Bird's Eye View
Page 53
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Younger
Old 'Uns
By The Hawk
HEAR from Lord Montagu of Beaulieu that vehicles I built between 1931 and 1945 are to be included in the rally of old commercial vehicles to be held at the Montagu Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Hants, on July 14. An extra class to cater for them has been created. The three age classes are now 1896-1916, 1917-1930 and 1931-1945. Buses and coaches and steam wagons, but not heavy traction engines, are eligible to take part in the event.
There will be no entrance fee, but manufacturers have been invited to contribute to a prize fund started by Mr. Foden. It will be interesting to see whether Lord Montagu is more successful in this connection than the organizers of the Lorry Driver of the Year Competition, whose request for financial support from makers has been rejected by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Credit Where Due
I T is not always during his lifetime that a man receives
the credit due to him, but Mr. H. Scott Hall, who for 37 years was " S.T.R." of The Commercial Motor, is certainly doing so. Since his retirement was announced on May 17, a daily shoal of letters has arrived to congratulate him on the fine work be has done for the road haulage industry and to wish him well in the future.
A Proper Charlie
ARATE of £1,000 for a 300-mile haul seems to be fair by any standard. It is being offered by Mr. Billy Butfin to any haulier who can safely transport Charlie Wm Ayr to Buttin's holiday camp at Filey. Charlie, I should point out, is the largest elephant in Europe. He is 24 years old, weighs 7 tons, and is 10 ft. 6 in. high, 12 ft. long and 5 ft. wide, and I am told that he has a fan mail that many a film star would envy. The operator who can take on the job is assured of ample publicity as well as the highest rate ever to be earned for a 7-ton load.
Free Cinema
I AST week I was invited by the Ford Motor Co., Ltd., to
the National Film Theatre to see a film which they had sponsored entitled "Every Day Except Christmas." There is a movement in the film world called "free cinema" which seeks to escape from the conventions binding current British film-making, in that the subjects for pictures be drawn from either feats of arms in the recent war, or comedies acted Out by stock over-drawn characters.
" Every Day Except Christmas" is a short film about work at Covent Garden. It is realistic and entertaining, and I congratulate the company on supporting its production.
Out tithe Suburbs
QOME time ago I mentioned that traffic difficulties had caused a well-known Manchester store to set up in business outside the city. Glasgow is faced by a. similar problem, and Mr. R. W. Bow, chairman. of R. Wylie Hill, Ltd., house furnishers, suggested at the company's annual meeting that large stores in Glasgow might have to consider opening branches in the suburbs.
Not only were customers having great difficulty in parking their cars, but the company's receiving and dispatch departments were being continually harassed by the police. B19