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Wasn't sure where this should go... Stuff? Yeah I guess so. Nonsense? Not a bit of it! Anyway, perhaps I'm a day late with this as Mental Health Awareness week was last week, but here goes I've recently (almost) finished building my car, and all along the way this has had me dancing along a psychological tightrope. Due to various factors I have a tendency to strive for perfection, and this can get me into a lot of self-inflicted trouble (and has done in the past!). In a recent post I decided to 'come out' and share a bit of my story, in the hope that it would help others to be more open about any sort of mental struggles they have had, or are currently dealing with: https://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/topic/130867-the-lobster-88-se-rebuild/page/41/?tab=comments#comment-1422129 This can be anything from suicidal thoughts, right through to relatively-harmless-but-totally-draining overthinking (something I still do too much - mentally composing email replies at 3am while I'm lying awake, or practicing phone calls in advance!). If this describes you then you're not alone - even within this club - and I have always found the support that comes from all angles when I 'break cover' to be overwhelming, completely the opposite to my original fear of being seen as 'crazy', or being ridiculed, or even excluded. In fact it kinda makes you feel like you're in some sort of exclusive club when people pop up (both 'publicly' and privately) offering similar stories or support and understanding. It's extremely heartwarming. So, I guess the over-riding message is that it is perfectly normal to feel like cr@p sometimes, and that it's absolutely OK when that happens. There is support available all around if you allow it to come into your life. I will personally offer myself as one of these support mechanisms if I'm able to at the time, I'm only a PM away Feel free to share any stories here, you won't be judged and as I said, we'll be part of a (relatively) exclusive club, haha. And don't forget that whatever happens, there's always a fun and engaging toy with a shouty engine sat in / on your garage / shed / drive to allow you to clear your head at the end of a bad day Take care everyone, x

Geoffrey, any excuse for you to sleep with a man! Of course I will sleep on the floor... GIT!

Adam, I am hugely grateful for your post, I have always tried to share my own mental health issues with people I hope will become my friends and acquaintances. Having been a governor on the Bucks & Oxon NHS Foundation Trust for 4 years I have heard so many mental health patients say that no one understands them... that's because we don't share it! Of course, we don't always feel like we want to share, we feel isolated, alone and unable to put it out there - we may never be able to share our own mental health issues... I have spent all of my adult life battling with depression, anxiety and then bipolar. I was lucky to have a husband who supported me through the down times and grounded me during high times... of course, he is no longer with us so I am finding my way forward alone. Yes I know people think I am a bit quirky, a bit unusual but let's face it I am never boring! My grandchildren call me Nana Fou Fou ( google translate!) So thank you Adam, for putting this out there... few of us are 'normal' but it's taken me a very long time to feel at one with my own personality. The Westfield is great therapy, better than meds!

After shifting all the cobwebs and dirt ! See separate thread in start line.

for heavens sake....Scccchhhhhhh. My reputation is already in tatters and down the pan here, dont let it go lower. What happens in the bath, stays in the bath.

