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On a sunny Sunday 23rd January, Team Inspiration held its first open day, and about thirty visitors made the trek across the New Forest to Lymington, some travelling from as far away as South Wales and Derbyshire. Amongst the guests was Ken Norris who, along with his brother Lew,
designed the Bluebird car and boat that took the wheel driven Land Speed
Record in 1964, and broke the water speed record many times between 1955
and 1967.
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| Club members were treated to a grand display
of steam vehicles in front of the house |
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The presentation took place in a superbly equipped AV
room. |
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Bill Rich made a brief welcoming speech and then introduced Glynne
Bowsher, Chief Designer, who gave a fairly detailed overview of the
mechanical design of Inspiration. Glynne described the principals behind
his design thoughts, and explained the reason why some of the earlier
designs had to be abandoned. His lecture lasted for over an hour, and
though detailed enough to engage the engineers in the audience, it was
presented in a manner that was understandable to the non-technically
minded. Glynne finished with an extended question and answer session.
The staff at
Charles’ house laid on a splendid buffet lunch in the dining
room, which was followed by the raffle. First prize was the
chance to DRIVE a tank, second was a ride in a second,
smaller tank, and then there were free tickets to museums,
merchandise, etc. Tickets for rides on a Stanley Steamer and
a Snow-Cat were also being sold during the lunch.
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There was plenty of opportunity to socialise and talk to
team members over lunch |
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"Under Steam" - Bill Rich treats Team
Inspiration Club Members to a ride on a Stanley Steamer |
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| As well as the Steam Car,
there was also plenty of opportunities to test the water
tight capability of the snow cat, one of the many military
vehicles in Charles Burnett's collection |
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| One lucky Club Member won first prize in the
raffle - an opportunity to drive a tank across the lawn! |
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Ken Norris, designer of the Bluebird car and boat, came
to the first Club Day. |
The final part of the day was a visit to the
workshop to get a report on the build progress from Frank
Swanston. On display were the space frame chassis, some of
the body bucks, and the engine/boiler test cell. One of the
boilers had been partially assembled to give an idea of how
the different components relate to each other.
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| Finally, the afternoon drew to a close, and
our guests started to depart, however the few who were late
in leaving had a photo opportunity of a lifetime, when Lord
Montagu made a surprise visit to the workshop, where he had
a long conversation with Ken Norris and Charles. |
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Lord Montagu dropped in to meet Ken Norris, while
Charles Burnett III joins in the conversation |
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