Before this thread is done to death, just one more variation.
Over the last month or so, I've been singularly lucky to have been
able to borrow two Triumphs on separate occasions from people I know.
Just over two weeks ago, I met an American couple in the museum who
had heard of the saloons made by the company but had never seen one
'in the flesh.' As the next day was my day off and with little to do
of alternative importance, I offered to take them from their hotel to
the former site. They didn't know how they'd get there in terms of the
transport we'd be using, in fact they didn't ask - but the sheer
delight on their faces when I turned up at their hotel in a 1300TC
saloon had to be seen to be believed.
"You mean you're gonna takes us to Triumph IN a Triumph?" said it all.
I don't seek and wouldn't want to be claiming some sort of USP (unique
selling point) on this theme - but for me, the opportunity of being
able to share history with enthusiasts who are total strangers is the
'dividend' that far exceeds anything I might receive in the mail from
an investment. I guess there aren't too many people on this list, or
anywhere else for that matter, who are able to enjoy some of the very
unique and extremely profound privileges that I value beyond measure
and am only too happy to share as the occasion may arise. Next year,
Canley Girl should hopefully be more or less finished. That's when
she'll really come into her own and will play the role of taking
enthusiasts from distant lands back to her place of birth - and for
that I ask only one thing.
It's the opportunity of looking in the rear view mirror and seeing a
permanent smile playing round the lips of my passengers who I've never
met before and may never meet again as they undertake a trip that may
have even more value to them than it has to me.
And if we should use the better part of half a tank of juice at UK
fuel prices to do it - what the hell. To my mind, there's no
*investment* on earth that pays out time after time like this one -
and it's all tax-free.
Jonmac
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