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MG MGA - Whose out there driving these days!

The worlds gone crazy .....but it still seems the same behind the windshield of my MGA!

Staying safe and hoping you all are too!

It is a little tough to find destinations but I always love a cruise up and down the coast of New England!

What have you been up to and go to with no car shows or able to meet up with the local car crowds?


S

I drove mine today to meet two other MGA guys. With appropriate social distancing of course. My wife took the A shopping yesterday. So it's getting plenty of use as are all the other classics. It's all we drive, so there's no choice!

Sorry, I didn't take any photos.
Steve Simmons

Was out yesterday to Schloss Hallwyl


Dominic Clancy

On two wheels, Dominic? I took a short run but brakes pulling right, so that now takes priority over all the other jobs.
Shanerj

I posted this in the TD section yesterday. The group included two V-12 Jags, a TR-6 and a TR-8, an AH 3000, two TDs, and a modern Porsch, a Miata, a modern Alfa and a Goldwing. I've had the TD, my MGA and my MGB out for socially distanced recreational drives at least once a week for the past two months.

Yesterday nine intrepid drivers attacked the road up First Peak past the Skunkawauken Falls. Shunkawauken Falls is a roadside 150-foot tall waterfall just outside Columbus (near Tryon and Saluda), North Carolina, on the twisting, scenic White Oak Mountain Road. Along the way, see some panoramic vistas as you climb 2,000 in elevation in five miles to the top of the mountain. Continue past the waterfall to complete a 11-mile loop drive. https://www.romanticasheville.com/shunkawauken.htm
The average grade is over 7.5%.

The ambiant temperature was about 80F (27C) and the group included my '53 TD and Peter's '52 TD. Peter's TD has the original thermostat housing sans thermostat and mine has the new housing with a 185F stat. Both TD have the bypass blocked off and both have recently cleaned out radiators. Peter's TD cruises at 75-80C and mine at 85-90C.

The drive includes several very sharp very steep up hill hairpins that put the car under quite a strain in 2nd but are still too fast to easily double clutch down into 1st. By the time we reached the top Peter was reading 95C and I was reading 110C (I have a newly reconditioned temp gauge from Nisonger, I haven't checked the calibration).

I'm going to remove the stat to hopefully eliminate any flow resistance that it may be causing and, at the same time, calibrate the temp sender/gauge in a pot of water at known temps. Afterward, we'll attack the Skunk again and I'll let you know if there is any improvement.

Jud



J K Chapin

Just the usual - Daily trips to the Post Office, running around in the neighborhood. Generally, I drive it daily when it is not raining but with the virus ongoing I have kinda hunkered down. Awaiting the passage of the virus, so we can take runs to lunch.
Bill Haglan

What's wrong with you people 'don't you realise there's a killer of a virus out there
Go on get out there and spread it about amongst the masses

The words
"esential travel"
ring a bell --?

It's not over yet

crazy
William Revit

Willy

Social distancing is still observed strictly. All guidelines were followed rigorously. I don't want to get the virus. But here we are gradually emerging from a ten week lockdown, and most people are being very responsible.

Dominic
Dominic Clancy

You can't get the virus by simply going out in the fresh air. You also can't get the virus driving along a country road. I'm a very careful person when it comes to this stuff, especially considering the elderly parents my wife and I are caring for, but locking yourself in your house 24/7 is unnecessary and unhealthy.

Keep social distance, disinfect anything that comes to you from an outside source, and wash your hands any time you've been away from home, in addition to disinfecting anything you've touched. Keep clean gloves and a mask in your car, because you never know when you'll need them. But please, do get out of the house and go for a walk or drive now and then. Keep your body and mind healthy. And wear an appropriate mask if you're forced to go into an area with other people around.

As for people who actually aren't taking it seriously, like beach-goers and down-players, you're the reason it isn't over yet. And you're the proof that common sense isn't all that common anymore. Hopefully that isn't anyone here!

Be safe, everyone.
Steve Simmons

Nah. I don't buy it
Stay safe - at home

Dominic's statement covers my thoughts
" and most people are being very responsible."

It only takes one

willy
William Revit

For most people it is no more deadly than the flu.

Flu kills many elderly and immuno-compromised people each year but we don't panic about that.

How much of this is media hype?

