Classic Cars Gather in St John's Wood High Street

Converging on St John's Wood High Street on Sunday was an extraordinary collection
of vintage and classic cars. Apparently this annual event is now in to it's sixth year with it's
sole intention of raising money for The St John's Hospice.
And as I wandered around looking over some of these classic road gems I was
occasionally reminded by one or two fanatics just how expensive some of the
exhibits were now worth, and the word millions kept popping up.
And one of the vintage former racing cars on display apparently belonged to
Nick Mason, he of Pink Floyd. And for a minimum fee of £25 you could actually
sit in it and have your photo taken.
Among the exhibits as well as several vintage Rolls Royces there was a couple of
classic 1950/60's American cars. And the one I was instantly drawn to
was the Blue Mercury Chevrolet (above). But the strangest looking car was the
one that looked like one of the Red Arrow jets (below). And being a family day
out, it was the one exhibit that kept children fascinated.

Still, Sunday's visit made up for missing out on going to The Kings Cross Vintage
Car Boot Festival back in April where there were more of those big vintage
classic 1950's American cars, although naturally the owners are quite protective
of their vintage vehicles and don't usually let the general public get too close
to what is their pride and joy.
I can just see me... wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt, a pack of Marlboroughs
tucked high up in my sleeve with slicked back hair, and sitting behind the wheel
of a 1950's Chevvy. What a great picture that would make. Still, we can all but dream!  

The Hampstead Pergola

Summer comes to The Pergola
Hampstead Heath.

Monday 11th June

Above: On Saturday The Royal Household Cavalry pass Hyde Park Corner on a busy day that saw
the Annual Trooping of The Colours, sometimes referred to as The Queen's Birthday
Parade which took place at London's Horse Guards Parade.
Amazingly The Queen has not missed this annual event since she first attended
in 1953, Her Coronation year, although there was a gap of one year back in 1955
when there was apparently a National Rail strike.
Having recently turned 92 on her official Birthday in April, The Queen and
the rest of The Royal Family gathered later on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to
 watch the RAF Flypast with The Red Arrows.
Although the media was speculating the absence of Prince Philip who turned 97 yesterday.


Below London's naked bike riders take off at Marble Arch for the annual London
Naked Bike Ride. Thankfully the weather held out for a day that saw a huge turnout.

GOTCHA!.... THE FLYING SCOTSMAN

VIDEO ABOVE BY DEEJOHN FOR CHRYSALISM

(VIDEO SHOULD BE WORKING NOW. I FORGOT TO MAKE IT PUBLIC)

Tuesday lunchtime saw the departure of steam locomotive legend The Flying Scotsman
from Paddington Station on route to The Chiltern Hills, just one of many destinations
on it's 2018 tour schedule.
With just a small handful of well wishers and train fanatics gathered on Platform 9, it
was clear that all the hullabaloo surrounding this steam legend had clearly died down.
Last year I went on two wild goose chases to catch sight of the train only for the tour
company to change all the departure times due to the insatiable interest by the public.
There was even times when the train was halted and stopped on it's journeys when
crowds dangerously gathered on the actual rail tracks.

The Flying Scotsman was the first locomotive to reach a speed of 100 miles.
And yet it's hard to believe that this beast was actually shipped over to the U.S for
a grand tour in 1969 as well as a trip down to Australia to feature
as part of the country's Bi-Centennial celebrations in 1988.

Being that the front of the train was sheltered under a platform bridge, once it started
up and exhaled steam, the noise was absolutely deafening. But for some reason British
train fanatics have quite an emotional attachment for The Flying Scotsman. I also
noticed how decorative the carriages were inside, with all the dining tables all laid
out ready for the served lunches.

For more information on the train's 2018 schedule see below.

THE FLYING SCOTSMAN

THE NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM
( HOME OF THE FLYING SCOTSMAN )
 

While at Paddington Station I actually got so distracted by The Flying Scotsman that
I forgot to go and check out the new Great Western Railway Inter City Express trains,
the very new one's that will take us to Cornwall in September. Although I was
surprised to learn that they'll only reduce our journey to St Ives by about 15 minutes.
But they do appear to have better wi-fi facilities. But I did hear from somewhere
that their catering facilities might have been downgraded. And to think that when
we first visited Cornwall they always had a Chef on board and we were able to order
a full English breakfast.
There's an interesting online page all about the new trains which also features a video
where you'll even see Her Maj The Queen taking her first journey on the new
Express Train..... below

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAYS

Sunday 3rd June..... And a Visit to Camden Lock.

Below are a few pictures as well as a video I made on a recent
weekend trip to Camden Lock.