Tag: classic cars

That’s The Ticket

Last Sunday was another sunny day and I was raring to go, the drinks and lunch were packed in no time and the ticket to get in was printed out the night before. Once in the garage I put all my day’s supplies on the slide top tool cart. I put Hedingham Castle waypoint into the satnav and put the cool bag in the trunk. I got in, placed the satnav on the centre console, put my sun glasses on and reversed out. The satnav journey was adjusted for ‘A’ roads not the country backroads that I knew were tight and were going to be very dusty, that would make the journey around six minutes longer. I didn’t care to be honest as I was already enjoying the drive. I was just cruising along without a care in the world until I saw the signs for the castle, and thought to myself best I get the ticket on the dash in order to get in. Nope, I had left it on the tool cart back home in the garage. This could now turn out to be just under an hour drive there for nothing, then the drive back home. Nobody was directing the traffic in with a few from this side of the road then a few from that side etc. it was a free for all. However – we are civilised drivers in classic cars and some were letting others in. I pulled into the entrance gate and there was the slowly moving queue to get in. I frantically looked through my phone to look for the email confirmation I was sent. I eventually found it with the poor signal slowing things up considerably. At the check point the lovely lady marshal asked where the display ticket was. I had explain what had happened and showed her the email. She was great and pointed me to the area to park up.

Hedingham Castle is just outside Colchester in Essex. The castle was built in the 11th Century, so it’s old!

I managed to get a look around the grounds before the main public was allowed in. I don’t know why, but I really like this picture of the row boat tucked under a tree. The mini castle was for the resident ducks that lived on the two tiered lakes.

I was parked up on the lower field this time as I wasn’t part of a car club and had a little glimpse of the castle through the foliage.

I took a walk around the lower field.

Perhaps my favourite ‘Modern Classic’ the mighty Audi Quattro.

Walking up towards the castle the steep driveway cars were parked on the left and right where I was parked last year when it rained all day.

Near the top is a main house which had this amazing steam car parked outside with a diagram of how it worked.

Parked in a little area under just before the bridge was some military vehicles which grabbed some attention throughout the day.

On the upper fields there were the car clubs around the outside.

Around the back of the castle was a bigger open area where more cars were lined up in no particular order.

This camper had an awesome roof rack, From the movie Gladiator, Maximus Decimus Meridius; “Are you not entertained?”

There was some rather tiny little cars that were proving popular.

The we had some red rockets, from Japan the epic NSX, Europe’s Lancia which became the main rival to the Audi Quattro in rallying and some muscle from the USA.

The other side of the castle had some more military vehicles.

After my return back to the car I started speaking to some lovely couples and we chatted the afternoon away. Wonderful people who owned these vehicles, it made for such a nice day.

Not forgettin’ mine which was parked next to that beautiful Cortina 1600E.

Throughout the day I let a few people sit in my car, and a family from Dearborn spent some time chatting to me. thanks to all those that stopped by, I was on verge of losing my voice I was talking so much. Some would say that’s no bad thing though! 🤦‍♂️

The journey home was awesome, I left about an hour early to avoid the busy leaving time and enjoyed a beautiful ride home. A great day out here when the weather is nice, slightly overcast and warm with some great people too.

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Americana (last) Car Show of 2021.

This show was held at Stonham Barns organised by the Knuckle Busters Car Club on the 19/9/2021. This particular car show was for American cars only and is usually well supported and this time around that was no exception. I arrived early and I was asked if I wanted to attend in the centre ring. Why not? Early bird gets the worm and all that. I parked up next to some stunning cars which made my car look like a Matchbox or Dinky toy!

I parked next to a massive Buick that could only be described as a ‘land barge’, such a nice car it was too. Me and the owner sat in our chairs and chatted most of the afternoon.

I decided to have a wonder round and take the pictures before the public came in.

I thought I would batch the Mustangs together here, but there wasn’t as many as I thought there would have been.

A car I had seen a couple of shows earlier, but I couldn’t get that close to before. Another iconic car from Ford – the Torino. I wanted that car so bad as a little boy. My nan even knitted me a Starsky jumper. Thinking about it; I still want one!

This Corvette was beautiful.

The ones next to it weren’t to shabby either.

Back to the other cars now and in no particular order.

Truck Time. I was speaking to the guy who owned the Viper powered truck, he said it scared him on two levels; one the petrol it used and the other was that the truck wanted to kill him!

