Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Maybe some of Hobart's classic car community were feeling a bit mournful after the day before's aerial ping pong grand final (surely even die-hard footy fans would have to admit that the game was as boring as bat faeces).  Whatever it was, though, this month's Classics was a very quiet affair indeed.  Either way, it didn't diminish the quality of cars.  UMPH was very excited to spot this pristine Valiant and the Series II Land Rover behind it as soon as he arrived.     Looking every inch the 'one careful owner; only driven to church on Sundays' that it probably is. The Venetians looked great. Bucket seats and a centre-shift automatic. This Landy was brilliant!  No-nonsense, go anywhere practicality with some subtle modifications.   If you're thinking of selling it ... There are a surprising number of Jags - E-Types, in particular - in and around Hobart.  This one, finished in deep, lustrous metal...

Stefano Lubiana's wines (http://www.slw.com.au/slw/index.html ) have forged an excellent reputation within Tasmania and the rest of Australia over the last twenty five years, so it was with great anticipation that the UMPHs headed to the company's  winery and recently opened osteria - located  in   R owbottoms Road, Granton,  twenty minutes' north of Hobart - for a lazy Sunday lunch .  Adding another degree of expectation was the fact that on the previous few  times they had tried to get a table, the place had been booked solid. For those of you who don't know what an osteria is, the uninitiated's best friends at Wikipedia advise that it's an Italian place serving wine and simple food.  (Google and Wiki to UMPH's rescue again!)   So far, so good:  Lubiana's osteria, overlooking the River Derwent upstream of the Bridgewater Bridge, oozes Mediterranean style.  It also serves wine.  Very good wine inde...

UMPH is beginning to appreciate the benefits of arriving at Classics a bit earlier in the morning than has been his norm.  For a start, it's a lot easier to find a legitimate parking spot.  Then there's the opportunity to hear and see the cars arriving ... For sure, the Maserati Ghibli below is a thing of rare aesthetic beauty.  But seeing it parked is only half the story ; its understated yet menacing V8 rumble somehow completed the experience.  It even sounded good as it reversed into its parking spot.  Is it?  Yep, that Woodheap fella at the left of photo. According to its owner, it's the only one in Hobart and was red until a few years back when he had it sprayed metallic dark grey.  The colour, like its exhaust note, is wonderfully understated. Also in grey was this very tidy EH Holden, tastefully up-graded with a simple set of mags shod with BF Goodrich Radial TA s (tyre of choice for the hot Aussie car set during the 1980s). ...