April was a good month. The weather was good. We found a house to buy. I got out to see some racing. And I actually managed to do a tiny amount of work on the car though sadly, not the Frogeye.
When Shakespeare wrote “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May”, he could have been talking about May 2017! As I write, it is cold, wet and windy but, there’s a lot to look forward to this month.
Car Stuff
At the beginning of April, I spent the day at Brands Hatch with Keith, one of the chaps that I know from the Midget and Sprite Club. Although there was a full program of racing including Formula Ford, MX5’s, Fiestas and Golf GTi’s, we went primarily, to watch the Historic Racing Drivers Club in action.
In beautiful sunshine, the Speedwell Austin A40, driven by Mike and Andrew Jordan (BTCC driver), dominated the race. However, there were dices and duels all around the circuit, making for a very exciting race.
The “A series” Academy Spridgets, Minis and A30/A35/A40s put on a fabulous show. The MG Midget of Thomas Grindall won, having led for most of the race from two Mini Coopers valiantly drifting down through Paddock Hill bend.
On the 23rd April, I visited Bicester Heritage Centre for their Sunday Scramble, which coincided with international Drive It Day. The weather was beautiful and there was an amazing turnout of classic cars. I was particularly taken with the wonderful display of Rileys. But there was something for everybody there and I would definitely recommend a visit.
If you would like to see a selection of visitors’ classic cars, I have posted this short video on the Owners World Facebook page. There’s also an album of pictures from the day there too.
I am determined to get to the ACE Cafe before I leave the area, so I will go either next Tuesday, 9th May, or next month, Tuesday 13th June.
My Cars
I managed to get my Caterham 7 out of the garage for a post-winter inspection. There was no rodent damage inside the car and no sign of damp or mildew so I was pretty pleased to have followed my own advice from the 35 Best Tips – Winter Storage for Cars article that I published a few months ago.
This month, my main job will be to bolt everything securely back onto the Frogeye. I will then be able to transport it to our new home in Devon (hopefully in the next 6 to 8 weeks) without bits falling off.
Blog Stuff
I have eventually finished and published the What’s in your car tool kit? post this month. It has been very popular and I have had great feedback about it. So, if you haven’t had a chance to read it yet; it comes well recommended!
I’m currently working on a “How To” post on “finding top dead centre”, so keep an eye out for that one in the next couple of weeks.
Having spent the last 2 months getting the social media side of things up and running, this month I am going to spend some time on Search Engine Optimisation.
Basically, trying to get the articles that I have written to appear on the first page of Google. If you search for “Leak Down Test”, I would like my article, How To: Cylinder Leak Down Test to appear on the first page of results.
This should then drive more visitors to Owners World, making me a happy little blogger 🙂
I think that this will be a bit of a long term effort as any changes made to an article, are not likely to have a noticeable impact for up to a month.
Social Media
I have blown my target of reaching 1000 Twitter followers by May out of the water! At the time of writing, I have 2,262 Twitter followers, which is great news. Instagram is coming along nicely and Pinterest is ticking over. I am really excited to welcome 12 new Facebook followers to Owners World this month.
As always, if you like any of my blog articles, it would really help me if you would share them using the buttons on the left-hand side of the page (or bottom of page if you are on a mobile device)
If you’re not currently following Owners World on Facebook, just click on this button
and you will be automatically notified whenever I publish a new article. I am also beginning to post more photos and videos that won’t necessarily appear on the blog itself.
I only post about once or twice per week, so I won’t be filling your timeline up. And, if you decide it’s not for you after all, then it’s easy to unfollow – give it a go 🙂
Geek Stuff
I didn’t get up to much techie stuff this month except for a few little tweaks and bug fixes. Bearing in mind the date that I am writing this, the best I can come up with is, Happy Star Wars Day – “May the Fourth be with you!”
I’m sure (hope) that the weather will start to improve soon so that we can all get out driving, meeting, polishing and fettling!
Thank you for reading and please share, comment and like any of the Owners World articles. It’s a real boost to know that someone is reading and really helps to get the blog moving.