We have to pause and and look at what Pontiac did when they created this gorgeous and much coveted car.

And my no means least, I was also strangely drawn to the taxi as well.

Throughout the day there was music and a really good live band with plenty of 50’s rock & roll with a little dancing as well.

The day was dry and warmish and didn’t rain for a change. A great day and so much American iron I wanted to drive home. But, I could only drive one home and that was my little lady.

So that’s it, my last car show of the season and the drive home was the scenic route to make it last that bit longer. I was sad the shows were over. There are some New Years day runs, or Boxing day runs but I don’t attend them as the weather is usually bad or there is salt on the road.

When I got home the car was wiped over with a quick detailer that is carnauba infused. The chrome wheels were waxed but not buffed off, the wheels also got a squirt of Gibbs Brand into the seams to protect over the winter. The tyres given a heavy coating of tyre treatment before being put in the garage. Even though my car’s garage has a radiator to keep the frost out and a dehumidifier as well that runs day and night; the car still needs protection. I intend to get the car out over the next couple of months to give the car a polish and proper wax ready for next years shows, providing I have two clear days of dry weather to do it. The wax I use is recommended to leave on and cure as long as possible. Which in my case is overnight. The next day I will buff and shine up.

I will still be doing updates and I aim for some car detailing product reviews, so keep an eye out.

For Sale:

I have been selling a few of these ‘T Park Lock’ handles and the feedback has been good. I even sold out my first batch and now the second has arrived. I’m even throwing in a free little key ring as well now while the stock lasts. Click here to go to the For Sale page to buy one. Press to lock system and simple to fit with no modifications needed at all to your car.

It was a good year for 2021 car shows, let’s hope there is more of the same for next year. But, this is the UK after all and it rains – a lot! So I’m not gonna hold out to much hope that they will all be dry and sunny. We can live in hope though.

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Stonham Barns

Thanks to everybody who sent me messages from my last post(s) about the number of cars within the posts. The consensus was ‘the more the merrier’ so here is a fairly large post in one go. I have been a little busy with car shows and trying to catch up with posting about the shows, I can’t complain as this time last year I had only a couple visits to car shows. This post is about Stonham Barns which took place on the 15th August 2021. A free for all show where anything goes age wise and there is usually a good mix of cars and some car part stalls as well.

The weather was supposed to be dry, it didn’t look great, but at least it was dry. I left a bit later than normal and thought it would still give me plenty of time to get in. Wrong, I hit a queue to get in, I normally try to get to the shows early to avoid this very scenario.

After twenty minutes or so I eventually got in and had a cyclist who cut across the front of my car causing me to brake while he was going to the car boot sale which was in the adjacent field. As I had my window down this lycra clad clown started with “Am I holding you up?” I responded with an equally sarcastic; “Causing me to brake and avoid you then yes you are.” He started with some rambling rubbish which I couldn’t hear (I was so upset about that – not), as my engine was purring away. He did shout “nice penis extension” at me as he prepared to ride off. The cars were moving in front of me again, but I did pause to instantaneously shout back to him; “At least I don’t dress up to make myself look like a pr!ck”. The other people wandering into the car boot show started to laugh at him. I didn’t give him time to respond and moved away with a few revs on to drown him out. I enjoyed that, so funny 🤣 Classic Car Owner 1 – Cocky Cyclist 0.

Still chuckling away to myself I drove into the field and was directed around to the Bury Retro Car Club stand and parked up. Here we are all lined up.

It was a busy day with lots of cars and plenty to look at. So in no particular or I just wandered up and down the lines.

The weather was cloudy and sunny at alternating intervals all day, which is fine by me.

American, British, Japanese and German all together. The little Audi in this set was amazing and I just loved it.

I’m not sure what this truck is in the first picture but it was massive, and I liked it.

This Ford Escort isn’t my cup of tea, but the guy had spent plenty of time on it that’s for sure.

The white Vauxhall Cavalier in the first picture used to be a firm favourite with Sales Reps, almost disposable. Yet here we are 25 odd years later and it’s in a classic car show!

This proper old school Ford was just beautiful.

The weather started to turn with a little drizzle which didn’t last that long or even dampen the atmosphere.

I spent quite a long time speaking to this guy who only had the car for a little while. It came with a box full of sales receipts and invoices and not to mention a few boxes of spares too. I was surprised to see an I6 under the hood, but he says it cruises great and is such a smooth ride.

