A day to put new drive belts on the lathe and it's still no blinkin' good - it took half the day to get the spindle dressed up and ready for assembly. I think  the factory set-up had been lost long before I came along. There's evidence of quite a lot of messing about; keys chewed, bushes out of round and so forth; it's had a hard life and only specialist work will put it right. I think I'll go and have another look at the Myford.

To console myself I went with the Assembled Cleverchaps to the VSCC event at Snetterton - apparently the first time the VSCC's been there since the 50's. A very entertaining and exciting day out; actually, I thought it was more interesting and more accessible than Le Mans. The Snetterton 200 is a relatively short circuit so even if it's stuff that's slow, there's always something in front of you. At Le Mans you could go and have a coffee before the field came round again. It's nice to have been to Le Mans and I'm hoping to return as a member of the Jowett Jackpot team but I'm also hoping the VSCC come back to Snetterton next year. Right on the doorstep it is.

Anyway, the back axle. I was going to get to grips with it yesterday but an appointment for Cook and me with the dentist - a Ferrari enthusiast - took us in the direction of Cambridge. I mentioned to Cook that it would be a good idea, whilst we were in that neck of the woods, to slip across to the Aero Engine Chaps and collect my carburettor (they've had my 14ohp Warner Scarab carb for 16 years - it's become a bit of a joke and an excuse to visit  every now and again). Of course, Cook thought it was something to do with the car and though a bit sniffy, conceded to the diversion.

I'd spoken to a chum at Snetterton and he'd told me about the work he was doing on a 1917 20 litre Benz racing car. The car was in the back of the hangar at the Aero Engine Chaps' and was going back to the continent in a couple of days time - a window of opportunity presented itself. And what a car! Even Cook gasped (though later gave me a wigging for being economical with the truth). I'm only sorry it was too dark to take a picture but my impression was..

As Cook was on to my game I dumped a scheme to arrive at the Myford accidentally on purpose and we headed home to digest the day's events.

The thing is; I haven't done anything on the car for the last 4 days. Ok, I've arranged the radiator stuff, moved forward with the lathe pallaver and thought about the back axle but I haven't made any real, concrete progress. If I hadn't slipped off for a beer the other night I could have easily finished cleaning the axle casings but... well, you've got to have a bit of a social life. There's plenty to do, I've just been too busy - actually mostly with work  -  which, as I often think,  is another curse.