Norfolk & Norwich Group of Advanced Motorists E-mail Newsletter - "Torque"
Volume #32 (6th November 2009)
Contents
- Welcome
- October
- Up And Coming Events
- Spread the word (please)
- Advertising
- WELCOME
Welcome to volume 32 of Torque.
If you have any feedback regarding this issue of Torque then please e-mail me on steve@minvo.com
- OCTOBER
For those "Observant" ones who noticed that the October edition of Torque was lost in the ether
known as "not sent" can give yourself a pat on the back with a very large hand. Those who failed
to notice absence of the "You have mail" message on the 2nd October can feel at ease as I suspect
most of the distribution list failed to notice too. So, sit back in your computer desk (or sofa
if you are posh enough to have a laptop) with a nice glass of wine and read the exiting adventures
that I call October.
I call it October but it all started on 27th September. "It" being a small trip to New England.
Let's get passed the boring stuff quickly - Flew into Boston, drove North through Salem, then
onto the White Mountains, across the lake into the Adirondacks and then North West to Toronto.
Then passed through Niagara and the Finger lakes before flying home from New York. Now the car
stuff.
That's a lot of driving - approx 1600 miles - about the same as driving to London 16 times.
Hired the usual Dodge Durrango 4.7L Full Size SUV (large 4x4). Does more miles the gallon than
my old trusty CRV before I get loads of green e-mails. We hire this one because it's so easy for
driving the miles we normally do on a trip state side.
Driving in New England is an absolute doddle - with the exception of Manhattan where you need to
keep a close eye on how close the yellow (bright yellow) taxi's are. Navigating through
Manhattan is the same as using the freeways in Los Angeles - you either don't signal at all or
signal one way and go the other. Making the mistake of signaling will only cause a taxi to fill
the space you wanted to move into.
Whilst in Manhattan I wanted to count how many bright yellow taxi's I could find in one row -
answer 17. Yes 17 taxis bumper to bumper driving down 5th Avenue. Not sure what the record is
here but I'm sure someone will know.
One other thing I would like to point out is the apparent abundance of police vehicles on the
freeways. And they are not shy of pulling over anyone wishing to gain a couple of minutes on a
journey by exceeding the limit. Most of the time the limit on the freeways is a slow 65mph but
does get slower on occasional stretches of 55mph. This seems slow compared to Blighty but when
you realise that EVERY vehicle has the same limit - including the articulated lorries - then
it's a different story.
Does anyone else have any stories from stateside?
- UP AND COMING EVENTS
NORWICH:
All at Wensum Community Centre, Hotblack Road, Norwich
All on 2nd WEDNESDAY of each month (unless otherwise stated)
11th November
Dr Tony Press
Emergency Response Doctor
He will provide a fascinating insight into his work
9th December
James Ladell
James will give a talk on the building and flying of scale model jet aircraft
13th January 2010
AGM
10th February
Malcolm Howard
Malcolm will tell his version of the "Battle of Britain"
10th March
Jackie Noy
Jackie is from the East Coast Truckers Charity and will talk about the annual convoy.
KINGS LYNN:
All at the NEW VENUE - The Farmers Arms Inn, Knights Hill Hotel, South Wootton, Kings Lynn,
Norfolk PE30 3HQ
All on 4th MONDAY of each month (unless otherwise stated)
23rd November
PC Garth Coupland
He will be talking about the work of a wildlife crime officer
10th December
Group Christmas Meal
(please see below)
25 January 2010
David Grimes
David will take you on another trip down memory lane
22 February 2010
Peter Carter
Peter will be talking about, eels, punts and poaching
Learn To Drive! with Pams Academy of Motoring
Lessons starting from £19 per hour
Motorway / Refresher courses / Pass Plus Scheme / Nervous people welcome
Based in Potter Heigham, and covering all areas between Wroxham, North
Walsham & Yarmouth. Please ring 07772 189210 or Visit our web site
www.pamsdriving.co.uk for further details
CHRISTMAS MEAL:
Thursday 10th December
The Farmers Arms Inn, Knights Hill Hotel, South Wootton, Kings Lynn, Norfolk PE30 3HQ
Meal is open to all members, friends and family.
For more information and bookings please phone Mark Framingham 01553 692666
RIDE OUTS:
All rides meet at the Little Chef at West Lynn at 9AM
8th November Buxton Cat & Fiddle
22nd November Horncastle Garden Centre
13th December Finchingfield
27th December Family Cafe A17
- SPREAD THE WORD
To be able to receive this newsletter you must:
* Have an e-mail address
* Have a computer to receive the e-mail
* And most importantly I must know what your e-mail address is.
So, spread the word. If you know someone who might appreciate a copy of this newsletter
then please get them to send me an e-mail ( mailto:steve@minvo.com <mailto:steve@minvo.com> )
or call me at home on 01603 814035. If you know someone that doesn't have an e-mail address
then simply print this e-mail and give it to them.
- ADVERTISING
If you (or you know of someone) who might want to sponsor our newsletter then please let me know.
The added advantage of having an e-mail newsletter is being able to have hyperlinks straight to
an advertisement on a web page.