Another May Bank Holiday has come and gone and, despite the unpredictable English weather, 17 Standards returned their owners safely home with many more very happy miles under their tyres.

The thirteenth Anglia Run 2010, organised as thoroughly as ever by Ian Leggett, was based just outside Great Yarmouth in The Cliff Hotel in Gorleston. The run started on the Friday afternoon on the southwest approach to the east anglian coast with a lunch at Bury St Edmunds to break the journey for those travelling from the south and west. The route then took these cars across country with a refreshment stop at Beccles to refuel the cars ready for the following day’s run and of course for the regular tea and coffee stops that Standard owners need before the sun sets and the switch to the amber nectar (real ale) of course.

With all the other cars safely arrived, a coach took the party down into Lowestoft for Friday evening’s entertainment at the Marina Theatre. The production was a theatrical version of the 80’s classic TV series Hi-De-Hi and they soon had us recalling the story line and characters and groaning at the camp one-liners. Two of the actors were actually from the original TV series, while the Entertainments Manager was played by "Chris Tate" from ITV’s Emmerdale. It was a great way to start the weekend and at the bar in the Interval to share the stories of the journeys. Unfortunately there was one Standard casualty with David and Judith Over having to turn back just 30 miles from home when their 1950’s Ten broke an oil ring on No3 piston. One of the main reasons for the success of the Anglia Runs is the fun that we have together as Standard owners so we were more than happy that they had swapped to their ‘classic’ Ford Sierra and carried on with the weekend plans.

On the dockside at Wroxham	On the boat tour

This run was to be the first test for me and my recently acquired 1924 V3 Kenilworth "Ollie", the oldest car on the Run by 11 years. The name "Ollie" came naturally as our Family Ten is called "Stan" and on a recent summer holiday we had enjoyed a visit to the Laurel and Hardy museum in Ulveston. The car of course came with a proven reliability record in the hands of Brian Murrish, making the trip last year from Truro to the International at Cirencester and back again on the road rather than a trailer. In the course of "tinkering with my new toy" over the last couple of months and having to learn some new driving controls such as the swapped brake and accelerator pedals, it was always in the back of my mind that I might just have disturbed something – how was the weekend going to unfold? When was I going to need to dip into the toolbox for one of those Whitworth spanners? Have I brought enough engine and gear oils? Did I really need to have committed the Recovery phone number to memory? …. read on …

Vanguard III and Ensign Estate		Lots of helping hands

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny as Ian had even prebooked the weather, and after a leisurely Full English Breakfast it was time to check the oils, open the fuel tap, tickle the carb, set the advance and crank the starting handle before heading out to Wroxham. We arrived in Wroxham for a wander over the bridge and around the town for a light lunch, before a cruise on the Norfolk Broads complete with a commentary about the history of the Broads and the wildlife that was right in front of our eyes. A cold wind was just starting to whip up from the North, as we were to find out later in the weekend. Our return trip took us via the Fur and Feather Pub at Woodfordes Brewery and another lubrication service – this time for the navigators. Ian’s Vanguard by this time had developed a clutch hydraulic problem which had, almost embarrassingly, halted our whole convoy for a couple of minutes in the centre of Wroxham, but by cleverly adapting his driving technique he managed to find a gear and lurch a little ungainly out of town. Once on the road the car was fine, all he had to do was keep it rolling and never stop! Attempts to diagnose the problem at the Brewery left us puzzled so we decided to continue back to the hotel rather than risk making it worse. Three cars, guided by the local knowledge of Stuart Lucas in his 1935 Ten, took an alternative back roads route, crossing the River Yar on the Reedham chain ferry, which had just enough room for a 1935 Ten, the 1924 Kenilworth and a 1957 Family Ten (photo: Stuart). Back at the hotel we had time to freshen up before Dinner and then one of Ian’s famous Quiz Nights and complicated Bonus and Tie Break scoring – can a mole really dig 300 feet in one day?

