CLARAGH BRIDGE VINTAGE SHOW - 28TH JULY 2012

Claragh Bridge cross-community Vintage, Classic and Agricultural show is held annually just outside Castlewellan.  Although this is the ninth year of this event, this was the first time that most of us had attended.

With boot fully loaded for another day out, my husband, son and I in our SD1, arrived at Dobbies Garden Centre at 9.55am, 5 minutes ahead of schedule.   The Rover 100 and 2 occupants were already packed up waiting.   About 5 minutes later the Rover 75 and 4 occupants arrived.   The Rover 25 didn't show it's face until 10.15 am... these people really need to get new alarm clocks!

We spent a few minutes chatting before heading off towards Claragh Bridge.   No one was sure of the route, but I had rough directions, so it was decided that the SD1 would lead the way.   The trip was uneventful; no one broke down or got lost!   

Once we got through Ballynahinch the route was clearly signposted.  We arrived in the field, parked up and headed off to the registration tent where we paid the entrance fee

and received our number, meal ticket and finishers award - a lovely cruet set.

From here we strolled around the stalls with the toy car collectors amongst us trying to sniff out a bargain, before we headed back to our cars.   Back at the cars the Rover 25 was washed and polished, while the Rover 100 was polished.

 

Approaching 1pm, a large black cloud began moving towards us, so the 25 owner, my husband, son and I decided to make our way to the marquee to cash in our meal tickets.   As we ate our stew and sandwiches it started pouring down.   With our food eaten, we took a walk around another part of the marquee, where we viewed a wide range of handcrafted items that were for sale, sampled locally made fudge and cupcakes and received free windup torches.

With the rain over, we left the marquee and went for a stroll around the vehicles on display.  The cars, tractors, lorries, motorbikes, steam engines were all very well presented. 

This was very well organised event, with a very good turnout of vehicles (approximately 250 cars on display) and spectators.   It was a family orientated event with something for everyone.   There was live music, bouncy castles, helicopter rides, blacksmith demonstration and threshing demonstration.

The heavy showers, most of which only lasted a few minutes, throughout the afternoon meant that we had to dive for cover on a number of occasions but we didn't let the rain dampen our enthusiasm or spirits.  Around 3pm it started to rain very heavily, this resulted in a lot of exhibitors leaving. 

At 3.30, much later than expected, a MG ZT arrived, the driver of it was slightly frustrated as it had taken him over 2 hours getting from Belfast - he had taken a wrong turn and ended up on a mystery tour/major detour.  This is the first and only event that this car will be at an event in Northern Ireland. It has been off the road for over 2 years, while the changed the engine and gave it a major over haul including a respray and is going to its new owner, in Scotland.

At 4pm it was still pouring and the exhibitors were leaving in droves, it was decided that we would leave the field before it go any muckier.  The Rover 100 lead the way as we figured that he would be able to find a nice spot for us to barbecue.

Soon we were pulling into a lay-by at the side of the main road over looking a lake.  It was decided that this would be suitable for our barbecue.   Thankfully the rain had stopped and we set about cooking, eating and chatting.   

With bellies filled and everyone starting to feel chilly it was decided that it was time to head for home.

We all thoroughly enjoyed this show, despite the weather.  We were very impressed by the number of vehicles on display and the number of activities for the children.   Another show that we will be attending next year.

ROVER 75 & MG ZT CLUB TRIP TO THE ULSTER AMERICAN FOLK PARK - 21ST JULY 2012

With the car loaded up with the barbecue and other essentials for the for the day, my husband, son and I left arrived at the rendezvous point at 10.15am, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.


2 cars were already there. A Rover 75 with 2 occupants and a MG ZT with 2 occupants.  Shortly afterwards another 75 with 4 occupants arrived.  The tourer and driver didn't arrive until 10.45am  - 15 minutes late as usual!  After chatting for about 15 minutes it was time to move on.  We headed of in convoy, with our 75 leading the way.


Within 5 minutes of setting off, my husband noticed that there
were only 2 cars behind him instead of 4. We’d lost the two 75's at the first roundabout! A quick phone call ascertained that both cars had turned onto the motorway towards Belfast instead of towards Dungannon!  We pulled off the motorway and waited for them to catch up before continuing our journey.  The rest of the drive was uneventful and we eventually arrived safely at The Folk Park just after 12.15pm. 


