Happy days?

If anyone receives any strange or unexpected email messages from me, please be careful. If in any doubt at all, delete them.

Some time whilst in hospital/recuperating at home, my email was hacked and my email InBox completely cleaned out. The hacker who claimed to be responsible asked for some Bitcoin and the Inbox would be restored. What an eedjit. Where the heck would I get some Bitcoin? Needless to say the demand was ignored.

The matter has been reported to ‘Action Fraud’. The police have assured me that action will be taken, but they will not keep me informed of progress. Very helpful, eh?  Virgin Media have said they may take up to 28 days to resolve the problem. That’s very helpful too, eh? At least my email has been restored but not the stolen Inbox messages.

Although my email is now functioning again, I have nothing at all prior to last Saturday so if you emailed me recently and expected a response, I am not ignoring you!

The hacker’s message was composed in poor English with bad grammar so it’s likely that the scam originated abroad, or maybe came from some recent graduate of the Scottish education system - a system which incidentally once led the world in its quality of education! Sadly no longer.

Anyway, that’s enough politics, so please be careful if you get any strange emails. Meanwhile I’m off down to the Bank to get some Bitcoin – just in case!

Meantime, recuperation is going well so please also be careful if you venture into the woods in the near future. You might bump into an unexpected rally spectator.

Robin Cunningham, 1946-2023

Robin Cunningham, 1946-2023

Scottish rallying was saddened to hear of the passing of Robin Cunningham earlier last week (Friday, 10^th March) who passed away suddenly, but peacefully, at home.

A name unfamiliar to many of rallying’s younger generation, Robin won the Scottish Rally Championship Co-driver’s title in 1983, exactly 40 years ago this year. That was the year that his driver, Jimmy Fleming won the national Driver’s Championship in their Toyota Celica GT.

Robin’s presence in the car was somewhat overshadowed by the personality which drove the crew to many successes in the 1970s and 1980s. If Jimmy was the team’s showman and social convener, Robin was the supporting act that kept the show on the road.

When Jimmy opened James Fleming Car Sales in Ayr in the early 1970s, he was the main presence in the car sales showroom while brother-in-law Robin managed the workshop and service. In fact the ideal partnership.

Ever watchful to exploit a sales opportunity, Jimmy was aware of the strong motor sporting culture in Ayrshire at the time, particularly in rallying. Names like Tom Bicket, Gordon Hunter, Drew Gallacher, Ian Gemmell, Andy Smith, Hammie Hannah, George Porteous, Lawrence Seditas, John Wilson and David Fulton were regulars in the rally entry lists, so Jimmy and Robin joined East Ayrshire Car Club.

At first they contested single venue events in a Vauxhall Chevette 1300 but when the business took on the Toyota franchise they switched to a variety of Toyota machinery which included at one point, a fearsome home brewed 3.5 litre V8 Toyota Starlet.

If Fleming’s headline gabbing exploits, especially at the after rally parties, generated legendary renown, it was Robin who kept an eye on the prize. He managed the paperwork and logistics and became an extremely proficient co-driver - despite an initial reluctance! But don’t get the idea Robin was a shrinking violet, Jimmy once let slip that he had to rescue Robin from ceremonial and high jinks excesses on more than one occasion. The ideal partnership indeed.

Robin’s wife Jan and Jimmy’s wife Margaret (Robin’s sister) made regular appearances at events in the early days although it has to be said that it was only the menfolk who over-indulged. Our condolence to them both and their wider family and huge circle of friends.

The funeral service will take place on Wednesday 29th March at Stair Parish Church, KA5 5HW, at 10.00am, thereafter at Masonhill Crematorium, Ayr, KA6 6EN, at 11.15am.

Hospitals

I hate hospitals … but thank goodness they and the NHS are there for us all in times of need. They seem to be getting a lot of flak these days but that’s not down to the staff, that’s down to mismanagement at the top, underfunding and ineptitude from those whom we have elected to govern and run our country along with our public health services.

Two weeks past on Saturday afternoon, Lady B called NHS111 at 4pm after I had taken ill. The emergency doctor appeared at 8pm and immediately called for an emergency ambulance. He said it would be with us within the hour and off he went leaving a Note for the ambulance crew. The ‘emergency’ ambulance turned up at 5.00am in the early hours of Sunday morning. Had we known it would take so long we would have made other arrangements but the ambulance service kept calling back with updates saying an ambulance would be with us shortly!

