Quattroporte in the New Forest

M

maserati

Junior Member
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557
Myles,

The pigeon story started years ago. Whilst at work I thought it would be funny to make repeated bird calls around the building. This resulted in a colleague placing a plastic pigeon in my office! The bird has since travelled well accompanying me on holiday to Greece with friends from work. When it appeared they seemed so keen to have their picture taken by the pool. However ownership can be hazardous. Whilst walking through the hotel lobby a member of staff thought it was real and started trying to hit it with a broom! .............Yes we have had marvelous adventures together but rather unsportingly my wife drew the line at having it on our wedding cake. How unreasonable can you get?

Regards,

Paul

PS I think David Howson is quite fond of it.
 
Andyk

Andyk

Member
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61,367
Ah what a heart warming story Paul...Man and his pigeon....What more could you want in life.
 
davidhowson

davidhowson

Junior Member
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474
I think Paul's bird is lovely and I always look forward to seeing her at the various meets!
oh, and Paul and Carol too!
Long may she reign.
-David-
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
She's a homing bird I think........... However I have absolutely no idea about the pigeon!


Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
The Le Touquet trip is almost upon us and my preparation is nearing completion. I visited the AA online shopping service to get my GB plate, headlamp beam convertors, reflective jackets and glovebox atlas. Emblem supplied a Maserati bulb kit, warning triangle and glow sticks. I plan to add a few other items. I am looking forward to the journey and having a short break.

Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
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557
The French trip was a great success and I would certainly recommend it. Congratulations to Peter and Sophie (Safrane) for their efforts... The Maserati quartet boarding the morning ferry all had Larini exhaust systems and the symphony around the steel lined car deck was music to my ears. After an uneventful Channel crossing the group headed purposefully towards Le Touquet. The final approaches were made through a narrow side street with tall buildings on either side. The thunder of the exhausts echoed along the boulevard like a rising storm and pedestrians stopped what they were doing just to observe the passing convoy. We soon met with the others for lunch. As Matt (Conaero) reversed into a parking bay there were was some laughter as the hot blast from his quadruple tail pipes set off Enzo's alarm on his QP. Following a plate of mussels the formation headed South West to our hotel at Honfleur. Some of this journey was undertaken by autoroute. I recall following Enzo into the toll booth. As the barrier lifted he accelerated away under power and we received the full effects of the after burners as though Concorde was preparing to take off! With that a head appeared out of the window of the toll booth no doubt to see what the **** had been responsible for the ground shaking Tsunami! Of course by this time Captain Enzo was long gone somewhere over the horizon I think!. I was already trying to control my laughter when my wife Carole made the most extraordinary observation. She paid the toll and commented about the poor position of the booth and how difficult it would be for the driver to pay without the benefit of a front seat passenger. She seemed to be reassured when I pointed out that most cars in France are in fact left hand drive! The barrier raised and I took off like a bat out of **** to give the man with the lemon faced expression a second dose of Larini! .................................. I could hardly see where I was going for the tears of laughter! ........................... And I think that's more than enough for this instalment!

Regards,

Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Easyplan66 and Emtee,

Thank you for your interest.... There is more to tell including the latest adventures of the pigeon!

Regards,

Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
I should have mentioned the night before. Three of the group stayed at a Travel Lodge in Ashford as a pre-cursor to departure. However, I was awoken on my Woolworths mattress at some unearthly hour, no not by the crowing of a cockerel but by Loz and his deafening exhaust. Once the hotel windows had stopped vibrating I knew he had found the exit from the car park. His short excursion turned out to be vital since the McDonalds 'drive- thru' refused to serve him unless he was actually in a car! Anyway back to France and the continuing adventure. The onward journey to Honfleur was demanding owing to heavy rainfall. France have an interesting rule on the autoroutes. This provides a 130 kph speed limit in dry conditions reducing to 110 kph in inclement weather. There was plenty of spray with reduced visibilty and this tempered our progress. Honfleur is reached by suspension bridges which span the Channel approaches of the Le Havre estuary. Never have I seen an ascending road deck like it. I thought that these structures amounted to marvels of modern civil engineering. Within a few minutes we found our hotel which was clean and comfortable. The appearance of the car park was of course much improved with the addition of the graceful Maserati lines. The fleet looked splendid resting quietly ready for tomorrows activities. We all took cabs into the town and enjoyed French cuisine over chilled wine and friendly conversation. It was late. Time for bed said Zebedee.