We were an MG ZT with it's 4 occupants, who had travelled from the North West to be with us.  As soon as we parked up, people started talking about food, so it was decided that we’d barbecue before we took the tour.  The barbecue was assembled and lit. 


While we were cooking a couple from Ballycastle arrived in their 75, quickly followed by a MG ZT with 5 occupants from Larne.  Shortly afterwards another Rover 75 with 4 occupants arrived.

There was the usual car talk and banter as we cooked and stuffed our faces; it was like feeding time at the zoo!  Given the amount of food that was cooked and eaten, I think some people have hollow legs or worms!

By then it was 3pm, time to go on the tour. The first part
of the tour consisted of houses and buildings from Ireland,
dating from the 1700’s and early 1800’s


The first house was a one room house that had been moved
stone by stone from the Sperrin Mountains and rebuilt at the Folk Park. The house was inhabited by 10 people (2 adults and 8 children) and they lived and slept in the one room.

The other buildings included a blacksmiths forge, a weaver’s cottage, a church, a mass house and a school.

The Forge - The is a typical blacksmiths forge from the 1800s. The blacksmith was a vital part of the countryside in years gone by, they shod horses and made the farm and home like ploughs and griddles.  A boy would start working in the blacksmiths from the age of 10 or 12 and serve as an apprentice for 7 years.

Inside the weavers cottage - Many homes doubled up as a home and a place of work. The weavers cottage is one example of this. One room held the handloom which was used to weave the tweed. The man of the house would spend the evenings weaving, while the wife would spun the flax yarns into yarn and the young children combed the flax in preparation for the spinning wheel.

School house

Inside the school house - This one room school house was removed from the nearby townland of Castletown. The building is dated 1845 although records show that there was a school there from the 1790s.

Then we entered Ulster Street. This is the type of street that emigrants would have passed through before boarding the ships to America. The shops have been dismantled from surrounding towns and villages and rebuilt at the Folk Park.

Ulster Street - Blair's Printers - from Strabane.

Inside the print shop.

This brought us to the quayside where there is a Merchant’s Office and a house from the 1700’s where emigrants would have bought their ticket and lodged until it was time for the ship to sail. These are both original buildings. Across from the Merchant’s Office is a replica of an early 1800 emigrant ship, which was modelled on the

Brig Union.

The Merchant's office and a house from the 1700s  - These are both orginal building which have been moved from their original locations to the folk park.  The Merchant's office is from Great George's Street in Belfast and the house is from Bridge Street in Derry. 

This is a replica of an early 1800 emigrant sailing ship. It was modelled on the Brig Union which carried members of the Mellon family to Baltimore in 1816.

We entered the ship via one route and viewed the sleeping quarters below deck. We were astounded by the cramped conditions that had to be endured during the crossing. The noise and smell would have been horrendous.

Lower deck - These are rows of bunk beds.  It is impossible to imagine the living conditions that the emigrants had to endure down here during their 6 to 12 week crossing.  It is so cramped, the ceilings are so low and so warm down here.

We exited the ship by a different route and entered an American street. This street scene is typical of those that would have greeted the many thousands of emigrants in ports such as Baltimore, New York and Boston. After the street there are a number of homes that emigrants built.  

The Log Cabin - This small, 2 room log cabin is the type of house built and occupied by early emigrants such as the young Thomas Mellon and his family when they first arrived in America. They would have spent years living in a house like this until they had the time and the money to build a more spacious and permanent home.

Pennsylvania Log Barn - This multi-purpose outbuilding on the frontier farm was used to house animals and store animal food and crops. Its large central area allowed wagons to be moved easily.

Western Pennsylvania Log House - This house was originally built on the Cox family farm, Greene County, Pennsylvania by Uriah Hupp in the 1800s, before it was transported back to the Folk park.  
One Uriah Hupp's descendants, Benjamin Franklin Hupp married Clara D. Kelley whose family emigrated from Armagh in 1719.

We spent just over 2 hours on the tour, but you could easily spend the whole day looking around and still not take everything in. During the tour, 2 things struck me; the first was the difference between the homes of the lowest in society and the wealthy landowners in Ireland at the time. The second thing was the differences in the construction of the Irish homes and the American homes. The Irish homes were all built from stone whereas the
American homes were all wooden structures.  


