...and to keep the real time theme as far as possible...
Bill and Gordon were waiting for us as we arrived to pick the Rezin Rocket up. The Rocket itself had already been moved out of the yard and was prepped and ready to load.
With the trailer lined up and ready I went in to the cab to get my gloves and fetch the straps and by the time I got out Bill & Gordon had already got the ramp tilted and the winch hooked up. They've obviously done this before.
It became obvious right away that any attempt at me helping would only slow them down so I kept out of the way and left them to it. Nicer people you couldn't wish to meet.
Bill made sure that the trailer wheel nuts were tight as it was clearly a concern to him and the Rezin Rocket then got strapped down. If we'd used any more straps it would have ended up looking like an Egyptian mummy.
With gifts exchanged and apologies from me to Bill for stealing the road trip which he revealed he was hoping to do it was time for us to head back south.
You'll see the loading pics from the official tour photographer later but here's the snaps I got of the new view from the trailer cams
The second cam was almost an afterthought and was a really cheap and nasty one from eBay. I specifically ordered the version without the parking stripes as I just wanted something that pointed backwards rather than down as it can give you a better idea of how tall a kerb is, for example. As you can see, they sent me the wrong one but return postage would have cost about the same as the camera so I didn't bother.
I had originally thought it might also double up as a rear view mirror, but being mounted on the rear step it's so close to the ground that it makes you feel nauseous as the tarmac appears to be shooting past at 300 mph!
It does what it needs to do.
A couple of hours on some stunning roads with the sun beating down gloriously on us and we're back at Haggs Bank.
A quick inspection showed that my replacement number plate had stayed on this time. I was nothing short of amazed at the speed and organisation of getting that made - especially as Bill was working a night shift and met me straight afterwards.
It just shows that with the right will, connections and organisation anything is possible.
Today's massive drama which I'm struggling to find a way of blowing out of all proportion in a sensationalist tabloid way is that the stereo which was mounted on the jeep wasn't there any more.
The mounting frame was so rotten that the whole thing had fallen down. Fortunately it landed in the jeep.
And with that I'll sign off for today. Off for a warm shower and a bacon roll I think.
Tune in for tomorrow's exciting episode - "the final leg"