HOC @ NMM 07/12/2012

[HOCAdmin]

The HOC, as part of the 30th Anniversary Celebrations, has been invited to the NMM on 7th December 2012.
As there will be a small display depicting the Hesketh over the past 30 years, then it would be certainly be worth a visit – oh, and at no cost to HOC Members! 

However, because of this numbers will be limited to 20.  Let me know ASAP if you wish to attend!

Posted by HOCAdmin - For Scott - HOC Social Sec.

[Rob B]

I am planning to make it to this one if there is not too much salt on the roads. What time are people arriving at the NMM and is there a possibility of any parking or display area dedicated for HESKETH motorcycles being ridden there?

My route from Dorset will be the A350 - Shaftesbury, Warminster, Chippenham.  A429 - Cirencester (Little Chef), Stow-on-the-Wold, Barford  Join the M40 at J15.

Anybody else riding a HESKETH from the West Country is welcome to stop at ours on Thursday night before setting off early on Friday morning. If the weather is truly shocking then I will take the car instead, but hope not to.

Rob

[Miti]

Well, the weather WAS truly shocking on the Thursday before, so I let the train take the strain... Not very comforting to note how the weather was getting alarmingly worse, the further South I travelled...

As it's a 5 hr journey even by train, I opted to stop overnight close by... The Birmingham Airport Travelodge is cheap as chips and only a £6.60 taxi ride away from the Birmingham Airport train station..!

Very nice view of the Control tower though... Friday morning, about 10:00...



Breakfast was a buffet bargain and the NMM was only £6.00 away from the Travelodge  A nice man in a Jag "chauffered" me in, to be met by... Les and Di, of course...



I had thought that the "Hesketh Display" was going to be sited in the front foyer of the NMM, but there were too many HOC members in there to have done that... Could've held an EGM...



The "Hesketh Display" was inside the "heated foyer" (Dave H Snr's description) and, I must say, even though I've never seen two Vampires in the same place before, it was a little underwhelming...



I had expected banners and suchlike, but Dave H (Snr) assures me that these are in production and we did have pride of place - right in front of the main doors.  Anyone coming into the NMM has to walk past this display and any PR is good PR.

(Both Vampires are converted V1000s, BTW)



Once our group had assembled at the display, we all took advantage of our (gratis) entitlement and entered the museum.  This was my first ever visit and my first impression is that it's absolutely PACKED with bikes... I would say that NMM could adequately fill TWICE the space they've got... Some of the exhibits are absolutely wonderful examples... Thare are MANY one-off prototype bikes and, to take it all in, one could spend a few days exploring this place...







I picked a couple of favourites out of the hundreds of bikes there...

Sunbeam S7



Triumph 4-Cyl Prototype



Triumph TSX 750



The TSX was very nearly the first Brit bike I ever owned... A long story, which I'll save for another time...

After the walkaround, we met upstairs for a very convivial Lunch:





I was a little surprised at how soon this meet-up ended... Most folk were away by 14:00, but I had a nice long chat with Rob and Meg and it was a pleasure to have met Rod B, Nigel and those folk who've had to endure my company before...   It was only a £5.00 taxi ride back to the railway station...

Was it worth it..?  A resounding yes..!  I'd recommend a trip to the NMM to anyone having even the most rudimentary interest in Brit bikes... It's truly an Aladin's cave and well worth supporting.  BUT... Don't plan on getting there on foot... The area is surrounded by motorways, dual carriageways and their interchanges and is NOT walking friendly... Much of the surrounding roadways don't even have footpaths... (Hence my endless whingeing about taxi fares...!!)Miti