A few more echoes come reverberating from Glasgow and the
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Scottish Show. Mr. F. B. Goodchild doughtily forced his way up North
by road. The going would appear to have been somewhat of the
"curate's egg" variety—good in
parts. One listened with bated
breath as to the speed at which the Oryx " took its passengers over ertain stretches of road. Then fol lowed delays reminiscent of by-gone _Polar expeditions. Miles had to be tramped to the nearest point of civilization in search of human help
and shovels, and it mostly took an Lour to dig the ear out of the drifts.
The Kendal side of Shap, I under
stand, was climbed under mostwretched conditions of snow, slush
and hail, but the descent was effected on the other side minus snow and in blistering sunshine. Amongst others, whom I met, who were interested on the comanercial-vehicle side, were Mr. Paul lirodtman, of Continental Tires, Mr. Dobson, of Aster Engines' Debbie " he seemed mostly to be called by his old friends up there. Then there was Mr. Bert Albert, formerly with Dennis Bros., Ltd., lind now settled down comfortably with " Commer Cars," at Manchester; from what I hear in that vicinity, he is doing well. I caught a. glimpse of Mr. Charles Challiner, of Shrewsbury. and Challiner tires, and I saw a good deal of another valued tire friend, one, albeit, who las now forsaken the patronage of the users and serves only the trade, lir. W. J. McCormack, of Wallington Weston's, of Frome. He tells atm he has now been made a director of that concern. Mr. Fox, cf Dissolved Acetylene, compressed ibis stay in Glasgow into a tabloid of eight hours—thence to Manchester.
A change in the management has taken place at the works of Stagg and Robson, Ltd., Selby. The new 'manager and secretary is Mr. Harold G. Snow, whose acquaintance T made at Selby last week. gather that special developments for motor work are being inaugurated. Improved facilities are a,pparent for building cab and bus 'bodies, ambulances, hotel omnibuses and vans and lorries. The Stagg and Robson wheels, of course, are well known. A little 'later our editorial department !hopes to give some illustrations and
ettails of the resources of these works at Selby.
He was an ox-eyed, placid individual. As a helper in the motorhaulage company, where I heard of him, he was hopelessly and irredeemably " out of the picture." It must have been a taint of southern blood in his veins that rendered him so soporific in the early afternoons. Anyhow, the manager at last addressed him bitingly, witheringly, as follows : " This work is hardly EN citing enough for you, you need stimulus, just amble out into the country, sit quietly and observantly on a fence, and watch the slugs whizz by."
Another tale of which I am reminded, and one of an incident which actually happened before my own eyes, is the following. A quarrelsome, wizened-up old market woman of about 5 ft. in height asked the conductor of one of the single-decker L.C.C. trams, as it stopped at the Kingsway underground platform, if he went to "The Eagle." His reply was : "No, mother. Jump in and find out where you want to go later on." Subsequently, when going round the car to collect the fares, he asked the dear old lady where it was she actually wanted to go. She still insisted that it was " The Eagle." He replied : "We don't go to the Eagle, nor anything like it." After some argument, in which the fair passenger stuck to her guns, a man sitting opposite suggested that it was probably the " Angel " which was her destination. She jumped at the idea, and said: "Yes, matey, that's right. I knew it was some sort o' bird."
Motor caravanning, to my mind, is destined to be a most popular form of taking a holiday. I have looked longingly at the illustrations of caravans, but it was only at the Glasgow Show that I thoroughly inspected the most modern type. One's enthusiasm bursts forth afresh. After the Scottish Show had been open some days, the officials tardily gave permission for this interesting caravan to replace another vehicle on the Halley stand. The body was designed by Alexander Cree and Co., and it is mounted on an 18 h.p. Halley chassis. The caravan has been built to the order of Mr. W. D. Hamilton, who proposes to use it for the purpose of making a lengthy lecturetour, his subject being that absorbing and ever-fresh topic, the Land
Question. In this connection a platform has been swung at the rear of the vehicle, and this can be easily collapsed when the discourse is over and the journey is resumed. Diagrams and maps in well-protected spring cases make an excellent background for the lecturer. Inside one finds the cosiness and the completeness of a ship's cabin, with sleeping accommodation at a pinch for five persons. Ingeniously-arranged curtains prevent prying rustic eyes from observing any dressing operations. Electric lighting is installed, but, should accumulators run down, a lamp can be fixed outside the window, thus freeing the interior from nauseous paraffin fumes. A coke stove inside serves for cooking and heating purposes, and the cupboard space would satisfy the most exacting " caravanette." As a matter of fact, the designer himself is a caravanning enthusiast ; he has brought his wide experience into every detail of the fitting out. Great possibilities of holiday touring are feasible with this type of vehicle. A tent can be carried to augment and make possible the sleeping accommodation for a mixed party of four or even six. 'What joyous prospects open out for such trips in the long, summer days. Next spring should find some of these homes from home for hire. Contractors should remember that such a body is interchangeable with that of a lorry for winter use.