My final show of the season! At Old Warden Park, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. An event I’ve attended for about 20 years, although never before as an exhibitor. This year seemed bigger than ever, with dozens of classic cars and even more steam engines. Plus the usual vintage commercial vehicles, tractors and motorcycles.
The weekend included access to the Shuttleworth Collection, an amazing collection of vintage aircraft and vehicles, stored in hangars which I haven’t visited since I was a young boy. This included a wonderful 1939 MG TA which used to belong to the late Richard Shuttleworth, former owner of the estate.
We were treated to flyovers by many aircraft from the collection, plus some WWII fighters and bombers.
Having stubbornly refused to put the hood up on the MGB, I got caught out by the weather on both the Friday and Saturday, and found myself having to rush back to the car to hurriedly pull the tonneau cover over the cockpit.
One of the reasons I don’t like using the hood is that it’s such a chore to put up. It was made before folding hoods became standard on MGBs, so you have to take it all out of the boot, erect the frame, then put the hood over it. And it’s a devil of a job to stretch the vinyl over the frame.
Thankfully, with the help of some friends, we worked out an easier way to do it, involving waiting until the hood is clipped in place before extending one of the frame bars. So I learned my lesson and used the roof on the Sunday, which is just as well, because the rain really set in by mid-afternoon. Later that evening I found myself driving home in the heavy rain. Not something I ever wanted to do.
It was the first time I’ve ever driven the MG in the rain and I’d guess the first time in many decades that the car has even got wet. Visibility was poor and I couldn’t help fretting about the dreaded spectre of rust attacking my poor car.
But all in all, it was an excellent weekend and one I hope to repeat for many years to come.
