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Beaulieu 2010 - Going out in style
For the sixth year running we had fabulous weather at Beaulieu for
the National Mini Cooper Day. Well, not only has Don previously
pointed out that 'God drives a mini' but the almighty now has his
ear bent by Stephen Smith....and who would be brave enough to go
against his wishes?! I think this year the weather was the best
ever as it was sunny but not too hot...just perfect in fact.
The events field looked a treat with all the hard work put in by (in
no particular order) Richard Norris, Trevor Molloy, Colin Woodage,
Mark Walker, Steve Walker, Richard Gardner, Graham Lush and Rob
Sharman. I turned up on the Saturday morning to set up the
information caravan. I had never seen the showground empty before
and was impressed how these guys can turn a few empty fields into
precisely marked out areas, Mark Walker in particular who not only
plans the concours and register display but executes the plan with
brilliant precision. Although I do believe he was walking around at
lunchtime on Saturday with one white shoe where he had needed to rub
out a few erroneous lines - done by one of his team no doubt!
The Sunday morning started bright and early and no sooner had the
first shift of helpers been sent to their designated areas than
James Martin turned up. Linda Sign, Wendy Sharman and I did have a
few silly minutes of excitement which made Gill Gaskill chuckle and
my son Ben raise his eyes in disbelieve that three slightly (and
here I mean only slightly) past the first flush of
youth women could behave in such a fashion!
We had a little additional fun this year with a two way traffic
system. This caused a few headaches but on the whole ran smoothly
and a fleet of Minis were soon visible as far as the eye could see.
I spent most of the morning running backwards and forwards making
sure everything was OK and filling in where needed. I was so
engrossed I even forgot to collect my Mini for the register display
until Mark radioed me asking where it was! The driver from Beaulieu
motor museum, who took her out to the showground, was a very tall
man and I think he has now won the prize for the biggest man ever to
fit inside a Mini! Steve would have been proud of the old girl's
entrance with a big crowd to witness her arrival and I think she
must have enjoyed her outing for the year.
Graham Robson did a fabulous job commentating for us throughout the
day with the girls in the information caravan keeping him supplied
with food and drink. He had a very interesting chat with Alistair
Vines and the Rover Cooper display owners during the morning.
James Martin very kindly agreed to do an interview for us at
lunchtime and, although Paddy Hopkirk hadn't arrived at this time,
the show gamely went on with Graham Robson interviewing James about
his love of classic cars and food. A big thank you to James Martin
at this point who was certainly a crowd pleaser and was happy for
people to have their photograph taken with him and to sign
autographs. I know a very happy lady from my workplace who had come
just to meet James and has now got her photograph framed and has
said that meeting him had made her year.
Following on from James Martin's interview, Graham sat in the VIP
area and chatted to our VIP guests from years gone by. Talking for
us about their memories were Bill Price, Stuart Turner, Mike Wood
and Brian Moylan.
I
managed to sneak away for a late lunch in the Brabazon restaurant
with Trevor. No sooner had we sat down than we were joined by our
Chairman Robert Young, Membership Secretary Lesley Young, Treasurer
Peter Moss, Show Organiser Richard Norris plus some of the
helpers... I did ask at this point who was running the show?!
I
arrived back in time to see the rally cars of interest and watched
James Martin tear around the main arena a few times, I don't think
any Beaulieu staff were watching at this point so we should have got
away with the grass being slightly mangled, I'm sure it would be
fine by the time of their next event!
This was followed by some of the Register display car owners being
interviewed about their pride and joys. Luckily although my Mark 1
Cooper S was on display I wasn't asked to talk...I had already said
I needed a badge stating 'don't know much about Minis'!
The awards ceremony was our final event of the day, a list of
winners is already shown in the magazine so I won't repeat on this.
We had a wonderful amount of cars entered into the concours this
year and they were a pleasure to see. Once again we were joined by
John White, his daughter Sarah and a team of judges who work
tirelessly on the day marking all the entrants. I also had a little
help with finding the winner of the Stephen Smith Masterclass award,
thank you Charlotte, great choice!
I
think the day can definitely be put down as a success as not only
did we have a record turn out but Lesley Young had beavered away all
day taking lots of new memberships and renewing plenty too. We had
some wonderful feedback comments passed to us, one comment stating
this was the best classic car show they had visited in five years
and another from an Italian couple saying our show was number one.
This was the last year the show would be organised or run by the
Oxfordshire Region. Many of the team have worked for the past six
years producing shows which have improved each year because of their
knowledge and dedication. Saying this though the show most
certainly would not go on without the network of support that on the
day help get the cars to their designated area with minimum
disruption; their jobs are tough and without the parking marshals it
would be absolute chaos. We were also lucky to have the support of
Gill Gaskill who has manned the refreshments for the past six years;
Don Farr and Julie who take on the mammoth task of getting the club
stand arrivals to their destination; Tony and Sally Salter who did a
fabulous job in our regalia tent and the information caravan staff
who help visitors find their way around, look after and reunite
people with their lost property and trouble shoot for the organisers
and last but by no means least Keith and Gill Redwood who organise
our trade area and their boys who tirelessly walk the event grounds
taking refreshments to all the helpers. What a wonderful team and it
has been an absolute pleasure working with each and everyone.
Now the question. Who will take on running the event? It is hard
work with organising starting in January and running all the way
through to the show and beyond. You will need to be dedicated, hard
working, have people skills, be able to oversee and delegate,
trouble shoot and problem solve. What will you get for all your hard
work? You will have the satisfaction of running one of the best
shows on the Mini calendar.
I
look forward to visiting the show in 2011.
Nikki Marshall
(privileged to be Show Co-Organiser 2010) |
