The summer of 2000 saw us finally returning to our favourite country (besides Norway, of course...); England. The whole familiy left Norway on Sunday 1st of July, and arrived at Newcastle the next morning. The first day we drove down to a little town near Nottingham, called Mansfield. Here we stayed on a farm, looking at the animals and relaxing. We also visited the Sherewood Forest, where the legendary Robin Hood is said to have lived.

Driving on the 'wrong' side of the road took me just a short time to get used to; the worst thing is the roundabouts. The traffic suddenly comes from your right hand side... It nearly went wrong once - then I learned....
 
 
 

Day two was our last transportation day for a while. We had rented an apartement in a nice town called Crowborough, just between London and Brigthon. A nice couple called Nina and Ed let us rent a spare flat in their house. Lucky for me; he had a Porsche 911 SC (which he sold while we stayed there) and had owned a Lotus Elan. We came together one night, testdriving the Porsche, tasting the local beer -  and speaking about cars in general. During the week in Crowborough we had several exciting excursions. We took the kids down to the coast, visiting Eastbourne, Hastings, Winchelsea and Rye. The visit to Rye and Winchelsea was my idea.  Being a Beatles fan, I know that Paul McCartney and his family lives somewhere in Rye, and he has got his recordstudio, The Mill, in the little neighbour town Winchelsea. In 1990 Astrid and I visited Rye, and then I learned where The Mill was. This time we went back, to take a few photoes and video-shots.... The first photo on this page shows Pauls Mercedes Benz, reg no 900 MPL; the second photo shows his recording studio, The Mill.   But, I had to be friendly with the family, so we took the kids to London. We visited Hamleys, a seven floors toy shop. Far too much for me, but the one floor containing modelcars was OK. We also visited HMV (His Masters Voice) record shop to buy some Beatles records or videos, but the assortment was lousy. I bought one video, though ;-)

Paul McCartney's MB, reg no 900 MPL The Mill - Paul McCartney's private recording studio

 
 
 

From Fibreglass Services' storehouse Miles Wilkins showing his back to me, under an Elan undergoing  complete restoration

As I had found out just before we left Norway, Fibreglass Services - run by Miles Wilkins, was just an hour to drive from Crowborough. So, I put the family into the car, and off we went. As most English car businesses,  Fibreglass Services was also a backyard establishment. Among Land Rovers and lorries I found lots of Lotuses. In his showroom he had one red Turbo Esprit, three original old Elites, and one Elan. In the backyard there were 'tons' of Elites and Elans, and in the garage there was one Elan and one Elite undergoing work. The Elite, he told me, was restored some 10 years ago, but never used. Now the owner would start using it, but it had to be restored again before he could start using it. I don't know if this is common - or if it just tells me something of the quality of the last renovation...? In the big garage he had even more Lotuses (Loti ?). Several Elans and Elites, but only one Europa. Miles Wilkins, who is known as the person when it comes to fibreglasswork in England, didn't have too much positive feelings for Europas. He looked at them as ugly cheap cars; you can buy a good Europa for GBP 2.500,- he told me. Then, why are they som expensive?? I asked if he had some of the parts I was there to buy, but he told me they all had to be made upon my order. And; though I am an Norwegian and should know, he asserted that Norway is a member of the European Community (we are not), and that he therefor could not sell me any parts without including the VAT (value added tax). This is not correct; being an non-EU member, norwegian is not to pay VAT on goods bought in the UK; we pay tax when we bring the goods into Norway. I told Mr Wilkins this, but he insisted on Norway being an EU member, and that I had to pay VAT. After talking to Mr Wilkins for some minutes, I got the feeling that I bothered him. He behaved arrogant and he was not very forthcoming. He then suddenly decided to go for lunch (at 13:30 o'clock), so we said goodbye and went back to Crowborough. Without any parts for my Europa S2. A couple of days later we went to a big vintage vehichle gathering in a little town called Ardingly. This had to be very close to heaven; looooots of british cars, from the start of the century up tp the mid-seventies. I spoke to a man in a blue Triumph Spitfire (for sale for GBP 2000,- - despite rust and buckles) regarding a Triumph Herald that was there. I am looking for a Hearald; I 'need' a four-seats convertible, and a Herald would be fine. He said that the car possibly was for sale, but I had to contact the owner. I will try to track him down with the cars reg.no. as identifer.

Days went by, and unfortunately we had to leave Crowborough (if anyone should plan visiting Enland, I could absolutely recommend you to contact Nina and Ed - click here to see their homepage).

We drove up towards Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Mr William Shakespeare. On the way we stopped at Bourton-On-The-Water (I love the names of the old English towns, don't you??). We were told by a friend that this little old town held a fantastic motormuseum, containg among other things a little model Austin Seven, famous from the children television program BRUM. My two kids were very excited to see the car live - and their dad was just as excited when he saw the rest of the museum; Jaguar, Alvis, Riley, Bentley, MG - most of the old british car makes were represented - apart from Lotus (well; and a few others, to be honest...). If you ever go to England; visit Bourton-On-The-Water. It takes abount an hour and a half to drive from London. The museum is called Cotswold Motor Museum.
 

Banks Europa Engineering's backyard. Lovely.... More from the backyard. The yellow and purple are both built  for hillclimbs Chris Beadsmoore's Europa, new chassis, new body and big motor.  But why is the motor not wrapped in during the bodywork??

From Stratford we vent to Chester. The reason for Chester? It is close both to Liverpool (Beatles again) and Southport (Banks Europa Engineering!). I won't bother you with information from Cavern, Matthew Street and other interesting places in Liverpool; I'd much rather tell you about Banks and Richard Winter. Remembering my impression from Fibreglass Services, I was wondering what would meet us at Banks, but I was very positive surprised!  Richard Winter turned out to be a very nice man.Witty, warm and very nice. He had started his business many years ago as a backyard establishment - but it had grown over the years. Though still a backyard establishment, it was clean and tidy - and it contained mostly Europas. Banks build 47 and 62 replicaes, and they deliver parts to all kind of Europa. They also make a lot of parts by themselves. Among this parts is a brass hinge. Knowing all the problem with the stock door hinges, a set of brass hinges at GBP 150,- sounds cheap. We'll see what I do - I was very near buying a set..... Richard showed me his garage, where they make the chassis, where they make the body, and lots of other stuff. At present they were working on 5 or 6 Europas, and one Elan (just for a friend - as Richard said; they ONLY work on Europas). Richard showd me his very own Europa type 62 derivat - in which he wins hill climbs. A very nice car, but not much for the road, I thing. I also got the chance to look at Chris Beadsmoor's Europa, undergoing a complete restoration. Chris; you'll get a lovely car!!! I found the Banks Europa Engineering to a be a very serious business, and Richard Winter was very kind and obliging. He sold me parts and deducted the VAT without me having to ask  for it. I'll do most of my business with Richard from now on! Unfortunately; times run fast when you are enjoying yourself, and we had to leave. Back to Chester - before we travelled further onto York. York is an old viking city, and we visited the Jorvik Centre and walked on the city wall. Next day, the second last on this holiday, we drove via Scarborough (where I found lots of cheap car books!!) to Newcastle-upon-Tyne (feel the name !!), where we stayed at a peaceful place called Bounder House. Again; to be recommended!

The next day we unfortunately had to leave England. On the ferry back to Norway we had bad weather, and both Sindre (the eldest son) and I got sick. Not an nice experience...