Yes, I stay away from other people as much as I can - but back in February I had an infection that lasted a few days (too short to be a cold or flu) I lost my sense of taste & smell, had a fever and runny nose. Was it Covid19? No idea.
Chris at Octarine Services

Such a disregard for peoples lives, it leaves me speachless
William Revit

Yes lots of it is media hype but the problem is the resources and time it takes with the fraction of percentage of those who are very seriously ill, weeks in intensive care which is very intensive use of health resources and costs of all sorts.

If it was decided not to treat those that get seriously ill from it then many of the problems would disappear, along with those people.

Chris you might have had Covid-19 you might not, either way you might get it (again?) in the future and it might make you seriously ill. As you're in the age group more likely to die from it are you offering not to receive treatment and save all this hassle?

I'm not picking on you but the virus might.

Is it (in the UK) that 50% of those in intensive care leave intensive care alive but this could be after many weeks in intensive care and probably on a ventilator, all extremely costly. This included a 103 (106?) year-old, should all those resources and all this hassle be used to save such people?

I don't think the majority of people know, and why should they, how intensive intensive care actually is (and that it can have some lifelong after effects).

ETA: Like ALL of us I do have some disregard for human life, many, many, people the world over are dying and suffering often needlessly but we don't really care about them because they're far away and not like us or one of us. Is it better or worse to worry about a 103 year-old in our country or a 3 year-old abroad - be good if we looked after both, but it won't be in this world and lifetime.
Nigel Atkins

Willy,

Is the going into an office or sending a kid to school when you or they infected with flu disregarding people's lives?

If we placed other's lives at such a premium, we would not drive cars, fly or use plastics, to name but a few of the things we do day by day in our "normal" lives and which directly or indirectly cause death for others and damage our environment.

This is not a disaster for the human race - daily births exceed daily deaths by a factor of more than 2 even with the virus.

Yes it is sad that people die at all, from whatever cause, but it is part of life, we all will die someday. Deaths in care homes is subject to much coverage at the moment, but was it before? No - the care home industry has long been the poor relation and people will die there from all sorts of causes, but nobody rails against flu, sepsis, pneumonia or the other common ailments of the old.

It is not the situation around covid that annoys me - it is the lack of care and lack of funding for care in the community in "normal" times.
Chris at Octarine Services

"it is the lack of care in "normal" times"

And there is the real point.

Very, very little will be learnt from this and very, very little will change.
Nigel Atkins

Nigel,

I had a serious heart attack nearly 4 years ago and decided then to take life on a day by day basis, so should I become seriously ill from whatever cause I would be happy to cash in my chips - my father refused treatment for lung cancer but died from a heart attack - he saved a lot of loss of quality of his life by treatment - I'll do the same.

I don't think we will learn the lessons of under funding our care services - everyone will be sweeping it under the carpet to avoid the blame culture we have.

Willy,

Just one point - we are no longer tied to "essential" travel in England - we can drive wherever we please as long as we don't cross the border into Wales, Scotland or N Ireland who have different rules.
Chris at Octarine Services

Chris
I hate bracketing what anyone says but------

"It is not the situation around covid that annoys me - it is the lack of care and lack of funding for care in the community in "normal" times. "

So you have had symptoms of Covid 19, didn't get tested , could have been a carrier spreading it amongst your unknowing friends and somehow think that's ok
Then if you of one of your contacts/ friends does get sick you expect the doctors / nurses to look after you putting their and their friends / family at risk of death - for you

selfish lack of care in my eyes
William Revit

I agree Willy but I don't think Chris is saying that and you don't understand the situation here, entirely different perhaps to your neck of the woods.

I can't remember what was going on in February but I don't think the population was told by our government to be that concerned at that time, I could be wrong as it seems so long ago now and my memory isn't the best.

I think at that time but possibly not until later, you'd probably have been told to self-isolate and that's it if you had mild symptoms, testing, well the offer rather than perhaps the actuality, has only just become available, in the last few days is it for such cases.

Things are perhaps very different over here to where you are, nearly 68m people in the UK to just over half a million where you are, population density generally and in specific areas of the UK.

Nigel Atkins

They locked down on 23 March - a good month after I had whatever I had.

You cannot just get tested! Tests are only now starting to gets to care homes, the general population can't get a test.

So you suggest we should isolate in case we might be carriers?
Chris at Octarine Services

Chris,
I can understand quality over longevity, but you might get both even if you have another serious illness, obviously the odds are less but very often not extremely low or zero.

