EVENTS 2002 (Page 4)

Loseley PArk      Queen Victoria Concours

WHITE HORSE RUN III 

This year's event returned to Loseley House in Guildford following the Foot & Mouth epidemic last year. The day was gorgeous and overcoming the first obstacle by entering via an unmade, dusty and stone spattered track we made it to the sloping lawn in front of Loseley House itself. After signing on at the MG Car Club marquee we found our place right in front of the Club stand as the third car in the post 1954 Premier Concours. Having won the "Car of the Show" last year there was no option but to enter this class. Competition was tough with two excellent MGB GT's - congrats to David Ethelston who won the class in his blaze GT. 

There was a good turnout with a lot of entries in the various POO classes as well as the Gymkhana and Autotests. Well done to Elaine Osbourne who won the post 1954 premier POO in her MGF. 

Amongst the cars there were some oddities a nice Vinyl bodied MG 18/80 from 1931, an Arkley bodied Midget as well as a good selection of NG's joining us for a day out. The MGC register used the event for their summer run and ran their own competitions - there were certainly some nice C's on display including one with a severe "Do Not Touch" sign !

Picnics were de rigeur on what was certainly the best weather for an MG event we had experienced this year. It is amazing how much better an event can be when the weather is nice.

The quiet sunday morning trip around the M25 augured well for the day - no traffic jams and the sun was already beginning to warm away the morning dew - it looked like another MG event was in for a nice late summer day. Having followed the internet AA route directions and got totally lost we relied on the old fashioned skill of  looking at the map so, after turning in the opposite direction, we soon found our way to the Met Police Social club in Chigwell. The site was already filling up with MG's and many other makes of classic car when we signed in at the Anglia Centre Tent. After taking our place in the Post 1920 Concours line up and the obligatory pre judging polishing, wheel shining etc etc we took a look around the rest of the show. 

The Queen Victoria Concours is latched on to the Chigwell Show which provided for many more distractions including , craft fayre, huge fairground, side stalls, tombolas, Crazy Bears, a plethora of double glazing stands, Vehicle dealer displays and plenty of food outlets from a complete pig on the Hog Roast via  Beer tent, Ice Cream, Curry, Candy Floss, Indian specialties and fresh doughnuts. There was also the biggest bouncy castle I've ever seen, it's a shame that my kids are too old now or they would have loved it. 

In the afternoon we were treated to arena displays by the Ling Honda motorcycle team leaping through fire and the Royal Marine cadet mini Royal Tournament as well as a parade of MG's. Throughout the afternoon aerial activities were evident with a 5 minute ride in a helicopter for £20 and also visits by HEMS (the Virgin Air Ambulance) and the Metpol/Surrey Police Helicopter. If that were not enough then there was a lone German Bucker BU131 Jungmann Biplane defying gravity and the Met Police Parachute team dropping in from a circling helicopter.

Back to the Queen Vic Concours there were plenty of other cars other than MG's on display - The Jaguar Owners club brought a selection of e-types and XJ's - The Triumph Owners were there with a display of TR's up to the MG death knell of the TR7 - A good selection of US vehicles including a nice pink Thunderbird - a display by the Modern Ford owners club pitted Cortinas against Escorts (including a very nice Mk3 with a completeley chromed engine) - Several Classic Police vehicles were also here with a nice Ford V8 Pilot, a Kent Police MG TC (in the concours) and the more recent Ford Sapphires  - numerous other makes from a lovely Allard Palm Beach to a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow were also dotted about the showground. Later in the day the most recent car turned up in the shape of a TF straight from the showroom on new registration number day. If you had a spare £25 then  you could even get a nice pencil sketch of your beloved MG  to hang on the living room wall.

On the competitive side there were various classes from A to J with assorted categories of Pride of Ownership and two Concours classes plus major awards for specific vehicles. JayPeG came away with runner up in the Post 1960 Concours and the Blueprint Shield for Best MGF. After the prizegiving some of the winners formed a semi circle for the official photograph - watch out for it in "Safety Fast".

It looked like a nice day as we turned our 147 horses in the direction of Abingdon for the MGF Register's White Horse Run number three. Abingdon is the Spiritual home of MG despite the fact the modern cars are now  made in Birmingham ! We passed the huge BMW /Mini factory just outside Oxford and soon slipped into tranquil Abingdon. There's not a left of the factory now but we did feel a little twinge as we drove in to Cemetery Road and up to Kimber House, the old gate house for the factory shadowed by the Admin Block where Cecil Kimber himself used to work. There were several F's already there when we arrived but we found a space in the corner of the small car park ready for our coffee and jam scones to set the day off. It wasn't long before the car parks were full of F's and TF's and late comers had to park straggled along Cemetery Road. Having signed on and had a look around the MG Car Club nerve centre we mingled with the other F'ers admiring the gleaming paintwork on display and pondering over Duncan's latest dip in to the dark side with his double hydraulic spoiler all the way from America and his silver MG Logo's. It certainly seems to work like magic, whenever we had him briefly in sight on the run he would  just disappear  in a cloud of dust. There were over 40 cars in total which I believe is the best yet for this run and the weather actually looked good as well (at first).

We set off in a beautiful long line of cars all turning out of the old factory gates together and headed out of Abingdon and in to the countryside for the first of the White Horses. This happened to be at Uffington where we stopped to see the Horse at close quarters although a lot of us seemed to prefer to study large 99's from the Ice Cream man and work out why Neil's hood wouldn't go down properly. He needed to know as there were the first signs of rain in the air as we approached the ancient stone circle at Avebury for our lunch stop. A small group of us decided to wait for up to an hour for food at the overstretched Red Lion Pub right at the centre of the ancient stones but we were nursed by a pint of Old Speckled Hen (of Course) so it wasn't too bad. Others decided to picnic in the National Trust Car Park now filled with lines of F's or take tea in the cafe whilst tuning in to mysticism of the large Sarcen stones.

The rain was all around as we set off on part two of the run which was punctuated by stops to put the hood up, then put the hood down, then up again and so on as the showers persisted. We passed three more White Horses prancing across the hillsides before we arrived at Littlecote House and the great circular drive at it's front. We managed to get the F's right around in two rows and they made a great sight in front of the ivy clad exterior of this historic mansion. Tea and biscuits were waiting in the Great Hall which were very welcome whilst we sat at the grand banqueting table. Time for  a stroll around the house and grounds before the circle was broken and the F's all started to make their way back to their own stables after a really good White Horse Run. Luckily the resident ghost didn't follow us and we all made it back safely.