No Pop this year, (waiting for an engine swap), & no Archie either, so I trundled up to London on my own in my daily driver for the afternoon. The Detonators had got the weather spot on again -blazing hot sunshine all afternoon, though very humid. The venue was Oxleas Wood Café, a lovely spot, hidden away behind an anonymous row of houses on the top of Shooters Hill, South East London. A narrow lane between the houses suddenly opens out into a huge meadow, rolling off into the distance, skirted by woods on either side, with a vintage café perched at the top. The trees are home to a colony of wild green Parakeets, (quite common in South London & Surrey). A perfect, secret spot. Plenty of room for parking & for spreading out picnic blankets, letting the kids run about, sitting in the shade, chatting with mates, or just watching the World go by. Nice.
Twice as many vehicles this year. Like last time, there was a large contingent of the South London United Trikers, (SLUTs), parked to one side of the café -think large pot bellied guys with matt black & chequer plated, car engined trikes. Unfortunately the VW & brand new Mustang crowds seem to have discovered it too, (I refuse to photograph them), which will surely kill it stone dead in a couple of years, but for now, it's still a cool get-together, with the emphasis on trad' rods & 50s cruisers.
"Big Bang Boogie", a 4 piece blues/rockabilly combo provided music for the afternoon & the café ran a barbeque, as well as their usual cooked meals. What more could you want.
Proving the sun really does shine on the righteous, as I opened my car door to leave, on the stroke of 5pm, the hot n sticky atmosphere let go with a torrential rainstorm of Biblical proportions. Absolutely hammered down, with flood water pouring down the hill, bringing the traffic to a near standstill. I did feel for the guy in the T bucket, sheltering under a tree on the A2. I thought of my bare metal Pop, with leaky windows & skinny cross ply tyres. Maybe taking the daily driver wasn't such a bad idea.
Seeya next year guys.
