To whet the appetites of all lucky enough to visit Struer with BeoWorld, here is an appetiser! The second week of June saw Lee and myself meet down at Harwich for a repeat visit to Struer having previously made the trip some two years previously. I had driven last time and so Lee was determined to take the lead this time - and how! On this occasion we were going by Bentley.

A splendid trip in the best cabins saw us arrive in Esjberg at lunchtime on the 7th of June.A good nights sleep was certainly had by me though Lee, convinced that he snores, insisted on putting paper up his nose. Fortunately for the trip, he failed to asphyxiate and I could inform him that reports of his nocturnal sibilations were grossly exaggerated. 

A leisurely drive, if such a thing is possible in a car managing 14mpg driven carefully, saw us arrive at the Grand Hotel in Struer mid afternoon. We settled in the rooms - executive rooms on the top floor - the Danes go for a restrained decor so think functional rather than opulent but clean and comfortable - and we did have B&O TV sets in the rooms. We had a quick wander around Struer, checked out the Marina restaurant - enquired about a table but discovered that they stopped serving at about 5.30! A rapid return to the Grand let us enjoy a good meal but most Danes clearly like an early night so the kitchen closed before pudding was ordered! We retired with a liquid dessert to the bar.

We did notice a group of young men in the restaurant , one of whom proved to be the CEO who came to say hello before our meeting which was scheduled for the following morning at 7 am.

Despite my trying to keep things relatively low key, he had discovered from my travelling companion that it was my birthday the following day. I was most embarrassed to be presented with a gift as he departed to prepare for the grilling he was expecting the next day. My wife has insisted on my taking a gift from her and as it was now midnight we opened this - a Fortnums's hamper and some very attractive cuff links! We retired to be in eager anticipation of what the next day would bring!

Pleased to receive an invitation to an evening with the MD of Bang & Olufsen UK, Lars Flyvholm, at B&O of Newcastle, I rang them and enquired about the content. This was to be the history and future of B&O. Despite a few problems with equipment damage last time, I offered them some historical pieces from my limited collection. Partly to humour me I am sure, they accepted, so I dropped off a few bits the Saturday before.

I was always destined to be late for this event, as I had a date with my dentist (who now has the Beolab 5000s partly involved in the last speaker test). A couple of redone fillings and a temporary structure built, I winged my way to Grey Street. A full house greeted me and Lars had finished his historical journey and had moved on to the new product section. A BeoTime was passed around - I have already played with one of these - lovely bit of kit - and also a Beocom 5 with speaker was on show.

I am less convinced with this as many of the best features mean losing your old phones. I imagine the rest of the range will have to be upgraded fairly soon. It is light though and has a pleasant display. The speaker phone is probably the highlight though.

My pieces were on display and were mentioned - I had taken bits which would feature in the talk so a Beomaster 900K, a Beolab 5000 system with Beovox 2500s and Beogram 3000, a Beogram 4000 and a Beomaster 2400 were all on static show. They had also managed to get a Beocenter 9300 and in an alcove was a Beomaster 1600 (Tandberg type).

Quick chat to Lars and disappeared as music played through Beolab 3s and a 2 was demonstrated - clearly set up as last time!!

Returned the next Saturday and apart from some stacking marks on the 5000 system (removed with beeswax) all was well!

Took me ages to remember how to write a post on this blog - the GT6 picture got in the way!

Had a most enjoyable time with Lee travelling to Denmark to collect my restored Beolab 5000 system. First day was a little strained as some muppet drove into the back of me, breaking not only the Prius bumper but also the Sat Nav which we were relying on to get us to Venø. I was also relying on it to get me to my mother's house as she has moved to an obscure village in Norfolk. Luckily the iPhone has a basic Sat Nav function so arrived eventually. Very kindly, she lent me her Tom Tom which had Europe on it.

Met up with Lee in Harwich and then sampled the delights of our Commodore class cabin and not a bad meal on the trip. Drove straight up to Struer, impressing Lee with the complete lack of movement of the fuel gauge on the Prius. I do love Denmark and particularly the Danish people but the country is really rather flat and Jutland is not the most interesting scenery I have seen. The architecture is also mainly modern and, dare I say, a little generic. Lots of wind turbines though and very well mannered drivers.

We arrived at the Grand at Struer early afternoon - a clean and comfortable hotel if a little plain - though my room did have a BV8 in it - Lee was relegated to a room with just a BV1! Glad rags donned, we set off for Venø. Frede lives on a small island just to the north of Struer accessible only by ferry - though the ride is about 200 yds at most! A short ride away and in amongst the trees we found a most exquisiste thatched house right on a sandy shore by the lake.

The warmth of the greeting and the hospitality were wonderful and the experience will live with me for a long time. Suffice it to say that we were royally wined and dined and Frede's wonderful audio system demonstrated. He had also prepared a surpise with a black Beolab 5000 system being now part of his collection - he had also restored a Beomaster 4401 for me and knew that I had liked the black finish.

We had brought a few bits and pieces with us - Lee seemed to have cornered the market in Beolab 5000 components in the UK and we brought a selection for Frede to work his magic on. We also imported a pair of Beovox 3800s for Martin as we knew he didn't have a pair!The time went all too quickly and we just made the last ferry back to Struer.

The next day was set aside for a trip to the B&O factory and for some meetings with the marketing department. We were shown an Aston Martin DBS with B&O audio system. Very nice though it would appear that almost all the content is made elsewhere - the motorised tweeters always raise a smile though. Whilst Lee had his demo, I wandered through the carpark - noting a rather fun customised 30s Ford V8!

