By morning, I was frozen !! It turned out that it was actually minus 2
deg C last night, with ice all over the cars, so this morning, being a “free
day” with nothing much organised, my first stop was at Anaconda (our nationwide
camping store) where I bought a sleeping bag rated to minus 10 deg C (my other
one is rated to +4 deg C.) Whilst in the
store I also found a great little utensil that enables you to make toast on
your normal gas cooker – Just a little box with wire mesh on to dissipate the
heat, and you pop your bread on it.
Electric toasters require so much electric power, and as I won’t have mains
electricity in the US and S America, I needed an alternative. Problem solved !
Later on I met Winno and Randall at the National Portrait
Gallery for lunch, 
and then we had a great walk around the edge of Lake Burley
Griffin, where they have all the flags of the world flying – and we tried to
see how many we knew – There are a LOT of funny flags in this world that I have
never seen before !! 
Good for a laugh on
a sunny afternoon though. Then we
wandered up to the old Parliament House where we saw the aboriginal protest tent
camp that has been there for many years (they asked Winno to help them put up
another tent – He gracefully declined !!)
and then a photo on the front steps a la Gough Whitlam when he said “…because
nothing will save the Governor General”, followed by a quick walk through the “(Parliamentary)
Members Garden (We (taxpayers) paid for this for the “Members” to do what,
precisely ? Sit and admire the roses ?
Hmmmmm.
Anyway, we then took off, and then later on met most of
the arrivals for the weekend at a restaurant for dinner. GREAT to see everyone and catch up with many
people I hadn’t seen since the previous Lotus gathering 2 years ago. We communicate on the internet, but it is
always good to sit and chat over a glass of vino. 
Several of my friends here go back almost 15
years when I had the Elise in Europe and we used to run around Scotland and go
to the Nurburgring together, while many others have been together through
various events with the cars in Victoria and NSW over the years. Anyway, good social evening.
Several of my friends here go back almost 15
years when I had the Elise in Europe and we used to run around Scotland and go
to the Nurburgring together, while many others have been together through
various events with the cars in Victoria and NSW over the years. Anyway, good social evening.
Then back to the campsite fairly early as we have a VERY
early morning planned tomorrow – The ANZAC dawn service.
OHHHHHHH That new sleeping bag is so TOASTY !!! Maybe I should have bought that BEFORE I went
to Alaska !! Whoopsadaisy !! When the alarm went off at 3.30
a.m. I REALLY didn’t want to get out of it !!
Forced myself to, dressed in my (Alaskan) long underwear and lots of
layers to prepare for the cold, and set off to the War Memorial for the Dawn
Service. (No photos as it was dark !!) http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/16875385/thousands-gather-at-war-memorial-to-mark-anzac-day/ Commemorating the landings at
dawn of the Aussie and New Zealand Soldiers (ANZACS) on the Gallipoli Peninsula
in 1915, this service is held all over the country, and indeed the world, including Gallipoli, on
this day every year, to remember them, and is then followed by a march of all
the old soldiers. After reducing in
popularity some years ago as the old soldiers died, it now grows in popularity
every year and it is wonderful to see all the young people out there,
remembering the sacrifices these people made to ensure our freedom in the past,
and continue to make today in Iraq and Afghanistan. The layout of Canberra is
pretty special, with the old and new Parliament House up on a hill, looking
down, over Lake Burley Griffin, and then up the majestic Anzac Parade on the
other side of the lake, to the War Memorial at the top. So at 4 am, the crowd (and it was absolutely
packed, with more coaches arriving every minute) walked up the Anzac Parade,
past all the military memorials, until we came to the War Memorial itself,
where we filled the Parade Ground, waiting for the service to start at 5
am. A lot of remembrances of the fallen,
and the Last Post played by a bugler, standing, floodlit high up on the walls –
All very emotive. And as dawn slowly
came up, it slowly lit up the crowds gathered there – And just as the service
finished, a large flock of loudly screeching white cockatoos woke up in the
trees and took off across the area – Very Australian !!!
I went back to the campsite, had some breakfast, and then
went back to sleep for a few hours in my nice warm new sleeping bag !!
In the afternoon, I had a bit of a drive (roof off, of course) around Canberra
in the warm sunshine, and then it was time for official registration for Lotus
2013.
Most people were staying in a residential
area of the Australian National University, but this was the first time I had
been in there. Needless to say, I got lost, primarily because it said “in a car
park”, so I was looking for a car park (of which there were many that we easily
visible) with lots of Lotus’ in. I drove
around for an hour looking for the b****y car park – And eventually found that
it was through a small archway, hidden inside a courtyard !! I had actually driven past the entrance half
a dozen times, but didn’t have my head turned to the left to look in as I went
past !! Anyway, spat the dummy a bit
about the (lack of) directions, which later that night, at dinner, earned me
one of the 3 booby prizes for each day !!
Nice drink bottle was my prize though, so it was worth it !! Gave everyone a laugh too !!
Anyway, after meeting up with lots more people I hadn’t seen
for a while, and having a great informal “welcome” dinner, it was back to the
camp site for some more sleep in my toasty warm sleeping bag !!
