In 2011, the MG TC Owners Club in Western Australia I celebrated its 50th birthday with a dinner followed by a weekend of celebrations at Collie, 200km south of Perth. The plan was to drive TC 7937 3,499km across the Nullarbor Plain from Ballarat with a friend, who would then fly home. I was to be joined by my wife Brenda, and we were to drive the return journey. Going over was uneventful, except for three flat tyres, but fate intervened. Our daughter became seriously ill and required immediate surgery. Brenda was not able to join me, so the return journey was cancelled.
The same club was to celebrate its Diamond Jubilee on 29 May 2021, and we received an invitation to attend. Afterthe previous disappointment, we were eager to do so but a little apprehensive with state borders closing on very short notice as Covid outbreaks occurred. Australia is a federation of states that retain autonomy in respect of health measures. This creates significant difficulty for an interstate traveller during a pandemic, as we were about to discover.
