"Mummy, look at that funny old car -full of funny old men".
Sunday morning, warm & sunny & Dave-Postie, Chevy Rick & I were wallowing sedately around the M25 in Dave’s trusty ol’ Consul. Yeah, she might be older than you kid, but she’s got more class than you’ll ever have.
Watching the speedo needle bounce from 40 to 80 & back again, we guessed we were probably cruising at a steady 60 or so. The 100 mph at the far end of the speedo looked wildly optimistic. Who needs speed when you’ve got style.
Dave says Connie’s just a daily driver, not a show car, so we parked up in the public carpark & strolled down to the showfield. As always, some gorgeous machinery on show. Where do all these cars go for the rest of the year? I’d happily sit in a traffic queue if it was full of motors like these. Beautiful Bentleys, lovely Lagondas, terrific Triumphs –even the ruddy Reliant owners club. Over 100 club stands & 2000 individual cars. Something to please just about everybody. Trucks & lorries, buses, vans, motorcycles, kit cars, cruisers, classics, customs, race cars –if you couldn’t find it, you weren’t looking hard enough. I picked up a few bits & pieces in the autojumble, chatted to a few people & generally ambled about, taking in the automotive ambience. Dave wandered off to find the Consul owners club & Rick …well I’m not sure where Rick disappeared to, but we all managed to meet up again at the end of the day, ready for the drive home again.
This is a great show –an enthusiasts’ meet for people who really enjoy their cars & love getting together to show & compare them. From Asian Londoners in body-kitted Japanese performance cars, to middle aged Stetson wearing line dancers in mural bedecked vans, to flat cap & braces pensioners in open topped tourers. All brought together by a mutual love of the internal combustion engine. The vehicles & stalls cover the two large fields of the Middlesex Showground & provide a full afternoon’s perusing. Well worth a visit.
In it’s 25th year, the Uxbridge auto show’s still going strong –much like Connie the Consul. Weary from the day’s wanderings, we trudged back up the hill & sank gratefully into the welcoming bench seats of the old Ford. Nosing out into the London traffic again, I watched the queue gradually build up behind us as we trundled slowly home.
See you next year chaps.

-Manky