Classic Citroën Traction Avant rally spotted on Glasgow’s London Road

The Citroën Traction Avant is the world’s first monocoque-bodied, front-wheel drive car that was mass-produced.

I was always a little intrigued by a chap I worked with for a while, as he never hesitated to reminisce about his first car, a Citroën Traction Avant (produced from 1934 to 1957), as he would not have had it until, I think, the late 1960s.

I can’t tell you anything about this fine collection that passed me as I was cycling along Glasgow’s London Road towards Parkhead. My pics were too crappy to read the banners/plates on the cars – I had to ride ahead and find a spot to catch them, and didn’t have time to think about camera settings. I really failed.

I did try to find something relevant to this rally online, from what little I could read on the cars, but nothing seemed to be listed.

I hadn’t noticed how dull it was, and the camera decided it was time for slow shutter speeds – my preference since my more usual subject are stationary (buildings).

I was a little ticked off when I got home, and reviewed that catches – and had to delete a lot of useless shots.

It was, however, reminiscent of a classic car meet I attended some years ago, where we were treated t a similar visit from the Mercedes-Benz club from Germany, touring with a collection of some of the rarest and most expensive cars from the marque, including some original 300 SL gullwing examples. I’m sure that even then each one of them would have been valued at well over £1 million.

But, this is about Citroëns.

A quick lesson in panning shots!

If you ever wondered why you were told to take them as the subject passes, rather than as they approach or leave, this is why.

The angular velocity varies along the subject length if not captured at the moment it passes.

This is the result – although the front of the car is actually in good focus, the rear is blurred because (in angular terms) it is moving faster than the front.

Oh well, lesson proved and learnt, again.

My mistake again.

I wasn’t sure why the car was out of focus, but nothing else.

Then I realised I hadn’t been a fraction of a second too soon, and the car had not come to a full stop at the traffic light.

Just too keen, and found out how easy it is to ruin an easy shot that SHOULD have come out OK. Just carelessness, and there goes another one :-(

The difference with stationary subjects can be seen in this set of three Traction Avants stopped at the traffic lights!

And again, caught/sharp at the front, but the rear end, oh dear.

And the last one.

Same problem, I really didn’t pick the right place to stand, did I?

Not complaining, after all, I could have missed them altogether.

It would have been nice to know the event, and I had really expected to find some mention on one of the classic Citroën websites, but even though I could auto translate the French ones I found, there just didn’t seem to be anything,

I must have missed the right one, as the car clubs I am still involved with always feature such rallies and tours in some detail, so that those interested can can catch the participating cars if they pass nearby.

Burrell Collection paintings to be shared with Japan

More than 70 masterpieces from Glasgow’s Burrell Collection will go on display in Japan later this year, part of a campaign to raise the international profile of the museum while the building undergoes a major refurbishment.

The touring exhibition will visit five Japanese cities between October 2018 and January 2019.

James Robinson, director of Burrell Renaissance, which is overseeing the museum’s refurbishment, said: “It is truly exciting that works by Boudin, Degas and Manet will be seen by audiences in Japan for the first time. This is made possible by a recent revision in the Burrell Collection’s lending code which empowers it to participate in exhibitions overseas.

“The tour of Japan is the most extensive programme that we have developed with foreign partners. It will be accompanied by a Japanese language catalogue to ensure that the quality and comprehensiveness of the Burrell’s collection of French paintings is enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible”.

Paintings from Glasgow’s Burrell Collection to go on tour in Japan

Thinking back to the fuss that was made (by a noisy few – it really must be true that ‘Empty vessels make most noise’), this would be a good time to reflect on how many exhibitions and displays have been possible when other countries/galleries shared part of their collections in such tours, allowing US to see items we would not otherwise have been able to enjoy.

The favour works BOTH ways.

Burrell Collection, Pollok Park, Glasgow © Iain Thompson via Geograph

Siberia in Scotland suggests time to plan holiday

The current blast of cold air we are ‘enjoying’ from Russia/Siberia is dragging our average temperature below 3°C, and last night took a dive below -3°C at one point.

I’m hoping the forecast remains accurate (woke up to snow this morning). Although it shows this nonsense carrying on until the end of the week, things get better after that and the daytime max is predicted to start rising again.

Because this is cold air being ‘parachuted’ in, it actually feels a lot colder that it did during the frosts and freezes we had a couple of weeks ago.

I was thinking it would be nice NOT to be here at the moment, and this bus trip to go see an atomic bomb being detonated seemed both a bargain and a good idea at the moment.

You might even come back with a nice warm glow that could last for a while, just like the Ready Brek kids.

