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My wonderful girlfriend decided to have a go at painting my Westfield. I love how it's turned out so thought I would share it with you guys. She's so talented!

Blyton 18th& 19thMay 2019 Well after a slow start to the season with low numbers of drivers this event proved very popular with 9 Westfields and 4 Class J2 single eaters taking part. In addition to the Westfield class competition there were good class battles on the day for both road going and modified cars mainly running on slicks. Del and Gary were back out with the upgraded Dick Spanner supercharged Honda machine which now has even more power and is off the scale. My brother Steve had his first outing in the car now nicknamed as “Terry’s spare car” as it is a clone of mine! I actually prefer the colour of the car better than mine. It had taken us 7 months to build and is a real challenge for Steve in class G as he has never driven a BEC, used slicks or paddle gearshift systems. John Hoyle was back out after having to miss last year and he had fitted new Avon ZZR tyres despite me telling him to fit some SLICKS! However, because the ZZRs were cheaper he is back in class F. Jason Brown was also out for the first time this year and he had great family support. John Loudon and Mark Anson were doing battle in their single seaters. Saturdays weather forecast was a bit iffy and indeed during T1 the track was wet due to light rain. We got 1 practice and then went straight into 5 Timed runs and the weather improved as the day went on. At the start of P1 Dels’ car , which had run perfectly on the Friday trackday would not start. A quick call (one of many over the weekend) to NMS did the trick and they were up and running. Practice went ok for most but Steve found gear selection using the paddles was difficult. T1 saw a damp track and in particular the yellow painted rumble strip exiting Bishops was treacherous to say the least and there were a few spins (Mark Anson in his Jedi) as well as my sideways action that caused some brown trouser moments. I always tell people to stay off outside rumble strips when its wet but I did not heed my own warning as I was pushing too hard. After T2 Matt Turner was still beating himself up as he believed he could go much faster if he stopped making small errors. Meanwhile John Hoyle was making it look easy as he posted some very quick times even though he was on ZZR tyres and it was his first time out in a long time. As the day progressed Del and Garry began to have issues with a lack of engine power/ engine cutting and they tried to trace battery power, alternator and engine temp problems etc. Mick Dent, Tony Smiley and Jason Brown were all going well and there were no major dramas that I heard of except for Steve still trying to get used to his new green mean machine and my clutch failing on the very last run. Sunday was the Outer circuit rather than the Eastern circuit we drove on Saturday. The weather was great all day so it was a shame Mick Dent was not competing today. Matt Turner in class G was again going well right from the start and backing up his Saturday success when he beat me into second place although he did spin off in T4. Steve was getting better with the gear shifts but wants a quickshifter to improve things. As I lined up on the start the left hand lens of my optical sunglasses fell out and I could not “see” where it was but assumed it was on the floor of the car. I set off and at the wriggler something flew out of the car so that cost me a pair of sunglasses! Once again John Hoyle was on fire showing us all how to do it. John Loudon in his Force managed to beat Mark Anson in his Jedi. A great weekend by Longton and District Motorclub and a great boost to the season. Pete Goulding did really well in his Ecoboost and scored well in the British Sprint. The guys in class G and H had a great battle and for me the two best drivers of the weekend were John Hoyle and Matt Turner. I am pleased to say that Westfields occupied many of the top spots in the Nat B event. There is no doubt that Blyton is always a challenge and the two tracks add variety so I hope we get lots of entries and spectators for our own Blyton Weekend in July. There will be a trackday on Friday to take part in or watch and a bring your own food BBQ on Saturday night. See you there! Terry Everall