Its never too late to discuss anything. I think there is a bit of this in everyone. Everyone's life experience either exacerbates or subdues these feelings to different degrees. I started my first kit car build at age 19 and (wasted) five/six years of my early twenties whilst my mates were off to Ibiza, partying and catching diseases! :-) But I didn't waste that time, I learnt so so so much. I come from an engineering family but I taught myself everything. I recently qualified as a welder/fabricator using knowledge I picked up 15/20 years ago. Why did I choose to do it? Because somebody told me I couldn't. Not content with putting a straight forward Pinto in the car, I bored it out to 2.1 and strapped a turbo on as well. Why did I do the qualification? Because it was never good enough telling people you can do it, but a piece of paper will shut them up! I was always very hard on myself, and still am, I guarantee I would have been diagnosed on the "spectrum" if it was around in the days of black and white. I was always worried working full time would limit me reaching goals outside of work. In 2008 I went self employed and my perspective changed entirely. I was the only person to limit myself, but with that I had to learn to be easier on myself otherwise I would burn myself out mentally and physically. So long as I could go to bed knowing I had given 110% then I would sleep well. They say Rome wasn't built in a day, and the long game always yields better results. The other revelation I had was reading lots of autobiographies. From Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alan Sugar to Guy Martin etc they all have similar traits. They all have this desire to succeed, or they need to prove themselves, which drives them. This allowed me to take a view and understand that its entirely normal to be so driven. My other half laughs at me all the time, I cannot sit still, I rarely watch tv and I am lost without a project to do. I bought a house last year which is filling the project quota no end, but I still lay awake analyzing every detail of all of the projects. The trouble I have now is that working full time leaves me less time for "extra curricular" activities and I do sometimes feel like I dont have enough time, but I know that it will all work out in the end and fret much less about completing everything yesterday. The other thing I learnt during my self employed phase is to not care about what anyone else says, feels, thinks or wants. I was never one for really caring for the opinion of others anyway, but being utterly selfish about what makes your life better and is best for you is the best thing you can ever do. Your family will always understand and support you (if not they should), as do loved ones. Your true friends will also do the same, those that don't are not worth the time of day. I'm not afraid of saying no to people, and always tell people what I think, whether they like it or not. People may not always agree but they will respect you for it. I never really tried hard at school either, but did well. I started my masters a couple of years ago and I was always outspoken in class, challenging the material and asking questions of the lecturer. I saw other students rolling their eyes and tutting, mostly the basics who would prefer to discuss their holiday plans than study. Anyway, I actually applied myself for once, just to see if it would make a difference. I was mortified to only just make it into the distinction category, which I took up with the examining board having spotted errors on their model answers. It was then they told me I was one of the very few to get a distinction and had the highest marks of any other student nationwide, with some 65% failing the exam entirely. So that shut me up. My point being is that its fine to push yourself hard, don't be afraid to raise the bar higher and higher. Even if you fall short of the bar, you'll still end up higher than the next person. Be humble, ask questions, learn new things and above all ENJOY it! So long as you do your absolute best, thats all you can ask of yourself. Once you learn to realise the things that genuinely matter you wont be so hard on yourself and then you will be in an upwards cycle instead of a downwards cycle. I'm approaching 40 in August and must say that it doesnt daunt me at all, the only concern is of course - do I still have enough time to get all my plans done! 😉 Anyway, thats my lunch time thoughts .... :-)

Folks, for clarity, this tuition does not involve anyone sitting in your car with you. The 30 minute sessions (which will take place during the track day) consist of the following: You will be allocated / choose a 30 minute time slot during the day A camera is fitted to your car. You then do a few laps whilst recording video and then come back in for review with the instructor who advises on where improvements can be made. You then go back our for more laps again being recorded and then come back in for further review with the instructor who advises again Repeat until your time has expired For those in any doubt, these sessions are being run by club sponsor Triple M Motorsport who run full days tuition of this format for drivers who compete at the highest standards and all rate the sessions highly. Triple M are renowned experts at what they do and are specialists at Blyton Park Any questions, please contact me via PM John

Meet at Happendon Services M74 (Cairn Lodge) at 9.30. Heading westward, with a lunch break at a pub/cafe and back to the M74.

Results for the first Blyton have now been published below, looks like a good turnout for a change :) Hopefully I've got the hang of this scoring lark now and there won't be any problems........ but I can't promise LOL. Blyton 1 (R10) - Results Blyton 2 (R11) - Results Tiggs

Hi, I joined at Stoneleigh, after recently finally buying a Westy. Based in mid -wales and took my lad for quick spin last night enjoying the good weather, plenty of jobs to do to get it how I want, but that's half the fun I suppose. Cheers Rob

My gut feeling is BJ are likely to suggest atleast as good as pressure as anyone on here assuming you're running within rated loads. Else usually also the tyre has "X Load at X Psi" on the sidewall? You can do a lot worse the feel the sidewall for heat each time you stop. It should be mildly warm, but not hot. Not and expert and welcome anyone else input but that's always done me fine. Daniel

I am pleased that at last i seem to be track ready. Adding a good mechanical pressure gauge confirmed that the new warning light was giving a false reading and my pressures look good.. Just sods law no places left! So I wish you all a great day..have fun and I hope the sun shines.. I am looking at a run round Blyton on Saturday...

