The Best 10 Pounds I Ever Spent Since I Bought My Marriage License - Today We Toured Morgan Motor Company in Malvern Link ENGLAND

This is the current 2011 Morgan Roadster. It has a Ford Mustang V-6 engine (220 HP) and costs about $55,000.

Malvern Link (pronounced MALL VERN) is the home of Morgan Motor Company. Most of the workers live right there in that town - the same way for over 100 years.

About 100 miles west of London is Malvern Link - small town where Harry Morgan started building 3 wheel sports cars in 1909. Over 100 years later - the Morgan family is still building the small - light - fast - expensive sports cars here.

Harry Morgan died in 1959 - then his son Peter took over the company. When Peter passed in 2003 - his son Charles Morgan picked up the torch and runs the company today.

The main reason that Morgan chose a 3 wheel configuration is that one could avoid the British Automobile Tax that way - the trike was registered as a motorcycle. Registration was less - taxes were less - and safety laws were less stringent. It had a 2 cylinder engine.

In 1936 - the Morgan 4/4 was built. The numbers stood for 4 cylinders in the engine and 4 wheels. Since then - the Morgan used the same basic body. It has a steel chassis - with an ash wooden frame over that. Finally - aluminum body panels are bonded to the wood - making a strong - durable - flexible car.

In 1968 - they made a Morgan Plus 8 - it looked the same except under the hood was an aluminum 215 cubic inch Buick V8.

Up until that time Morgan sold 85% of the cars to Americans. Then the USA passed safety laws that kept the little car out. Morgan even tried marketing the car burning propane to avoid emissions tests.

Starting this year - 2011 - they are once again building a 3 wheel car. The main reason for that car is again to circumvent USA safety and emissions laws. As a motorcycle - it is exempt from those laws. They hope to gain back their old American customer loyalty. With over 100 horsepower and weighing just 1100 pounds - it will perform like and Indy car.

Presently - Morgan builds 1000 cars a year. In this article I only covered the classic Morgan Roadster - I did not discuss the Aero 8 - a larger expensive super car. Morgan produces a few of those which cost from $150,000 to $250,000 each. They have a full aluminum chassis - and a 375 horsepower BMW V8 engine.

Each Morgan is hand built to the buyer's specifications. A paper is attached to the window of each car with the buyer's name on. The entire construction process is videotaped and presented to the owner. Right now - if you order one - it will be delivered in 6 months.

While I was not looking - Lulu bought a 5 pound chance on a new Morgan - they were chancing one off to build a bronze Morgan statue downtown.

Morgan Motor Company has been in this building for over 100 years. It is about 1/4 of a mile from the Malvern Link train station. There are no signs directing you to it - it is in a residential neighborhood - then bam - it is there.

When I got my teacher's license in 1970 - I ordered a Morgan. They were only $2800 then. Things happened and I settled for an MGB. I have regretted it ever since. The next year I bought that marriage license.

You can buy a car on the spot - it is your problem getting it into the States - or you can rent one for 120 pounds for a day and drive it right out of the factory door. Maybe next year I will try that.

This is the original 1909 Morgan three wheeler. You could buy it with 2 seats or 4 seats. The front wheels are far apart for the stability. The rear wheel is the drive wheel.

This is the trim area - where interiors are assembled - tops put on - seats installed.

NEWSFLASH - so far they only assembled 10 of these 2012 Morgan Three Wheelers. This configuration allows them to circumvent the USA safety laws. Also - as a motorcycle - registration fees are less - insurance it less - and at 1100 pounds - it gets over 40 miles per gallon. It will seat two people and have a V Twin Cycle Engine. There were rumors of a Harley - but they are an American S & S engine.

You select your paint colors - leather colors - light or right hand drive - and performance modifications. You wait 6 months and can pick it up at the factory and drive it all over Europe.

Morgans have had ash wooden frames since 1909. It is really a hoot seeing the cars sitting on old wooden saw horses. The wood smells great.

This young man was gluing together some wheel wells. The ash wood is kiln dried to 15% moisture and then sealed.