I reckon that the Custom, Galaxy and the Chevy must have been the biggest cars there.

I’ve lucky enough to drive the a Harley Truck, it was like sitting in my favourite chair at home, such a nice place to be.

A few fast Fords, 60’s Lotus Cortina and a Sierra Cosworth.

You just beat the fins on these American master pieces.

The stalls weren’t that bad either. I’m not sure what was going on with the screw on aftermarket exhaust tips, they are mounted horizontally as a rule, but like they say – rules are meant to be broken. I’m not that rule was though!

I eventually got back to my car for a well earned sit down and a sandwich. The Cortina GT parked up next to me was a nice example and the owners were thinking of selling it and had a few interested people ask about it.

And to finish up with some dogs I managed to grab a few pictures of.

A great show with lots of nice people to talk to. The weather held of and the drive home was nice and relaxed with no signs of self entitled cyclists to ruin my journey home.

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Most Revealing….

For a number of years since I started my blog I have keept my identity off the web. A little background as to why. My blog was intended to be a diary of the build progress of my Mustang and nothing much more. Somewhere to store my thoughts and photos if you like, my build diary. The posts back then had a little write up so I could read it through a number of years later. That little diary has evolved into something much more now, almost a website with lots to look at, obviously something I’m very pleased about. I now do reviews of car detailing, books, tools, memorabilia, collectables and articles. After a few early posts on the blog I started to get emails from people to say they enjoyed what I was doing. Thinking about what was happening I stepped up my game pretty quickly and started to create more how to guides, processes and instructions on what I had done or I was doing at the time. This of course was a view from a man on the street who had never done anything like restoring a classic car before. I made mistakes and they were corrected with the help of Mustang Maniac and all was well again. All of that hard work comes to a giddy height when I go to a car show. Late November 2019 I was invited to attend the “Lancaster insurance Pride of Ownership” at the Birmingham NEC. There was ten of us (finalists) there and I did a comprehensive write up of the show over the three days which it ran. The only downside was that it was marred by cheating of the winner which I proved and fully documented. All that aside there was some massive plus points about that show too; I meet some wonderful people, shared many laughs, got foot ache, back ache, lost my voice, I got a severe case of larringitus thrown in too, all in the name of a great time at a car show. And where is all this going you may ask?

Well, during the time at that show I was asked so many questions by many people. A few people recorded a conversation via mobiles etc. One notable instance was a nice guy who wanted to take a photo of me with the car and recorded what I was saying. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking at the time, but I agreed and so the photos were taken and his questions were answered. I thought no more of it. That was until a couple of weeks ago, when out of the blue I was contact by a weekly journal called “Classic Car Weekly” here in the UK. A link to their website is here. There was a couple of phone calls and emails to confirm a couple of points. I was asked if I had any photos of the original state, just a few maybe around 4,500 or so at last count. I had to pick a few out to send them of the car during that long build process over the four and a half years it took to complete.

The result is that I featured in this week’s edition of the paper released on the 8th April 2020. If you are quick you might even be able to get a copy. I even made the front cover;

The article is a full page interview and pictures.

The main heading refers to a reveal; where there it is, a picture of me.

To mark the occasion I bought a copy or four, one to read, one to keep prestine and the others just in case.

Now that you know what I look like, please come and say hello if you see me at a car show. That’s of course providing that Corona virus doesn’t keep us locked down and we can actually get to a show this year. I need to drive my car, it’s been five months now – FIVE MONTHS, just sayin’!

Until that next car show, keep safe and stay at home.

UPDATE: 13/4/2020

I have been asked by Richard if I can make a readable version of the article.

As requested here is a high res scan of the article converted to a PDF to download.

ccw-8-4-2020Download
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End Of Season Show?

It’s almost the end of the car show season and I have potentially attended the last car show of the season for me. There are two more shows in my diary that I intend to go to, one of which is at the end of this month and the other in the middle of October. Past experience tells me that these are going to be rained on due to the UK winter being under way. So I won’t be getting the car out for those, even if there is the slightest chance of rain.

Last weekend was the Fornham Classic & Sports Cars by the lake show, a lovely setting that is more like cars by the large pond rather than lake to be honest.

