Hello all:
I'd like to echo the sentiments of all who have written in and reported on last
weekend's British Invasion at Stowe, Vermont.
The old Vermont adage of "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes"
certainly didn't hold true. I've been to 5 of the 7 Invasions and can't recall
worse weather hitting for the entire weekend portion of the event. After a
rather nice Friday that included a fun driving tour and cocktail party the cold
front blew through, temps crashed and the moisture fell. Can you say "London
calling?" I usually like to show off our state for the many folks who make the
trek here but that was ridiculous. The scenery was socked in for the duration.
The weather is really usually not THAT bad! All right, it's that bad SOME of
the time.
Every British car imaginable was represented on the field including racing
cars, Aston Martins, brand new Bentleys, lots of dirty Land Rovers, you name
it. The Triumphs were definitely the class act of the show though and our
strong numbers reflected that. I counted over 35 of us TR6s. All the other
classes were DOWN from past years due to the rain but we seemed to hold steady.
There was some grumbling about the winner in both early and late model TR6s
but that's usually the case now isn't it? Just like the balloting for the
All-Star game. One strange Triumph of note was a TR250 with flared wheels, no
bumpers, and a V8 under the hood. The vanity tag said "Bad TR". No kidding.
One interesting change of pace was the grouping of all cars by colour on Sunday
for another round of voting. It enabled you to get a different look at all the
marques in the show and was actually quite nice. It also made gave people
another reason to return for the Sunday portion of the show.
Diversions included a cricket match, border collie herding, tail-gate
competition (where no expense is spared), and an off road competition. You
could drive new Land Rovers in the slop through the woods. I spent a good deal
of time helping out a friend who was running a flea market of sorts. He had
mostly MG and Jag parts but I threw in some TR6 stuff of my own and therefore
felt obligated to watch the table while he went and looked around. "Honest
Joe's, everything must go." It was my first time as a junk...er parts dealer
and it kept me out of the rain under the tarp.
It was good to meet fellow listers Henry, Phil, and Keith. Chris Bullock is
another Vermonter who I've known for a while and frankly his fancy car is
getting a little boring. Only kidding... Chris, beware of my jealousy rearing
it's ugly head :).
FYI, there's a nice medium sized show at the MG car museum in Westminster
Vermont over Columbus Day weekend. Before you put the Triumphs away come on up
and get in some prime fall foliage viewing with the top down plus another car
show under your belt.
Joe Merone
CF 18928
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