No splinters here. These cars are works of art.

Notice how they let us roam around the cars on the 2 hour tour. You could take all the pictures you wanted - and talk with the workers.

It was not a moving assembly line. The cars were moved from station to station a few times - but the workers stayed with each car. Most of the other components were made all over the world. Most of the engines are Ford right now.

This is the steel frame with an ash plywood floor. It is galvanized - dipped in zinc to prevent rust. Note the old wooden saw horses. The shops are

very clean.

These are Ford 1600cc double overhead cam engines. Some of the cars come with V-6 Ford Mustang engines - producing 220 horsepower.

This is a base 2011 Morgan 4/4. It is has a 4 cylinder - 1600 cc Ford engine - and 4 wheels. It costs $45,000 new.

This guy is working on the firewall - the metal between the driver and the engine. In this case - it is made of stainless steel.

Watching The Last Space Shuttle Land From London

Live photo of landing from computer in London.

Christa McAuliff - she looks much younger and prettier now than in 1986.

This morning at 11 AM our time - I watched the Space Shuttle land on my computer. I have a program back home called Slingbox that allows us to watch our TV at home from here . We are able watch both live TV and shows we recorded on our DVR - over here.

If anyone does not remember - at one time I had a real job - I was an Earth and Space Science Teacher for Panther Valley for 33 years. Most of my career was dominated by the Space Shuttle program. It was a love/hate relationship.

The Shuttle was basically a glorified pickup truck. It took things into space and returned home empty. We could have done everything that the Shuttle did at a much cheaper cost using big dumb boosters. But NASA felt that if they didn't have a lot of astronauts running around playing "Buck Rodgers" - they could not get the "big bucks" from Congress to keep the program going. Thanks to Lyndon Johnson - most of the money was spent in Texas - his home state. Florida was chosen as the launch spot because of its warm weather and its eastward facing coast for the safety of the launches. You may re-call when the Challenger blew up - all the pieces fell safely into the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1986 - I applied for the Teacher in Space Program - and was passed over in favor of Christa McAulliffe and Barbara Morgan. I guess they had enough middle age WASP white men in space at the time. My lesson plans were interrupted monthly by launches and landings. I even bought a bus and took my students from Pennsylvania to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. We all cried together when the Challenger blew up in Florida.

The flights of the Shuttles mainly assembled the giant space station that is circling the earth now. It is ironic that we built the space station and now do not have rockets to take our astronauts up to visit it. We must hitchhike on Russia's rockets to take us there.

In April 1981 - we were living near Orlando FL - I was able to drive over and watch the very first Space Shuttle Columbia lift off. They have named a highway in Orlando after John Young - the pilot of that craft.

Now our country is in deep debt - the rich and poor are fighting for each other to pay our way out it. Most of that debt was caused by George Bush's two stupid wars and greedy tax cuts he gave his rich buddies. The cost of the Space Shuttle program was less than 1% of all that debt - but we all need a scapegoat - and the space program is a very visible one. It is hard to believe that just 10 years ago - Bill Clinton handed the reins over to Bush with a budget surplus - and we chose to impeach him for having sex with a secretary - even though his wife didn't seem to care.

Those things come to mind when I watched the Shuttle land from London.

In London - The World Is Your Oyster

London Transportation offers the Oyster Card for buses and subways.

You simply swipe the Oyster Card by the reader and it subtracts money from your account.

In my opinion - London has the best transportation system in the world. When traveling with 4 or more - London's cute little black cabs make sense. The drivers are well trained - speak excellent English - and do not expect tips.

But for normal everyday one or two people traveling - the buses and tubes are top drawer. They are very clean and efficient. You can get anywhere in the city or suburbs this way.

I like the payment system very much. They have a credit card called the Oyster Card. You buy one and put some cash on it - at the ticket window - at the ticket machines - or on your computer at home. Then - when you go through the turnstile - the little yellow reader both reads your card - but also tells you how much credit you have left. When you exit the subway again - the sensor reads your card.