But whether you, and us at your age, should be euthanised before then, or even before now is another matter - got any spare good parts, perhaps even your heart could be used for something, keep on the register. 😉 😊
Nigel Atkins

As Steve says, you cannot get Covid driving in an MGA in the fresh air. If I don't go near anyone, I am not endangering either them or me. If anyone appears to being on a trajectory that gets too close here they are very firmly warned off by the other party. And there are controlled limits to how many people can be in a store to make sure that the distancing rules can be followed, even in any queue outside the store.

I don't think Chris was suggesting that he was putting others in the way of risk when he had his cold in February either. I understand that there are different viewpoints, but absolutist ones don't recognise the compromises that will have to be made to end the lockdowns - it is completely unreasonable to expect that pensioners can continue to set the agenda while they get their monthly payments and the younger have no job any more, no income, no home, no future to hope for.... Zero hours contracts and "Gig" economies already disproportionally affect the job security and incomes of younger generations, while most western governments have agendas driven by older (voting) citizens.

I like Willy belong to a high risk group, but it is untenable that the human cost is being disproportionally borne by the younger and poorer in our communities, including the long term costs of the state debt that is being incurred, and the realignment of government priorities that are consequences of these. In the end the decision will be a pragmatic one that the economic cost of repeated lockdowns is simply too high to be sustainable long term, then the fireworks will start for real. It will be a brave politician / government that goes first, but they will certainly not be the last..... If the younger generations were to vote as often as the oldies, governments would probably look a lot different. This may just be the catalyst that they need to start voting to get their voices heard.

We can all only hope for the fast availability of a vaccine !
Dominic Clancy

"it is completely unreasonable to expect that pensioners can continue to set the agenda while they get their monthly payments and the younger have no job any more,"

Erm, I paid through my working life to provide a pension for when I couldn't work any more. Are you suggesting I am not entitled to it now?

I have equal rights to determine the future alongside everyone else who can be bothered to vote - to discriminate on the basis of age is as bad as discrimination on the basis of gender or race.

If you look at the people in power, they are much younger than I, some politicians are in their 20s.


Chris at Octarine Services

Many people in power are not in governments, and most in government and power tend to be out of their 20s, some by a very long way.

Many of our age and above will possibly take out a lot more than wey paid in.

Bonus for my lot is that having paid in to work pensions some or all of the value can be lost for many reasons, including perhaps what's happening now and its consequences (or sometimes stolen or misused) so the pension won't be so rosy (getting rid of the longer drawing members would help of course). 😉

In 1979 I learnt about the demographic time-bomb and expected by now the state pension age to be about 75+, 80+ now considering all the improvements in health care.

In reality many people for many different reasons don't really retire as such until ill-health or many years after their official state pension age.

I've always known I was born 10 years too late - who can I blame for this?

ETA: Chris, you have slipped into one of these militant pensioners, no one has suggested you're not entitled to your pension, vote or say - reread what Dominic put.
Nigel Atkins

Nigel,
I have always been militant and a rule challenger!

I was asking Dom what he meant by the phrase.
Chris at Octarine Services

Being an absolutist pedant - and even a total realist there's no way anyone could carry out all and every virus protection actions for themselves or others. Consider it like writing a computer program, think of every action required, the sequences that create their own repeat cycles. We'd all probably need to be in Hasmat suits and disinfecting just about everything all the time. Then all the materials than would be one-use and need disposing of or cleansing.

You'll probably never fully stop people touching their faces with their hands unconsciously, so face protection required all the time.

IF there is ever a vaccine it might not cover all of the present mutations let alone possible future mutations.

As with other things in life once the Covid-19 virus is under some sort of control we will have to accept a level of risk.

Concentrating on basically only Covid-19 has meant many other health issues are present and have been and will be made worse, a balance will have to be struck at some point.

Lockdown has little personal effect to me directly and could carry on for, well ever, but indirectly and for just about everyone else it needs to fully end sometime.

ETA: Chris, rule changer for whose benefit (if others I bet must didn't appreciate, I used to handed 'the gun and bullets' whilst others hid and I'd carry on but was it for my satisfaction and ego or for the benefit of others. A boss once said to me that I could start an argument in an empty room - which I found very funny but I didn't show him that. :)


Nigel Atkins

Lol - for others mainly - like stupid rules about spending money on desk lights that the staff wanted - I used a budget for computer accessories to buy them, which meant that main office lights were turned off, people used their desk lights and had fewer headaches caused by the overhead fluorescents - twin 50 watt tubes replaced by an 11 watt desklight - made sense to me but was against the "rules".