After the tour we reconvened at the cars and chatted until  6pm, when it was decided to call it a day and head for home.


This was a super venue, with very knowledgeable tour guides, who gave demonstrations and told us the history of the buildings and answered our questions. This was a truly fascinating and very educational tour. It was great catching up with the regulars and meeting the new members. As always my husband, son and I had a fantastic day.

BALLYRONAN and DISTRICT VINTAGE CLUB STATIC SHOW - 7TH JULY 2012

With the boot loaded with the essentials for the day, wellies, umbrellas and rain coats, my husband, son and I left home in the rain at 9am. When we arrived at the Thatch,Broughshane at 9.56am, 4 minutes ahead of schedule, the Rover 100 owner and the Rover 75 driver and his wife were waiting for us and it had stopped raining.


After a quick chat we headed off to the home of the MG ZT and the Allegro, to meet up with their owner and some of his mates.   Introductions were made and we had a short chat, before heading off in convoy to Braid Valley, which was about a mile away.  The Morris Minor lead the way (with the driver and his wife) was followed by the MG ZT (my husband was driving it), followed by the Allegro (with the owner and his friend), followed by my son and I in our SD1 (with me driving it, the first time I’d driven it in 4 years), followed by the Rover 100 with the Rover 75 (with the driver and his wife) taking up the rear.

Upon arrival at The Sheddings, we were gutted when we were told that the show had been cancelled because the ground was too soft after the heavy rain.    The marshals invited us to park up and help ourselves to the tea and sandwiches.   We parked, well abandoned the cars, one member commented that it looked like a "British Leyland pile up", and helped ourselves to the freebies and discussed what we were going to do.

"British Leyland Pile up" at Braid Valley

The general consensus was that we were out for the day, most of us didn't want to go home yet, after all it was only 11.00am.  Options were discussed and it was decided that we would travel to Ballyronan Marina, as there was a show on there.  


The Allegro was left home, meaning the Mg's owner was back at the helm and my husband back behind the wheel of our SD1, we were on the road again.  The MG ZT lead the way, the driver took off down the country roads like a whippet with the SD1 on its heels with the Ascot and the Rover 75 in pursuit.

The conversation in our car was the lack of fuel... my poor husband stressed out really badly as the SD1 was getting very low on fuel, so we were hugely relieved when we finally reached a petrol station.  With the SD1 refuelled we headed off again.   A about a mile down the road my husband realised that the Rover 100 and the Rover 75 were missing, flashing the lights to alert the MG ZT we pulled over and waited for them to catch up.   Turned out one of them had gone to use the rest room without us realising and we'd take off without them!    


When we arrived at the Ballyronan Marine at just after midday,  filled in our entrance forms, handed them in along with the £5 entrance fee and were given a token of lunch, and a token for a finisher’s award before we went for a stroll around the vehicles on display.

Our eagle eyed son spotted a Rover SD1 which was parked a few rows away from us.   Of course, we made a beeline for it.  It was a white 2600 Automatic Vanden Plas in incredibly good condition.   It was heavily scrutinised and the overall verdict was that it was a beauty.   This was a new car on us, we haven’t seen it any other show over the last 2 years.   Over the course of the day we kept an eye on it hoping to see the owner so that we could have a chat, unfortunately, we were unable to catch up with him.

After viewing the cars on display, certain people couldn't walk past the burger stall without buying burgers (despite having stuffed their faces on the free baps at Braid Valley)!   We sat around a picnic table and eat the burgers and chatted for awhile before heading for our free tea, sandwiches and buns.  Yes the plates were cleared again!


By this time the car park was full, new cars had parked up including a beautiful Series 1 Daimler Sovereign (owned by a member of the Rover 75 and MG ZT Club).   

Another walk around the cars was followed by us returning to the picnic bench where we sat and chatted until the end of the show.  As always the craic was mighty. 


At the end of the show all exhibitors received a wooden plaque as a finishers award.


We thoroughly enjoyed this show, thanks to the good company, the weather behaving itself and the location - on the banks of Lough Neagh.    

REPLACING THE HIGH PRESSURE PUMP ON A ROVER 75 - 2ND JULY 2012

The old pump removed

Pump replaced, engine back together and started.   To say that it was smoky when it started would be an understatement!