The Jaguar Owners Association of Montreal held their annual Spring Dust-off drive on Sunday, April 21st. These days, you never know what the weather will bring, but we had enjoyed temperatures in the mid-80's for most of the week leading up to our dust-off, it was t-shirt and air conditioning weather!

So it was with mild surprise that I awoke Sunday morning to see the thermometer reading -1 Celsius (that's just below freezing for you Fahrenheit junkies). To make matters worse, it was cloudy at 7 a.m. Fortunately the sun was shining by the time the dust-off was to start and we were treated to a balmy +3 Celsius (38 Fahrenheit) by midday.

Montrealers don't like rain but rain but cold doesn't stop them. We had an excellent turn-out considering many owners of vintage Jaguars hadn't even had time to take their cars out of winter storage (but then again, that's the whole idea of a spring "dust-off"). Several E-types, a lovely MK2 on its first club outing, several XJS' and XJ6-12's and one X-type. Nobody was crazy enough to put the top down but it was possible with a "toque".

We were headed for a small English pub lost in the countryside about an hour outside of Montreal. The owner of the pub was a British car and bike fanatic and she frequently invited clubs to come by for a pint and a steak and kidney pie. Problem was, none of us had ever been there and, truth be told, we couldn't even find it on the map! But club member Gary Gilmore (red XK120) is a regular customer of the pub and provided us with very detailed (long) rally style directions. So off we go into the cold and sunshine, the sight of a dozen beautiful Jaguars always stops traffic and this trip was no exception. The route took us through some lovely small Quebec towns with names like Salaberry de Valleyfield, Ormstown, Godmanchester (Dewittville) and Rockburn. Along the way, we crossed the St. Lawrence river (actually Lake St. Francois) and the Chateauguay river. We traversed lift bridges, swing bridges and drawbridges that were too narrow for two cars. On the little road leading into Rockburn from Dewittville we were treated to the sight and sound of a flock of snow geese that passed about 15 feet over our heads on their annual migration north.

The pub food was great (as was the ale), the route and directions perfect; nobody got lost and nobody broke down. All in all a perfect day even if it was missing a few degrees of temperature!

Rockburn Pub is in Rockburn, Quebec (just north of the flashing light, you can't miss it) and the phone number is 450-264-2239; ask for Joanne.

 

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About the author - Daniel Thompson is president of the Ottawa Jaguar Club and past president of the Jaguar Owner’s Association – Montreal. He is JCNA Communications Chair and Regional Director for the Northeast. He owns a 1958 MkIX, a 1968 E-type, a 2002 X-type and two Healeys.

Posted 4/8/2002

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