Regards,

Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Following a hearty breakfast on day two, we headed for our lunch stop at Le Dauphin Restaurant in L’Aigle. The weather was mixed and the group was widely dispersed. The journey took us through pleasant but relatively flat countryside. Where there was rural development I was struck by how isolated and deserted the places appeared to be, although in one small village a local chap saw us in the distance and gave us the thumbs up as we passed. With lunch over the weather improved for the return journey and it was so nice to drive on roads that were uncluttered and indeed almost devoid of traffic. We had a team dinner reservation at the Casino Trouville Sur Mer and it was soon time to get ready. This was a black tie event and was well worth the effort. The others had organsied a prize giving competition and awards. With red bow tie and cummer band I am humbled and even embarrassed to tell you that I was voted the winner of the 'Playboy International' category. (He he) I think that nomination will take some living down in this household! After dinner we had a brief encounter with the roulette table. I did not want to stay too long in case I developed a liking for it. It was carriages after midnight and back to Hotel Antares. In the morning I allowed the pigeon who was in full song to accompany us to breakfast. If nothing else it was good for morale! Carole and I spent the day in Honfleur before making our way to Le Havre for the long ferry crossing to Portsmouth. Two hours into the passage I went out onto the upper deck on the starboard quarter of the vessel and vomitted over the side just missing the guard rail on the deck below...... and I hadn't even had any tomato soup! After broken slumber it was time to disembark and return the Quattroporte to the New Forest.

Regards,

Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Andrew,

Thank you for your complimentary remarks. Very kind of you but I think I have a long way to go! Nonetheless I have enjoyed providing a personal, humorous and sometimes dramatic account of events.

Regards,

Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
Carole and I are now booked into the Thistle Hotel, Bristol in anticipation of the Stroke Associations track day event at Castle Combe. We stayed here during the Auto Italia event back in April and there are some very good restaurants locally...... So if we can get a table then that will be something to look forward to.


Paul
 
M

maserati

Junior Member
Messages
557
How nice it was to be back at The Thistle Hotel, Bristol as a pre cursor to the Stroke Associations Castle Combe event. That evening San Carlo Italian restaurant in Corn Street provided a comfortable setting and comprehensive dinner menu with lavish choices. The Rossini fillet steak was simply out of this world. I cannot recommend it highly enough. The following morning, having missed our early morning wake up call I started up the QP to greeted by a tyre pressure warning indicator on the dash board. The reading confirmed my suspicion that I had a slow puncture to the front offside. The on board compressor was made ready in order to inflate the tyre to the correct pressure. I made the tight and tricky descent from the top floor of the hotel multi storey car park to the street below. The growl from the burbling exhaust could be heard upto a block way. Whilst loading our bags I spoke with Safrane on his mobile who recommended a local tyre fitting service. Remarkably they were able to acquire a pair of P Zeros within the hour. It was now looking as though we would be able to participate after all. With tyres fitted and steering geometry checked, we were on our way. This was to be the track day baptism for the QP. Given the amount of rain fall that turned out to be a fitting description! I decided to tackle the course gently and build up speed progressively. Even with this cautious approach I felt the tail step out of line! On one occasion Conaero stormed passed with a grin. This was followed by his interpretation of Bolero and Jane Torvill! He skillfully regained composure but not everybody drove within their capabilities or remained on the track. A number spun off and a Honda managed to redecorate the front of his car. Thankfully nobody was hurt. As the day progressed the track started to dry out and grip improved. The paying passengers seemed to appreciate the storming acceleration and Maserati experience. I hope the charity benefitted equally........

Regards,

Paul
 
Andyk

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,367
Paul, sounds like you had an interesting day with some ups and downs.....The pics of your car on track look great......Love to see a QP on track as its such a rare sight. Combe is not a forgiving track a drivers get a false sens of security, especially in the wet....Infield run off OK but go of on a bend and you bend your car.......Would have loved to see Matt have a few bottom twitching moments..Anyone video do you know.
 
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