven Second Class and 10 Third Class awards were made. The Bridge Trophy was won by Leslie Murray’s 1925 Frazer Nash, the Kirkstile Plate by Patrick Blakeney-Edwards’s 1924 30/98 Vauxhall, the Roy Patterson award went to Paul Knill-Jones’s 1930 Austin 7 and the Chris Browning Memorial Trophy to Kees Boesman’s 1922 Dodge. There were 10 retirements.

I have received a letter from a Motor Sport reader since the 1950s asking if anyone knows anything about the CasImer Ragot Special, which is said to have been raced in local races in the Dordogne area of France. I thought this might be a leg-pull until I saw the photo of what is apparently this car, now in a small museum at the Moulin de Sanxet vineyard, taken when Donald Baxter and his wife were attending a nearby concours d’elegance in their 1949 MG TD.

It used to be ‘Cars in Books’, but now TV and radio are joining in David Frost revealed on Desert Island Discs that the family car was a Singer, while an unanswered question on University Challenge about the worst car concerned the DeLorean, said to have cost the British taxpayer £77m.

The VSCC continued its competition activities into December, with driving tests at Westcott Park. The award winners were: C Hamilton-Gould (1927 Citröen). David March (1925 Brescia Bugatti), and Christopher Dallas (1932/36 A7), with Marcus Croome taking the veteran award in his 1904 Wolseley.