What a busy weekend we had! The FolkMog Treasure Hunt was to be on Sunday 5th April and then we received a phone call from Graeme Murrell to tell us that on the Saturday there was a vintage car club meeting in Ufford. He had managed to reserve some places for Morgans so we agreed to come along. “We should wash the car” Diana said to me as I headed for the door that Saturday morning. I was going to get my haircut so I was not that interested at that particular moment. “I will do it if I get time when I get back” I replied “could you get the Mog out of the garage” When I returned somewhat less hirsute I was surprised to see that Poppy was still in the garage. Diana reported that Poppy would not start and that the battery could be flat as there was nothing happening when she turned the key. Our drive has a bit of a slope so I had to get Diana to sit in Poppy as I pulled her from the garage so that she could apply the brakes and I would not get run over. That achieved I got our daughter’s ford as close to the Mog as possible and connected up the jump leads. Still nothing happened. We were now getting a bit late so I got the Morris 1000 out of the garage, tidied everything else away and off we went to Ufford.
Ufford was not far to go and such a surprise when we got there. The place was absolutely heaving with fantastic cars and what is more we were not banished into the parking for the visitors with modern cars but ushered gently into the field with all those brilliant cars. It was like being a junior member of an illustrious clan. We parked next to a huge white Cadillac, in perfect condition and did our absolute best not to hurt it getting out of our Morris. Unfortunately there is a slight problem with the passenger door so when Diana opens it there is a loud noise. This alarmed the owner of the Cadillac a touch but we had not touched his car and smiles of relief were exchanged.
We located the Morgans in a corner of the field and said hello and the normal Mog owners’ chat ensued before several of us decided to wander round the field to have a look at the incredible array of motoring delight. Here were Bentleys, Lagondas, Alvis, Vauxhalls, other Morris Minors, Austins, Rolls Royces, etc etc . There seemed to be no end to them and more arriving every minute. The most amusing was the smallest looked like four bicycle wheels powered by the tiniest engine and with just about room enough for a small man to fit in it. I would definitely not have fitted.
We decided to repair to the refreshment area for a burger and a pint and found that these were excellent. Diana had the straight burger and I had the hog roast with apple sauce. Now I cannot tell a lie here but at this point Graham and Rob arrived at the refreshments and decided to rustle up the others and we decided to join them for another beer and another burger. OK I know it was greedy but they were really nice and the beer was brilliant as well.
After lunch Diana and I wandered over to the church which we had been told house an impressive font, which it did, and then walked back to the car. By this time concern about Poppy was beginning to rise to the surface of my mind a bit so we decided to press back to see if we could her fixed. Many thanks to Graham for the phone call. I am really looking forward to next year and actually the pub is easily good enough to visit for lunch one weekend.
When we arrived home we called the AA and a very nice man arrived to diagnose the problem fairly quickly as the ignition barrel having disintegrated. He managed to hot wire the car so that we could drive to our local garage and then brought me back. However, this meant that the following day we would have to go to the Treasure Hunt in Ted (the Morris 1000)
We drove down to Denham in Ted and arrived a little late to park in a huge line of Morgans. We did not feel out of place but we did stick out like a sore thumb. A swift walk down the road found us at the meeting place for coffee and an initial look at the clues. Ian and Liz Young had set the clues and organised everything wonderfully. They even noticed that there was no way that anyone could find out the answer to the first clue and so told everyone what it was and got us on the way.
There followed a walk round the charming and attractive town of Dedham. What a lovely place it is. This is a place full of fabulous houses and beautiful buildings which included a splendid church. We were briefly confused by the clue about the Georgian house – ‘What would you take to the Georgian house’ – as there was a bus stop outside so I took the clue to mean how would you get there and wrote bus. Later there was a question asking ‘what would you catch at the old village pump’ there was a bus stop there as well so I decided that there could not be two questions where the answer was a bus so I revisited the Georgian house to find that the person who lived there was a picture restorer and framer. So the question was actually what would you take with you to the Georgian house. Anyway we continued walking round the town and midway through the hunt took us into the church. I was just making a mental note to revisit the town when we were not madly looking for clues when I saw a face I recognised from my past. It was a man I had worked for some twenty odd years ago and had not seen since. An amazing coincidence and we stopped to talk over old and new times before I was dragged off to continue the hunt.
When all the clues were gathered in we headed for the car to drive to lunch which was to be in a garden centre. This does not sound auspicious but it was really nice and food was good as well. The staff worked like slaves to get us all fed and watered. I don’t think they had seen the place soooo full ever. Before we had gone in Maurice had taken a group photograph standing in a wheel barrow which amused us all.
After the hunt was marked the winners were announced to be Graham and Liz Riley and well done to them but they do have to pay the penalty for winning by having to organise the hunt next year. Good luck to them. They have a hard act to follow but I am sure that they can rise to the challenge. Not quite sure how it happens but this event just seems to get better every year. There was even a special prize for the best Anglemogger.
We got ready to head home at about four-ish I guess. I must admit I was not looking at my watch terribly often so I ma not sure about this. Luckily Diana and I took the wrong direction out of the garden centre which meant we did pass a petrol station so we could fill up. Had we gone the correct way I am not sure we would have got home.
Many thanks to Ian and Liz Young for a splendid day.