Having decided that the hotel Eurofizz was unsuitable, there was time for more appropriate real ale in a recommended pub in nearby Leigh Sinton, after which we eat Dinner in the hotel.

The organiser, Len Barr, in his Rhyl

Some of the cars at the lunch stop

The return route proved to be more challenging for the SLO, more tiny lanes and steep hills both up and down. At one point we descended a steep hill to find our path barred by 3 Standards that had stopped to let a herd of cattle across the road. A swift application of all known brakes was required to prevent an accident. In the case of the SLO this comprises operation of the handbrake, that operates on the rear drums and the footbrake that clamps the transmission brake just behind the gearbox.

Clearly your driver had been using the footbrake a little too zealously over the previous few miles, and this final application resulted in a large cloud of smoke issuing from under the floorboards. The first Mrs Homer declared that we were about to set alight and promptly abandoned ship out of the passenger door, the wimp! So. as the women and children had already gone first I felt perfectly entitled, being the last to abandon ship, to follow her through the same door, there being no driver's door on a SLO.

The cars assembled outside Berrington Hall

Hardly anyone noticed the large cloud of acrid smoke, (honest!) that had enveloped our car, but by the time I removed the floorboard (held with a clip on either side) the brakes were hardly smoking anymore - and by the time the cattle moved out of the way we were ready to move off, much to the amusement of the local farmer and his cow hands.

Now this experience had rather spoilt my afternoon, so after reaching a crossroads with the next major road, my navigator declared she had had enough of hilly lanes and directed us home by a more direct route. Again, a couple of buckets of water came our way but we shrugged them off before meeting up with others in Leigh Sinton for a pint of Banks's bitter.

Saturday evening was the formal dinner followed by a short presentation ceremony and raffle. Your webmaster and the first Mrs Homer were awarded the "Rally to the Event award" in our class,  and indeed the furthest distance travelled for which we were awarded a silver cup. Lynda won one of the quiz prizes, but no luck in the raffle though!

On Sunday morning there was a shorter roadrun around the Worcester area, calling in at the "Elgar Centre" where we we given a talk and shown a film about Elgar's life before having the opportunity of visiting the cottage where he lived.  Returning briefly to the hotel, we then set off on our return trip. We saw most of Malvern and Malvern Link on our devious way back to the "Swan" for lunch. There we said our goodbyes and pointed the SLO south towards St. Albans. We had covered 320 miles by the time we got home.

A very great "thank you" to Len Barr who single handedly 

Phil and Lynda arrive at Berrington Hall (photo: Len Barr)