Ah hah, the prize!  The prize is…….No.  Before I tell you I must give you some
background info otherwise you will not fully appreciate the full magnitude of it.

At the tender age of 16 (remember this was 1958) I was blessed with the most memorable school English teacher of all time.  For a petrol head of 3 years Austin 7 ownership anyway!  His name was Paul du Toit.  Never a more fascinating man had ever graced the hallowed halls of academia.  Why?  Well, let me tell you.  Not only had he been the founder of the Hong Kong Sporting Car Club, but also arrived at school each morning in a brand new, white, with wire wheels, top down, MGA with the most drop dead gorgeous Chinese wife, half his age, circa 25 years old in the passenger seat.  "Is that a gun in your pocket sonny or are you just please to see me?"  Remember I was 16!

A hard act to follow?  Not really, not for Paul because, here is the relevance to the prize, his father was an R & D Engineer for Mercedes Benz racing in the 30's.  Therefore he attended all the Grand Prix racing internationally as part of Hitler's propaganda machine.  Paul was thus able to accompany his father to Donnington Park in 1938 for the British Grand Prix.  Therefore Paul had access to everything.  And I mean EVERYTHING. 

Paul was in the pits at practice when Rudolph Caracciola's (sounds like a disease that causes stigmata in cats) fabulous Mercedes W163, the ultimate winner, came in with a shot left hand rear wheel bearing.  Naturally du Toit senior was presented with the failed part, for analysis, AND the retaining split pin.  This may not appear relevant, but hey these are Germans OK?  Paul pocketed the split pin as a memento of the fabulous time he had in the UK and kept it for the next 20 years.  That is until he told us this story.  And offered it as the prize for the next English exam, which you guessed it I won.

I am now passing it on as the prize for last issues competition.  So you don't think it is much of a prize eh?  You missed the point!  Can you imagine how valuable these W163's are today?  Millions!  So now all the lucky winner has to do is to start with the genuine left hand wheel bearing split pin and create a genuine 1938 Mercedes W163 GP car around it!  Simple really.  Nobody could then possibly argue about the cars authenticity, now could they?

I have been simply overwhelmed by the response to the competition, with cards, letters and emails pouring in from all over the UK.  Well 2 actually.  And guess what?  Both entries were correct.  At 4.5.  The .5 being correct as only one barrel of the V twin JAP was used to bring the cycle car into the 500cc class.  Clever lot those 2 Pembleton people.  They also both translated the French phrase correctly.  As 'the more things change the more they remain the same'.  So it now came down to Magnum the dog to make the decision as outlined in the last newsletter.

Who knows what thoughts were racing through his mind as the enormity of his responsibility seeps into his brain like the miasma from the last road kill he devoured.  The tension mounts as Magnum is ushered into the living room for the 'big one'.  Perhaps he is thinking 'will Algernon receive his rego number from the DVLA' or 'Will the Swansea VRO office exempt kits that are already in the build stage'.  Who knows?  Perhaps he will be to overcome to fulfil his task, and just simply cock his leg on the lounge chair instead.

(Drum Roll)  Magnum takes the 2 entries in his mouth.  Will he chew them up and void the whole affair or will he, at the instruction 'scitchum', toss them both high towards the ceiling?  Scitchum!!  Up, up they go as Magnum flicks them from his savage jowls.  Down, down, they float.  One hits the floor.  One lands on the bookcase.  The winner!  We all rush over to see.  The winner is……..Now Algernon, I am a very reasonable chap.  Here's the deal, you tell me the name of the winner of the last caption competition and I will tell you the name of the winner of the Mercedes W163 slit pin!  Fair enough?

So how are we going to keep a healthy level of insanity while we are all breathlessly awaiting these two results?  Here are few suggestions;
1. At lunch time sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hairdryer at passing cars.  See if they slow down.
2. Page yourself over the intercom.  Don't disguise your voice.
3. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the car park yelling run for your lives, their loose!
4. This is my favourite because as a child my parents moved a lot, but I always found them, so tell your children over dinner "Due to the economy we are going to have to let one of you go".

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