This is a popular show and you have to be booked in, to get in. There is a huge selection of different cars on display without it being to big a show that you rush around to see it all. The weather forecast was for a sunny day and it did last all day I’m pleased to say. The car show is only located twenty odd minutes away from me, so I even had a little snooze before I needed to get up and be there by nine thirty. I arrived at the farm’s turn off and we were ushered in without hardly any delay, they had opened both ends of a field to filter the cars in. A great job by the marshals all day in fact. I was parked up and a huge Plymouth Road Runner pulled up next to me, now I thought my car was long! So less words and on with the pics. These were taken as I worked up and down the lines of cars.

There were some amazing super cars there which I have grouped together here;

Perhaps the best looking Fiat to be accepted as a Ferrari, the achingly beautiful Dino!

Then ultra modern Lambo, the first I have seen in the wild as it were.

A nice selection of Mustangs, both old and new;

Some super old pre war category cars;

By around lunchtime the show was packed and full to the brim.

Then I found this Triumph at the end of a line, for me this was my car of the show.

Yes, that really is two child seats that pull up in the trunk area almost hanging out the back of the car. Seat belts? Nahh, not in those days.

Some more of the cars that caught my eye;

When I got back to my car I decided to get the hood up and compare the Plymouth next to mine. It must have been a good half meter longer than mine.

My final arty pic of my car, please with the shine on this one.

I hope I have a more shows to finish the year of nicely. But, I’m not gonna get to excited just yet though, knowing my luck the clouds are already gathering for me. This is a popular show and seems to be getting bigger by the year, but with the other hugely popular show in the area ‘Nowton Park’, being cancelled this year because it got to big for the small car club organisers to handle believe it or not. This show looks like it would need to restricted the numbers, or at least make it only for cars that are over twenty years old. There was a lot of cars that were pretty much brand new in show, like I have said before, I can go to any super market car park to see those. And yes, that goes for the new Mustangs as well.

If this is the last show of the year for me, it was a great way to end the season.

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On My Own

Last weekend was another double header car show, both of which I was looking forward too. On the Saturday was the Knuckle Busters shows at Stonham Barns for American cars to be held over the full bank holiday weekend, that’s four days if you read the leaflet. Then on the Sunday it was Lavenham Classics Car Show. Last year it absolutely poured down with rain, a show that I left early from as it was that bad. So this post is a double car show delight. The weekend was promised hot days everyday and they weren’t wrong.

Saturday: I got up a little late as the snooze button was to much of a temptation as the dogs couldn’t settle and kept me awake for a fair amount of the night. Everything was ready the night before and I just had to fall out the door and get in the car. Knuckle Busters is an all American affair which I was eager to be a part of. I arrived at ten(ish) thinking there would be a queue to get in. Driving closer to the main entrance no cars. They were doing well with the marshalling. Then I got to the main entrance, I was told it would be £10 to enter for the day, it was £10 each day actually. When I looked at the field it wasn’t full and they marshal felt sorry for me (I think) and let me in, free. I was told what area to park in and I could take my pic. The options were (not) limited.

I checked the leaflet to make sure I had the right day!

Yep, Friday, Saturday, main day on Sunday and leave Monday so it says. A little bemused I wandered around the only stall that was set up and listened to the conversation. People were supposed to turned up Saturday evening for the bands and not during the day for a pre show as it were. Well, apart from the odd car, I was the odd one!

The food stalls weren’t open so I was missing out on a bacon roll, people were wandering back to their caravans while pulling barrels of water which were dotted around the outside of the field with the odd American tucked up next to them.

After an hour nothing was happening, for the first time at a car show I was bored. I had read the news on my phone, checked my emails and posted a social media or two. I heard a nice v8 rumble and got excited, only for it to coast go back to the caravan. I was the only car on the ‘Show Field’. I played a little game – I decided that I was the judge for the day.

Obviously I won the (imaginary) trophy for ‘Best In Show’. 😂

I know this is a good show on the Sunday, but don’t post it as a weekend event if it’s not!! The funny thing is that I filled up with fuel on the way home, I had a couple of conversations in the petrol station about my car which was more than the whole time I was at the car show. 😀

Sunday: Up bright and early with everything being set out ready the night before. Not quite so local this show, but it’s a beautiful drive through the countryside with some wonderful scenery going through some tiny little villages. Lavenham Classics Car Show is a charity event and cost £10 to get in. I arrived at the gates as was marshalled in, there was no queue. I pulled into the field and people were parking up. I was shown to the American area and Again I had pick of the area as I was first there. I parked on the end which would be one of the first cars you see when you walk in and look to your left.

