It's been a while since I made it to a RR meet, so finding out my brother could get everything legal and ready on his Skoda Felicia (bit of a rush, but we managed it) and a friend of mine needed help with moving some stuff, we trundled over to see what was what.
The meet feels a bit top heavy with the new stuff but it's probably more 50/50 split between retro and modern. It feels modern oriented because they're parked in the most prominent area of the car park and make the most noise, particularly this meet with the stereos that set off car alarms and the popping exhausts. I find I tend to leave by 9pm and just leave them to it, but certainly the atmosphere of the meet feels like it's approaching more of a cruise than the quiet, family-friendly atmosphere it used to have.
I don't mind the modern stuff, some of it actually has some great ideas for poaching and some of it is well put together, it's more the behaviour that goes along with some of the owners (retro/classic owners aren't immune to this themselves). The meet has become quite large, so this sort of diversity of people and cars is to be expected, but it's sad to hear that the presence of modern cars and their exuberant owners is keeping some of the regular classic and retro owners away from the meet. Easy solution is to split the parking into post- and pre-2000 so you can focus on what you like, it's not like the venue is short on space for it.
On to the pictures, at any rate. We'll start with what ended up getting called 'The Naughty Corner', though I can't remember why. A little bit of BL solidarity in the form of a Montego, a very nice sounding Marina TC 1.8 on banded steels and of course my very own beige barge.
The Marina drew a crowd and photographers from the moment it arrived, and kept that crowd all the while I was there. Quite rightly too, it was spot on and I doubt I could see a thing that needed changing.
A Peugeot club arrived and parked together, sadly most of my pictures of them didn't come out.
This Honda looked far better in person than these pictures give it credit.
I liked this Polo, it's one of the few Mk2s that make the Pirelli P-slots look right.
Golf Cabriolets were out in force too, presumably another club. Again, many of my pictures of them just didn't come out.
There was another bit of BL wonderment, the kind of car I'd love to own providing someone else was paying for my insurance and fuel.
I suffer from IMHS (Irrational Minilite Hatred Syndrome), so the wheels were a personal let down on this otherwise smart looking Mk1 in an unusual colour.
There were a lot of cars there tonight. I did get a few overview snaps, but this is the only one that came out.
This pair of BMWs looked nice, but then they are one of the few BMWs I like.
Starlet monster.
Three very different approaches to the same car.
Met Mk14dr and his land barge. Apparently, he doesn't have a boat license for it because you don't need one on a canal.
It's a struggle to get the whole thing in one shot. If it were for sale in a London boutique it would be described as 'shabby chic' and cost a billionsquillion pounds.
To finish off, here's something from the other end of the size scale.
Genuine Suzuki Alto Works bought off eBay on the strength of the advert and transported to the owner. He'd never seen one before, or even driven it. This last picture shows you how small this awesome little kei car really is.
Providing all goes smoothly I'll be at the next meet in the Princess, and if I'm really lucky I shall have swapped more beige out for purple.
