ISLE OF WIGHT AUSTINS
(A GROUP WITHIN THE AUSTIN SEVEN OWNERS CLUB (LONDON)
IOWA 'AUSTIN WEEKEND' – FRIDAY 18th to SUNDAY, 20th JUNE 2010
It is now 2 years since our last 'Austin Weekend' which now alternates with the 'ATDC Weekend' on the Island. Thanks to some fine weather, if a little cold at times, we had a very successful event. However, it did not start well for our visitors from Guernsey who brought 6 Austins to the Island. On the preceding Wednesday, the Ferry that operates between Guernsey and Portsmouth was taken out of service due to an onboard fire. The only other service available was the ferry to Poole, so on disembarking they then had to drive to Lymington for the Yarmouth ferry and finally arrived at their Hotel at 2.30 a.m. on the Thursday morning.
The Weekend got off to a good start when 68 visitors and members met up for a meal at the Propeller Inn, at Bembridge Airport. Once again there were many familiar faces amongst our visitors, many of whom have supported previous events over here. Before leaving, our visitors were given a ‘goody bag’ which contained samples of Island produced Cider and Rock as well as maps etc.
Vehicle wise, there was a good selection of Austins ranging in size from the 7 to a 16/6 Berkeley. There were, in fact, 28 visiting vehicles, including 2 Taxicabs (belonging to members of the London Vintage Taxi Association) and an Alvis Shooting Brake. IOWA members fielded 21 Austins and an Alvis TA14, some using a different car on each of the two days.
On the Saturday morning, the cars gathered at Godshill, where Viv formally welcomed everybody, before we moved off for a picturesque run to the Robin Hill Adventure Park and Gardens. We took our cars down into the lower 'arena' area of the complex which has superb views to the East. Here most of us settled down for a lunchtime picnic before exploring the various attractions which included a falconry display.
Later in the day, 80 people made their way to the Chequers Inn, at Rookley, for an Irish themed 'Social Evening'. We ate our food, many opting for Irish dishes, to live background music provided by an Irish folk group, the 'Last Orders'. During the evening we had a very successful Raffle with prizes being equally divided by visitors and members.
On the Sunday it was great to see so many Austins in the Godshill car park, with many of their owners in period dress. Viv did his usual Sunday morning welcome call - 'atencione', 'atencione', to bring everybody together to tell them about the days proceeding which started off with some judging, carried out by Steven Cross, joint owner of the Old Smithy complex.
The result of his deliberations were,
The best Austin, the one he would like to take home with him – John de Putron’s 1934 A16/6 Berkerley, from Guernsey.
The best dressed owner and passenger – John and Vivienne Brett.
Other awards made were,
Right idea, wrong car – Mike Jones, with his 1932 Alvis.
Long distance award – Brian and Dot Davies, who had travelled to the Island from South Wales, in their 1935 A7 APE.
Hard Luck Award – Sheila Puzey. Her A10/4 Saloon had a gearbox ‘seizure’ on the Saturday run. Nothing really serious - for some reason, the selector arm had become misaligned.
Steven presented the awards before 49 cars moved off to the Arreton ‘Old Village’ to join up with some 150 other interesting vehicles at the VHVC Classic and Vintage Motor Show. These were mainly from other Island car clubs and featured were Jaguars, MGs, Fords, Triumphs and many other makes.
The VHVC did their own judging of ‘visitors’ cars and Graham Maguire’s, 1937 A7 Pearl, from Guernsey, was awarded 3rd prize. It really is a nice example of the model.
Finally I should like to thank all those who organized and supported the weekend – it really was a great success.