The Isle of Man TT & Lotus Tour

Wednesday 8th June - 2022

Just finished a great 5-day stay on the Isle of Man for the 2022 Isle of Man TT Races. The Isle of Man is situated in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland.

Another iconic photograph (below) of John & myself boarding the famous Manx Electric Railway at Derby Castle. They use all original Victorian and Edwardian rolling stock for our ride to the top of the mountain to watch more TT Races. 

At 17-miles long, it's the longest narrow gauge vintage electric railway system in the British Isles and gives commanding views of the Manx countryside's stunning glens, picturesque villages and commanding views out to sea.

In the photo (above) I'm wearing my beautiful woolen jumper which is the most traveled jumper in the world, knitted by my girlfriend (at the time) Pam as a going away present, before I immigrated to Vancouver, BC, Canada in October of 1969 .

When I became a Flight Attendant with Qantas in June of 1974, I carried this jumper with me in my suitcase on every trip for 34-years when I was an International ‘Trolly-Dolly’. If you are interested you can read the story (Click here) about my jumper in one of my earlier blog stories.

This year's 2022 TT event was marred once again by five riders meeting their untimely deaths. Three Sidecar riders (54yo father & 21yo son) killed instantly at Ago’s leap & another sidecar rider killed with his swinger in critical condition in hospital in the same area of the track. The other two deaths were solo TT riders, they all know what the dangers are. 

In the photo (above) John & myself sitting on the hedgerow just down from Creg-Ny-Baa watching these daredevils fly past you only meters away at breakneck speeds of 170mph or 273km/h. Makes the hairs that are left on my head stand upright. 

All I can say is that it must be one hell of a high if you are fortunate enough to live unscathed from racing in this most dangerous motor racing event in the world, bar none. Since they started racing here at the I.O.M. in 1904 there have been well over 260 riders killed, scary eh!

Back on the British mainland, last week I caught the train to Norwich that is situated on the east coast of the UK to catch up with my Model A Ford friends. On Sunday I was invited to a local car show that was held at the famous Beccles Airfield also know locally as Ellough Aerodrome, approx 12 miles or 20km/h from Lowestoft where my friends live. 

The story is during the second World War the Americans built this facility in the hope that their damaged heavy bombers returning on raids over Europe could land there safely because this was the closest runway to the coast.

In the photograph (above) I am standing beside John’s 1929 Model A Ford Tourer, here in Australia we call that Model A Ford a Phaeton. Check out my TT braces holding up my jeans that I purchased on the I.O.M. very trendy don’t you think? 

Check out the Morrie in the background, you can own this fully restored Morris Minor for £15,000 English Pounds or in real money $26,000 AUDs, at that price, he definitely was not giving it away that’s for sure.

I almost forgot to tell you that when John’s son Andrew picked me up from Norwich railway station, I had previously made reservations to visit the Lotus factory in Hethel. Hethel is situated out in the sticks approx 45mins. south of Norwich. Duration of the factory tour is 3-hours. Great tour, however they did not convince me that I need to purchase their latest Lotus.

The Lotus factory at Hethel, UK

Definitely No Photography Allowed on the tour, that is why I do not have any photos of the Lotus factory or any of their latest vehicles. They employ 953 employees, produce 17 finished vehicle per day, hoping to build and sell 5,000 units per year. Definitely no Tesla production line.

That just about brings me up to date with my travels, I hope that you are enjoying my travels so far. Until I place pen to paper once again stay safe.

Warbo