Like buying car park passes for all the staff who couldn't get in the car park - cost minimal, but staff were never late for work having driven round looking for parking spaces. Boosted morale and reduced sick days as well.

I understand the need for rules but in many cases they create inequalities which are unnecessary - I can't stand jobsworths and I am sad for people who run into them over things like benefits - make a claim for U Credit and you lose all other benefits as from date of application - application for UC fails and you don't get the old benefits back - stupid, stupid rules.
Chris at Octarine Services

Quite a lively discussion here. But I think one important consideration has been missed.
It is fact that one of the greatest dangers of a pandemic is people dying of non pandemic illness, because the NHS is overworked by the pandemic. This is the reason we have had the slogan "Protect the NHS" By people staying at home, not only does that reduce the R0 infection rate, but it reduces the number of people becoming seriously ill for other reasons, such as car accidents, accidents at work, etc.
So whilst driving our cars we are in a safe bubble, away from the virus, we may put a strain on our services for other reasons.
Graham V

Another consideration initially missed by the save the NHS message and now becoming more focussed upon is the fact that the hype has frightened people to the extent that they are unwilling to go to hospital for other conditions - there are reports of only 50% of the usual incidence of heart attack, stroke, etc.

The NHS is now saying please come in, it is safe, we need to see you.

The media is now trying to add this theoretical possible extra death rate to deaths caused by covid - no, they are deaths caused by the hype!
Chris at Octarine Services

MMmm-just read back through all this and Chris, I feel I might have jumped on you a bit personally --SORRY if I have offended you at all, that was not my intention
As Nigel has enlightened me ,the situation here is different to over there-
Here in Tassy we are heavily dependant on tourism and back in February there was a Covid 19 outbreak at our local hospital that was traced back to a cruise ship. Our goverment acted imediately and gave all tourists 14 days notice to leave, They put on double the number of ferry trips so 2 per day (about 900 people per trip)for the 14 days and then shut the island down, no-one in or out unless it was an emergency or deemed esential
The only people allowed in were residents that had been caught away and all coming in were told to self isolate, There were a few that didn't so now when the boat comes in or a plane the few that come in are taken by bus to a hotel for 14 days isolation---This is how it still is now
The whole place was fully shut down except essential services
Everyone was told to stay home and save lives and if you could work from home, do that
Some travel is allowed for esentials but the island has been divided into sections and there's no way you can cross into another area--the fine for this is up to $17,000 and/or jail
It's only this week that we've been told we can travel up to 30klm to go to somewhere that you would normally exersize- All parks, playgrounds etc have been closed until now
So things are looking up
On the aged pension thing, yes Chris I agree, you work all your life for it, it's an entitlement not a handout
Luckily here when they shut the island down the govt. was really strong
All pensioners got what amounted to a bonus fortnights payment to help get through while this virus lockdown is in place
There's been no grumbles from the younger generation, those(unemployed) on what they call the jobseeker allowance had their allowance doubled
All businesses that had to shut their doors like pubs and cafes and non essential shops, the govt stepped up and introduced what's called a job saver allowance that pays most of the employees wages so that when this crap is over their jobs are there ready to go
It also made it illegal to throw anyone out of their home if they can't pay the rent and just this week the govt has stepped in again and has given everyone on govt pensions or allowancees that are renting a free months rent
We have drive through Covid testing here, If you have any symptom at all like runny nose, cough or temp. you drive in ,don't get out of your car and they take swabs up the nose and throat and temp. check
I went for food and the chemist yesterday and got temp checked 4 times before I got home
As far as kids going back to school I'm dead against that, here a few years back when Swine flue did the rounds, my wife, a teacher at the time was completely healthy and someone sent their brat to school with the flu because both parents worked, The wife went down with it the next day and we both had to isolate for 3 weeks, it knocked the crap out of her and she's never really recovered---so think of others and keep your kids at home if they're sick
Nuf from me for now

Just on the news now while I'm doing this they've introduced on the spot fines ($450)for anyone not complying with Covid rules like social distancing and being out without a reason and $5000 for businesses not complying with sanitation / distancing rules
crazy world

Again, I truely value friendships and the comradery feeling on this bbs, so please don't take anything I say personally
Cheers
and stay safe
willy


William Revit

Nothing taken personally, Willy.

