23rd September

23^rd September

Up at 6 French time to queue for a full English as the ferry drifts into harbour right on time. Down to the car deck to find a large puddle under Derek’s MGB – concern level up a notch but we agree to pull over to investigate after passport control. The queue for passport control is long and in two lanes so as Derek pulls alongside he is now leaving large puddles which are no longer water but petrol!!!!! Concern now at bottom twitching level.

A corroded rubber pipe end seems to be the petrol problem and so Derek prunes and re-tightens = job done, congratulating himself on having brought a trolley jack for just such an eventuality. Now the water leak – the water pump is knackered (technical term) and Derek is kicking himself as he thought to bring a spare and changed his mind! A phone call to his recovery company was useless and then Nigel has the bright idea to phone Moss who recommended we speak to Steve of Overdrive a spares place who, after a pause confirms they have a water pump and what’s more they’re only 50 miles away (north unfortunately, but needs must). Derek effects a temporary fix to the pump by plugging a twig in the drain hole and in trepidation we set off for St. Jean de Cardonnay in the sunshine through some beautiful Normandy countryside.

With only the smallest of detours into a trading estate, we pull up at Overdrive at around 11 to find a treasure trove of English Classics that we’d have driven out of our way to find if we’d known it was there. Steve (who is French) has fallen in love with the Magnette and takes it for a test run (his MGB GT is no longer big enough for the family and he wants an MG saloon!). Meanwhile Derek and Andy have put the water pump on and we’re ready to go after a browse in the shop, where Dave buys a new radiator cap as a memento (and to replace the Unipart one) and after some hesitation, Derek decides to invest €10 on some hose……..

Following the advice of Steve, we follow a scenic route south that takes us along the Seine and across the river on a ferry where, on the other side, we’re flagged down by a Frenchman (and fellow ferry crosser) who insists we help him remove a tarpaulin which reveals a ’66 Mini Moke! After the obligatory photographs we set off again along the other side of the river past some spectacular scenery, beautiful old churches and houses (with double garages!) through 10 miles of wooded country and through a patchwork of fields where the Magnette stutters to a halt. Out comes the red triangles (we resist the hi-res jackets) and after 3 weeks of Dave telling everyone his intermittent problem was the petrol the mechanics of the trip finally (and reluctantly) agree that the ‘oily rag’ might be right! A quick tap with the ‘French screwdriver’ and we’re off again. At a village some way down the road to sort out fluids (release of) by the drivers when we realise that it’s now 3 pm and we’ve no chance of getting to Bessines (nor of getting any lunch it turns out). A contingency plan is agreed and we head for a cottage on the Cherbourg peninsula which Sue Mawson has kindly offered us in extremis.

We press on in the sunshine really enjoying the trip until, at a set of traffic lights, Nigel is concerned enough about some ‘funny noises’ in the Frog which he wants to investigate to request an emergency stop. Derek is back under the car courtesy of the aforementioned trolley jack, where we find the rear brake pads in entirely the wrong position which we duly reassemble in the right way. More time lost. Off again into the sunshine for about an hour at which time the Magnette decides it doesn’t want to go any further. However, without resorting to the toolbox Andy hops out, taps the pump and we’re off again heading for the Normandy landing beaches where, by the time we’ve got over Pegasus Bridge it is nearly 6pm, so we decide to head for the next available Supermarché for petrol and food for our anticipated arrival. Food bought and packed we look to set off and see a puddle under the MGB which is another (different!) leak in the fuel system so out comes the trusty trolley jack and back under the car goes Derek. How clever of Derek to but some hose! At 7.45pm we’re ready to roll, Derek moves off and leaves a puddle of petrol now coming from the front of the car!!!! The hose from pot 1 to pot 2 has also perished and by some miracle the remaining recently purchased hose just fits but we have no jubilee clips. Back into the Supermarché as it is closing (8pm) where we manage to get appropriate clips and sort this particular issue. As darkness falls we decide to strike for the emergency accommodation in one hit with Derek grumbling at his loss of first place in the petrol consumption stakes, but the Magnette had other ideas and Andy and his magic tap were called on again.

After some stupendous navigation in the pitch darkness by Andy, we arrive in St. Saveur de Pierrepont with Derek and Nigel dressed as Eskimos for the temperature has dropped spectacularly. Task one, relegating the need for food, was to determine whether or not the telly got ITV for the England game in the morning which having been positively determined we tucked into cheese, bread, sausage and ham with an agreeable little red (or three).

And so, to bed…….