Mini 35th Birthday Party - Part 2 of 3
A journey of discovery shared by myself and Lucy a 1983 Mini City (998cc).
Woke up early (for me) on Sunday after a terrible nights sleep, rushed
breakfast, grabbed my ticket, camera, programme, money (very little as I
am unemployed - this trip was financed by my SO, Jane) and left the house.
Another bright sunny day, Lucy had been very frugle with the water and oil,
always a good sign! So off we went.
Event 1: Met up with my first Mini convoy about ten minutes down the road,
so again my negligable map reading skills were left untried. The three of
us nipped along happily, till they suddenly did a u-turn at a round-about
to go for petrol. Lucy and I weren't alone for long though and soon you
couldn't move for Minis - quite literally - as we queued outside Silverston
village.
Event 2: All real journeys should have a near death experience. Fortunately
this trips didn't involve me directly (bad ASCII map warning)...
M
M
M
M
C>
L^
Mm
M
M
M
M
M is the queue of Minis heading North, L is Lucy, C is some other non-Mini
turning onto the road to head South (on the Eastern side of the road), m is
a number of German motorcyclists who decided they can't be bothered to
queue and will drive up the wrong carriageway (heading north) - clearly a
recipe for a nasty accident as C pulled out looking the correct direction
as the bikes approached from his blind side. Fortunatly Lucy's little
horn was heard above the roar of bikes (and various big-bore Minis) with both
parties coming to a sudden but safe halt - thankfully.
Event 3: Still sitting in the que, having taken a quick photo, pulled away
and BANG! BIG misfire, much to the amusement of the three guys in the
clubman behind me.
Event 4: Still in queue, splutter (and it's sunny :-(
Event 5: Entering the car park in a looong queue of Minis when - NOTHING!!
As in no engine noise, stopped, dead, etc. Lucy has DIED!! :-( She refuses
to start, and the driver of the clubman and an attendent help me push her to
a parking place :-( Brief look at the engine reveals nothing obvious (believe
me it would need to be if I'm going to notice it). Take the number of my
breakdown assistance with me into the show...
Event 6: Mini heaven! Lucy had died and taken me to Mini heaven with her!
Everything and anything Mini - stickers, t-shirts, toys, stalls filled with
original sales leaflets, workshop manuals, magazines with Mini articles,
Mini hats, bags, jackets... Mini junk like you would not believe, every bit
of rusty, dirty, old, new, original still in box, knob, bracket, trim,
engine etc you could wish for. Complete cars for sale in all states of
repair. Stalls with every performance part you have ever dreamed of - twin
cam heads, four-pot brakes, minilite wheels, fibreglass shells, tyres
almost as wide as a Mini. Notable names included Cooper, Downton, Broadspeed,
along with all the major tuning companies. And of course there were Minis -
big ones, little ones, long ones, short ones all shapes and sizes, all
colours, all ages. Particular favourites of mine were the one millionth
Mini which was given as a prize in 196? and is still owned by the guy who
won it, a Swifttune Britax Cooper (it was yellow) and a host of works
Coopers. My favourite sticker bore the slogan (not sure if this will
translate well in America/Canada) - "My Mini is the dog's bollocks"
There were in excess of 50 club displays, locating the Mini Clan
by their flag pole proudly displaying the Scottish flag, I explained my
situation and they offered to help later in the day. I spent most of the
day wandering around in a state of bliss trying not to buy anything!
Eventually the combination of stress (no money dead car) sunshine and
shiney Minis conspired to give me a storming head ache and I decided to call
a day at about 3:30 (about 6 and a half hours after I arrived)
Event 7: Decided to see if Lucy would start - went into the carpark. Usually
it is easy to find a bright yellow Mini in a carpark - this carpark was end
to end Minis. Something was wrong with the carpark too - I'm sure my carpark
had a slope on it... ah - another carpark ... also full of Minis... and
this one has no slope either... Oh dear this could take some time... after
the fourth car park I came across an attendent, "weren't you the guy who
broke down? Your car is just in the next field..." Met another attendent,
"yours was the one that broke down, right? It's just throught there". Clearly
I was the ONLY Mini in goodness only knows how many thousand that had
expired in the carpark!
Event 8: Lucy starts first time! We splutter back to Oxford. I am dispondent,
it feels expensive... :-(
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