This is a unique show as it’s arranged in a circle and not straight lines. shortly after I arrived and messed around with the cleaners I started to chat with the other arrivals. A ’67 Convertible, and a lot newer Roush powered S550 Mustang. There was also some Corvettes who took up the rear of the area, we were all spaced out nicely. I took a walk around the relaxed and very friendly show, I just walked around clockwise.

This Renault was a huge car and a full nut and bolt restoration.

This very early MG had a rare kit for a bolt in super charger.

A few super cars turned up which were parked near the entertainment tent and the BBQ food. There was a guy on an acoustic guitar that played a long set which included a couple of Pink Floyd songs, one of which was Wish You Were Here, simply brilliant.

A Beautiful Bentley

The rest of the cars.

Then back to our Americana little section.

There are a number of behind my car shots, if you are wondering why; I had the luxury of finding some shade instead of keeping out of the rain.  😎

The overall view from my slightly up on the hill pearch?

This week I was going to post a little bit of work I had done on my car after the Stonham Barns show where I left early. That can wait till the next post now.

A great weekend with beautiful weather for a UK bank holiday for a change. 😃

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Am I Cursed Or Jinxed?

This car show is how it should be, cars that are at least twenty years old with nothing before 2000 was allowed in. I hate to say it, but a few still sneaked in! Some recent car shows I have been to there are three or four year old cars on show. If I wanted to see cars like that I would just walk around a superstore car park on a Sunday! Anyway, rant over; this car show was held at Stonham Barns which is about twenty minutes drive from where I live. The weather forecast was promising with only thirty percent chance of rain. The sky looked good, so I decided to go for it. The show was packed and there was lots of variation of cars still arriving at the cut of point of ten o’clock. I parked up and decided to go for a look around before the general public was allowed in.

There was some nice auto jumble stalls which I spent a little while looking around. It’s funny, that when I was looking for stuff like this – I could never find it!

So as is the norm now, in no particular order except that I started at the furthest end of the field and worked back towards my car.

There was a nice club that was showing some nice UK Fords,

Plenty of Americana represented as well,

Some old school beauties,

On the way back to the car there it was, a spot of rain. I walked quicker and it seemed the faster I walked the more it rained. I bumped into a friend of mine David who was walking towards me on his way back to his car, he said “I’m not coming to any more car shows where you go, it always f…..g rains where you turn up.” Said in the best of humour and we laughed as we passed. As I got back to the car it was pouring quite hard and I spotted this;

I checked my app and it said it would rain, it wasn’t wrong. I hung around for about half an hour with no signs of it stopping. With that decided that I had had enough of looking at my car getting wet.

The only good thing is that my Chemical Guys P40 Quick Detailer was beading brilliantly. I have reviewed it here, if you are interested.

Now here’s the thing, I had the right hump and got in my car and started the drive home. This is no word of a lie here, as I pulled into my own village the sun came out and started to pour heat rays all around. I pulled straight onto the drive and watched the sun cast shadows everywhere as I dried the car from the remaining few spots of rain. So I arrive at a show it rains, I leave a show and the sun starts to shine. So who ever has the rain cloud effigy of me, please can you give me a break (not literally obviously). I’m really starting to get a complex now.

Am I cursed or jinxed? I honestly think so! 🙁

The remaining part of the day wasn’t wasted as managed to do a bit of work on my car in the sun which I will go into on the next post.

The best part of the day, while I was there that is, was that I spotted my local Meguiar’s products retailer. I was speaking to them and they said that they had some samples. Great, so I had one of each of course, so what do you do with the samples?

You pour the samples into the products you already have. Most samples don’t give you enough for what you want to do with them to be honest, but this way you can make proper use of them.

You saw it hear first 😉 

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Helmingham Hall Car Show 2019 (Part 2)

As promised this is part two of the Helmingham Hall Classic Car show where I moved to the private entries where pretty much anything goes. As the day wore on the weather was warmer and the visitors just kept coming in. I spoke to many people that day and even a guy who purchased a new ’65 and wanted some pointers. By the time he had finished talking to me and David, we think he was sorted if not a little worried about what was ahead of him!

So in no particular order – some more cars;

Some military vehicles.

More random cars.

Some pics of the location.

This massive car took my attention, I have no idea what it was, but it certainly makes a statement!

This little guy was on a photography stand, he was just loving all the attention he could get!

