Classix

Classix magazine

Classix
Classix is the C&H's monthly magazine issued free to all club members. It contains among other things news of forthcoming events, reports and photos of recently held events, club calendar, for sale/wanted ads etc. Below you will find an article from a recent edition to give a flavour of the kind of things we get up to.

Classix

Classix is the C&H's monthly magazine issued free to all club members. It contains
among other things news of forthcoming events, reports and photos of recently held events, club calendar, for sale/wanted ads etc.

Below you will find an article from a recent edition to give a flavour of the kind of things we get up to.

Article from September's Classix
The Case of the Curious Classics (Wordbuilder III, August 8^th 2010) Report by Chris Marks I MUST say I have rather enjoyed ‘Sherlock’ recently shown on the BBC. Set in the present day, it involves all the classic characters of Conan Doyle’s original stories. Holmes and Watson inhabit a seedy flat (with strong hints of Withnail and I) and are kept under the watchful eye of their landlady, Mrs Hudson – played by the redoubtable Una Stubbs. But more of that later. August the 8^th promised to be a good day for top-down motoring and the Wordbuilder has consistently come up with a good challenge woven into a lovely drive. This all proved to be the case and accordingly no less than 20 crews lined up for the start. Certainly not a flying start for us (read the instructions, Chris!) as we merrily pulled into the Village Hall at Compton Martin and then had to retrace our steps to Ubley. By this stage the sheet of locations had been circulated and crews with furrowed brows were busy over maps sustained by the excellent beverages and biscuits provided. Chocolate Digestives – perfect. We tried to catch up by some speedy route plotting, but were amongst the last to leave the by now very empty car park. It was not too long before we started to meet crews coming the other way – this can be somewhat disconcerting, but is one of the pleasures of the scatter rally format. You get to see the other cars on the road from a different perspective and get the chance for a cheery wave – or a puzzled look. Our choice of route was anticlockwise, taking in a sweep of north Somerset extending from Dundry in the north, Backwell in the west, the Levels to the south and Binegar in the east, with the Mendips at its core. The route offered everything one could wish for - views, wooded lanes, hidden villages and places of interest. The aim is to solve a clue at each location – usually quite simple when you find it - and write this down so that by the end of the route you have a list of words, long and short. We knew we had to be back at Ubley for 12:30, but had one clue left to get – could we solve the anagram despite missing a letter, or could we risk taking the time to find the last clue while others pondered the answer? We opted to get to the finish and hope for the best. At 12:30 the key to the answer was handed out – the selection of letters in the words that provided the anagram, and a cryptic clue for the answer. So second letter first word, third and fifth letters of the second and so on, providing ten letters. The clue to the answer was ‘sounds like a grounded aircraft‘. We could find the word ‘plane’ in our list of letters, so what did this leave? This is where Mrs. Hudson returns to the story. The Hudson car company, offering a slightly downmarket model to compete with Ford, called it the Essex-Terraplane, this then became simply the Terraplane and then the Hudson Terraplane. The answer to a ‘grounded aircraft’ – ‘terra plane.’ This was hastily scribbled on the answer sheet and handed in not a moment too soon. Elementary, my dear Watkins. Once we had the answer it was time to relax and we were able to enjoy a convivial picnic in the Hall and a stroll around the cars. For me a major element of such a day is the car park line up and I was not disappointed. I am increasingly drawn to pre-war cars and on the day the Morris 8 Tourer and Riley Lynx were particular favourites. Many thanks must go to Kay and Mike Watkins and Jackie Thompson for organising another great event and to all involved with the catering arrangements. Thanks also to all who entered and made it an event to be enjoyed. *Historical Note:* On 21st July 1932, the Hudson factory in Detroit unveiled a new make of car and this festive occasion was given a great deal of publicity. Amilia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic on her own christened the Essex-Terraplane by smashing a bottle of aircraft fuel on its radiator grille. All the American Hudson dealers had come to the factory to personally receive their demonstration model. On that day a cavalcade of over 2,000 new cars drove through Detroit. Ford had hit the headlines a few months before with its new, cheap V8 and Hudson could therefore do with a little publicity. The Terraplane was the successor the Essex and was therefore first sold as the Essex-Terraplane. The model was slightly cheaper than the new Ford and the six-cylinder engine delivered 5 bhp more than the competitor's V8. In 1933, the car could also be supplied with an eight-in-line Hudson engine. It was the last model to be sold as an Essex-Terraplane. The name Essex disappeared for good. The eight-cylinder engine was only built into the 1933 Terraplane. After all, there had to be a difference between the expensive Hudson and the cheaper Terraplane. In the latter's case the customer would have to make do with a six-cylinder engine. By this time, the make was so popular that this was even detrimental to Hudson. In 1938, the Hudson board of directors decided to change the make's name to Hudson-Terraplane and in 1939 the word Terraplane disappeared. Did this improved Hudson's sales? Definitely not. In 1936, the company still sold 123,266 Hudsons and Terraplanes. In 1937 and 1938 that number had decreased to 111,342 and 51,078 Hudson-Terraplances respectively. In 1939, only 82,161 Hudsons could be sold. C.M.

