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Bent Fender

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And again, Hello from Canada! Under the moniquer of Bent Fender, I got a 57 TR3 small mouth when I retired from being a paramedic. 10 years and a little argument with cancer later I am finally getting her done. This particular disease started in the 60s when a little green, MG, TD drove up in front of a shop my pals and I playing in, and that was it, addicted to LBCs and I never recovered. There is no 12 Step for this particular curse. So, 1 Austin A 30, 1 Austin-Healy, bug eyed Sprite, 7 Spridgets, 1 Alpine, 1 MGB and now a 57 TR later, I still enjoy the resilience of the British, post war effort to frustrate the world with their cars and strange, often weird engineering.
I will be driving Patience by the spring, this coming year, I hope!>
Chris
 
Bent - welcome to BCF.

Victoria - has to be one of the most beautiful cities in North America. I remember taking my students camping up north, and hitting Butchart Gardens along the way. Imagine the frustrations of the British auto industry after WW2. Rationing, or extremely limited supply, of steel, aluminum, coal, electricity, cloth, leather, grease, timber, and especially petrol. And much of that continued into the 1950s.

I had a "cancer adventure" myself about ten years ago. So far, so good, and I continue my Little British Car addiction with my '57 Morris.

How 'bout posting some photos of your cars?

Tom M.
 
welcome for the other side of the country - happy you are here and a lovely place to live!
 
NutmegCT said:
Bent - welcome to BCF.

Victoria - has to be one of the most beautiful cities in North America. I remember taking my students camping up north, and hitting Butchart Gardens along the way. Imagine the frustrations of the British auto industry after WW2. Rationing, or extremely limited supply, of steel, aluminum, coal, electricity, cloth, leather, grease, timber, and especially petrol. And much of that continued into the 1950s.

I had a "cancer adventure" myself about ten years ago. So far, so good, and I continue my Little British Car addiction with my '57 Morris.

How 'bout posting some photos of your cars?

Tom M.
Click to expand...
Hi Tom
Which Scout Group would that be? I was ARC Cubs for a while, so Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and had great adventures on Washington for winter camps. Arrowsmith, right to the top. Several bike camps including the KVR twice. Opps, teaching not Scouting, but that's good as it is all leading youth on a path of guided discovery.
I will post some pictures of my little disaster once I figure out how to do that!
What do you teach? How did you get to Bucharts from TO?
Chris
 
Welcome! Our sixth grade classes used to do a study trip to Victoria every year.
Ours was in 1968.We stayed at the Empress (cheap rooms downstairs) ,& got to
see the sights in the area.
My Wife & I also went there for part of our Honeymoon - we spent a leasurely
three hours there.Also bought a Cortina MKIII from a guy near Butchart Gardens years
ago,& stayed with a friend in Duncan.Beautiful country up there.
 
JPSmit said:
welcome for the other side of the country - happy you are here and a lovely place to live!
Click to expand...

AngliaGT said:
Welcome! Our sixth grade classes used to do a study trip to Victoria every year.
Ours was in 1968.We stayed at the Empress (cheap rooms downstairs) ,& got to
see the sights in the area.
My Wife & I also went there for part of our Honeymoon - we spent a leasurely
three hours there.Also bought a Cortina MKIII from a guy near Butchart Gardens years
ago,& stayed with a friend in Duncan.Beautiful country up there.
Click to expand...
We like to refer to it as God's country, so far, we have had no luck in getting him to pay any share of the taxes! He has been pretty good about letting us stay here:rolleyes:!
I came out here in 1969 after doing most of my growing up in Montreal, Quebec. I've been from coast to coast and there is, I find a different beauty in each Province and Territory. Did a lot of bicycling in my youth with Canadian Youth Hostels and got down into the states but my favourite is Vermont where my dad had some property. Good skiing on Jay Peak if I recall.
Chris
 
Bent Fender said:
Hi Tom
Which Scout Group would that be? I was ARC Cubs for a while, so Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and had great adventures on Washington for winter camps. Arrowsmith, right to the top. Several bike camps including the KVR twice. Opps, teaching not Scouting, but that's good as it is all leading youth on a path of guided discovery.
I will post some pictures of my little disaster once I figure out how to do that!
What do you teach? How did you get to Bucharts from TO?
Chris
Click to expand...

