16 November 1965
"lawrence Jenkins" wrote in message
...
Peter I remember parts of that snowfall well. My dad had a Morris Minor
(split windscreen version ) and the battery had gone flat - we tend to
forget how unreliable cars were those days. Anyhow the car had broken down
about a mile away from the house so my job was to go and collect the
battery and then take it back when charged.
My over riding memories are how exciting it was to have snow before
Christmas, how bloody cold it was with my hands becoming numb very
readily, the slate grey sky on a freezing cold day and finally my Dad
cursing as he kept dropping his spanner into the snow. Those batteries not
only had to turn the engine but the fan as well, add to that the old style
distributors it was a miracle the car started under such conditions. In
fact, once started it would take twenty minutes with the choke out just
the warm the thing up whilst crossing your fingers in hope.
Thanks for this Lawrence; my worst weather related car incident was on New
Year's Day 1961. After a day long snowfall on New Year's Eve and a hard
frost to follow, I struggled to start my Series E Morris 8 on 1 January,
including taking the plugs out and putting them in theoven! In the end I
gave up - it was a working day ( no New Bank Holiday in England) so I was
obliged to use my leave entitlement. When there was a hard frost, it was
quite common for the windscreen to freeze on the inside as you drove
along - no heaters in cars in those days ( well, not in mine, anyway!)
Peter Clarke.
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