When you get on a bus - the yellow card reader checks your card and charges you accordingly. It warns you when your balance is getting low - and if you do not have enough money on your card - a red warning light flashes and a warning buzzer goes off.

At home- you can go on your computer - see every spot you used the card. You can add money using a credit card number. It is a very neat way to keep track of where you traveled - also have an account of your travel expenses. If you card has been lost or stolen - you can immediately void the card before someone uses your cash to travel. Remember - there is a documented record of where you were - and when you were there. The might have to end up explaining how someone took you card from your wallet - used it - and then returned it to your wallet without you knowing it.

This morning - I got a pleasing email. Transport of London (the people in charge of Oyster Cards) sent me a letter. It said they made a mistake and they are crediting my card £6.90. That is about $11.00.

If you travel a lot - you can buy unlimited cards for days - weeks - or months. I checked and an unlimited card for a week is £27.00 - which is about $40. Parents can buy their kids cards - and know the money is going for transportation - not other things.

Going To The Morgan Sports Car Factory in Malvern Link on the Way to Wales

Morgan Sports Car

Out in the middle of nowhere - about two hours west of London is Malvern Link. It is a little country town. Almost everyone in town works at the Morgan Motor Works building this little sports car.

They have been making them for 100 years in this same garage by hand. They are not the fastest thing - prettiest thing - or best made thing - but they are different. The frames are actually wood! The metal body panels are bonded to that wood. The thing rides likes a tractor - very rough on your butt and your teeth fillings.

English Canals and Canal Boat Campers

This is a canal lock on the Lea River near the Olympic Park. A canal lock lifts or lowers a boat from one water level to another. On this lock - the boats drop about 10 feet.

This is a camp ground of sorts. People could leave their boats at this little harbor - catch the Tube and go anywhere in the city.

In the USA - motor homes and trailers are very popular forms of recreational vehicles. Since England is still criss crossed by canals from the old days - many folks buy these old long and skinny freight boats and turn them into little campers or "floater" homes. They are about 8 feet wide - stick out of the water maybe 4 feet. They can by 70 or 80 feet long. They look like they only travel about 5 miles per hour. It looks like quite a task to prevent them from hitting the sides of the canals. Some of them look very expensive - others look like floating dumps. But on the canals - it looks like no one has precedent over the other.

On CRAIGSLIST - Paul McCartney's Wings Over Europe Official Tour Bus

This is the open upper deck of the Wings bus I could buy on Craigslist. Seats look ratty.

This is Paul McCartney in front of the Wings bus for sale on Craigslist.

The Wings bus is too tall and too long to put in my garage.

Paul McCartney helped paint the decorations on the sides of the bus.

Here is a bus on Craigslist in London that I should buy and bring home. It is the double decker tour bus of the group Wings.

Brief history of bus and Wings band: After leaving The Beatles, English rock singer, bass guitarist, songwriter - Paul McCartney launched a successful solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda Eastman McCartney.

McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music history, with 60 gold discs and sales of 100 million singles. Wings' 1977 single "Mull of Kintyre" became the first single to sell more than two million copies in the UK, and remains the UK's top selling single.

In 1972 McCartney and the band painted this psychedelic bus, packed the kids up too, and drove it all over Europe. They showed up at Britisth Universities unannounced and performed for free for the college students. When college administrators heard that Paul McCartney of the Beatles was in the bus ready to perform, the response was, "Sure, let them play". Performing songs from Wildlife and Ram, including the new rocker, penned on the bus, "Hi Hi Hi," the soon to be famous ballad, "My Love" and the show stopping "Maybe I'm Amazed".

Please note that 10% of the sale of this bus will be donated to the: Teenage Cancer Trust, who Sir Paul McCartney himself has helped raise money for in the past.

We Toured 2012 Olympic Park Today

This is the Stratford Station - it will be the international gateway to the olympics.

This is olympic stadium - it will hold 80,000. It will be disassembled after the games.

This is the swimming pavilion.