Wellllllllll…….. My version of the day: I rose at 04-30 on the road by 4-45, had a good run, but that's an early start to the day, and I think I was wilting towards the end. First session, two casualties. Stoney's car shed a cycle wing and Mikes VX came back on three pots. Stoney repaired his wing, Mike not so lucky.. possibly a broken valve spring or a stuck / bent valve perhaps. End of play for Mike. I had a couple of gremlins. I'd overfilled the coolant, which at one point decided to find it's own level by venting it out.. mainly into the passenger footwell. I drained it down to where it should be and that was OK for the rest of the day. My other recurring problem is the alternator bolt said bye bye at some point.. again! Replaced it and fitted two nuts.. see if it can shed them! Had some really good sessions on track. A couple behind Adam, and with a little help from the traffic I managed to stay in touch for a few laps. An early session with Stoney in the shed of redness was fun too.. will get them "tubed" at some point. Sadly towards the end of the day we were sat in the paddock, and noticed it had all gone quiet. Ross and his Caterham were missing. The car eventually appeared on the back of the recovery truck. Broken prop shaft! It's done a fair bit of damage to the car, but thankfully Ross's legs were spared any injury. (He's put some nasty pics up on FB, Ross Murray) The only positive he has was it was nearly the end of the day, but the really bad news is he was entered into the Mag se7ens race at Oulton on Monday. It sort of knocked the stuffing out of me, so considering I'd had a pretty good day, I gave up at about 4-30. We never really got much of a train going.. didn't see much of the yellow brigade? .. just the way it goes sometimes I suppose. It was a busy day, but I didn't feel it was too congested on track? Be good to hear what others thought. And finally.. what about the weather! Despite Archiepants presence we definitely had Andrew

We’re on our way 225 miles after work and we’re in wooler

The car is running. See you all tomorrow.

if you have room bring them along thanks.see you all soon 😎

Been in mine today along with the rest of the week.

made it in with mine today lads. just leaving for home now in brilliant sunshine... Mart.

The route is sorted, we will have a wee stop half way, then head to the back roads of Buxton, have lunch before enjoying more high roads to finish 5 miles North of Leek for a cake stop. The table is booked at the lunch stop for 1.30pm and I have included for you @BillyPee in the hope that you get sorted, no pressure then.

if you have amazon prime theres a good documentry about the dunlops narrated by liam neeson. well worth a watch

Pff. nunney!

Thanks for a top day gents! Especially Andrew for the bits, complete day-saver. Thank you. Will write more later, but for now a short vid before I lose motivation to edit Datalogger showing 1.85g at points (and that I'm being a massive nunney as @Archibald Meatpants suspected so loads of time left 'on the table').

Last day for me Hoping to see a few more members join in...

Look on the BPS website, find a registered Clinical Psychologist in your local area and reach out to them. Be prepared as they are expensive - but like all things, you get what you pay for. Counsellors/therapists are someone to talk to, Clinical Psychologists will help you understand why you are where you are and how to break the cycle. Invest more in your mind and I promise you, it will be the best money you've ever spent. For reference, to qualify as a Clinical Psychologist takes 7 years of academia and at least 3 years of professional experience. A counsellor or therapist can set up tomorrow. So you really do get what you pay for, but in the best possible way, and from personal experience, if you commit to it, it can change your life.

Excellent weather..excellent company and a great day. Had a passenger ride in the Lobster... a word that's generally misused, but is relevant here.... Awesome. No impulse power on the Lobster.. only warp settings. Thanks to @AdamR.. fanastic car and driving

That is a very good question. You could ask to be referred to a mental health team, you could consider giving up your job or you could come and chat to me...

Have a great day lads hope the weather is kind. It’s 34C and sunny here and the only available car left at the hire place was this - honest 🙄

As @marcusb kindly reminded me, next week it is the official (ish) National Drive Your Westfield to Work Day on May the 24th. But because the weather can be a bit on/off, you have the whole week (20/05 to 26/05) to attempt to drive your Westfield to your place of work and proudly post a picture of it. Of course, some of you will be retired, some of you maybe (hopefully not!) unemployed, and some of you may have some other excuse NOT to drive your car... so just be creative! The point is to get people to drive their Westfields beyond the odd weekend. Westfields can and should be driven as often as you can! Here's what we got up to in 2018 and 2017.

Happy Birthday @Stu Faulkner Still a Young un

Hah! Yeah. On my return home from todays jaunt, I got a reminder about that ‘project’

What a lovely b&b st Cuthbert’s retreat very friendly and welcoming just what’s needed after a long day tomorrow we head down to Rawdon via Harrogate and if it’s nice we will have a walk on the strays a cuppa at Betty’s and a walk in the valley gardens

My Mother lives in Wooler .. say hello.