Standard 8 and thatched village well	Avon arriving at the Fur and Feathers	Line up at the Transport Museum

I was woken on Sunday morning at 6am by the sound of the rain hammering and the wind howling at my bedroom window – had Ian forgotten to book the fine weather for Sunday? It certainly sounded like a day to keep the hood up on the Kenilworth or maybe a better idea was to give the Kenilworth a well-earned rest and to grab a lift in something with a solid roof. By the time breakfast was over the weather looked slightly more promising so the Kenilworth wasn’t to be left out of the day’s fun on the Run. By the time we reached our first stop, the sea front in Lowestoft, the bitter north wind must have reached Force 5 and if we had got any of the cars onto the beach they would have been sand-blasted back to bare metal. Needless to say we had the beach to ourselves with not another person in sight – surprising for a Bank Holiday really! After a brisk walk we found a coffee shop and did what Standard owners do best – eat, drink and chat. Soon after, we moved on to the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Coalville just south of Lowestoft. Here we had lunch, admired the reconstructed 1950’s garage housing amongst others a Standard Vanguard and rode around the museum in their 1940 Metro Cammell London Transport Trolleybus, 1929 Beijnes Amsterdam Tram and a 1929 Blackpool Corporation Tram. We were very impressed with how smooth and quiet the Trolleybus was and wondered why they were ever phased out – perhaps they will make a come back one day. At 3pm the sun came out and we all boarded a green 1950 Weymann London Transport bus for a tour of Lowestoft. The bus had been beautifully and originally restored and was very smooth and as good as any modern London bus. On returning to the Museum we had a little time to kill before the evening meal at a hotel next door to the Museum so Ian led us on an impromptu Mystery Tour a little further south to Kessingland where, despite the bitter north wind, Mike Wilkes took off his shoes and socks and impressed us all with how tough, or foolhardy, Midlanders can be. 

More cars at the Transport Museum	Mike Wikes in the very cold North Sea	Hardy Standardeers on the beach

The Sunday evening carvery was a great meal and very welcome after all the fresh sea air. In a short speech Ian paid tribute to Tina Walker as she sadly passed away in February after a period of illness. Tina had been a very active and enthusiastic member and owned an Ensign and a Pennant and she had drawn many humorous cartoons about her adventures with her cars. Her family had wished her memory to live on in the form of a trophy and Ian awarded it to David and Judith Over for attending 9 consecutive Anglia Runs and for their personal contribution to the social aspect of the weekends. We had to depart back to our base at 8pm as the light was fading fast. I was a little concerned about the Kenilworth as this was to be the first time that I was going to drive it in the deepening dusk. The dynamo can maintain the sidelights, but the battery is being drained with the lovely large brass headlights on. I decided to drive with the sidelights on for as long as possible, and to switch the headlights on when I came to junctions and roundabouts. As the ignition system runs from a magneto, the engine is unaffected by the state of the battery, so as a last resort I could have "hidden" in a Standard sandwich with one car close in front and one close behind and hope that the local constabulary were still enjoying their dinner – anyway this wasn’t necessary and the lights powered me all the way back to the hotel. Many of us again retired to the hotel bar for more Standard and motoring related banter and we are all looking forward to meeting again at the International at the end of June.

Zena Lucas ( 1934 10) and the author, Conan Lewis with the V3	Line up of Standards outside the Carvery	David and Judith Over with the Tina Walker Trophy

Monday dawned dry but still windy with a forecast of light showers. Top down again on the Kenilworth, we headed for a ‘fast’ trip west along the A47. The strong cross wind didn’t seem to affect the Kenilworth much with the high ground clearance and packed away roof and we managed to hold a steady 40mph along the dual carriageway and the rain from the shower we passed through seemed to pass nicely over the windscreen and on over my head. Our destination was the Mid-Norfolk Railway at Dereham where we were fed some excellent bangers and mash (or lasagne) and a superb Apple Pie (or fruit salad). A Class50 British Rail diesel, with 2750HP (250 times the power of my Kenilworth) then took us for a run down the line to Wymondham and we had a very informative and amusing running commentary from one of the MNR volunteers. As we were to go our separate ways when we got back to the station, the ever-resourceful Ian produced some chilled sparkling wine and we toasted the Standard Motor Club and gave up three cheers for Ian for all the hard work he had put into thinking of so many of the small details that make this a great weekend.

The trip home in the Kenilworth went just as well as we retraced our path across the back roads of the Fens to Stamford. ‘Ollie’ and I had completed a round trip of 335 miles, averaged 32mpg and never opened the toolbox. Regular oil checks and topups are of course needed but overall I was very impressed with it’s comfort and reliability, and of course the lights! It turns heads through every town and most other road users are very understanding and considerate, provided you pull in at laybys from time to time as modern traffic can build up behind you.

After organising 13 Anglia Runs, next year’s Anglia Run will be co-organised between Ian and myself with a view that I will be taking this on in future years.

If only every weekend can be this good … thank you Ian.

Conan Lewis

Photos by: Phil Homer, Stuart Lucas, Graham Lockley, Ian Leggett

May 2010