Crawley Carnival
This last May bank holiday Monday I decided to head down to the Crawley
Carnival to check out the classic car show that is held there every
year. Club member Mark Walters first told me about the event, which
is in his locality a couple of years back but conflicts with other things,
had always prevented me from going. The weather for most of the weekend
was pretty dire but on the Monday it wasn't too bad so the idea of standing
in a field didn't seem too bad. I got there a little later than expected
and found Marks car, a '71 Clementine Orange 1302S parked up on the
concourse among quite a mix of interesting vehicles ranging from a '20s
Packard to a 70's Allegro (?) including a couple of hot rods.
I
have been involved with VW's for a few years now and hadn't been to
anything other than VW shows for sometime and I have to say this made
for a refreshing departure. I like all sorts of cars but seeing various
other classics strengthened my belief in the humble Bug, there really
is nothing else quite like it. This was confirmed by the number of other
people at the show who came over to talk to us about Marks car, most
had had Bugs or various Volkswagens at one time or another and were
pleased to see the Beetle on a concourse.
One
woman told us of a journey she made with her family in 1964 from Pakistan
to Wales in a Bug. Initially they had planned to sell the car and get
air tickets home but the car wouldn't cover the tickets so they decided
to drive it back instead, in the Monsoon season! The car got them home
with no mechanical problems whatsoever despite a hefty accident which
resulted in the car tumbling down a Turkish hillside, the occupants
were hospitalised for a week while the car was straightened out ready
to continue its journey. Apparently the mechanic said that in most other
cars the results of the accident would have been terminal for both the
occupants and the car, as it was after a short delay all parties were
able to carry on regardless!
We
had a look around some of the other attractions, which were predominantly
family orientated but ended up spending most of the day with the car.
We also took time out to talk with a couple of members of the New Waves
VW club who were also down there waving the VW flag.
All in all it was a pretty good day and as he has done all three years
he has been there Mark ended up taking home a trophy with his Bug reigning
supreme in the '70s class. Next year we are hoping to have a club display
down there so if you have a nice car and fancy something a little different
then stick it in your 2000 calendar now.
Matt
Sanchez
Runnymede
Due
to the fact that our membership is spread out over a large area there
have been many calls to organise socials in different locations. A suggestion
was made to organise a picnic at Runnymede for the second May bank holiday
and what a splendid suggestion that was! The venue was perfect, there
was a large open area where we lined up our cars and vans, with plenty
of space for the kids to kick a ball around and fly their kite and above
all the weather was great, something we weren't to sure about the day
before. In short a social where the whole family could enjoy themselves.
Some people took the opportunity to take a boat trip down the Thames,
and others even arrived by boat! The attendance was the best we've seen
in a long time, and it was good to see many new faces. I would like
to give a big thank you to Jackie for providing us with an endless supply
of drinks and hot-dogs and would like to remind that if you know of
a good venue with plenty of parking where we could hold a social, please
drop us a line!
Daniel
Van Boxel
