Top Billing!
The NSRA 34th Billing Fun Run
Sunday or lets have a look at your's day!
Is that really Chip.......................Car mad you lot ;o)
Woke up again without a hang over, so I must of been behaving myself, though I think it is more if you just stay up that little bit to late Whamm your buggered all the next day. Not recommended when it is so very Hot and you have a long day ahead of you + a drive home... Yep I am getting Old and there's ya proof to damned sensible.. if only my old mates could see me now, they wouldn't believe it, me being sensible...
I was up with the crack of dawn, but the less said about that the better ;o)... Tension was still high from the nights East Enders saga, but I wasn't going to let it taint my day of Rod watching. Again it was hours and hours and hours while the family got showered, pruned and fed.. and nearly 12pm before we got on the show field, Romeo and Juliet had kissed and made up, but the Sun over the weekend coupled with the trauma of the night before had taken its toll and one of our ships went down.
When we arrived at the top end of the showfield and looked down, I could not believe my eyes, the sheer amount of Cars was truly mind blowing.. I have never seen a showfield so chocker, Rods, Trucks Kustoms, Yanks and a few odd balls. But mostly real nice good quality stuff, hardly any Kak, and with such a massive amount of cars that is a true show of the respect this Run has generated over the years.. Also I guess because its held further down south and coupled with real nice weather that must of helped swell the ranks..
Two super cool 30A Coupes, unchopped, bobbed rear fenders, chrome smoothies, low lights or B grill and no hood top, channelled and five spokers... you choose Yum Yum I say!
Chris Hay (forgot how to spell it), latest creation, (remember Rapid Plumbing) well that was Chris's. How about the gorgeous Cream 36 Dodge of his equally gorgeous wife's Michelle and you get the picture. He sure can put a great Rod together or to be pedantic Great Street machine and Rod together OK ;o). Dave Rothwell paint sure don't hurt either. Dave has also got to be one of the best paint guys in the Uk.. Stunning!
We as a family had a long look round, it sure is great letting, the likes of my Son his wife Jenny and my Grandson see what I am into first hand. My son and his wife seemed to be really impressed by the quality and workmanship on so many of the Rods on display. But the heat was getting to them and they wanted to get back home early, so they left and we started a 2nd circuit taking in the Trades stands. I bumped into Ginner and really wanted to pick his amazing paint working brain. He told me about his latest work, which was a Tangerine coloured 39 Ford and how it just came in for some front suspension work and he ended up doing the whole caboodle.. He is one of the coolest guys in Hot Roding, mad as a box of frogs but more talent than Van Gough! He aint on his own mind you in UK Hot Rodding talent, but he sure is up there with the best that's for sure. I gleamed some tips on how to attack my Truck body prep when the time comes.. but I think I need to bend his lug a lot more yet before I will be happy about doing my old slapper of a Truck.. But he was in a rush to catch up with his mates and my gang had long gone... so it was short and sweet but very helpful..
This is the 39 Ford Ginner has just done for someone, not sure who. But as usual the paint job is stunning and body prep etc mind blowing so so so perfect. Next to it is Ginners own ride, that is equally stunning but more subtle in blue. At the botom of this page is Ginners old Chevy Truck if you needed any more convincing that Ginner is one of the Uk's best Rod building talents... If I had the dough Ginner would be my choice to paint and prep my Truck... we can but dream... Rock On!
Red 37 was a fresh import I think, real classy flamed 38 Willy's suited the billet treatment for surs.
There were quite a few more Bikers there with the Chopper Club and they looked quite at home amongst the Rods and equally tattooed Rodders, I bet they were impressed.. I know I was ;o)
 
Sorry I know this is a Rod web site but ya gotta love stuff like this dont Ya.
Not really a lot else to say?.... it was friggin Hot, it was packed, it had an electric Funday feel to it and John Price was on form... There were some beautiful looking women walking round...but shhhh the wife was with me most of the time ;o) I bought some parts from Geordie Paul, enquired about some more parts coming through Kerry Tate, looked at some amazing cars then decide it was time to bugger off home really ;o)
Paul Golledge real Groovy 35 Pick-up is one of my favourites, I give it my most like to drive home award.
I couldn't believe it when MrT drove in WoW one of my old time favourite Rods, I can always remember seeing a photo of it in Custom Car. The photo was of Barry Treacy the owner sat in a traffic jam in London with a double decker bus behind it and a guy on the top deck was peering down trying to get a better look. Great Photo, I will always think of that photo when I see this T. Different paint job from what I remember, I am sure it was Blue then.. Part of Uk Rodding History for sure, if we only treated our Rodding history like the yanks do, it would be worth a fortune..
I am not a Volky's fan... but how could I not include this photo............. Sexy "if ya know what I mean nudge nudge wink wink" ;o)
Oh yeah nearly forgot, bloody typical of me. I thought I had got through the weekend without making to much of a knob of myself... I nearly had made it to.. I was emptying the waste and stuff from the caravan as we were getting ready for the off. I spied a face I knew real well... I shouted "Richard?" in a enquiring manner... no response.... so I said it again louder and right at the guy "RICHARD?" that got a response..
