August finally brought a respite from the extremely hot summer weather. Deb and I were even able to turn the AC off in the house for a week. With the money saved on the ComEd bill I was able to buy some gas for the MG. Of course the air conditioning in the MG works great.....in the winter.....so I had the car out and about for the first time in quite awhile.

If you are going on Ann and John's Shakespeare Tour (and those Jaguar people say that MGers ain't got no class) this month bring a pencil along, rumor has it that there may be a quiz. Just a little something more for the driver and navigator to argue about. No sense in letting a nice drive go unspoiled.

MGB Mark IV—A Talking Tour John Twist, DVD, color, 57 minutes John takes us on one of his famous talking tours, this time with a Mark IV, the Canadian term for the late model Bs, 1977 and newer. Not technical, but instructional in nature, showing the differences from the earlier rubber and chrome bumper cars. Sections include under the bonnet, the boot (don't use the jack), instruments, and how to stow the hood; which means folding the top for any of you Colonials who don't understand proper English. If you have had the pleasure of seeing John do one of these in person, you'll know what to expect. If not, find out what you have been missing. Note the Sunbeam in the background. Deb was quick to point out that John has such high esteem for Sunbeam Alpines that he places them on pedestals. I didn't want to tell her that it was just a service rack. The Pride of Abingdon British Leyland, DVD, 1 hour A series of four videos (on one disc) that appear to have been made by the 'factory' for its American dealerships. The Pride of Abingdon is a brief history of the town and a tour of the factory. The titles The MG Midget Then and Now and MGB Features are self explanatory. Scheduled Maintenance shows a mechanic at Anonymous Motors performing routine scheduled maintenance as it applies to all Leyland cars, in this case demonstrating on a TR7. And I thought that a trip to the crusher was what a TR7 needed. Watch for the lady mechanic in short-shorts and big hair. Times have changed since the 70s.

~~Bill Mennell