On arrival at Monklands Hospital I was rather dismayed to see three Police cars amongst the waiting ambulances. Three Police officers were ‘on guard’ at one of the assessment cubicles while another officer was being treated for a ‘glass wound’ in another cubicle! It’s not just the NHS that are having hard time, eh? In all fairness, Reception was relatively quiet and there was only a short wait in the corridor before I was received and assessed after which I was transferred to a ward.

I don’t remember much till later that day when I was transferred to another ward and treatment commenced. That first night was a nightmare. There were four other guys in the ward and we were all getting treatments hourly, 2 hourly or 4 hourly which meant a constant flow of nurses and doctors and no chance to rest.

Visions remain of ghostly apparitions during the night. What appeared to be a headless and legless ghost of a nurse floated into the ward pushing the five castored skeletal spawn of R2D2 with its array of flashing lights, beeps and buzzers. A downlighter cast an eerie glow over the contraption and the ethereal being which was pushing it as each ‘victim’ was hooked up, jabbed and checked throughout the night. It didn’t matter whether the patient was asleep or not, the clanking onslaught continued.

There was one other incident. A wee nurse birled into the ward like the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil cartoon character, whipped back the blankets plunged a needle the size of a dipstick into my stomach, whilst chortling and chanting: “Oops, we nearly forgot this” before disappearing like a white tornado back out of the room. I thought it was a dream till I saw the big purple bruise in the morning.

What hastened my recovery was the quality of the cooking. No, not in the hospital, but back home. Having sampled the first evening meal of four fish fingers, carrots and a dollop of mash, the desire to escape back to normality was compulsive. I sent a photo of lunch back home which prompted the question: “How did you know it was mushroom soup?” To which I replied: “I saw the plate with the mushroom growing out of it before they poured in the soup!”

In all fairness, catering for such a transient and diverse group of people in such a large establishment must be difficult, although it does seem to help motivate people to get better and get out!

I still hate hospitals, but I’m ever so grateful for their attention and care, Even so, I'm thankful to be out and back home. Normal service will be resumed shortly!

Rally - What might have been?

It might be hard to believe, but the bone-creaking auld git clambering through the roll-cage trying to get out of the rally winning Citroen Rally2 at Knockhill last weekend was once a hot prospect in the world of British rallying.

In fact the 1980s produced too many gifted drivers for the number of professional seats available. Even though most manufacturers had a presence in rallying, and there were a goodly number of ‘professional’ private teams, there were still not enough ‘paid’ seats available for the talented few to make a career.

What helped these youngsters in the first place was the profusion of ‘one-make challenges’ like Peugeot 205, Ford Fiesta and Escort 1600i, Volkswagen, Suzuki and Lada not to mention the very worthwhile Bonus schemes run by the likes of Vauxhall/Opel and the tyre and oil companies. Some rallies and championships even offered cash prizes! There was serious money to be made at amateur level to support those just trying to get going in what was even then an expensive sport.

These schemes helped to ensure that the likes of Colin and Alister McRae, Andrew Wood, Robbie Head, Calum Guy, Louise Aitken-Walker, Barbara Armstrong and of course Dom Buckley Jnr got a chance to make it on to the international stage. Sadly, getting on to the stage and staying there are two quite separate targets.

There is little doubt that young Dom was every bit as quick as young Colin but whereas Colin could concentrate on competition, Dom had to combine his sporting forays with work in his father’s burgeoning rally car preparation business. Difficult choices had to be made.

Unfortunately for rally fans, business became the priority, but even on his subsequent sporadic outings, Dom Jnr was a force to be reckoned with. One can only wonder what might have been.

So it’s hard to reconcile the sight of last weekend’s grey haired rally winner with the fresh faced curly haired schoolboy pictured here, eh?

Rally - The future ??

The future of special stage rallying is secure - well nearly! Causing no damage to gravel or tarmac roads and no noise nuisance to local folks and passers-by, and no need for the constant replenishment of tyres, this could be the answer to all our prayers. Or could it?