I have a pair which i've just removed from a car drop me a pm and im local too you

I'll be up for some tuition if you still need the numbers

Yep I can ...... rub a dub dub 😂

We are staying at Domaine de Vermoise on the 27th, I don't know if that has any rooms lefts @neptune

Back in spain trailers do have its own reg and MOT too... not keen on that for my own confort... i do mantain well my trailer, and i dont need the annoying yearly appointment to get sagged because the fog light in the trailer wont switch on that day.... But yes... this lack of control makes you see dangerous stuff here in uk

Awwwwww. I can’t believe you said that.

Thanks Adam, there's a little and a lot of this in all of us. I would hope that here in the Friendly Club is as best a place you'll find to share these important themes.

Good afternoon's spectating at Croft today, some nice machinery on show, including four Westys. @cast iron @S2T .. and a couple of others

Good to catch up Andrew, great pics...back home at 1am

cheers Andrew, a good weekend for me. great qualifying in the damp! 2 class wins and sooo close to the podium

I have spoken with Martin on the phone and put a suggestion forward. Im sure you will be comfortable on the floor @Jude - The Mad Widow

We can all ask if an extra bed can be put up in one of our rooms. Use Google translate or another verbal translate app.

Excellent

Car packed and ready to go 😁

😛 5 for us up north

Passed with flying colours! I specifically asked Mr Mansley to scrutineer the car and all was fine, the fact is i have a CAT fitted means that i am complying with the regulations, i will leave it with you to ti ascertain how effective it is.

So why the hurry to get everything finished? Well next weekend I have an invitation to the car show for Motorsport at the Palace at Crystal Palace. If you happen to be near London and at a loose end over the bank holiday weekend come and say hi. Polished and ready As I close off this chapter I should also finish by saying that not a single cable tie was used anywhere in the assembly of this car 🙂

we took our `westfield` to the Southend classic cars show today. she was admired by kids and couples all day.met lots of fun people with great classic`s such as a mustang mach 1, a lotus colton and an escort rs . not a bad way to spend a sunday.

Hi All Just got the westy diff done and raring to go. So if anybody is interested in a run out let me know. Based near devizes, in heddington. On that subject if you fancy a great pub with car park, real beer and great food I can speak to the landlord of the Ivy to arrange a stop. Sunday mornings he does fry ups and bacon sarnies!!! Karl

Elder son waiting to go on track and then at the Bus Stop at Llandow with Omex/CKC Magazine

Then I gave it a good clean 👍 looks a lot better than before I started. One of the neighbourhood cats used it to sleep in for months so the carpet was covered in white cat hair. The passenger seat needs to go back in aswell when I get a new cover.

Pushed the car out into the sunlight after some winter upgrades. A few small things to do and then go for an MOT.

Open Top motoring on a fine day, Priceless!!

The office car park is looking good today😁

A funny video trying to drive an stupidly stiff car under torrential rain. Tricky to drive is an understatement. The gopro has broken after this and my amazing lap in dry didn't get recorded...

Everyone else can!!

Folks beware... My reservation for the first night has been cancelled by booking.com i have just spent nearly an hour on the phone to booking.com trying to find out why. It transpires that even though the hotel only accepts cash, as my credit card that i booked with reached it expiry date. I should have added my new credit card to my booking.com account. Because i didnt they cancelled my reservation. (My card expired 2 months ago ) . Anyway if your cards used to booked have expired update your details asap. I will have to phone the hotel tomorrow as booking.com are fully booked for our dates. I may be sleeping in the car !