"Oh Hi how you doing" "I'm doing fukin well mate, yaself? "yeah fine" and so on it goes for ages. I asked about his F100 and his Cool as firk Blown 34 that he had bought of Billy Gabb a few year back.. I know "Richard" so well and we had a good old crack, we walked back down the camp site he his wife and I. As I went back to my caravan. I shouted "Goodbye, Seeya Richard... great to see you again tarra mate!" . Back at camp I was telling my missus how I had just met Richard with the cool 34 and he now has an F100 like mine and so on....
Then I get a cold sweat come over me..... fuk. fuk, fuk fuk.... damn tw*t arghhhh he is called friiggin Ray.. not pissing Richard... bugger I have done it again... so sorry Ray Cadd if you read this, or anyone else who knows him that can tell him I apologise... I knew who he was, just had his name mixed up with another I had in my head... sorry Ray.. Bugger!!
Time to go home.
I know purists would have a field day pocking sticks at the Red one, but fuk em.. something about it that just looks cool as chuck to me! On the other hand this steel 32 is the real deal, even used genuine 32 panels to repair the rot ;o) Cool
Anyhow, we were all ready for the off, to beat the traffic jams, and me old mate Pudzz said shall we go see the Trophy presentations see who won?.. I am not a lover of Trophy's for top ten, but it is great to see a few top rods all together, participants choice is good, or showing appreciation to guys who work hard to put on an event like this etc. But top ten causes bad feeling in my eyes.. .. anyhow it was so bloody hot we couldn't stand to be with the crowd at the prize giving, so we found shade out back and saw the winners lined up and watched a few drive round, then we just could stand the heat no more and decided we best get on our way home.. as it was 260miles away.
Well that put a cap on the weekend..
I seem to have a lot of B's and A photo's this time? They are all real great Rods for sure.. just seems a lot now I am putting them on here.. This Pink 29 owned by Teresa Butler's really does make me smile it is so Ace, I love them pink wires and massive lights, real groovy.
Ahhhhh sanity at last a couple of Trucks... Not sure on the years Ford looks mid forties (since been told it is a 47 Jailbar Ford hey not far out eh) Thanks Langy. Hudson was Mad and will be stunning after its wash and brush up I recon.
I was real sad to leave, don't know why? I almost had a tear in my eye? Can you remember as a kid when you went on holiday for a couple of weeks, and you cried when you had to leave well it was like that ;o) I took one long last look back and the site of all the Rods lined up or starting to head of home, was just so amazing, I think that was what did it.
I dream of coming next year in mine, I hope I make a good job of it, so it can stand shoulder to shoulder with the others that were there and I don't have to hide it away, funny what wizzes though ya head when you start getting a bit emotional...
Again I didn't feel I did everything I wanted to this time either, loads of people I wanted to spend time with I never did, loads of cars I wanted to look at properly and talk with their owners about.. hey maybe next time, bye bye Billing see you next year *sob* Ha Ha ;o)
Part of the 34 line up taken later in the afternoon and the Pop Line up in all of its glory
On the way home we came out of the garage a few mile up the road from Billing, after a fuel stop and saw Mickey Tebbs in his sons 32 Roadster, a Candy Red Phone Booth T, and a Black 32 Coupe moving along real quick, we caught them up at the traffic lights, and I couldn't get my camera to work? Once they set off though, we couldn't stay with them and as they hit the M1 slip road, they just disappeared into the distance and heavy traffic, they looked fantastic.. what a buzz that must be eh!
Later Tony Grayson in the Hi-Tec 34 style Dooster came whizzing past, up the M6, looking cool as fug... and sorry again no photos, I took so many my camera battery had given up the ghost... I was gutted I can tell you and even more so when Brian Watson in the wildly flamed 47 came wazzing past later ;o( Brian sure ain't afraid of using his Rod as he comes from Scotland and still had quite a trek ahead of him though at the rate of knots he was doing it wouldn't take him long..
So can I just take this opportunity to Thank the NSRA guys and galls for putting on such a fantastic and professionally Run, Rod Run weekend for us. and all the people who took their amazing cars to Billing, making the show the best one ever.
Also the guys who camped with us from the ukhotrods e-mail group for being such good company as always. Craig his wife Tara, Dusty Laugher, Debs and Natalie, Paul Nichols and bird (I forgot her name) Rob (Prunhog) and his wife, anyone else I met and gave me the time of day at Billing you made my weekend total fun... " Hugs" Holmsey xxxx
P.S Billing has been sold and it was thought that maybe this would be the last ever Billing Fun Run, I did hear rumour they are putting up a few more hundred wooden chalets.. But since this weekend, the NSRA guys have had a meeting with the new owners and they actually loved us being there and they took a lot of money... so we will be back next year Great news eh?........ never end a sentence with a supposition how many times do I have to tell you ;o)
Random photos. Sorry I seem to have erased ?? my Top ten photos?? something real weird is going on with my compter?
Lee Robinsons Horny 34 looks great as ever and you just might be able to prise it from his hands if you have 20 large.. See I do know some people and cars... er unlike this Ace chequered 32.
Desert Rat Gasser 37 Chevy Coupe is crazy... I should know who's this cool 32 is.. but I have forgotten Oh it was in the top ten I think..
Ginners owd Chevy Truck Awesome.. no better Truck anywhere I say.. er some as good Ha Ha but not better ok ;o)
Fuk a Gold F100.. alright who keeps telling people how I am doing mine then eh! Come on own up... ;o) Nice Job so easy to create a Turd if you get Gold wrong... now where's that paper .. for mine that is Ha Ha .... Bye.. I am knackered now.. and still loads to do..
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