Wooden Car Festival 2015

Sometimes we should express our gratitude for the small and simple things like the scent of the rain, the taste of great food and the sound of a loved ones voice.

After 2 weeks of wonderful blue skies and a balmy 20C waking to find some of the heaviest torrential rain id seen in months was somewhat depressing. I didn't need a Morgan I needed an arc. However this was the weekend for the wooden car festival so in true British spirit it was out to the garage. My wife helped clean the car and while I was under it greasing the old ladies nipples my wife was polishing the gear nob. After suitable innuendos had been expressed by both parties and the 30 minute battle to put the roof on had resulted in scraped fingers and a good deal of grunting and swearing I was ready
to start the 400km trip to Nythun mountain hotel. Pulling out of the driveway and seeing my wife waving to me left me feeling somewhat guilty, but someone had to look after the kids, 'apparently'. Food, love, career and mothers, the four major guilt groups. However 10 minutes of driving later i felt like stripping naked painting myself blue and running around like a crazed Scotsman screaming FREEDOM.

The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status is that deep down inside we all believe that we are above average drivers. Driving a Morgan though strips away any pretencions, when conditions are bad it can be somewhat scary. Poor visibility, mirrors that just don't seem to be able to reflect whats going on behind you and incredibly poor road conditions all lead to a heightened state of nerves. The road ran south through oppdal and then up to the mountain pass Dovre. Dovre is a natural divider and as i drove onto the mountain pass the weather abruptly changed, the rain stopped, the clouds cleared and blue sky was seen again. A quick coffee break and the road continued south to Sel where i took off

and took another mountain pass Valdresflya. I had never driven this way before but the scenic nature, and the raw wilderness have a tendency to make you feel small and sort out whats important in life. The road continued toward Fagernes and then up into the mountains to the hotel. The entire trip had taken in the order of 8 hours, arriving tired and cold i was warmed by the sight of 30 Morgans in the parking lot. A couple of beers, an excellent buffet  and i was ready for bed it had been a long day.

Saturday dawned and what a start, beautiful scenery and the perfect blue sky. Unusual for the wooden car festival there was absolutely no driving involved today. Instead after a fantastic breakfast and several cups of coffee we were picked up by a buss and driven to a local slate quarry
















Here they had produced roofing tiles for many years but world economy had made this an infeasible business and it was now closed down. However they where building a museum to show how the tiles had been fabricated but that was still somewhere in the future. It was an interesting trip and with the added bonus of a 2km walk around the site we where suitably exercised to hop on the buss and travel to a local brewery.


The brewery was situated at a small local farm. Typically making 5 different types of beer (2
seasonal). We had lunch at the farm and the opportunity of sampling the 3 all year beers. By the third beer i was in fine form, each was exceedingly tasty and tasted better than the previous, beauty is in the eye of the beer holder and after 3 beers i was seeing a great deal of beauty in the surrounding nature and at the bottom of the glass.

Time came and we had to stagger back onto the buss for the trip back to the hotel. A brief siesta with a couple of glasses of wine led into the formal dinner. 5 courses each with a wine. Each course was superb, especially the cheeses and desert. By the end of the experience we had just enough energy to walk up the small hill to the barn which hosted a small bar and coffee.

Next day also dawned with fantastic weather. 30 Morgans drove out of the hotel at around 10am and down a long windy road with some of the biggest pot holes, bumps, sheep and hugh pile of manure the local farmer had so kindly spilt all over the road. We drove down to Fagernes and then NW along a picturesque lake to a cheese manufacturer. We donned the most sexy of entire, before being shown around the plant and being able to sample 4 or 5 of the cheeses. As a gift we received one of the cheeses which had a passing resemblance to a light Parmesan.

Back into the cars and then a drive round the other side of the lake coming to a farm that made its own rakfish. As far as i can understand this is some type of rotten fish, a speciality that is often eaten at Christmas. Unfortunately time was ticking by and i had to leave by 2pm to make the journey back to Trondheim and be back at a reasonable hour. The drive back took the same route as was equally awe inspiring.








Many people think Norway is a bad country for a Morgan with the long winters and snow. For a good 4 to 5 months the cars are packed away for the winter. However Norway also has some of the most spectacular scenery in the world with mountain roads designed for Morgans. This was another fantastic trip with the Norwegian Morgan club and considering the amount of food and drink consumed on this gourmet tour i think it will be a week or so before i dare place foot on the scales.

 

MOG 2015

MOG 2015 was held in Trondelag this year, my home county a little North of Trondheim on a small island called Inderoy. A fine fjord hotel had been reserved for the members and close to 40 Morgans where expected to arrive from across Norway. The furthest afield was from Kristandsand over 700km away.

