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Wellington Boots

To: mgs@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Wellington Boots
From: Paul Hunt <paul.hunt1@virgin.net>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 20:42:23 +0000
The Duke of Wellington is credited with the invention of a waterproof, 
knee-length boot, henceforth known as the Wellington Boot (galoshes).  
It is said that this came about during his many and long campaigns in 
the rains of northern France.

This year our annual holiday consisted of an 800+ mile drive through 
England and France to the Lot valley near Bordeaux, and boy, did I wish 
I had a pair of those boots.  The journey down through England started 
off wet and got wetter, culminating in one cloud-burst after another 
approaching Dover.  Rain was coming in most of the way along the hood to 
windscreen seal, and in both lower corners of the windscreen, the 
quarter lights, and round the back of the door glass despite the 
positive pressure in the cabin.  The Navigator was reduced to mopping up 
as much as she could with her best tea-towel, but she could not reach my 
side of the windscreen so I stoically drove on with my right leg getting 
wetter and wetter.

A dry spell in northern France, then another, even heavier, cloudburst 
approaching the Loire.  I was moved to comment how uncomplaining and 
long-suffering she was when faced with such discomfort, when her friends 
had tales of being whisked off in a jet to some hot beach, to be plied 
with Barcardi and Coke by a handsome waiter.  She was moved to reply 
that seeing as how I had written an account of a trip round Britain the 
previous year for the MGOC magazine, this year she was going to write 
one about an MG 'holiday' from the other half's perspective.

To cap it all, when we arrived at our destination on the second day 
after a dry journey, it started to rain and continued to do so for the 
next 25 hours, making the carpets even wetter.  Despite all that our 
trusty 'Bee' never missed a beat during that ar any other part of the 
trip, some 2300 miles in all.  I did get the jump leads out once, to 
lend to a Swiss to jump-start an Irishman (apparently they took one look 
round the car park, spotted the B and said "He'll have jump leads!"), 
and a screwdriver to put the bed back together but I'll not say anymore 
about that.  The sun did shine in the second week, we had plenty of 
top-down motoring, and the car did dry out eventually.  The journey back 
home was hot, so all the mud from the first week became liberally 
covered in a layer of dead flies.

I'm waiting till I get all the sunny photographs back from the 
processors, then start working on the Navigator about next years 
'holiday'.

PaulH.


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