Hampshire Pageant of Motoring - 28th August 2006
Report from Tony Tucker

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Despite early rain in some southern parts, the weather was good for the newest event on the Club calendar and hundreds of cars of every conceivable make and age turned up in the grounds of Lord Mountbatten's historic estate at Broadlands, near Romsey, in Hampshire.

Making an immediate impression (as usual!) was Leslie Bennett, who arrived, fresh from his disasters in Le Mans, with French beret and 'tache. Leslie will henceforth be known as "le grand Prat anglais". It has to be said, though, that the home-made repairs to the damage done by the French lady in the Volvo ("Traffic lights, madame, I never saw them!") were masterly.

A fine line-up of Speedsters and two Spyders attracted a lot of attention throughout the day - disappointing, however, that there were 4 "no-shows" from the free tickets that I had sent out by request. Unexpected guests, however, included Gary, a new Club member with a mission to build a Speedster (who, needless to say, received copious advice from all!) and Rob Jones, who is now minus Chesil Speedster and awaiting delivery of an Intermeccannica Convertible D with an awesome spec.

The amount of stuff available from traders' stands was truly overwhelming and the motorcycle daredevil stunts were only marginally less impressive than the overhead display of near-suicidal aerobatics by a highly-talented lunatic in a bi-plane! Among the many stunning cars that caught my eye were a fully original AC Aceca, some elegant Rolls Royces (one complete with full drinks cabinet) and a large number of US T-Birds, Galaxies and Cadillacs.

Although many individual members will no doubt meet up at the Goodwood Revival Meeting in September, the Brighton Breeze in October and the Slough Swap-meet and Exeter Kit-Car Shows in November, this was the last opportunity this year for the Club to have its own designated area for a display of its members' cars and we gave a good account of ourselves and enjoyed an excellent day of sunshine, Speedsters and Spyders. The event will definitely be re-appearing on next year's calendar!

Incidentally, as will be seen from reports in the magazine, recent Club events have taken place in Derbyshire, France and Hampshire. With Devonshire to come in a couple of months, most members have no excuse for not getting involved!

Tony Tucker

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