... has gone too quickly and after 7 weeks of largely sedentary work, perhaps it was a mistake to start digging holes in the garden. Muscles I didn't know even existed have howled with protest for the last 2 days. It's all been rather hush hush, but the new pad for my rocket experiments is nearing completion.

I thought a line of bricks around its perimeter would make it easier to keep things tidy with the lawnmower and I'm thinking I should rig up some sort of sprinkler affair to keep the fence from setting alight - it's always good to accommodate the neighbours...

... and the soon-to-be-displaced residents.

In between my labouring duties, I started to strip down the Wolseley 6/80 engine. Happily, all the bolts loosened after a couple of taps with the knockmeter and the only disaster was the breaking of one of the lugs on the thermostat housing - which didn't contain a thermostat; tut, tut!

I was very pleased with the new oil filter cap and only discovered later that the land at the top of the cap (where the pilot hole is) was too narrow for the male BSP fitting. I popped down to Chumley's and found another piece of ali in his scrap bin. At least on the next go, I can endeavour to get the holes in the right places.

Sunday was forecast to be fine and four Breakfast Club cars turned up for a bacon bap at the café in Thorpeness. I missed one turn on the way there and added a couple of miles to the outward journey. I don't know what went wrong on the way back, but a round trip of 89 miles turned into 105. Still, it was a lovely day and I went down roads I've never been down before which is always an adventure.

Counsel was occupied respraying the restored body of The Great Collector's 1925 Peugeot 172. Renaud, a regular contributor to the comments section, has pointed us in the right direction to track down a suitable magneto - the only thing missing from this otherwise complete little pick-up.

Renaud himself has been busy and has all but finished the restoration of his Series III Lotus 7. A quick blast around his meadow proved all the systems worked and there's just a bit of tidying up to do before it's presented for its contrôle technique, the French equivalent of our MOT.

Leon took his Climax-engined A7 to Snetterton for a track day and was very pleased with the results despite his initial misgivings about getting in the way of all the mad lads in their hot hatches. I've thought about taking the Hillman. As the indicated revs approach the 5k mark, there's a definite surge in power and a respectable turn of speed, but it's a heavy beast to fling around corners and you can run out of track very quickly. Maybe one day.

The model has undergone more surgery. The bonnet has been reshaped and only the rear wing and roof now need attention. That can wait until next week.