Northern Celebrity Rodder Pete Whiteside arrives early, to avoid the riff raff but was caught by the Rodding paparatsy.
Northern Celebrity Rodder Pete Whiteside arrives early, to avoid
the riff raff but was caught by the Rodding paparatsy.
We were woken early Saturday Morning by what sounded like the Mongol hoards coming over the hills to kill all in their path and ravage all the women.. Then I realised I was at a Rod Run and it was just the V8's all around camp bursting into life to go on the cruise. Saturday was cruise day and it started by being rainy and cold... what a bummer..
Come 12pm though it became all sunny..ish same as it did last year and the cruise got underway and was well patronised. It was great this year I could zoom ahead and get a decent location to watch all the cars arrive at the Cruise destination.
They arrived in dribs and drabs at first, then the hoards came and looked real
impressive, with just one guy in a green mk2 Cortina estate getting some road
rage from some enraged Numpty in a 4 x 4, don't know what went on be this tractor
driver was not impressed with him!
Jim Fairbairn from Scotland gives the 32 an airing .
Model A looked mega cool.
Sturdy Bird has the right of way and who would argue!
Shaun Wilson off camera does a great traffic cop impression to keep the traffic
flowing freely.
Rays Rods Plymouth followed by a stunning Chevy Truck is it Gary Morgans old
one? It had some stunning graphics on it advertising the owners business I guess
Nitro Clothing was it? my memory is crap and I refuse to take a pen and paper
when I have to do that I am giving up, as I will then be taking this far to
serious ;o).
Some people preferred Pop at the pub!
While others wished they had drunk pop the night before... Whirling Dervish
Dally, dies quietly back at camp no more booze for me ever again!
The cruise venue pub is a nice country pub with food and fine ales on tap, with music playing outside to entertain the Rodding troops. Me and the wife had a nice walk along the picturesque canal towpath with our dog, enjoying the sunshine and getting cheery Hello's from all the narrow boats owners as they chugged by... how heavenly was that feeling as we came back into the cruise car park seeing all the Rodders and great looking cars, music playing all to the backdrop of a canal, bridges and narrow boats interspersed with the odd uncorked V8 sound...!! Coool some locals may not share our enthusiasm but lets hope they do practice live and let live! to many noise abatement pillocks about these days, as they feel it is green! friends of the earth but sod the earthlings eh!
A40 Vans looked Groovy!
Once back at camp the funfair was in full screaming swing, the NASC had negotiated with Drayton Manor to secure it so all us camped at the Rod run got free entry into the Fun Fair and adjoining Zoo all weekend. My old mate Odgie was hooked on the tall thing that takes you up slow and then drops you quick.... strange guy that Odgie.. I spoke to Mike Noble who had never ever in his whole life been on a ride at a funfair..... his first ride was on this very same up and drop ride, quickly followed by the roller coaster where you ride stood up and he vows he will never go on anything every again :o)
I managed to get away with a look round the Zoo ;o)
Picture of rodding family bliss, junior fires up the mini rod, mother irons
while father soaks up the sun.
Crazy Consul or is it a Zephyr? looked and sounded mega!
It is great to be at a Run on the Saturday you get all the fun of the Show day without the crowds and the cars are moving to which is even better.. I had a look round the trade stands and sussed out what I wanted to get on the Sunday..
Début at a Rod Run for Nige Lockleys amazing Hi-Tec zipper style 34. this was
the first time Nige had run the coupe and boy was he pleased I don't think I saw
him without a smile on his face, bit different from when I last saw him.
Really these photos do not do this stunning piece of Street Rodding Art justice,
the paint colour and execution is mind blowing. The Neil Tadman interior is
sumptuous, Nige did have lots of headaches getting this beauty finished though I
think a lot of it is his own unyielding strive for perfection, and absolute
perfection in my mind is impossible and sometimes unreasonable a demand from the
person not doing the work... but that aside this is about as close as you can
get in workmanship. Whether it is to your taste or not it is quite a stunning
piece of work.. There were a handful of cars here this weekend that blew me away
the others will be on the Sunday page. One quote I absolutely pissed my self
when I heard it, was two guys stood looking at it and one turns to the other and
spouts. I don't like the front suspension it just looks like Cortina sprayed
silver "what?" are some people nuts or are some people nuts! Its naffing carved
from solid ally with slots and grooves with coil over shox, Cortina is
pressed steel with big coils??? Just enjoy it for what it is fer crissake its a
Car its a Rod it aint a nobbing factory built sheep! But what do I know ;o)
Me and the wife finished off this fantastic day of Rodding
bliss, with a superb Chinese washed down with a
couple a lagers.. Ace we was now ready for what the night had in store for us.. Bloody Rock
a Billy :o)
When we eventually made it up to the Club house/ Function room it was absolutely
rammed a lot more people in than Friday night. Though the immediate bar area was
quite empty and we got served real quick, as they also had loads of staff on,
great I hate queuing. Mind you at £2.50 a pint a little bit of queuing might of
been beneficial to my wallet, my wife paid for the fuel down, now it looked like
I was paying for everything else ;o(
The crack was good, though we sat in the room where the band and disco was on all night. So I didn't get to talk with anyone else but the people we came in with, which was great but I also enjoy having mingle which I didn't do.. Mind you I did get to meet Ginner? ( Phil Middleton) who had built a fantastic Chevy pick-up I had admired all last year.. and he has just sold it, wish I had bought it, as mine wont be a patch on his yet will cost about the same as he sold his for *gutted* Another absolute hero of mine was also there and I never realised who he was, as it had been so long since I last seen him Al O'Conner Wow Al Bloody O'Conner what an amazing guy. I don't know him to speak to, but I watched him Race all through the late 70's and 80's when me and my mates used to go to the pod every meet.. here he was now with a shaved head (last time I saw him he had long hair) with flames tattooed where his hair used to be and a long plaited goatee with a bell on the end..... Cool or what and he was grooving to the beat.. I felt like a catholic in the presence of the pope ;o)
The group played really well and sounded like real hip cats.. though not my type of music at all. But I enjoyed em all the same as I like live music and I imagined how wild this music must of been in the 50's when the older ones had been used to the big band sound, now all the teenagers were listening to the Devils music.. The disco was crap on the Saturday ,while Friday seemed Ok?? same guy maybe just the how the mood takes you eh!
We finished the night off back at my caravan un hindered until 2am when security
told us to turn off the generator so no argument there.. Here my dog gets frisky
with anyone she could *Hussy*
Great weekend so far with show day still to come!