@Oily Steve of the Yellow brigade Vid of Andrew and Adam to follow.. if Youtube will behave

Think I'll be popping over for a run out too

Happy Birthday.

MHR Stu

Ok I am near kings Lynn..will have to meet up..

Thanks @Julie Hall - AO Representative, Peak District AO I still plan on fitting the carbs tonight so, barring any issues, I ought to make this.

I've got a bruised knee Adam, so I suggest a bit of passenger padding wouldn't go amiss! :D

I love watching the IOMTT, always makes me want to get back on a sports bike. Michael lost his brother William a year ago in a crash, which brings things back down to earth with a bump! Their uncle was the famous Joey Dunlop. I built a tribute SP1 bike a couple of years ago and painted his portrait on the tank for that extra touch. I still own a Colin Edwards SP2, the only one of its kind in the UK as far I know :-)

Looking nice for tomorrow.................. so the neighbours will be getting their 6am alarm again lol..

You're welcome. Pretty good day, perfect weather.. pooped! Only took three photos at the start of the day.. sadly we didn't all make it to the end.

Missing us already, eh? There's always next year. Wish we were coming with you all, but just not possible this year because of all our other family trips. Don't know if we'll be down your way anytime soon Geoffrey, but if we are, we'll let you know.

Really great to catch up today and don’t worry there’ll be plenty of pictures thanks for your encouragement wish you were both coming as well but there’s always next time ......

Z😍 Big thanks to everyone today at Cadwell for making myself and my friend very welcome and a special thanks to @Andrew and @Oily Steve for taking my mate out for a few passenger laps really made his day.

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

Come on Jude.....its Versailles.

Got the Bronco finished tonight,

I don't have a diff but thought quoting the ratio would help

I've taken my Eleven to work this morning - running in a rebuilt engine. 35 miles each way from west of Oxford, via Wantage and over the Berkshire Downs to south of Newbury. A lovely drive in the morning sun - making a pleasant change from pounding along the A34 in the company VW Passat! Simon

Your tale Dave sums up why we need to make mental issues easily talked about and to do things differently. As I posted in the other thread my parents were from a generation where there were nutters who were locked up and those who just needed to pull themselves together. Being told to just get on with it and pull yourself together works for some but they still have that there lurking in the background hidden as there was some sort of shame attached to admitting you were struggling. Thankfully we have moved on from that. I have unfortunately had a driver killed and two involved in fatal crashes that were not their fault in the time I have worked for the company I do. On all those occasions we provided the opportunity to those involved to have help and therapy immediately and thankfully that helped them to deal with everything and move on. We also give time for bereavement because everyone is different, the loss of a parent in old age is expected, the loss of a child completely different so why try to make 5 days off with pay a limit, the last thing people need on top of that is stress of having no money. Also as Jude (The Mad Widow) ironic name now we know the story, highlights mental health professionals are in short supply. My daughter is a Dr and did a rotation in Psychiatric and she hated it, listening to everyones misery is soul destroying so when you add in the workload and that it is one of the lowest paid specialities is there any wonder there is a shortage. With Charlotte I always make sure I am there to listen whilst she vents as even in hospitals Dr's do not get the support they should get when faced with things everyday they deal with. Imagine working in A&E and having a 5 year old die, then having to go to deal with an obnoxious woman who was kicking off as she had been waiting three hours to be seen and at the end of the shift just be expected to pack up and go home as if nothing has happened. It is a reason why so many health care workers have their own demons, drink drugs and comfort eating are all mechanisms they use. Our ex soldiers get poor help and end up with similar problems or homeless to boot where help is even harder to access for them and woefully short. I don't want us to get like it is in the US where in some ways it has become trivialised, and example of this is the help line set up for Game of Thrones fans who need counselling as the series has ended or a broken finger nail sends them to therapy, but where we are now is not good enough and many lives would be saved and thousands improved if we continue to build on what we have to get where we need to be. Those who survive cancer wear a badge of pride as a survivor and turn what has happened to positive things, mental issues are still by many seen as something to hide. To all those who are touched by this thread you are part of a very big but quiet group, but not alone

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

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

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😁