The Airspeeder Mk4 will shortly be available with a nought to 225 mph time of 30 seconds. Designed and built in Australia, the Airspeeder Mk4 is the world's fastest electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

It has a sophisticated electric propulsion system, advanced aerodynamics and a take-off weight of just 950 kgs with a projected range of 300 km (188 miles) while producing near-zero emissions.

Powered by a 1,000 kW (1,340 hp) turbogenerator, which feeds power to the batteries and motors, it is fuelled by green hydrogen.

The four tilt rotors utilise a unique gimballed thrust system which enables it to manoeuvre more like an F1 car than a flying multicopter.

There is however, just one ever so tiny wee problem. It’s a single seater. There’s no room  for a co-driver or navigator – yet! However, that does mean no arguments and no going in the huff, but it also means that some drivers could get easily lost.

Oh, and another wee problem. Marshals will need to learn semaphore so they can signal to the competitors with their flags. And another thing, the safety and medical crews will need to swot up on air-sickness and dizzy spell afflictions. Oops, one more thing, the recovery crews will need special tree surgeon tackle to rescue troubled pilots who may have parachuted down and got stuck in the trees.

Otherwise, this is the answer to protect the future our sport. Or is it? All it needs is the soundtrack of a BDA powered Mk2 in full flight and we’re there, eh?

Rally - Odd, Very Odd

I had been looking forward to attending the official opening of the 2023 Scottish special stage rally season at Knockhill’s Grant Construction Stages Rally (Sunday 19^th Feb), purely as a spectator of course, but it looks as though I will have to miss out due to a heavy cold and rasping, chesty cough. And that’s the odd thing. In the past I don’t think I ever missed a rally on which I was due to report through illness, but now I simply don’t HAVE to attend an event if I don’t want to. A most unusual feeling.

Not that I’m idle, I’m still sorting through photographs and negatives. Thousands of the bluidy rascals. Having to select those which will make it, those which might make it, those which might not make it and those which definitely won’t make it into the book.

The trouble is, it’s so easy to get lost in the nostalgia of it all, rather than concentrating on appropriate and suitable content.

The three photos attached highlight the problems. For a medical man, the ‘Flying Doctor’s’ choice of morning breakfast leaves a lot to be desired – a well-fired roll with burnt bacon while ‘Dastardly Dougie’ was obviously seeking a medical opinion when he stuck out his tongue! And as for the third pic, fashions have obviously changed in the past forty years, so is it safe to publish pics from back in the day when those very same, but somewhat more mature personalities may object to seeing them in print today?

On the other hand there are other photos which bring a lump to the throat!

Rally - George Head

Scottish rallying, and particularly Coltness Car Club, have lost another true friend. George Head has passed away.

It was George and Anne who supported a rising star in the early days when young Robbie Head first appeared on the Scottish motor cycle trials and rallying scene. The Head family became an instant hit with other competitors and service crews who quickly found out that George’s home baked fruit cake was a truly succulent and savoury delight. The only trouble was, he never brought enough to the rallies to satisfy popular demand.

Supporting Robbie wasn’t enough for George and Anne and they were very involved in CCC club affairs assisting with marshalling and organising at various events, and not just with their own club.

Close friends with the McRae family, those early days were magical as various club members rallied round to assist both youngsters with their early careers and Alister McRae’s too when he followed in Colin’s footsteps.

As their various careers progressed and the boys moved onwards and upwards, George became ever more involved with car club activities and events. He was also particularly good at ‘social’ events and would talk to anybody regaling friends and strangers with a constant stream of stories, anecdotes and recollections. A very handy chap to have around when sponsors had to be entertained and persuaded to part with cash!

At 86 years of age he was still interested and still involved when his health allowed. In fact he managed to attend the CCC social at the beginning of February and followed that up to a visit to a couple of club member who are building a race car. Admittedly the visits were becoming fewer in number and depended entirely on his health.

His presence was indeed missed when he wasn’t at the social nights. It will be all the more sorely missed now. On Tuesday the sport lost a proper gent. An often mis-used term but in this case, entirely fitting and appropriate.

In fact, it is hard to believe that such a kind and gentle soul was a member of the ‘Coltness Bears’ but it was badge he bore with great pride and even greater pleasure, giving much more than he enjoyed in return. He will indeed be sorely missed.

Our sincere condolences to Anne, Robbie, Emily and the wider family.