Run Of The Mill (Part 1)

The car shows have started and it was great to get out and about. I was excited all week and just hoped that the weather was going to hold out for us. I had a decision to attend a choice of two shows; Stonham Barns which I attend a number of times or a new new venue, Kersey Mill. I get a little hacked of with the old mates scenario of the Stonham barns which are same cars winning in the show and shine all the time. Kersey is smaller show, not by a lot it has to be said. After a mental busy day at work I was hoping for a good night sleep before Sunday morning. The dogs, made sure of that by playing musical beds, wanting to go out for a howl at the moon and just try everything in their books to cause havoc, I didn’t get much sleep. Sunday morning arrived the weather was dry and bright if not a bit chilly. The weather forecast was for a dry day for the first car show of the year – 25^th April 2021.

The car pulled out the garage and I loaded up with provisions for the day, drinks, food and sun cream! Optimism I guess.

The drive to Kersey was amazing, the roads were fine and I was on some minor roads for part of the journey so I could just plod along at my own pace and enjoy the drive. I arrived to a single entrance that I would have driven straight past if the marshal hadn’t of directed me to the opening. The car show itself was separated in seven different zones, and a number of car clubs were grouped together and the whole thing looked to be well thought out. The constant influx of cars was always moving and I have to admit it, well organised.

A little bit about the location; Kersey Mill is located just north of the Suffolk & Essex county border. Around 1860 Kersey Mill was a water and engine driven Stone Mill.  The three pairs of engine driven stones must have been amongst the last and most sophisticated stone milling machinery produced by Whitmore & Binyon, Millwrights of Wickham Market. Pic on the left below is borrowed from their website.

The Mill had the lead from the roof stolen which caused significant water ingress damage. The four storey Mill has since been undergoing restoration to rectify the damage. The completed result is a beautiful venue for weddings, photography, fitness, Arts & Crafts, boutiques, coffee shop, design, flower shop, or just a nice day out or go for a walk.

I parked up within in the Bury Retro Car Club stand in area seven, which was in basically in the back garden of some properties within the beautiful beautiful grounds.

By mid morning the club allocation was full. I managed to park next a friend of mine who purchased his 1965 Coupe in the middle of our lockdown last year. Parking space was as as you wanted and was nice change to being shoved in as close as possible.

The Bury Retro Car Club stand;

A group of us stood around and chatted, the first words out of everybody’s mouth was, ‘it was great to be out and about again’.

Chairs were placed at the back of the cars and quick wipe over of the car to get rid of the road dust and we were set for the rest of the day. Everybody was respectful and kept their distance. Those in the club and also the visitors to the stand.

I decided to go for a walk to take some pictures of the scenery and the cars. There was a massive selection of cars and not just classic cars. I decided to add a little section on the next post for ‘Part 2’ for “Dogs of the day”, that I spotted. The wife asked me to send her some pictures while I was there and walking around as she had never been their herself.

There was some run of the mill cars (pun intended – sorry), to celebrity cars. These cars were at the main part of the complex. The bottom pic was the BBQ which done the most wonderful smelling bacon rolls!

Just outside the main mill house itself was some real golden oldies, classics and a fire engine.

These cars in the group below top picture were Vauxhall Cavaliers, these cars were considered just use and dispose as mainly sales rep cars, now they are on classic car stands!

This pic did tickle me as a one of the worlds worst cars, this Lada was next to one of the worlds prestige marques Aston Martin GT.

Old 1973 Mk 1 escort next to one of the worlds sporting icons, Ferrari.

A beautiful steam engine just quietly chugging away with rhythmic precision and the unbeatable smell of steam. I believe this engine was over one hundred years old!

There was a section for TV star cars. All of which need no introduction. The A-Team van had been signed by all the cast and the sandwich boards had pictures of them signing it.

Faceman’s ‘vette

Starsky & Hutch car had me hooked as a kid, I so wanted that Ford Torino, it was the coolest car on TV.

No words needed from a Mustang fan:

The Simon Templar Volvo was amazing. The character was played by Sir Roger Moore before he became James Bond.

Some more cars from that area.

Part 2 will have the rest of the cars from the show and few cute dog pics.