For a variety of reasons, including the infernal Internet connection in my Milton Keynes hotel room for the past two days which kept shutting itself off requiring me to re-log on, I find it difficult to keep up with my blogging while I am on the road.
Lack of sleep might have something to do with it too.
But here I am, now in the British Airways Business Class lounge, with free Internet access and a couple of hours to kill before the flight to my next bunfight.
Spent the past couple of days at the 50th Birthday party of the MINI at Silverstone (full details and tons of pics in next Saturday's print edition of Wheels). Very atypical-British weather (sunny and warm, but not too hot), a semi-official 15,000 - 20,000 participants and spectators (although it didn't look like that many, perhaps because the huge venue can absorb big crowds) and thousands of Minis old and new, stock and ultra-customized, plus about 50 each of racing Minis old and new competing on the fabled Formula One race track.
Good fun.
Earlier in the week we visited some of the less obvious tourist destination quarters of London, including the rapidly-renewing Carnaby Street of '60s fame, and the former hard-scrabble neighbourhood of Camden Town which is also undergoing a renaissance.
Then a boot around southern England, visiting the terrific Heritage Motor Museum in Gaydon near Coventry, then over to Shrewsbury, birthplace of Charles Darwin, whose birthday (200th) and masterpiece publication date (Origin of the Species, 150 years ago) are being feted.
The connection?
The Mini has evolved.
Evolution, not revolution. The new Mini adapts to the new environment, improving, getting stronger in order to compete.
Just as Darwin predicted.
Geddit??!?
We'll have more on Driving in Britain in the very near future.
Yeah I 'geddit' Jim. Didn't the Mini people offer a side trip to the resting place of Sir Alec?
Posted by: Mike T. | May 24, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Hi Mike:
No, they didn't. Could you enlighten me?
Jim
Posted by: Jim | June 11, 2009 at 06:45 PM