This Week I have Been Mostly Driving...

 ...a Triumph TR7, A Reliant Robin and a Bentley 8.

Actually, I've mostly been driving my BMW 320i but I have had a go in all three if those too.

The TR7 was fun -  but considering how small it is, it was still a shock to have to deal with steering without power-assistance.  And it was an even bigger shock to find out that the brakes didn't really work.

The Robin was awful to drive - but I can't say I wasn't expecting that.  The seat adjustment had failed so I was struggling, being a short-arse, to reach the pedals.  Meanwhile, the gearbox had mostly failed - I had to leave it in second once I'd got it there.  The course involved a little slalom around some cones and I have to admit that the Reliant did actually cope OK with that - in fact it handled all cornering in the same way a car with the correct number of wheels would - and now I can say that I've driven one.

I somehow managed to save the best until last, the blue car in the background is the Bentley.  The size was a little intimidating but it felt lovely to waft around a small industrial estate and the slalom was fun.

So why was I driving these vehicles?  Because I paid some money to Drive Dad's Car, part of the Great British Car Journey - a museum of British classic cars in Derbyshire.

The indemnity you have to sign is a lot scary but you shouldn't come to much harm where you are driving.

The museum is excellent for the British car fan of a certain age.

A got close up for the first time ever with a Gilbern:

And also a Bristol:

Ugly, isn't it?

I can't decide whether or not the Jensen 541 is ugly or not - from some angles (they had a couple of Ford Anglias there) it looks a lot like the Mercedes 300SL:

So I looked up the facts to see who had been copying who.  Turns out both cars appeared in 1954.

They also have two Morris Minor Millions there - one in the museum and one out to drive.  This was a special edition of the Morris Minor (also known as the Morris 1000) from when Morris didn't do special editions. It celebrated the millionth Minor produced. They are a strange pinky-lilac colour with a twist on the usual "1000" badge:

Meanwhile, where else are you going to see a McLaren parked next to an old Mondeo?

The Great British Car Journey of course!

That's not a Golf

It's a 3-Series BMW.

But it is in the Golf section of the BBC Website.

I'm not an expert on Golf but I would suspect that most top-class golfers would be able to hit a ball a great distance in a straight line.

So Paul O'Neill is doing the hard work in this successful World-Record attempt:

(click on the picture to see the video)

And yet Marcus Armitage gets to be the record holder.

I'm looking forward to seeing Paul in action next weekend for the return of the BTCC where he should be presenting and commentating for ITV Sport again.

Obviously, Paul was wearing a crash helmet for this attempt - I really don't understand why Marcus has one though.

At this point, please insert your own joke using the word "Driver."