For weeks i had high hopes of good weather, however Mark Twain once said when ill luck begins, it does not come in sprinkle but in showers. When i left work it was, for a better description, absolutely pissing it down and continued to do so for most of the weekend. A short 2 hours later i arrived at the hotel having found new ways water could stream into the car. My left leg was absolutely drenched as was most of the inside even though the roof had been on. I drove into the car park and was heartened to see the hotel had arranged a lot of spare parts for the 40 arriving Morgans all neatly piled up in the corner of the car park.


As i had been part of the organizing committee  i arrived a little early to see if any assistance was required but ended up enjoying a beer and a glass of wine while waiting for the cars to arrive. One after another they turned up and started filling up the car park all with roofs on until our intrepid president of the Norwegian Morgan society turned up with the roof down. It seems you do not have to visit the madhouse to find disordered minds, our club is the mental institution of Norway as shortly after a second Morgan arrived also with the roof down. People started piling into the hotel finding rooms and ordering drinks. At 7 we all met for dinner and a few more drinks, which would become a
predominate theme during the weekend.

Next morning dawned, breakfast was consumed and we all piled out of the hotel to start the days trip. Unfortunately heavy rain, Lucas electronic, and old cars do not mix and there where many cars turning the engine with little result. However after half an hour all the cars roared into life and we could eventually start the days trip.  As we left the hotel many guests popped outside to see, photograph and video close to 40 Morgans. There were many drivers that revved up the car a tad more than necessary as we left, but who can blame them. The noise and the ever extending row of morgans in front of me sent shivers down my spine, there is something really magical being in a morgan traffic jam.

The trip for the day was close to 80 km visiting national heritage sites, farms and museums. The road although very wet wound through some lovely country side on small narrow roads. Our first stop was Stiklestad, this is where King Olav the holy died after converting Norway to Christianity (by the sword). We were shown around by a guide but the rain was so heavy we eventually retired to the basement where they had a small exhibition instead of tramping around outside. A rather cosy fire in the visitors center also attracted a fair share of morganeers. After an hour of so most of us were relatively dry although my left leg was still quite soggy, however it was time to drive onward.

The next stop was an old farm for lunch and for a brief instant it actually stopped raining, some of the clouds cleared and blue sky was seen. The lunch was spekemat. Basically dried meets, bread and salad which was very nice. The farm specialized in deer so we also had some deer stew which was exceedingly good !

On the second floor in one of the buildings the beginnings of a museum was under way with many exhibits showing the life and history of the working farm over the last several decades.

After a couple of hours munching away it was finally time to leave. There where no planned activities so people could go for a solo drive or just return to the hotel. Not to far away id learned there was a brewery which seemed a perfect destination. Unfortunately i drove the wrong way, since my wife was not with me "guiding me" this was quite surprising as my sense of direction is impeccable. I ended up on what seemed to be a 7 km continuous pot hole which with the returned rain, the soggy leg and the back jarring suspension was an experience in its own right. However i finally found the brewery and bought a couple of rather delicious local ales. 

The drive back to the hotel was enjoyable with some lovely scenic country roads and for a short time the rain even eased off.

After returning to the hotel a few drinks and then a formal 4 course dinner with a wine menu i was well and truly ready for bed. One of the delights of traveling on these Morgan trips is not having young children waking you up at the crack of dawn but it seems the body clock gets attuned and even without a 5 year old jumping on me i still woke up way to early.

The next morning was a somewhat slower start. Many foggy and tired heads consumed coffee and prepared for the days trip. The final touring day would see us drive the golden route. A picturesque route with many small local farms and businesses. The first stop was at a farm that produced and slaughtered its own meat. 

The farmer had also just invested heavily in a distillery at the farm and had just casked the first batch of Aquavit. The cask would be ready 6th of November so no samples where available for purchase for later consumption. However we where given a guided tour around the farm and distillery which was pretty interesting. At this point we had our first car casualty with one of the older models have issues with the clutch cable. This was fixed in short order by a wealth of people will tools and experience and the car was on the road again in short order.

The next stop was a short drive down to the local harbour to see the view and invest in a much needed ice cream. The harbour had a few locals and tourists walking around so when 40 Morgans passed through the sleepy hamlet and parked up it created quite a stir. Many pictures and locals examining the cars in depth as well as a host of questions left little time to enjoy the view and appreciate the natural beauty of the surroundings.

 The final part of the journey was a drive to one of the most beautiful bridges in Norway. Unfortunately my photography skills leave much to be desired especially when trying to take a picture one handed while driving at speed. It was however an impressive engineering feat and quite spectacular.

The final party of the days journey had us stopping in a small village to look at some famous artists work. Somewhat ironically they where transitioning between exhibitions so the walls where largely bare although there was a very large mound of wood right in the middle of the exhibition hall that left me scratching my head and wondering what the world was coming to. The village was however exceedingly pretty with some wonderful scenery to admire.

We returned to the hotel for yet more drinks and dinner. The next morning was an early start for many since alot of the cars had traveled from Oslo over 500km away. 

Some final words of wisdom with regards to MOG2015. Remember life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass it's about learning to drive in the rain !