Warm Day Trip

Some say…

They brought in kids that lived near Sellafield when they filmed this series of ads ;)

You can visit Torness Power Station again

Good news for those who like to rummage around power stations, especially nuclear (since the loonies won’t let us have them), Torness has finally joined Hunterston (which opened its doors last August) and opened to visitors as promised last year. The stations closed to public visits during 2001, after the events of 9/11.

Torness started production in 1988, and this summer will mark its 25th year.

A new visitor centre is also due to open at the station, operated by EDF Energy. It will offer hand-on displays, and guided tours of the station itself.

The used to do tours long long ago, and I was quite pleased to be able to dig up this sample of a tour bus outside the station in 1991:

Torness Tours © Jim Campbell via geograph

I’m not sure if they’ll need a coach nowadays, since the tours are by advanced booking only.

Via Torness nuclear power station re-opens to public after 9/11

It’s a funny thing, but since I occasionally had reason to visit the place for work reasons (no, not the nuclear side of the fence, they barely let you look at it that let alone wander past it), it never occurred to me to visit or take the tour – and then the stopped the tours, and I wished I had. Pity, as there’s not much chance of me getting there nowadays.

Torness safety manual revised

For those who want to smile, or perhaps cry, at the MP trying to curry favour and win votes, there’s a story filled with gloom, doom, and scaremongering built around the news that the operators of the nuclear power station have updated their safety manual which describes the protocols to be applied in the even of an incident at the station:

Torness nuclear survival manual updated – News – The Scotsman

I await news of the anticipated earthquake and tsunami as it strikes the east coast near Dunbar – but I’m not going to hold my breath while waiting.

Michelin Dundee factory tours in 2012

© Michelin

Michelin has announced the offer of free factory tours to mark the 40th anniversary of the company’s presence in Dundee.

I was always a little disappointed that my old boss never managed to get any work there, as tyre factories are quite interesting, and he had managed to land us regular work in places such as India of Inchinnan, and Uniroyal. India was the most fun, as the place was just about abandoned, but still producing some specialist tyres on its old lines. Anyone with an interest in electronics history could see equipment there that had been long ago been upgraded from valves to solid-state decades earlier in more modern factories.

My guess is we got the work because out engineers were interested in electronics, so had knowledge of the outdated systems still being used in the Inchinnan factory, and could nurse them along for another few years. But it was also weird working in there. Usually, factories in production are busy, and there are lots of bodies wandering around. But in India, all you saw was lines of machinery left to work almost on their own – and people only popped up at odd occasions where processes were either not automated, or could not be carried out by machines. This meant that most of the materials were processes and produced on lines where no-one appeared unless there was a problem of some sort, and you only met someone if you had to walk through the final assembly area, where the various layers and plies were laid by hand, as there were no machines able to do this work. After this, the assembled tyre were passed to ‘bombs’, where they were cooked at high pressure and temperature to form the tread and cure, or vulcanise, the rubber.

Tours

The tour is “The Story of a Tyre” and is being offered on Saturday September 22, and Sunday September 23, 2012. Starting times aer 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, and 14:00.

The venue is the Michelin Dundee factory, Baldovie Road, Dundee DD4 8UQ
Be careful though. They warn: “We’ll provide you with all the necessary safety wear, but please wear flat shoes (no sandals). No cameras or mobile phones.”

Current full details and booking information on the official Michelin site here:

Michelin Dundee Factory Tour | MICHELIN

Hamilton Mausoleum

Perhaps not particularly Secret or Hidden, it’s probably still fair to say that the Duke of Hamilton’s Mausoleum doesn’t fall into the ‘Widely-known’ category. Over the (recent) years, the building has suffered both from neglect, and the deliberate attention of vandals, and then there’s always the smackheads lurking, breaking through the gates into the vaults beneath to carry on their filthy habits. Guarded by two impressively large stone lions, typically, one of the big cats is fast asleep, while the other does all the ‘work’.

Most of the damage was made good some years ago, the area was cleaned up, public opening and tours were established, and the exterior floodlit. Being a regular traveller to London, the floodlit mausoleum building became a welcome marker, signalling the end of the 450 mile dash home – provided one arrived before the lights were turned off for the night! The tours are marked by the guide making his way to the door and slamming it shut (with a just a little too much enthusiasm) – the combination of the high domed roof, circular stone wall, and hard stone floor, all with no sound absorbing qualities, are said to give it the longest echo of any building in Europe.

After another round of restoration, the building has been re-roofed and more stonework repaired. Better still, the council has agreed a 99-year lease on the building, which will hopefully ensure that maintenance work on the building will continue into the future. Historic Scotland has also agreed to give a grant of almost £90,000 for work on buildings within the estate.

Picture by Kevin Rae.