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Following an invite from TR Wensum, two TSSC cars attended their mid-week run from Dereham to Setchy for lunch, a wander around the beer warehouse and antiques centre. Great weather, great run and great company. Many thanks to the TR Wensum lot who made us feel so welcome.

A nice bright sunny start to the day saw a great turn out for the first run of the year with 26 Triumphs and over 50 people attending. This resulted in an impromptu car show in Swaffham Market Place for the start of the run, which took in Castle Acre and a watermill, ending at Whitwell and Reepham Station for brunch and train rides. Unfortunately the rain came down just as folk were heading home. It was really great to see members coming from other TSSC areas including Cambridge, Leicester & Rutland and Nottingham. We were also joined by a few members from the Wensum TRs. Triumphs in attendance were -2 Early Heralds and a 13/60, 3 Vitesses, 2 Spitfires, 3 GT6s, a single Hurricane and Dolomite, 2 TR4s and 2 TR6s and the most popular with 4 were TR7s along with 4 big Triumphs.

 

Well that was a good drive out! Proper old school – it’s been a while since we’ve done so much map reading. Although I must admit we resorted to the satnav for the second part as we wanted cake. Great to see so many Triumphs out and about. TR7s and big sixes were the cars of choice, not a Spitfire in sight though. 

And the best bit? We didn’t have to organise it! Many thanks to Andy and Gill for the organising, it’s very much appreciated. 

For this one we were wearing our classic caravan hats. A quick ring round other Norfolk caravan owners found enough interest to get an area reserved for us.

We arrived on Friday lunchtime and   were given a spot between two campervans. By the evening we had our ‘gang’ all set up and a great selection of ‘vans we had too – our combo, a 1933 Carcruiser, VW camper, a very shiny airstream and three Cheltenhams.

Two cans of beer with our curry and just about ready to turn in and Chris invited us into his Cheltenham for another. Made a nice ending to the day.

Saturday and the first day of the show. It was a big place but it didn’t seem that busy. It did give us a good chance to walk around all the stalls though of which there were plenty. We had booked for an evening meal on the Saturday night which gave us a good opportunity to get together somewhere warm.

There was a frost on Sunday morning which, I guess, is why we got so cold during the night. Things soon warmed up and it was a lot busier. Lots more classic cars arrived and I a good natter to a few Triumph owners.

Al in all a great show and we’ve already got ourselves down for next year.

Having missed the last three AGMs due to covid and a christening we were looking forward to visiting the TSSC HQ again. But being over 100 miles away we thought we’d make a weekend of it. In spite of a traffic jam on the A14 we had a good journey making one toilet break (where we got photographed – pictures that we later got tagged in on the East Coast Retro Facebook page).

Arriving at our campsite at Clipston, I say campsite it was a field (with just us in it) without electric or toilets, just in time for lunch. A short walk around the nice village in the afternoon. As the field was so cheap in comparison to a full service pitch we decided to splash out and treat ourselves to dinner in the pub. On getting back to the caravan we realised how cold it was, so cold in fact that a certain person went to bed with his cap on.

After giving the Herald a quick wash using the dew that had landed on it during the night we soon arrived at the TSSC headquarters ten minutes away. The morning was taken up with the AO meeting. BBQ lunch followed by the AGM, where we won a “done more with your Triumph” trophy which gave us three awards in three years. We now have a complete set! Plenty of nattering and catching up was done during the day.

We arrived back at the campsite in time for another good walk before our Saturday night curry in the ‘van. Cooking in the an at least raised the temperature a bit. But the cap was still worn at night.

We awoke on Sunday morning to the sound of a loudspeaker in the field next door which was a tad disconcerting. Not long after a fun run started not that far from where we were hitched up. Another long walk (ending at the finish point of the marathon). We set off mid afternoon for a very easy journey home. A great weekend, next one is in a couple of weeks at the Norwich Showground. Fingers crossed it won’t be a lot colder…

 

With this being one of four events we wanted to go to this weekend – Classics at Glemham, Old Buckenham Car Show and TSSC Duxford being the others. We chose The Wayland Show because it was so close, less than a mile away from the house in fact, we only just got the choke in. It was also somewhere we hadn’t been before.

Not knowing what to expect we got there early, in fact we were the first classic car to arrive. We were given prime spot and proceeded to set up with awning and toilet tent. There wasn’t a lot of classic cars there (around 30), probably because it was a country fair and the focus seemed to be on farm animals and tractors. All the same a great crowd and fun day.

 

Finally a holiday! One that doesn’t involve too much driving, if fact one that doesn’t involve too much of anything. A long weekend in Northrepps near Cromer. Arriving on the Sunday afternoon it started well with a quick pitch up and a short walk to the pub. Monday saw us walking to the beach at Overstrand and then continuing up to Cromer and back again. A ten mile walk because we just don’t seem to be able to do nothing. On the Tuesday we drove over to Sheringham, in part to have a look at the Tintin shop there were they had the 1:24 model Herald and Caravan. I have the 1:43 version but this larger one looks sooo nice, a pity I can’t justify the over £120 price tag for the pair.

This was followed by a trip to Whitwell Station for the TR Wensum lunchtime meet. With over 20 TRs parked up it was quite an impressive site. Plenty of room with some very reasonably priced and tasty food. It’s been put on the list for a TSSC run. Finally in the afternoon we relaxed reading before heading home on the Wednesday. I think we need another break soon…

Always one of our favourite weekends away and one we try not to miss. Great company (I think we’re almost getting known), excellent BBQ and interesting run outs. A nice traffic free run up to the campsite, pre-cooked chilli for the evening meal and a get together in the bar for a music quiz (where we actually managed to get some points. Nowhere near the winners of course but all the same something to be pleased about).

A scatter treasure hunt on the Saturday saw us looking for clues in various villages, popping back to the campsite for some lunch before finishing.

Saturday afternoon was the show and shine, and we came away with the Area Choice Best in Show award which was a nice surprise. BBQ and get together in the evening.

Sunday saw us convoying to Melton to park up in the high street for a classic car display. This meant we were a bit late in leaving the campsite but still managed to make it back to Swaffham for some fish and chips on the way home.

The TSSC were invited to join the Stag Owners Club at the end of their run near Long Stratton for a BBQ. This was followed by a very informative tour of Peter’s sheds. These contained a wide selection of Triumphs in various states of disrepair. They included almost a full set of the Dolomite/Toledo range, Triumph 2000 prototype and two Stag prototypes. Peter also have a fascinating talk on Harry Webster, Triumphs Chief Technical Director, responsible for the development of Triumphs through the 1960s and 1970s. A great day even though it rained for the first time in months.