There was no rain, and leaving was a straight out breeze, maybe because I left half hour before the rest of the fields. A great day and the show still lives up to my expectations. Can’t wait for next year now as well.

Note to self: get there earlier!!

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Helmingham Hall Car Show 2019 (Part 1)

The weekend just gone was a busy one with one of my favourite car shows of the year, stunning cars and beautiful surroundings. The weather for Sunday was a sunny start with the promise of a nice day, all day. Helmingham Hall was built in 1510 and can boast Grade 1 listed gardens, in other words; significant historical importance, the same sort of historical status as Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge or The Houses of Parliament etc. Only 2.5% of all the listed buildings in the UK are Grade 1 listed in fact. Anyway, I met up with my mate David who has a S197 Mustang at a truck stop for a little breakfast before we set of with the few other Mustangs that had arrived. We were to depart in convoy and arrive at the halls around twenty minutes later, or so we thought.

Through the villages, we cruised through and the locals were out to give all the classic cars a wave as they passed by. Half a mile out we hit this little lot, with a complete standstill and the temperature rising there were a number of upset people, me included.

The temperature was rising in the car as well, not so much the water, but the fuel was being evaporated from the carb. The result was a car that was starting to run a bit rough on idle. I turned the engine off, as did many of the cars behind me. to stop boiling over and save fuel allowing them cool off a little. Many opened their bonnets (hood) to allow it cool quicker.

After forty-five minutes to an hour or so we eventually got in, starting the cars up and moving a few car lengths at a time. Repeating until we got in the main gates. Cars were boiling over and there really should be a better system. So sort it out Helmingham Hall – myself and fellow classic car owners were not impressed at all.

I parked up with the Simply Mustangs UK Facebook group who had a spare ticket for me to get in, so I was lucky I was on a stand.

Getting the car clean was a long job as the general public were being allowed in as we set up the club stand. I was almost on the end until a new Bullitt parked up next to me. Once we were all buffed and cleaned, I took a few pics of the cars from Simply Mustang UK stand proudly on display.

It was interesting to see the comparison of the old and new Mustangs in respect of the engineering.

As it was such a nice day the car parks got full pretty quickly and can be seen on the fields in the background of some of the pics. The venue was busy, very busy.

There was a variety of food tents cooking all day not more than twenty-five meters away from us that made me hungry all day. There was a dance floor surrounded by hay bales with dancers and even a bird show with owls and an old timer vulture.

But enough of all that, the cars, lots of cars! In no particular order, I just wandered around and took a few pics of what caught my eye.

Super cars were there as well.

Then onto more club stands.

The odd car was for sale!

At the front of the Halls there is a reserved area for some cars, I’m not sure how they get there each year, but they have a beautiful backdrop to their cars.

The next field over was for the private entries which will be in Part 2 towards the end of the week.

Watch this space 😀

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Horses for Courses

There is an English proverb which is “Horses  for courses” which basically means different people are suited to different things. I liked the idea of the heading as this car show was held at Newmarket Race Course. I’m certainly not a horse racing fan, but I do have a lot in common with ponies and horses, the original Ford Pony cars and how many horses I can unleash under the hood that is. Anyway, I have had a little surf of the net and found some history of the Newmarket Race Course:

Racing in Newmarket was recorded in the time of James I. Charles II was known to attend races on Newmarket Heath with his brother, the future James II. The first recorded race was a match for £100 between horses owned by Lord Salisbury and Marquess of Buckingham in 1622. The racecourse itself was founded in 1636. Around 1665, Charles inaugurated the Newmarket Town Plate and in 1671 became the first and only reigning monarch to ride a winner.  Up until 1744, the two most valuable races run at the course were the King’s Plate and the Town Plate. Two more Plate races were added in that year, paid for by local traders, both worth 50 guineas (a coin of approximately one quarter ounce of gold that was minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, worth around £1.05p in modern money). The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, where much of the gold used to make the coins originated- one was a race for five-year-olds carrying 9 stone, one was an open age race in four mile heats. Another paid for by landowners was a four-year-old race over four miles, each carrying 8 stone 7 lbs. At that time, formal races at Newmarket only took place twice a year – once in April, once in October. Since then many, many more big race meets have been added to the calendar making it Britain’s premier race venue.