With Lotus’ssssss being primarily competition cars, we always
have a track day at our biennial meets, and so today was just that, at
Wakefield Park, a great little race track just over an hour NE of
Canberra. I have been there previously,
so decided this time, what with Elsie being for sale ‘n all, to sit this one
out. I knew they would always need help
on the organisational side, and as I get as much pleasure out of that nowadays
as I do from racing, I decided that was my option this time. On Thursday Kyle had a problem with a gear
box seal, and had borrowed my trailer to take his car back to Sydney to see if
he could get it repaired – Being a public holiday on Friday, the chances were
slim. But the Lotus fraternity came
through, and by 8 pm he was headed back towards Canberra – However, as the race
track was half way between Sydney and Canberra, he opted to overnight there, so
I gave his wife Barbi a ride to the track, while son Ryan got a ride in another
car. While we were unloading cars and
getting sorted in the pit area, we heard the sound of a big V8 revving
furiously, the screeching of tyres, and the spraying of gravel – All in the
pits which have a 5 mph limit at all times.
So a number of us rushed towards the noise – AND FOUND A POLICE CAR WITH
HIS LIGHTS FLASHING DOING WHEELIES !!!!
What was going on ?
The Club
President accosted him, and in no small way told him he was out of line, and
what the hell did he think he was doing ??
His reply sounded a bit like the cop in Smokey and the Bandit – “I was
passed by a Lotus that was exceeding the posted speed limited, and he ducked in
here, so I was looking for him in order to apprehend the veee-hicle. I am looking for a Lotus !”. Hello !
Take your pick – There are 60 or so Lotus’ here !!! Anyway, it developed into a little bit of a
slanging match because the cop was just SO far out of line – Suffice it to say
that eventually he was forced to apologise, and left with his tail tucked
firmly between his legs !! Doing
burnouts and spraying gravel everywhere in a public area is NOT necessary in order
to apprehend a miscreant !!! But it sure
woke us all up, and we were left wishing that someone had video’d it so it
could have been posted on U Tube !!
The track day was held in perfect weather, and ran
perfectly (Mike Basquil and his team are well experienced in ensuring things go
like clock work.) I spent the day
working on the dummy grid, making sure all the drivers were in the right order
and in the right place, at the right time – ie I told people what to do and
where to go – Something I am quite good at !!!
Ha ha. 
But it was a great day – At least until Zed Elliott had a
suspension part break in the very last session, which made his car
undriveable. But luckily, with Kyle’s
car now repaired, my trailer was there so we were able to put Zed’s car on my
trailer to take back to Canberra – The second “rescue” of the weekend for my
trailer !!! At the very end I managed to
score a few fast laps as a passenger in a new V6 Exige which was fun ! Weeeeeee !!
Nothing like a dose of speed to get the blood pumping again !! After such
a long and tiring day on track, after driving home, and after everyone had
showered and cleaned up, there was an informal dinner held at the University
House, before everyone went off to bed (and me to my lovely warm sleeping bag
!!)
But it was a great day – At least until Zed Elliott had a
suspension part break in the very last session, which made his car
undriveable. But luckily, with Kyle’s
car now repaired, my trailer was there so we were able to put Zed’s car on my
trailer to take back to Canberra – The second “rescue” of the weekend for my
trailer !!! At the very end I managed to
score a few fast laps as a passenger in a new V6 Exige which was fun ! Weeeeeee !!
Nothing like a dose of speed to get the blood pumping again !! After such
a long and tiring day on track, after driving home, and after everyone had
showered and cleaned up, there was an informal dinner held at the University
House, before everyone went off to bed (and me to my lovely warm sleeping bag
!!)Sat 27th.
This was Concours Day, with everyone shining their cars –
Some cars shining more than others, and some putting in more effort than others
!! But to see so many different Lotus
models all lined up on the lawns below the old Parliament House was a wonderful
sight, and some of the cars were in amazing condition (although maybe they are
not used quite so much as some of the other less pristine cars ?!!) 
It was a beautiful setting, although
somewhat disappointing that it was actually a side lawn to Parliament House, so
in fact the building was not visible from the area where the cars were parked. Still,
never mind, it was still a beautiful setting. I had been persuaded to be a judge in the
Concours, which was a new experience for me, and turned out to be a LOT more
difficult than I had ever imagined !! I
was judging the Elan’s from the ‘60’s, and it was so difficult to separate them
– There
It was a beautiful setting, although
somewhat disappointing that it was actually a side lawn to Parliament House, so
in fact the building was not visible from the area where the cars were parked. Still,
never mind, it was still a beautiful setting. I had been persuaded to be a judge in the
Concours, which was a new experience for me, and turned out to be a LOT more
difficult than I had ever imagined !! I
was judging the Elan’s from the ‘60’s, and it was so difficult to separate them
– There
were 3 beautiful examples there, and I wanted to give them all a First
Place tie – But the officials wouldn’t let me ! 
So I ended up giving half
points here and there just to separate them.
It is so hard because they are each someone’s Pride and Joy, and they
have all put so much work into them – Shame someone has to lose.
A shower and scrub up and it was time for the formal dinner for the end of event prizegiving etc, and this was to be a Black Tie Dinner in the Great Hall at the New Parliament House.
More photos of Lotus 2013 are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0014CanberraLotusNationals?authkey=Gv1sRgCJWb5Zze2fnJiAE#
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