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Just a Simple Wrenchby Jake & Ann Snyder Cream Crackers Have you ever wondered what "cream and crackers" means? Would you believe that "cream and crackers" has no relevance whatsoever to MGs? What about those cream octagons outlined in brown and bearing the letters MG in brown? What about the colour scheme of cream body and brown wings (fenders)? Or the factory-sponsored racing team of the same name? What about all those MG web pages, magazine covers, T shirts, etc. that suggest the cream and brown combination to be as important to the MG tradition as "Safety fast"? Simply put, none of these are cream and crackers- they are actually cream crackers. So where is the sense in that? The derivation is not obvious to those of us who live on this side of the pond. In the hope of forever banishing the misnomer from the vocabulary of the CMGC, let us explain. In England and many other parts of the former British Empire, cream crackers are as common as are saltines in the US. They are larger (2.75 x 2.75 inches) and stronger (good crackers for cheese). And they are cream colored, except for the bumps on the top that brown as they bake. The most common brand is Jacob¹s, made in England, and available locally at Treasure Island stores and some independent groceries. We¹ll bring some to the next meeting.
And yes, the Cream Crackers was one of two competition
teams supported by the factory in the mid 1930s. They used Midgets-
PAs in ¹34, supercharged PBs in '35 and TAs in ¹36 and were very
successful in trials competitions. You can read more about early
MG racing in Clausager¹s "Essential MGT Series and Pre-War Midgets",
Bayview Books, 1995. And the next time you¹re surfing the net,
either at home or at your local library, go to Boddington¹s web
site http://www.boddingtons.com/gallery/crackers/beer.asp
for an online game that is a play on the phrase "cream crackers."
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