Newmarket is hugely influenced by the horse racing set, and all the money and trappings that go with it. Some beautiful houses around the town which are some of the most expensive I have seen in the country side with the land that comes with them. Also without a doubt the horses are looked after properly at the race course with rubberised walk ways where the horses walk, the place is spotlessly clean. There is a huge betting presence there to take your hard earned cash from you with plenty of viewing areas, but not as many as thought there would be.

When I was at Elveden Car Show a few weeks ago, I was handed a flier for this event with a lot of hype for new cars, classic cars, children’s entertainment and stalls. This was the second year for the event and was going to be bigger and better than the previous year. I found out that only a handful of classic cars attended last year.

On arrival I was directed in and told to follow the path round to the main display area. Being greeted by another staff member who decided that I was heavy so I wasn’t allowed on the grass, so I was told to park out the front of the main building just on the corner.

After parking up and cleaning the dust of the car after the drive to Newmarket I had a look around the other cars. There wasn’t a lot to look at all, there was however a lot of new cars from sales rooms around the area selling their stock of brand new and used cars. I believe this was the main purpose of the event and the classic were asked to attend in order to get people into the place and provide some other interest.

And there was a very well dressed older gentleman who was the ‘car expert’ there. He said this was the first AC Cobra made and was worth millions.

He was partly correct as the Original AC (chassis number CSX2000) is indeed is worth tens of millions, it was also in left hand drive and it’s certainly not left unguarded at a Newmarket Race Course. However the pretty lady immaculately dressed and dripping with some expensive jewellery, who was about a quarter of his age I reckon, looked (almost) impressed at his knowledge!

The other side of the main building was where the car dealers from all makes who were selling cars at discounted prices and where the majority of the people were to be honest.

Even a few great looking motorbikes were for sale along with a few couple of classics.

There was one car (I think it was a car) that caught my eye from Renault. I did try and get in the ‘car’ but I failed (very) miserably I might add. I got shoes bigger than this car in fact.

There were a few Mustangs there all be it this first one was a statue and not a Mustang from what I could work out from my very limited horse knowledge.

Almost opposite me was me was an Aston Martin race car that previously one its race the week before. a 740bhp ‘detuned’ to 600bhp to allow it to race.

The entertainment was a generous term unless you wanted to eat burgers, have a go on the racing simulator or play the electronic driving range for the golfers out there. Neither of which were exactly busy should we say.

 

The only stalls was a home made sweet stall, a bloke selling a couple of old workshop manuals and the plod with a Porsche GT4 they use. Now I know where my tax paying money goes, not on the maintenance of the roads, oh no. It’s being spent out for these jobsworths so they can sit in flash cars and eat donuts all day! They just wait on slip roads waiting for a motorist doing a couple of miles over the speed limit instead of catching murders, grooming gangs, knife crime and rapists in third world capital city now called ‘Londonistan’! Rant over. Before you say it; no I’m not jealous – I am not a Porsche fan and never have been. Great cars obviously, but they just don’t do anything for me.

As the day wore slowly on after running out of things to look, I wasn’t feeling to well and just sat in my chair, in the shade and reading a free newspaper I was given on my little walk around. I even asked an official if I could leave early as I wasn’t feeling great, but health and safety guidelines said no, I had to stay until 4.30pm. I thought it was just the sun, but it turned into something a bit more for the next couple of days. But to add to my woes the general consensus of the day was they public could sit in the cars of the dealers. The public thought that this applied to the classic cars as well, I had to stop kids pulling on the handles and I made a point of telling one bloke who opened my drivers door before I even locked it, I was getting my chair out the trunk at the time. He had taken of his back pack, dumped it on the floor and was about to get in my car. I told him to pay some respect and to ‘ruck right off’ should we say, those that know me will know exactly what I said. He just didn’t like the idea of me stopping him. One thing was for sure, when it comes to my car, there was no way he was getting in it. His girlfriend did come over to apologise after he walked away. I was not amused and never moved from my perch watching the car at all times when somebody got near it.

On the plus side, have you noticed that I didn’t mention the rain? Well it didn’t rain and the sun was out all day, at long last my rain jinx had been broken. 😀

As there wasn’t a lot to take photos of I tried a few different ideas for a few shots. Where I had parked the car it was a little slope, so if the car looks as though it leaning to one side, it was.

Newmarket Race Course was a lovely place to be, but I doubt I will go back there again. Such a shame, it could have been so much more, it wasn’t as though they didn’t have the room either. I think this last pic sums it up for me. The day had its ups and downs.

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