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A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,500 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 42 trips to carry that many people.

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The Great British Jowett has a fine display at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre. Congratulations to the Midland Section’s ‘ Running in the Family’ theme. There was great interest in the family trees of Jowett Brothers, and the Flower family Long Four. Craig’s splendid Jupiter, Ian’s lovely Javelin and the Atack’s family Bradford. The Morgan’ s brought the shop and Midland Section stalwarts made up the team. Some interesting comments from the public included someone who has ‘ found’ a Long Four. He is hoping to buy it but has promised to keep the club informed of the on- going story of this car. Then there was the man who ‘ found’ a Jupiterand bought a Jupiter. He has promised to join the Car Club, and to send photos of the restoration progress One young man was delighted to have found the identity of a ‘ mystery car’ that he photographed in a barn in N Wales some six months ago. He is going to send more specific directions as to where it was so we can check it out But he was pleased to have solved the mystery.
What a lovely day.

For those who have been following JowettTalk you might have seen reference to using Castrol CL grease rather than LM grease. I have been to a local supplier and bought 4 tins of CL grease for £24, the retail price in Halfords is £8.49!! If anyone would like me to buy a tin on their behalf I would be happy to purchase and bring them to the pre-Christmas lunch on 27 November.

Paul

We have had a fabulous time here on this gem of an island. No matter that you ‘across’ on the adjacent island have had the hottest October since records began, we have wrapped up warm against the mist and dampness to explore ancient towns, pretty lanes, castles and heritage villages.
Our welcome, by the members of the Isle of Man Classic Car Club and the help and advice from them has been magnificent. A more full account with specific details will follow. Thanks Isle of Man and all who have accepted our cards to log on here. Sue

We always hoped that Ib and Cira
would be able to meet up with us, as part of their Grand Tour of Scotland. Though they came in Cira’s MG, they were welcomed by Joweteers Mike and Linda Smailes, spent time with Drummond and Ruby Black and en route to Harwich spent the night with us. Tim and Pauline came round and we had a jolly evening outlining plans for the August 2012 Car Rally in Odense, Denmark.
So watch this space and the Joweteer, where we will be posting dates, costs and schedules. It’s going to be a great trip. Thanks to Ib and Cira for their enthusiasm and ideas for this unique opportunity to show off our cars, and to meet and admire others.

Sue

I found my Bradford in the market place in Naantali some time in 1968. The van was carrying some vegetables for an old man who used to sell them on the market.
Asked if he would sell the van, he told that he was not interested. I gave him my address and asked to contact me in the case he would some time sell the van.
I did this for several years, but no selling the Bradford – finally I gave up all hope and forgot the thing.
I had never heard the Jowett or Bradford and had no other interest in the van than the front wings with headlights on them and the relatively long bonnet – it looked like an old vehicle. Although it was not as old as I thought, just as old as I, born in the 1951.

In 1976 the old man contacted me and then I had to buy the van, although I did not have even a garage at that time. The first winter under my friend’s sailing boat’s stern, the following summer the van was moved to my father’s garage.
We had cruised England and Scotland a couple a years earlier with my Vespa SS -66 and visited the Bealieu Motor Museum. In those days there were no nightmares about www, so I wrote them a letter asking for information about Bradfords. They adviced me to contact the JCC and then it all started – in 1976 I joined the Club, I think.

Took me three years to rebuild the van (almost everything wrong) and in the 1979 it was on the road again.
Now the van is with my friend up in the middle of Finland, and he resored it all over again in the right way.
The contacts with the Club had made a great difference in restoring projects, not to mention the www.
While I had the first B van utility de luxe, we gathered scrapped B’s from all over the southern part of Finland, and finally I had spares from at least a dozen of B’s.
My friends teased me to build another B, as I had so much spares – and I was stupid enough to start the seven years job.
Managed to salvage the wooden body parts – one from the both side – to model the new ones i made myself. Exept the complicated doors. that were restored with a little (big) help from a carpenter in a bus body factory CARRUS, the owned by VolvoBus and nowadays again a private company here nearby.

More spares from ( now the late ) Roy Braddock, who was a nice old man – his wife and the cat were nice too. We visited him at least twice to buy spares that I could not find in Finland. I remeber buying a thermostat, about which Roy said that he had never heard anyone using one in a B, but if I really want one, he’d sell me one.
Front wings and the light switch among other things. One Xmas Roy sent me a replica of a badge that the factory employees got after working ten years in the Jowett factory – I still wear it around the neck. Thanks Roy, if you can hear me up there beyond somewhere.

While I was building the B from the spares of a dozen scaps, I decided to make it a lorry. Less bodywork, you see. Drawings and measurements for the bed from Alec Feather (late). I also visited Alec and Gladys one summer when I was cruising along the island all by myself. What a beatiful Norton he had.
We (I and Maikki) got a ride in their Javelin, when we took part of a Jowett Rally, but did not hava the B with us.

Chromed wheel caps from Bill and Sandra Purves. Those (the wheel caps) are hanging on my wall – too fine to use in a lorry 🙂 Thanks to B&S too for the hospitality they showed us when we visited their home in Edinburgh (twice).

P.S. Welcome to visit us whenever you – or anyone of the Jowetteers – are around :

After nearly 2600 miles of driving we are home. Actually not quite home but at the North West Section’s local. There’s nothing to eat in the house so we shall ask Gina to rustle up some herring….and maybe champagne. The Browns have delayed their return in order to visit Nick in Oxford.
Cheers!

