We will also take the obligatory trip to the Louvre (wonderful architecture, particularly the windows) to the Moulin Bleu (a rare treat nowadays) and la place de la Concorde (now used for cars etc) which predates Orly by years but retains its olde worlde charme.

While we are in Paris we hope to meet with the people who maintain the essence of the deux chevaux - 'Generation 2CV' - a club for heroes of motoring and cultural history who keep the vital flame alight and who organised the fantastic 50th birthday weekend for the 2CV in Paris in 1998.

Naturellement France is the true mother to the 2CV, Britain raised a few 'specials' in the factory in Slough, not to mention the Slô a 150cc model named after the factory which started it all in the UK. Following the lead set by the Charleston - 30s Retro,
Spot - 70s Moderne and
Beachcomber - 80 Riviera, in France. Slough answered with l' Arc (the original 2 x2), the Gamey for the more adventurous, and the Bossa Nova, aimed at the young executive. Optional extras included genuinely dicky seats a tackyometer and the first chips found under a motor car's bonnet.

Charbons au nouveau château dans une voiture avec un siège de Dicky.

Most French meetings feature a degustation (where chaque club apporte des spécialités régionales. It is hoped that nous pourrons organiser a live link to the British Festival of sprouts which was held in Chipping Campden from 7th to 10th November (tel 01507 602 427)

We also hope to hold a technical review of the 'operational checks' that can be performed on a 2CV to ensure its continued safety and integrity. Une démonstration pratique sera orgainsed pour vous montrer comment vérifier vos freins, direction, huile, lumières et pneus.

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Dear Dick, There I was enjoying the food and wine when I read the report about Paris. Would you please ask B Cutler International (Ealing) Ltd for a translation as I am only a beginner in French. (Now that annoys me!) apart from that the food and wine is excellent, not too sure about the weather though. Gerry

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Hello Gerry

I am glad you have been enjoying the food & drink - it gets more interesting as we travel south - particularly the jungle sections.

Regarding the translations - Bob hasn't really warmed up yet - Luckily we didn't start further north and come down through Holland - Bob is the human equivalent of a vintage car and has to warm up slowly - particularly on account of the three hundred and fifteen dialects we will be encountering. We are lucky, having only Welsh as a national language within spitting distance - having to cross the channel to encounter French, German, Dutch etc stops us from realising how hard it can be for other people to understand the simplest phrases.

Good luck in Paris - and on the two wheeled section - I have a feeling that you are going to do rather well.

Best wishes from Dick Roberts (Organiser)

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Hello, Having watched those vehicles crossing the Channel by ferry I know realise why it takes so long. It should only be a ten minute crossing from Portsmouth to Cherbourg but your aerial view shows quite clearly that the ferries have to navigate around all manner of hazards such as French fishermen (you'd think they could afford boats!), seagulls, waves, beer cans, coffee stains, 2cv's, old baguettes etc. Thank goodness we flew. Capn Duck # 9

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Hello Captain

As a casual observer I think that lot of the movement on ferries is up and down (which I thought our monitoring apparatus caught reasonably well) and boats are designed for this. The decks are usually left open to the elements which I suspect is so that they can be swilled down if passengers have a touch of mal-de-mer.

Surely as a seasoned Nautician you know all the funny ways of the sea, the tides, the currents, the bilges, the jolly Rogers, the pair of compasses not to mention the fish fingers and tots of rum.

Happy Landings, Dick Roberts (Organiser)

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And before we set off on the next leg we hope to discover the true identity of Monty Carlo

State of the art multilingualization on this page is brought to you courtesy of B Cutler International (Ealing) Ltd