Hi Chris. I was a teacher in south Texas (Rio Grande Valley) back in the '70s, and took some students on a 7000 mile camping trip through the West of the USA. That was *quite* an adventure! I remember when we took the ferry to BC from Nanaimo (?), one of the kids said he felt weird not being in the United States. One night of camping on Vancouver Island and he felt right at home again.

Went from public schools to colleges, and retired from U of Connecticut back in 2003. Now I'm a history interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts (www.osv.org), and research librarian at the New England Air Museum (www.neam.org), both jobs as a volunteer. Trying to remain useful and continue helping young folks, while in retirement.

Tom M.
 
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NutmegCT said:
Hi Chris. I was a teacher in south Texas (Rio Grande Valley) back in the '70s, and took some students on a 7000 mile camping trip through the West of the USA. That was *quite* an adventure! I remember when we took the ferry to BC from Nanaimo (?), one of the kids said he felt weird not being in the United States. One night of camping on Vancouver Island and he felt right at home again.

Went from public schools to colleges, and retired from U of Connecticut back in 2003. Now I'm a history interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts (www.osv.org), and research librarian at the New England Air Museum (www.neam.org), both jobs as a volunteer. Trying to remain useful and continue helping young folks, while in retirement.

Tom M.
Click to expand...
Tom, my father-in-law was a docent at the Royal BC Museum where he explained the displays and a bit of history. Our boys were blessed by that influence; my mother-in-law taught me how to sew. Teaching young people is just paying it forward, trying to teach people my age is mostly entertaining, LOL.
I became a Rifle Coaching Instructor in Cadets, was a CPR instructor in Parksville, a Community Instructor for BC Ambulance and a trainer for Scouts Canada. Knowledge is best when shared!
I think being an "old fart father" really helped me as a Paramedic and being a Scout leader helped me stay young enough to be able to communicate with youth as well as older people. It doesn't hurt that my wife has a Masters Of Education either.
I retired in 2013 after 37 years as a Paramedic, five were part time, I was a nurse then. My mental health was still good but physically, my body was just too beat up. I went back to construction in a small way, where I had control of what I was doing. That and building inspections for mortgages has been paying for my addiction to LBCs since then.
I have done some long trips with Scouts but never 7000 miles. Not only would you learn a lot about your youth, but about yourself as well. Well done!
NEAM, are you a flier? I always wanted to be.
Chris
 
JPSmit said:
welcome for the other side of the country - happy you are here and a lovely place to live!
Click to expand...
JPSmit said:
welcome for the other side of the country - happy you are here and a lovely place to live!
Click to expand...
Hi JP
My dad was born in TO. I drove through in 69 in an Austin America 1100 and through both ways in the 70s in my 64 Austin Healy Sprite. My Grandmother lived on Douglas Rd, but that was some time ago, ;).
 
Bent Fender said:
Hi JP
My dad was born in TO. I drove through in 69 in an Austin America 1100 and through both ways in the 70s in my 64 Austin Healy Sprite. My Grandmother lived on Douglas Rd, but that was some time ago, ;).
Click to expand...
Not quite a Victoria story but, when my mother and her sister came to Canada from Holland in 1956 they went to Vancouver where their brother and his new bride lived. Not wanting to impose they bought a Morris Minor for $250 and drove it through the states to Toronto - where two years later she met my father.

I love Victoria - did basic training with the navy reserves at Esquimault and have a cousin living there - as well as my aunt (same sister) who just moved there last year at 88 years old. My son lived there for a few years as well though he is back in Toronto. Arguably the prettiest part of the country (Though PEI in the summer is pretty special too)
 
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