What a great little event!
Met up with Archie at the workshop, bright 'n' early at 7.0.clock this morning -well,
I was bright, Archie was nursing a rum hangover from last night. No problem, a quick blast in a rattly, bumpy truck with no glass in the windows will soon sort you out. Maybe.
An hour later after filling up with fuel on the way, we trundled into the carpark in the village of Shere in Surrey. "Carpark" is perhaps an exaggeration. It was a freshly harrowed field at the bottom of a hill. "Are you racing or spectating?" the marshal asked. "I'd love to race, but we're not booked in". O.K, over there then please". After the 4th marshal had asked the same question we were beginning to think we should've just said Yes. Yes we are, & joined the cars in the paddock.
An amazing mix of machines were assembling there. Everything from Lagondas to Lamborghinis, Jags to Javelins, Audi Quattros to AC Cobras. Beautiful, every one of them. We bumped into Mr Renegade as we wandered along. Nice to see you Dave.
Somehow the organisers had managed to get permission to close off a country lane for the day. We chatted to "Farncombe Pop" from the Surrey Street Rodders, who told us they have endless problems organising their annual Wheelsday Show a few miles away. Getting permission to shut a public road for a motoring event is practically unheard of, so presumably someone, somewhere had the clout to have a word in the right ear. All proceeds went to local charities & they were expecting up to 2,000 spectators at 8 quid a head, so however they did it, it was worth it.
Although the road was shut, it was still subject to national traffic laws, so technically they couldn't race -it was billed as "A cavalcade of interesting vehicles". Some drivers were Calvalcading a lot quicker than others though. 120 cars left the bottom of the hill at 2 minute intervals, giving 3, 2 hour sessions over the course of the day. The track was a mile long gradient in a more or less straight line, broken up by 3 straw bale chicanes. There was a scaffolding viewing platform at the start line, but after that it was a matter of walking up the side of the fields & finding gaps in the hedgerow to watch the action through. Spectators munched blackberries, picked from the safety hedge as drivers wrestled their machines through the chicanes just a few feet away. A car would clip a bale, sending a cloud of straw into the air as they shot past, a bloke with a broom would wander out & sweep it up, only for the next car to hit it again. Safety equipment consisted of a flat cap or perhaps a flying helmet, goggles & a determined expression. Splendid.
As we were stood at the side of the track, in a field in Surrey, miles from anywhere, a fellow spectator spotted my MMMotors jacket & said I saw your truck on Chelsea Bridge in London a couple of months ago. How bizarre is that. Actually, London's only about 15 miles away & from the top of the hill we could see the Wembley Arch & Heathrow airport on the horizon & could see the planes moving on the runways.
It was a lovely Autumn morning with perfect clear blue skies, but as the first session finished & we made our way back down to the paddock, an ominously black cloud bank appeared in the distance, moving rapidly our way. Driving a bare metal truck with no glass in the windows, on skinny little crossply tyres, we're very wary of the weather & sure enough, 5 minutes later the first rain drops began to fall. We did a quick tour of the paddock then decided to make a run for it. 2 miles down the road the heavens opened in a deluge of torrential rain, complete with thunder & lightning. Good job we'd left the hill when we did. It absolutely poured down. We pulled off the road just round the corner from the cottage I used to share with my ex girlfriend, Tazet, to shelter under the trees till it passed, the water gushing in through the unfinished seams of the roof. As we sat there, soaking wet in our mobile shower cubicle, with steam billowing off the exhausts, Taz drove past in her Subaru. Wonder if she saw us? You're in a hotrod, with your name on the door. Yes, I think she saw you.
We headed for home & by the time we'd got to the other side of Guildford the rain had stopped & the sun came out again. So we pulled into the railway café in Alton for lunch. We munched a full English fry up, followed by apple crumble & ice cream & watched the railway commuters taking photos of the Pop on their phones. I enjoy driving my rod & love going to driving events, more so than just static shows. The enthusiasm of both the drivers & the spectators for the vehicles & for making the most of the meet, is really infectious.
Hopefully the rain passed & they were able to
race, cavalcade, again later in the day. I really enjoyed it. It was something a little different & I hope it becomes an annual event cos I want a go next year.