Article from September's Classix

The Case of the Curious Classics

(Wordbuilder III, August 8^th 2010)

Report by Chris Marks

I MUST say I have rather enjoyed ‘Sherlock’ recently shown on the BBC. Set in the present day, it involves all the classic characters of Conan Doyle’s original stories. Holmes and Watson inhabit a seedy flat (with strong hints of Withnail and I) and are kept under the watchful eye of their landlady, Mrs Hudson – played by the redoubtable Una Stubbs. But more of that later.

August the 8^th promised to be a good day for top-down motoring and the Wordbuilder has consistently come up with a good challenge woven into a lovely drive. This all proved to be the case and accordingly no less than 20 crews lined up for the start. Certainly not a flying start for us (read the instructions, Chris!) as we merrily pulled into the Village Hall at Compton Martin and then had to retrace our steps to Ubley. By this stage the sheet of locations had been circulated and crews with furrowed brows were busy over maps sustained by the excellent beverages and biscuits provided. Chocolate Digestives – perfect.

We tried to catch up by some speedy route plotting, but were amongst the last to leave the by now very empty car park. It was not too long before we started to meet crews coming the other way – this can be somewhat disconcerting, but is one of the pleasures of the scatter rally format. You get to see the other cars on the road from a different perspective and get the chance for a cheery wave – or a puzzled look. Our choice of route was anticlockwise, taking in a sweep of north Somerset extending from Dundry in the north, Backwell in the west, the Levels to the south and Binegar in the east, with the Mendips at its core. The route offered everything one could wish for - views, wooded lanes, hidden villages and places of interest.

The aim is to solve a clue at each location – usually quite simple when you find it - and write this down so that by the end of the route you have a list of words, long and short. We knew we had to be back at Ubley for 12:30, but had one clue left to get – could we solve the anagram despite missing a letter, or could we risk taking the time to find the last clue while others pondered the answer? We opted to get to the finish and hope for the best. At 12:30 the key to the answer was handed out – the selection of letters in the words that provided the anagram, and a cryptic clue for the answer. So second letter first word, third and fifth letters of the second and so on, providing ten letters. The clue to the answer was ‘sounds like a grounded aircraft‘. We could find the word ‘plane’ in our list of letters, so what did this leave? This is where Mrs. Hudson returns to the story. The Hudson car company, offering a slightly downmarket model to compete with Ford, called it the Essex-Terraplane, this then became simply the Terraplane and then the Hudson Terraplane. The answer to a ‘grounded aircraft’ – ‘terra plane.’ This was hastily scribbled on the answer sheet and handed in not a moment too soon. Elementary, my dear Watkins.

Once we had the answer it was time to relax and we were able to enjoy a convivial picnic in the Hall and a stroll around the cars. For me a major element of such a day is the car park line up and I was not disappointed. I am increasingly drawn to pre-war cars and on the day the Morris 8 Tourer and Riley Lynx were particular favourites.

Many thanks must go to Kay and Mike Watkins and Jackie Thompson for organising another great event and to all involved with the catering arrangements. Thanks also to all who entered and made it an event to be enjoyed.

Historical Note:

On 21st July 1932, the Hudson factory in Detroit unveiled a new make of car and this festive occasion was given a great deal of publicity. Amilia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic on her own christened the Essex-Terraplane by smashing a bottle of aircraft fuel on its radiator grille. All the American Hudson dealers had come to the factory to personally receive their demonstration model. On that day a cavalcade of over 2,000 new cars drove through Detroit. Ford had hit the headlines a few months before with its new, cheap V8 and Hudson could therefore do with a little publicity.

The Terraplane was the successor the Essex and was therefore first sold as the Essex-Terraplane. The model was slightly cheaper than the new Ford and the six-cylinder engine delivered 5 bhp more than the competitor's V8. In 1933, the car could also be supplied with an eight-in-line Hudson engine. It was the last model to be sold as an Essex-Terraplane. The name Essex disappeared for good. The eight-cylinder engine was only built into the 1933 Terraplane. After all, there had to be a difference between the expensive Hudson and the cheaper Terraplane. In the latter's case the customer would have to make do with a six-cylinder engine. By this time, the make was so popular that this was even detrimental to Hudson.

In 1938, the Hudson board of directors decided to change the make's name to Hudson-Terraplane and in 1939 the word Terraplane disappeared. Did this improved Hudson's sales? Definitely not. In 1936, the company still sold 123,266 Hudsons and Terraplanes. In 1937 and 1938 that number had decreased to 111,342 and 51,078 Hudson-Terraplances respectively. In 1939, only 82,161 Hudsons could be sold.

C.M.