I guessed you didn't appreciate that we are further down the line than you are and we have been through what you have now and are coming out the other side.

Hopefully you will too, eventually.
Chris at Octarine Services

Cheers Chris
William Revit

I think Tasmania having far less people (0.5m million compared with UK 67m) and multiplies more countryside, nature and space per person may make a difference to attitudes and values.

I honestly believe part of our troubles in the UK and USA and world for Covid and generally is that too many men are in positions of power and control with many wanting to prove how big their willies (apologies to Willy) and balls are, too much testosterone. Also the over passion for consumerism and excessive corporate rewards.

With simple maths of compound times two or three for a virus spread the sooner this is restricted the lower the potential spread and actual end figures, the quicker the reaction the greater the effect.

Three country leaders, there will be many more, all men showing manly macho disdain for any flu-like virus, shaking hands to show they don't worry and one one actually saying he “wouldn’t feel anything” if infected with coronavirus". I wonder if there's a relationship to perceived balls and brain size.

I know men, I'm one of them, many are macho idiots - and I'll punch the first man to disagree with me. (That's joke - in case one of them reads this, and that does need to be explained to many of them.)

It all makes no odds, already most people want to rush back to how things were before forgetting anything that has been or could have been learnt from this period or relative inactivity.

Second part of Egar Allan Poe's A Dream within a Dream

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand--
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep--while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Nigel Atkins

Yep Nigel, there's some really big ego's out there
It was interesting here
The Premier of Tas. had resigned and the replacement had hardly sat in the big chair and got lumbered with this lot, but full credit to him he took the big step to lockdown early and he's determined to stay locked down till it's safe
It seems to have been a winner , we've only had one new case in the last week and that was someone suspect that had been in isolation ,but he's refusing to open the place up till there's no more
NO-ONE is knocking his decisions here, everyone is happy with how he's jumped on it
William Revit

Phew!
for a while there I was a bit scared to raise my head above the parapet, I decided to keep out of that discussion.
Glad you guys are still on speaking terms :^)

We managed to take our MGA on a 36 mile round trip last week, not an easy thing to plan because there are still no cafes, bars, restaurants, pubs and even more critical, no public toilets open!

So we decided to take a leisurely 18 mile drive along quiet country lanes and we chose a fish and chip bar as a destination. Carefully following the social distancing rules, we parked in their private car park and shared fish and chips sitting at their picnic tables (we were the only customers).

Then we drove the remaining 18 miles home where we knew the toilets and the bar would be open.

We never came within 2 meters of anyone on that journey but it was still really enjoyable.
Hopefully we will do something similar this week too.

Cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth


Little piece of normal here today-
Outside and heard this splashy whack noise, and looked out to sea and there he was ,first whale for the season out there rolling and smashing his pecs into the water as if there wasn't a worry in the world - fantastic, and a welcome reminder of normal --
willy
William Revit

Lol - the whole world is "normal" except for the human race!
Chris at Octarine Services

Today, one of our club members (Central Virginia British Car Club) organized a fun run. It was organized so that we continued to respect a policy of Social Distancing but we still wanted to enjoy the freedoms made possible by those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We took the opportunity to recognize those who gave their lives to protect our freedom with "A Salute to Memorial Day" fun-run!

We met in Richmond at the Dogwood Dell Amphitheater at 1:00pm. In an effort to remain separate while together, we stayed in or near your car and received a set of printed directions, which included interesting information about Richmond and it's important role in American history. Along the 27-mile scenic route, we drove past historic monuments, Hollywood Cemetery, Riverside Drive, river views, and Richmond National Battlefield Park Drive.

One of the members took a nice picture of me in my 1957 MGA Coupe with the swollen James River and the Richmond skyline in the background.

This was a very enjoyable afternoon in our cars.

Jim



JL Cheatham

Like Colyn we took a rather indirect route to a fish and chip shop on a glorious Friday and then ate them on the shore of the Forth Estuary. Clearly totally socially distanced. The great thing was we have never had so many positive comments, waves and smiles from people so I think we brought something positive to many people at no cost or danger to them. Two of the people who waved happened to be past a Chair of the Caledonian Centre of the MGCC and his wife. The A ran beautifully on it first run of the year.



Paul Dean

This thread was discussed between 18/05/2020 and 31/05/2020

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