Monday June 27

Our last day in Denmark and the end of the great Nordic adventure. We had to Wait and See if two Javelins could make the great traek to the land of the midnight sun and it would seem that they can. We had set off with a boot full of spanners and spares but only needed to use some gaffer tape, glue and bungee cords – the last item when the fan belt stay sheared on the quayside and needed temporary securing.
We had few expectations other than to arrive at Anssi’s garage and try to mend his car. (Note the royal ‘we’) nothing prepared us for the warmth and generosity of the Jowett friends that we met along the way. In order then, step forward Gustav and Birgit Josefsson who met us off the ferry from Denmark to Sweden and welcomed us into their home. Congratulations to them on their recent wedding anniversary and celebratory cruise. Next Maike and Jorma Hihnala who took us to their island in the sun and organised for us to be in the Finnish Turku Car Rally. Also in Finland and at the furthest point of our tour, Raija and Ansii Heikkila and who plied us with more great home cooked food and where we beat each other with birch twigs, gathered specially by Liisa. They didn’t ask us to draw water from the well or to chop wood for the fires; necessary activities at their Summer home. And finally Ib RasmussEn and Mogens who introduced us to Cira and the members of the Danish Vintage Car Club. Ib arranged accommodation for us and they fed and watered us like the royalty he knows. The final Jowett surprise came when we were on the quayside in Esbjerg. There were Clive and Coral Warren from the East Anglia Section, returning from their holiday in Denmark, We spent the evening with them on the ship chatting about Jowetts and Rallies past, present and future.
And now it’s over until the next time. Our gratitude to everyone is sincere and heartfelt. Our ability to express that in the appropriate language just makes us sound like refugees from Chaucers England. We will have done 2,600 miles of near trouble- free driving; unlike the original Wait and See, we freed no slaves and never a cross word passed between us. It has been an education and a learning curve for all of us: sometimes a steep one. We have learned about cars- ours and others; we have learned about shower designs – those that flood the floor and those that knock you over. We have learned about ourselves. There are lots of technical and mechanical details that could be added but not by me and probably not here. So until the next time, in the words of Morecombe and Wise, it’s goodbye from me and it’s goodbye from him.

One Swallow Doesn’t Make. Sommer

The ‘Ole Sommer Motor Museum’ is a gem. Located in the North of Denmark not far from Helsingore it displays beautiful specimens collected by Mr Ole Sommer over the years. Our interest was in the three Jowetts – Javelin registered MKD 14 sold by Carrs Motors Hardmans Street Liverpool. All its wheels were in place. Ole Sommer himself imported over 500 Javelins and 1000 Bradfords and used the Jowett engine for his own design of car. We thank him for displaying our models and wish him well in his 80th year.
But there was more to gasp at when we visited the Library and Archive of the Danish Veteran Car Club. The club uses the museum as its base, and employs some full time staff, as well as volunteers, to manage the books, magazines and pamphlets of any and every car made. The two Swallows (Austin) were just a couple of British models, then there were Jaguars of every number shape and age; some Morris; Bentley, Rileys, Wolsley Rolls Royce, Alvis, TVR etc etc etc.
We were speechless in two languages at the professional and extensive range. But having met the dedicated wonderful members of the club, are not really surprised.
The Proposed Danish Rally 2012 will be stunning if the evidence of this day was anything to go by.
Thank you, Danish Veteran Car Club. We take off our hats to you!

Sunday June 26th

The Peoples Choice

Today turned out to be one of the most amazing car centred days, of my life。But to begin at the beginning. We left home base at 10.15 for the scenic run to Fredericksborg Castle where we spent a happy time wandering the gardens in warm sunshine and admiring the outside. Castles in the UK tend to date from 1066 and all that. This was more like a palace, in the style of Versailles but without the crowds. We learned that all roads around the castle were named for the King and indeed used to be used exclusively for him. Now any old Jowett can travel along them.
Onwards to join Cira and her son Victor for an alfresco lunch, finishing with a desert of wild strawberries from the garden and an ice cream down on the seashore.we had a date for afternoon tea, so set off to travel the 30 minutes to Mogens home.
Several members of the Danish Veteran Car Club were also joining us there so we first of all admired Michael’s Model T Ford that he uses as his every day car. Next it was into the garage to be reunited with the beautiful special bodied White Jupiter that won peoples choice in Wakefield. Still looking as lovely as ever, though some work on the exhaust and radiator should see it ready for next year. Then two more cars arrived. A 1930s BMW and a pre war Citroen. Both immaculate cars.
The BMW had been owned by Werner Pancke, Commander in the Nazi occupying forces in Denmark, There are photographs of him with the car before he was summoned to Nurenberg.
Then just for light relief we walked to a neighbours house to see his Austin 1100 bought from a car dealer with fewer than 700 miles on the clock. The story goes that the original purchaser paid a deposit, couldnt raise the rest of the cash and disputed ownership meant that the car sat around from 1974 to 1993 going nowhere. Our final port of call was to the Motor Museum owned and set up by Ole Sommer. Amongst other beautiful exhibits are a Javelin, a Jupiter and a Bradford lorry.
Look away now if descriptions of Motor Museums aren’t your thing.