This will be a 500 foot observation tower and restaurant when done - about half the height of the Eiffel Tower.

This will be playing fields and housing. Note downtown London about 4 miles in background. This is on the east side of town.

This is a picture of a picture of the stadium being built.

It is 4:30 PM here.

We toured olympic park this morning. They are busy getting ready for this time next year. They took a slum section of London - condemned it - and leveled it. They are harping ecology - but frankly - I do not see much conservation.

With Gasoline So Expensive Here - There Are Few Motor Homes But Plenty of Canal Campers

England is criss-crossed with canals. Today while walking to the Vespa place - I stumbled onto this canal and a few canal boats. They reminded me a bit of Mike Fink's Keel Boats in the Disney movies. They are long - skinny - and low. There is a place near our apartment called Camden Locks where you can watch the boats go up and down. In this video you see a pretty girl steering her home under the bridge.

"Low bridge - everybody down - low bridge - for we're coming to a town."

"You'll always know your neighbor - you'll always know your gal - if you ever navigated on the Erie Canal."

I Went to Scooterden To See The Hybrid Vespa And All I Got Was This Crummy Towel

The scooterden.com gave me this towel as a momento. Alas - no ride on a Hybrid Vespa.

I did get to ride this MP3. This one has a 300cc engine. Also - the wheels are far enough that you do not need a cycle license over here. You also do not have to wear a helmet - and this place is really anal about helmets. You can see that it stands on its own without a kickstand. This model is available in the USA.

Have your ever heard of Vaporware? When a computer company gets ready to sell a new program - they release a demo that is fantastic. Then you wait for the product. Sometimes in never shows up - we call it Vaporware.

For the last 4 years I have been reading about the Hybrid Vespa. It is supposed to be able to run on gas or electricity or both at once. Supposedly you could go 20 miles on just electricity and then the gasoline engine could take over. You could get 140 miles per gallon and still be able to rocket launch from 0 to 60 in 5 seconds.

All the stories say the Hybrid Vespa is for sale in England and France - to be on sale in the USA next year.

So today I took the train to a place called "scooterden.com." I wanted to drive this "beast" - maybe take one home. I walked into the door of this onetime newspaper office and asked about the hybrid. I got a puzzled look. They said that Piaggio never made it. How could that be possible - I read all the tests and reviews of it.

The Hybrid is based on the MP3 scooter. It is sort of a tricycle - but with two wheels up front. They had an MP3 there with a 300cc engine - a wonderful bike. It is very stable for going over railroad tracks - slippery conditions - and dirt roads. Also - when you come to a stoplight - you do not have to put your feet on the ground. I do want one - but I was waiting for the Hybrid.

I still have one more chance. The stories I have been reading say they sell many more MP3's in Paris than anywhere. We are going there next week.

The magic number over here is 125cc. Above that you must have a special license.

Scooterden is right in the middle of the city.

The dealership is about as big as the V-shaped Five Points Diner.

The spiral steps go upstairs to the accessories department.

At one time the Vespa shop was a newspaper - like 30 years ago - no one sees fit to remove the old tile floor.

Monday Mornings Are The Best Even in London

I never understood this silliness - what would one of these toy soldiers do if some Arab women had a plastic explosive breast implant - stick it with his bayonet? They guard the queen. The bear skin hats come from Canada. Tradition run amuck. Kodak used to love it.

The weekend was busy here - lots of tourists in town. Sunday - it rained off and on all day. It would be bright sunny - then rain- then bright sunny - you get the idea.

Our day started out with a bus tour around town. Dan and Ann came along with Lulu's class. We had an excellent guide - we toured Buckingham Palace changing of the guards - St Pauls Cathedral - life along the Thames - and the usual highlights. Our guide had tons of humorous stories about the royalty.

I still do not get all this kings and queens stuff. I love the Brits - they sound so civilized - are very friendly - and seems so proper. But then they start in on all this royalty stuff - and fall all apart. At one time they ruled the world - the sun never set on the empire - but now it is so much living in the past. Lots of money is spent on this royalty stuff - now they seem to justify it for the tourists. I wonder if anyone would come here if they didn't have all these palaces and graves to gawk at. I write this freely - because they do not seem to have an ounce of reprisal in their bodies.

