Colleen and I motored to join the Italian Section, this year at Lake Iseo, near Lake Garda and organised by Davide Bassoli. After the usual few days of feasting at both lunchtime & dinner, we set off back home to Derby in our Bentley MK VI Lightweight. We stopped the first night at the Hotel Roggerli in Hergiswil, which has a magnificent view over Lake Lucerne and easy train travel into the Lucerne shopping itself. The next day we drove towards Troyes in France, via Basle and Mulhouse. This is a driving time of about 5.5 hrs. After about 2.5 hrs I noticed that the ammeter was showing a slight discharge and so, when I stopped at a service area for petrol and tea, I lifted the bonnet. It was obvious that the back of the dynamo had fallen down, making the dynamo pulley skew and, although the belt was still on the pulley, it would be slipping somewhat. The dynamo rear support bracket had broken or come loose somehow but it was supported on the front bracket and the top front, slotted, adjusting, drive belt tightening link.

The options were considered. We were in the excellent RH Club insurance scheme, which includes breakdown cover. This is quite effective, but for a garage to repair the problem they would have to send for a spare part and this would mean that we would miss our series of hotels and the channel crossing that we had booked. This would be all very expensive and inconvenient. I, therefore, removed my leather trouser belt, fed it behind & beneath the dynamo and lashed up the back of the dynamo to the engine inlet manifold. Mine is the later, 5 inch unit, which is very heavy and this rear support kept it approximately in the right position.