fro and the cowboy monkey

Some of you (well, one of the two of you who read this) will know that I have a somewhat strange compulsion for timepieces. I love watches. I love their design, their function, their feel, their movements. And everyone should have picked up on my fixation with motorsport, in particular, Rallying.

How do these relate?

Well, I got this letter in the mail yesterday. It wasn't something I was expecting, but it sure was a real nice gesture.

Glen (Dr. Weston to you) has become someone that I can now say I know, and I would like to know better. Whilst our opinions might not always meet up, I'd like to think that we both know that the other has the best interests of the sport at heart, and certainly has an opinion that is worth listening to. And he's good for the goss at the event, certainly good for a laugh, and good for the save when you want to look important or get away from some "other" conversation. ;)

So, the watch looks something like this:



My thanks to that Fair Dinkum Tops Aussie, Dr. Glen Weston.

I'll be trying this watch out at Classic Adelaide, and will report back directly.

So, I got to be a CAMS Observer at a National Tarmac Rally the other day. An interesting experience it was, too.

I had several lengthy discussions with various people, and confirmed my suspicions that 98% of rallyists (tarmac or gravel) are just good dudes. They may not pay a lot of attention to the rules of their sport, but they wouldn't be a lone in that foible.

Anyway, is there a nice way to say "Your event appears to have been issued the wrong permit? Are you sure it's not a hillclimb?"

I look back at Rally Australia as I knew it, and it is a pretty special event. I was lucky enough to get to drive around in one of the Advance cars at Telstra Rally Australia 2006, and it was pretty special. Well, the vibe was, the gig wasn't.

Despite the early morning of collecting Doctors, Fire, Ambulance and rescue personnel, and putting them in place at the start and middle of stages, I still got a pretty good feel for the vibe of that last event.

Whilst this won't be the last Rally Australia (the event will continue in 2008 from Queensland, as far away in Australia as you can get), it was the last one in Perth. And the vibe in Perth is always different.

It was good to catch up with the people over in W.A. I've been over several time snow, and whilst I seem to ingratiate myself with someone different every time, each time I meet up with those I've seen before, make new friends, and all of them look after me wonderfully.

I look forward to my next visit west. May the trend continue. Who knows who I'll meet next?