I was able to land a pair of front row tickets for Dan and Ann Novey to see Billy Elliot on Saturday night - the musical. It is my favorite "Broadway Show" and they were not disappointed. Lulu took her class too - but they were up in the balcony. On the day of the Billy Elliot show - they sell a very limited number of front row seats for the discount price of 27 pounds. There were only 8 available and I was able to land the last two. It sets up a funny situation. You have people in row one paying 27 pounds and people in the second row right behind them paying 150 pounds ($225) per seat. I just love the reaction on their faces (schadenfreude) when I tell the husbands behind me I only paid 27 pounds!

Now it is Monday morning. Everyone is gone. Lulu has her class somewhere. Dan and Ann left a note that they went to Tower of London and St Paul Cathedral. Suzanne and Margie (our other guests) left a note saying they went to Westminster Abbey and Tussaud's Wax Museum. I have the apartment alone - or at least part of the time. I was in bed at 9:30 - and there was a light knock on my door. The maid said something - I grunted. She came into the room and proceeded to clean around me! I felt like that French guy naked with the sheet pulled over my head. I do not even know what the maid looked like - but if she grabbed my underwear - my DNA might be in The Daily Mirror over here as I type. One thing comforting to us white trash is that all the maids here are citizens and white. After they left - I quickly ran upstairs to make sure all my money - cameras - computers - and other toys - were still laid out on the fireplace mantle. They were - and I started typing this story.

The big news is that we landed a neat side trip for Dan and Ann. We found a package on Expedia - they are going to Paris for Tuesday/Wednesday. They will take the chunnel train - leave here 5 AM. The cost was rather high but at the last minute - they were happy to pay the 250 pounds ($375) each for the package. Ann said she may never see Paris again - so it was a bargain. Dan better watch out for the maids over there :-)

Now - after I get dressed from my maid visit - I am going to a Vespa scooter dealer. They sell a hybrid Vespa scooter over here. It is not cheap - 8000 pounds - but it runs on gasoline and electricity - and both at once. When in the power mode - it can go 0-60 in 5 seconds - faster than many Porsches - but yet it gets 140 MPG. Supposedly it can go 20 miles strictly on electricity - then you can either plug it in or use the gas engine to charge the battery while you drive.

This pretty lady is Queen Anne. She looks like Marilyn Monroe here - but in real life she was 4 feet 8 inches and weighed 300 pounds. She had 11 kids and only 3 made it into childhood. She supposed like gin - and her statue faces the liquor store. I looked and she was really facing the cafeteria :-) That is St Pauls Cathedral behind her.

This is Lulu's class and their guide - Lulu is on the left. In the background is a footbridge crossing the Thames River.

Students love to go to FSU's London Campus because in England you still can drink at age 18. Since Lulu's class is the only graduate class over here - all of these students are 22 or better. Our favorite pub is Marlborough Arms - and first night in town - Lulu takes them there for supper. Many like it so much that they return many times. FSU picks up the tab - I paid for mine. A bartender tried to throw me out - he was convinced that I was not in this group of 20 pretty ladies.

Lulu and I look forward to this month every year. We get out of the hottest and humidest month of the year in Tallahassee - we get to travel for virtually nothing - we see new things - have a great apartment (right downtown in Times Square) - don't have to do house work or cook - we see tons of great shows - and Lulu gets a kick out of teaching her multi-media students in a fantastic environment. My plane ticket was paid for with frequent flyer miles. Drew found a credit card for me that awarded me 150,000 FF miles - enough for this trip and a trip to Brazil in the fall. I may get my chin lifted and belly tucked on that trip.

The Best Way Around London Is The Tube

We live by Hoborn Station. Billy Elliot is by Victoria Station. Parliament is by Westminster Station. Apple Store is by Covent Garden Station. Thames River is by Embankment Station. The Theatre District is by Leceister Square Station.