Lunch in the Farm followed and whilst Lee was interviewed for BeoNews, I was taken around the factory - though kept away from the new products (already knew about them anyway!) We were supposed to get a couple of BeoTimes to review and give as gifts to BeoWorld but unfortunately they had gone missing. Being honest, the factory trip was not as fun as the last trip I had had with Ronny. It was holiday time so maybe the lack of activity was more due to this.

Our final morning saw us meet up with Frede and take a trip around the new Struer Museum. This is wonderful - lots of exhibits and a few surprises - and our guide was wonderful (Frede!) Highlights included the system made for the Danish Royal family and the newly restored Hyerbo 5 RG Steel - finally with the correct knobs and with a B&O working system rather than the CD Walkman it had before.

In addition to the extensive and well laid out B&O display, there was a good display of local artefacts and industry including some wonderful Struer Kayaks. The coffee shop was excellent and the gift shop stacked with Tim Jarman's book!

We bade Frede a fond farewell before wending our way back to Esberg. Plenty of time to buy gifts for those left behind before boarding the ferry home. Plenty of time to work out what the next Beoworld trip will be like before retiring to bed!

Interesting morning! The GT6 battery was not quite enough to get it going today - it fired last night but only briefly - so it had to be pushed out of the garage and the 16 year old Camry was used to jump start it. I had filled it with petrol and topped up the carb dash pots before attemting a start and it started on the second turn of the key. Still 2 inches of snow here - at least in the drive - so have relived just how rubbish a light rear wheel drive car is on icy snow. Also remembered how rubbish the demister is - will have to check the tubes are actually attached!! - but it sounds good and everything is working - escept the fuel gauge which is disconnected. Walked back from the garage only to be rung an hour later to be told thatr it has scored a straight pass! Never done that before! Not bad for a 37 year old car. Walked back and picked it up - then had the fun of getting it back in the drive and garage! Slight slope up so ended up backing in!

Plan to get my CD5500 CD tray working properly - it has a disturbing resemblance to Arkwright's till!

Back in Newcastle following my trip to Eastbourne. Put up for two nights by Tim and Revai in Farnborough and have enjoyed both the company and the huge electronic skills of Tim. Have repopulated the house with B&O - in no particular order now have added a Beosystem 2400 with BM2400, Beocord 2400, Beogram 2402 and an MC40, a Beogram 8002 now working again, a Beogram 4004, a Beogram 4001 shorn of the CD4 board but working well, a Beomaster 6000 quad - I would have given this to Tim but he already had one, my MS150s - we tested these and they sounded terrible as if the woofer had blown but luckily it was just the protection relay that was corroded. Taking these apart merely reminded me how the cabinet making skills really went down in the last few years of wooden speakers. Ther M100s are almost as nice inside as out whereas the MS150s are very crude. They sounded increasingly good the longer they played so I will leave them playing tomorrow. Also got my mark 3 Beovox 5000s back and will be doing a quick restore on these.I might get the cabinets professionally restored so that they look as good as possible.Also back are my LX6000 - glitches fixed and Century - door now working properly.

Had a very short meet with Lee - clearly a very busy man and in the midst of his move. he has some lovely stock mind you - both new and old. Stunning boxed whiteline LX6000 was one gem I spotted - probably one of the best pictures you can get.

Will do the setting up tomorrow - time for a quick demo of MS150 against M100 - Tim reckons the M100 is just too complicated and that the MS150 should be better. We'll see! Also will get the GT6 ready for its MOT!

Supposed to be picking up a van to go to get my B&O systems from Eastbourne today as well as taking equipment to be repaired. Instead, will be walking the dog in the snow. I think travelling in the worst weather for 18 years would seem idiotic so am delaying - hopefully by only a week!

Not sure how many entries I have written entitled a new forum in the past - I think we must be up to abou 6 or 7 - but this one would appear to be the best yet. Staggered by the huge amount of work that Keith has put into this launch - makes my manual uploading seem very small beer! We are truly lucky to have him on board and of course Lee who bankrolls the site.

No new B&O at this end though plans are afoot to get some more of my collection up here and to get other pieces working. I am at present down to one working Beogram (well two as there is a 7000 in a box upstairs!) and three non working - the 4004, 4002 and 4001 are all victims of over use! So no recording LPs at present as the 4000 remains upstairs attached to the 4400.

Have to plan a trip to Denmark sometime this year to collect my 5000 system from Frede - plan to go with Lee and take in a trip to Struer at the same time. Maybe a time to try to do a video diary for the site!

Forgot about this section! I should have deleted it as it was really just to test it! But since you have been posting comments!

I have a custom built Triumph GT6 convertible made for me by David Aspinall of Anglian Triumph. GT6 chassis and running gear with a Californian Spitfire body, painted in Sapphire Blue with a Shadow Blue interior. Stage 3 2 litre straight six (The 2.5 was considered but is longer stroke so not so revvy) with twin HS6 S.Us. (Strombergs rot with unleaded fuel). Cost really stupid money - could probably have had an E type for similar money but I wouldn't drive one without worrying. Was shown at the 1999 Classic Car show. Officially a 1972 model so is counted as an Historic vehicle and therefore tax free!

On the B&O front, have been buying bits for my AV9000 - a STB-C and AV2 expander are on order and I need some speakers - will probably get 4000s because of where it is. 

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