 |
| What other show would give prizes to cars like these? |
The day began with an early morning trip to the Field of Dreams to meet friends from the Autoshite forum and lead their convoy to the event. This was itself an impressive sight with the Maxi joined by such delights as a Volvo 740 all the way from Glasgow, a very rare Mitsubishi Sigma, an early Mondeo and an amazingly scruffy Vanden Plas Allegro, but was nothing compared to what awaited at Claydon. This show really has become a mecca for the mundane and an impressive turnout of around 500 cars were in attendance this year from all parts of the UK and even some from overseas The atmosphere seemed more laid back too, suggesting the restrictions that caused some discontent in previous years were laid down by Stowe and the new venue allowed more freedom.
 |
| The unexceptional convoy hits the road |
This has always been a show with a difference: Ferraris and Rolls-Royces are out and everyday family cars are in, and seeing a McLaren hypercar banished next to a row of toilets while a battered Ford Escort was proudly displayed set the tone nicely. This year the age criteria was widened to accept anything made between 1966 and 1996, resulting in a strong showing of modern classics from the 1990s. It really was like wandering around a car park 20-odd years ago and I'll admit it made me feel old to see such childhood staples as Ford Mondeos, Renault Clios and Peugeot 309s exhibited at a show.
 |
| I remember when the Mondeo was launched, now here's one at a classic show |
With 2019 marking the 50th birthday of the Maxi, my car was booked into the new Anniversary Class and displayed in the walled garden alongside other vehicles celebrating significant milestones. These comprised another Maxi, a Ford Capri, a Rover 200, a Mark 1 Vauxhall Astra and a Bedford CF, and evidencing the international reputation the FOTU now has, a Fiat 128 and a Citroen XM that came all the way from the Netherlands. One surprising omission from this class was a Mini, the most famous of the cars with a big birthday this year, and there was an odd dearth of Minis as I only counted three in the classic parking.
 |
| The Anniversary Class: ordinary cars in a posh garden |
The Concours de l'Ordinaire once again featured around fifty hand-picked cars (and a couple of Honda mopeds) as the centrepiece of the event, almost all of which were new entries that had never been in the concours before. Standards here as always were incredibly high so the judges must have had a difficult time choosing their winners, and it's fantastic to see so many enthusiastic owners who would rather put so much of their time and effort into preserving one of these mundane cars than a traditional more exotic classic.
 |
| A brown Maestro in a concours competition. Only at FOTU would such a thing happen... |
Other attractions once again included cars from the heritage collections of Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Toyota, and the new "last one left" section for models of which only one example is currently taxed. Also new and very popular was a display of preserved commercial vehicles in once-familiar but now extinct colour schemes, such as an LDV Post Bus, an RAC-liveried Bedford Astramax and an Escort van in the old grey British Telecom scheme complete with all the period telecom engineers' equipment in the back.
 |
| This brought back a lot of memories |
One thing that did surprise me was the number of exhibitors who left early, in some cases before lunchtime. There's no way they could possibly have seen everything as I was still looking around the classic parking when the event closed and that was without lingering to study anything in great detail, so there must have been a lot of interesting cars I missed. That notwithstanding there was still plenty to see among the 500 or so cars in the sold-out classic parking, with constant expressions of surprise and nostalgia at seeing something either once common but now almost extinct like a Toyota Carina or always a rare and offbeat choice such as a Lancia Thema.
 |
| When did you last see a Lancia Thema? |
Something I love about this event is the unanticipated pairings of similar cars where you'd expect to see only one. I commented that a Roland Garros edition Peugeot 205 was a rarity, only to find another just half a dozen cars further on, and elsewhere were two matching pairs of Nissans: blue Sunnys and red Bluebirds. As the show wound down in the afternoon, cars of the same type naturally started getting together for photoshoots, making for an even more impressive sight of two examples of the same rare model side by side, Fiat Puntos and Rover 600s for instance.
 |
| Just like a 1990s taxi rank |
First prize went to my friend Trigger for his very blue and basic Morris Marina Deluxe, much to his amazement as he nearly didn't bother attending. His car has a great story, which is a key part of this event. It was taken off the road when just four years old with a damaged fuel tank and stored in a council lock up for decades until the council sent it for scrap. The second owner rescued it but lost three fingers attempting to replace the fuel tank so he came to hate the car and just left it in his garage before selling it to Trigger, who has finally put it back on the road for the first time since 1981. It's an immaculate, very low mileage and all original example of a typical 1970s family car and thus the very epitome of unexceptional and a worthy winner.
 |
| Base spec and bluer than the Stone of Galveston, a well-deserved winner |
In second place came a Vauxhall Chevette. The very antithesis of the legendary HS and HSR rally cars that usually take centre stage, this one is in thoroughly poverty-spec bottom of the range 'E' trim and again had a story to tell: the owner has known the car for its whole life and stepped in to save it from the crusher. The People's Choice award, voted for by visitors, went to a Peugeot 305 estate, something that pleased me as we used to have one as a family car, while the children had their own Junior Judges' Choice, awarded to one of the two Citroen BXs in the concours. I really don't know how the judges managed to choose just two from so many amazing cars with enthusiastic owners and fascinating stories that all deserve recognition simply for defying the odds and still existing.
 |
| Kids loved this diesel BX. There is hope for the youth of today. |
The Festival finished at 4pm but that wasn't the end of the festivities as it was back to the Field of Dreams for more merriment. Sadly Trigger wasn't able to join us but we did convoy with the winning car as far as East Claydon before going our separate ways. Another memorable pairing awaited: there are only two Fiat Tipo S models currently taxed and we arrived in the field to find both of them parked side by side! The atmosphere here was amazing and very relaxed, with everyone just chilling out, drinking, chatting and admiring each other's cars. With several guests camping, the good times went on long into the evening and I finally made it home a full 12 hours after leaving with hundreds of photos and countless great memories of an amazing day.
 |
| The country's entire roadworthy population of the Fiat Tipo S |
The weekend's activities weren't over though as I returned to the field on Sunday morning for more of the same, and there really is nothing like sitting in a peaceful place far away from the hustle and bustle talking cars with like-minded people. Finally going home felt like a real anticlimax after such a thoroughly exceptional weekend and I can't wait to do it all again next year. If you love cars and have never been to the Festival of the Unexceptional I would thoroughly recommend it: nothing else compares to its unique nostalgic celebration of the cars that used to be on everyone's driveway, it is without a doubt my favourite event on the calendar and I wouldn't miss it for the world.
 |
| The fun continued in the Field of Dreams |
Prize winners:
1st: Michael Carpenter, Morris Marina2nd: Philip Hunt, Vauxhall Chevette
People's Choice: Simon Gaisford, Peugeot 305
Junior Judges' Choice: Dan Goff, Citroen BX
Anniversary Class: David Loasby, Vauxhall Astra
Best Picnic: Mike and Judith Burkett, Colt Sigma
No comments:
Post a Comment