It is a lot of fun riding the subway in London. It is a fast - clean - inexpensive way to get around town. Simply put - it is a series of electric trains underground. You get down to the trains on an escalator in the stations.

There are several ways to pay for riding on the Tube. First - you get a credit card called the oyster card. You can put money on the card at a machine similar to an ATM. You can pay by the ride - day - week - or month. When you go through the turnstile - you simply swipe your oyster card. An example would be a week costs 27 pounds - which is about $39.

Tonight Lulu - her students and her guests went to the show Billy Elliot. The Hoborn station is close to our apartment. The Victoria Theatre is next to the Victoria Station - so they took the dark blue line to the light blue line - and came back up out of the hole at their theatre.

Tonight - after the show - they will simply re-trace their steps. They could walk home or take a bus or cab - but to me - the subway is the fastest.

The Best Way Around London Is The Tube

We live by Hoborn Station. Billy Elliot is by Victoria Station. Parliament is by Westminster Station. Apple Store is by Covent Garden Station. Thames River is by Embankment Station. The Theatre District is by Leceister Square Station.

It is a lot of fun riding the subway in London. It is a fast - clean - inexpensive way to get around town. Simply put - it is a series of electric trains underground. You get down to the trains on an escalator in the stations.

There are several ways to pay for riding on the Tube. First - you get a credit card called the oyster card. You can put money on the card at a machine similar to an ATM. You can pay by the ride - day - week - or month. When you go through the turnstile - you simply swipe your oyster card. An example would be a week costs 27 pounds - which is about $39.

Tonight Lulu - her students and her guests went to the show Billy Elliot. The Hoborn station is close to our apartment. The Victoria Theatre is next to the Victoria Station - so they took the dark blue line to the light blue line - and came back up out of the hole at their theatre.

Tonight - after the show - they will simply re-trace their steps. They could walk home or take a bus or cab - but to me - the subway is the fastest.

Meet Our Good Friends - Dan and Ann Novey

Dan and Ann Novey are two of our old teacher buddies from back in Tamaqua PA. All of our kids played together and graduated from THS together. Now - we have moved to Florida - and they have moved to North Carolina.

Dan is the Supt of Schools somewhere in North Carolina. Ann retired from teaching in Tamaqua - and can relate to me about the joys of filling up a day - and then not recalling enough to tell people what we did. :-)

They arrived here on Friday - and will spend a week touring town and gabbing with us. They already went up the London Eye - visited Westminster Abbey - Big Ben - Parliament. Tonight they will be seeing Billy Elliot.

Dan had to have a phone over here. For 27 pounds - he was able to buy a phone with a months service including an hour of international calls. It is a Samsung phone and he gets to keep it. Ever here - you do not sign a contract. You just buy a SIMM card and slip it in your phone. You have no long term obligation to ATT or Verizon - like back home. He just called me at the apartment and his phone works fine.

You want to call Dan - call 077 416 23146. Dan's a busy man - carries lots of phones and lots of keys :-)

We were having a pub meal in the photo - food had not arrived yet.

Billy Elliot Tonight - Saturday - 7:30

Mom is taking her class to Billy Elliot tonight - Saturday 7:30. She has advance tickets.

Dan and Ann wanted to go. I went down to the box office this morning at 9 AM. Unfortunately - it did not open until 10 AM - so I stood in line. Then when it opened it was only selling day seats for the matinee. I had to wait to 10:30 for day seats for the night show.

I was number 4 in line. You were only allowed two seats at the deeply discounted day price of 27 pounds each. A pound is $1.50. The play was sold out except for a few "day" seats - which means you get them the day of the show.

An agent online wanted 168 pounds a seat!

Lucky for me - I got two tickets - front row - seats 5 & 6 for 55 pounds total - about $80. They were the last two available.

They did not let me take the tickets with me - they must be picked up at will call - because of scalping. You show your receipt and get your tickets.

This is my favorite show - and front row is my favorite seats. I got the last seats.