Abbott & Stour Report - TR Action 328 - April 2021

Hello there As I write this report as well as lock-down it is now snowing outside – is there anything else out there to stop me taking the TR out!! Talking of which I have been taking the car out once a fortnight for essential travel, this allows all the bits to still work and gets it dirty enough to give me something to do for the next couple of days. Just wondering if I can get car polish on my next click and collect supermarket run.

This period of enforced idleness has made me catch up on car related paperwork. This included making sure the MOT was still up to date and that my Driving License was also in date. What started off as a bit of a joke came as a shock to discover the latter expires in eighteen months time - am I that old? As the insurance on the everyday car was up for review I took the opportunity to add this to my existing policy with the TR Register Insurance - easily done and you talk to a real person.
With the new policy details they sent to me was a really useful reminder of what you will need to travel in a post Brexit Europe - whenever that is.
So here goes.
To drive your own car you will need a physical green card - obtainable from your friendly insurance company and remember you will need a separate one for any trailer or caravan you are taking. Do give them some time, at least four weeks as there may be a lot of people asking for these. A GB sticker is needed, I remember my late father’s comments about these on the paintwork of his car, standing there with a tin of Turtle Wax - and you must carry the V5.
An International Driving Permit costing five pounds fifty pence, obtainable form the Post Office, is needed, the type depends on the country or countries being visited. Be aware that not all Post Offices carry these and you will need to get to a larger one as our village did not have the papers.
Check that your Passport has at least six months before it expires, and, if you are taking a pet with you, that you have an Animal Health Certificate-the current Pet Passport is no longer valid – see gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad) although what sort of pet you could take in a TR with two people and a weeks luggage I cannot guess.
Talking of expiring (no not me - just paperwork) check your EHIC, that’s European Health Insurance Card. Whilst this does not replace Travel Insurance it can be used to meet some health care costs abroad - get the details at global-health-insurance-card. This really was relevant as when I checked mine I found that it had expired in April 2020, just a short time after I managed to get one of the last planes out of Spain before they locked down. This has now been replaced by the UKGHIC, that’s the UK Global Health Insurance Card, see the website mentioned above. The application was simple and I received my card within two weeks.
So, although we may not be able to travel in Europe for the time being there’s no excuse for not being prepared when we can.
Do also check on the individual countries traffic laws regarding such things as high viz jackets, self administered alcohol tests etc.
My thanks to TR Register Insurance for their help in allowing me to use the above and if you have any queries please contact TR Register Insurance and they will do their best to answer any queries.

If you have any news of projects being started finished or indeed grinding to a halt through lack of bits or hitting a problem do get in touch as I am sure someone in the Group has an answer.
I have recently seen photographs of one car used in Trials by a member half way through it's rebuild and can only say good luck!!

Here’s hoping to see you all as soon as it is safe to do so - keep warm and occupied.

Stewart Hurrell, 01787-282176, Trmessagestewart@hotmail.com.