1st workshop day - October 22, 2011
It's 10:00 a.m., and after the mega-coffee that serves to massage the gastric mucosa still numb from last evening's endurance test, I'm getting ready. Thinking that even those who spent the night in the hotel are now performing the same operation of restarting their digestive machines in front of the vending machine at the Esedra buffet, which hosted us these two days, I'm getting ready to thank you for the important technical opportunity of the afternoon and for the magnificent gargantuan evening of fish.
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And first of all, I would like to thank Urs for the lesson on the SU carburetor, conducted with the utmost simplicity, maintaining a low profile, which nevertheless has the significance of a milestone – it really is worth reiterating – as it created the opportunity for an initial technical and training meeting, which – I hope – will be followed by others, because they represent a moment of authentic growth for the personality of the Club and of the individuals, following in the footsteps of what has already been done for some time in the UK at MGCC and at its alter ego, the Owner's Club.
This first meeting served—at least for me—first of all to SEE & UNDERSTAND how an SU is made and how it works, with all the related interventions, before, during, and after, including phasing as the final result of problem solving. As expected, Watson.
An initial introduction and introduction to the basics, which will be followed—and I think this applies to all participants, even the geeky schoolboys in the front row, the 8+s, Giulio, Roberto, Vincenzo, the other Roberto, etc., etc.—by a full-immersion phase or internship in the engine compartment with HANDS IN THE DOUGH, or rather, IN THE DOUGH, with Urs right behind them to provide the right guidance on the practical aspects that are more important than grammar. Derico aside, because his MGA already runs like a Swiss watch with an idle at 450 rpm, and any intervention in the engine compartment would mean a worsening of the climate situation.
And here it must be added that the location - RIMINI - also seems like the true hub of Italian México, with arrivals from Upper Lombardy as well as Rome, as well as from Emilia, Veneto and Marche.
But I find it easier to start with thanks from the after, from the post-combustion of the fumes rather than from the carburation.
DULCIS IN FUNDO, the room is set for so many, once the serious atmosphere of the educational and informational meetings has faded, the festive voices of OUR COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS fill the room, returning from a Saturday afternoon in Rimini and a cryptic dive into the Sant'Arcangelo underground. And while the rain has stopped outside and the lights of the GRAND HOTEL reflect and reverberate on the wet marble slabs of the parterre, and in the streets behind the GRAND HOTEL, the windows of a couple of sex shops display lingerie and accessories just right for the approaching Halloween weekend, for the benefit of the Russian and Ukrainian population who have colonized the Riviera, TRICK OR TREAT? begins—trick or treat—the seafood feast directed by Tonino Vasi's now-tested team, which starts with the principle "whatever ends up in the net, immediately ends up on the table."
And those pan-fried fish that leap onto your plate and from the plate into your mouth, UNFORGETTABLE. I must say I can't recall another occasion, despite the frequent retorts offered by Pier Paolo and the Rimini group, another occasion, in fact, where such levels of delicacy were reached, a succession of seafood delicacies, christened by name and surname, but so many and so many, that I can't remember them all... And now try these soles, which are the last for this year before the fishing ban. After that, there won't be another opportunity to taste anything like them," encourages Fausto Parma, as he fills your plate. And Gianni follows up with those mullets that are a must.
But this, when you thought you'd exhausted your appetite and your cravings for fish, and you still have to dig out a few centimeters of free space at the bottom of your stomach. And the cuttlefish and calamari still have to arrive, skewered like martyrs on toothpicks. To finish with a Vin Santo that takes all the holidays away.
Luckily, Sighi will be the one driving home, and when he drinks, he runs on Coca-Cola.
And here, almost at the door, I run into Urs and Pier Paolo, not just for greetings, but..."And now write the article UP!". "Oh my God, me of all people," I say loudly, "who as a technician, if I have to make the "O" I need a glass and if I hear "SCREWDRIVER," I get a shiver down my back and a cramp in my wrist like a clerk [as per the qualification under the military service]. DOMINE, NON SUM DIGNUS.
Eugene
Dear Paul,
I thank you for the wonderful initiative, and I will also thank Urs for his availability: it was truly a fun and relaxing day, characterized by maximum tranquility and interest.
We hope more ideas like this one will emerge, because they are strengths for the Club.
See you soon.
Dear Urs,
Thank you for this wonderful initiative, which, with your availability and preparation, and Paolo's help in the kitchen, was a complete success, exceeding expectations: it was a truly fun, engaging, and interesting day.
We hope more ideas like this one will emerge, because they are strengths that animate the Club.
And if there are other courses taught by you, consider me already signed up!
Best regards and see you soon.
Roberto
Leaving sunny Bologna, after a long journey, Rimini welcomes me like a beast: cold and threatening black clouds—so much for the sunny Riviera! After a long wandering in search of a hotel, when I would have settled for any igloo, my MG friends appear: I'm safe! After the usual greetings, while the ladies venture off to the shopping center, everyone heads to the basement where Prof. Urs welcomes us, wearing a T-shirt bearing a peremptory order in large letters: UP. I'm about to go back up the stairs when he calls me back and explains that it's just the brand of carburetor. Armed with a marker, he draws a perfect carburetor in every detail, and the lesson begins among students I can't imagine being so attentive even if Sabrina Ferilli were on that board! He shows a mysterious object he calls a distributor (it must be what pushes the car) and illustrates how to fix the engine when it is out of phase (I want to try it too when I'm a bit depressed) using a mysterious light bulb and various sparks (oh God, my MG is made of wood: won't it catch fire?). A safer method is suggested with a cigarette paper: and I don't smoke? Then he shows us an old pre-war carburetor on which it was not possible to apply a filter (now they are banned by the Ministry of Health to avoid piston cancer). I take careful notes: who knows..... The questions from the audience are noteworthy: "My Landini tractor only does 400 rpm: should it be thrown away?" "Is the oil to use seed oil or is extra virgin oil preferable?" My spark plugs don't last long: would I have any advantages with candles? I have a friend who is a parish priest." (I too was left stranded with the spark plugs: I suspect that the added fan blew them out.) Urs, with great patience and professionalism, cleared up all doubts, receiving applause from everyone; he also showed me a method to solve my age-old brake problems:
"Have you ever tried anchor?" After a gargantuan dinner, he bids us farewell with a fantastic caricature; damn Urs, you always surprise us with some hidden talent!
Ad majora!
Vincenzo