Out and HOMe.—By "The Extractor."
Page 18
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So far as I can judge, the honour in the matter of long char-k-bancs trips must still belong to Lancashire. Jam indebted to one of our readers in Oldham for an account of a wonderful tour from that town during the local holiday season.
In distant parts of Britain it is probably not known that, during the Oldham "wakes week," the whole town makes holiday: factories close down completely, no matter how busy they are. The coffers of the " going off" clubs are disgorged, and the unimaginative ones spend their holiday year after year either at Blackpool or the Isle of Man. I know this thing well, because I was associated with Oldham for many years. Why, I know one Lancashire body who, in the space of 10 years, had been to Douglas, I.O.M., for 26 holidays, and used to boast of it. Oh, heavens !
Anyhow, motors are altering all this, and, apart from picking your own tour for a select party in a private car, I have seen nothing to beat the Oldham wakes trip under
notice. They appear to have taken eight days and to have started at 6.30 the first morning—an excellent plan, getting through Manchester before the early traffic. To Lichfield for lunch and Cheltenham for their " tea" and bed. I know that tea, it is better perhaps described as their evening meal. Next day, I see, they meandered on through Bath, Wells, Taunton, across Dartmoor, on to Torquay to sleep—a run of about 150 miles I should say. At Torquay they seem to have loafed for an entire day, the natural beauties of the district (in which I see mixed bathing is included) attracting them. Bournemouth was the next stopping place, then Brighton (I hope they came through the New Forest), a half-day and a night in London, then on to Leicester for their last night, together with a presentation to the driver, complimentary speeches and doubtless a first-rate evening.
I have gone into all this at some length because it reveals so well the possibilities of further char-abanes tours. The vehicle which was
used was a Maudslay, owned by the Oldham Equitable Co-operative Society. What is quite interesting is that it is convertible to, and is constantly used as, a 31-ton lorry.
Early last week I heard most circumstantial details of lorries being bought up in Austria for transport purposes by the Bulgarians ; as much as £20,000 was spent in clearing out the depot demonstration vehicles in one town alone which was named to me. Then a day or two later I met a gentleman who had returned hot-foot from the district—who was there a week ago in fact—and he tells me there are practically no commercial vehicles in Austria, not even in stock. Even in Vienna and BudaPesth there are no taxicabs. No doubt many motor conveyances are being used, but they have principally commandeered private vehicles. On the best authority I hear of orders for large numbers of lorries reaching English shipping firms, but they can only be refused, as no shipping company can take their transport, lorries being regarded as contraband of war.
According to Mr. J. S. Matthew, of Argyll Motors, Ltd., there is to be no Scottish Commercial Motor Exhibition next year, nor are commercial vehicles to be exhibited at the Edinburgh Show in January, so everything seems to be concentrating on Olympia for next July. The question is as to whether Manchester will consent to fall into line. When I last had a talk with one of their most prominent officials, he declared they would insist on having the heavy side retained. Nous verrons.