Social & Drive It Day Reports 2024In addition to our formal shows we hold various social events and Drive It Days. Below are reports of these events hoping you will see how much more belonging to Southern Classics Society means. 2024 social event reports will appear here as they happen. All our events are now booked and confirmed. Please go to "All 2024 Events" to see the 2024 Events Calendar. MNDA Family Funday, Broadwater Green Worthing 7th July 2024Report - MNDA Family Funday, Worthing, by Barbara Albon, Newsletter Editor The Motor Neurone Disease Associa??on held its Annual Family Fun Day on Broadwater Green on 7th July and we incorporated it with a Classic Car Show for Southern Classics. It was forecast for thunderstorms and heavy rain, which was very disappoin??ng, and so it was with a certain amount of positivity we arrived on site to erect the gazebos and get the show underway. Thankfully, we didn't have the promised thunderstorms and after about 3 very heavy showers the sun came out and it was a lovely afternoon. However the rain had put off many people and it did have a negative effect on the show. The good news is that MNDA made around £4,500 for the local Branch which, in the circumstances,was fantastic news. The Dog Show was well supported and Bob the Town Crier took a ride around Worthing with Tony Snow in his beautiful Model T Ford. The bouncy castle couldn't be erected due to rather high winds as it was over the ‘safe’ limit however there was plenty to do for children. Bars, food stalls,tombola, bric a brac, a book stall, a wine stall and a raffle, all helped to swell the funds and awareness for MND. A big thank you to Southern Classics for joining in the Family Fun Day and for the members who brought their cars along to support it. (Your webmaster's thanks go to Barbara who has kindly provided this report). Click here for comprehensive coverage of the MNDA Funday in photos. National Drive-It Day - Run to Gatwick Aviation Museum, Gatwick, Surrey, RH6 0BT - 21st April 2024Report - Drive-It to Gatwick Aviation Museum, Gatwick, by Barbara Albon, Newsletter Editor Drive It Days are one of my favourite events and this year Southern Classics were going to a very exciting new venue. Gatwick Aviation Museum. I had cousins from Boston Massachusetts visiting me and they were delighted that they were going to be part of this day out. Unfortunately, we had to enter the event in a modern car, however this didn't impact too much on the overall enjoyment of the day. As usual we met at the popular Tea Thyme Cafe & Garden Centre where we received our route & instructions of the day. These events don't just happen, and our Chairman Phil had spent much time discussing logistics with the management of the Museum, organising the route, and indeed travelling the route with his wife June several times to check there were no road closures or unexpected problems on the day of the Drive-It. Indeed, there was a Road Closure implemented the day before & so this had to be explained at the briefing. So, a big thankyou to Phil for organising such a great 'Day Out' for us all. It was very well attended and there must have been at least 50 cars in attendance. A great turn-out and, as usual, made an interesting small car show. Gatwick Aviation Museum is amazing place. A must if you have never been. There are some fantastic old aircraft there, some have already been lovingly restored and some are in the process of being restored to their original glory. 'The English Electric Lightening F53' had only just arrived at the museum days before our visit, so we were very privileged to see it. An enormous RAF Shackleton greeted you as you arrived at the Museum and there were guided tours around it, the crew must have been very agile to get into some of the tiny spaces inside. Interesting stories from the guide on the aeroplanes work in the Cold War. There was a guided tour around the museum pointing out things and explaining their history which would otherwise be missed. I could go again and again and not see it all. Other planes included a Royal Navy Rolls Royce Derwent. A Hawker Hunter T.7A, a De Haviland Sea Vixen. There were ancient airflight simulators there and memorabilia from commercial airlines over the years. Some of the iconic cabin crew outfits that we all fondly remember. James Bond was also there at the bar with his martini shaken & not stirred. Another interesting feature of the site was a 500metre walk to a viewing platform to watch commercial flights arrive and take off from Gatwick runway. (Your webmaster's thanks go to Barbara who has kindly provided this report). Click here for comprehensive coverage of the Drive-It Run in photos.
Old Barn Garden Centre, Dial Post, Breakfast Meet - 17th March 2024A full report of the event and it's attendees will be appearing soon here, Please watch this space! In the meantime, the full set of photographs can be seen in the Photo Gallery page on the following link: Click here for more Breakfast Meet photos. Carat's Cafe, Southwick, Breakfast Meet - 18th February 2024Carats Cafe Breakfast Meet November 2024 - by Martin B-D, Regalia Sec Who on earth, willingly, leaves home at eight o'clock on a cold, very wet, and windy Sunday morning in the middle of February, to attend a classic car Breakfast Meeting? Southern Classics Society members, that's who! - the more adventurous ones, anyway. I would also like to point out that it happened to be my birthday, as well. Normally, I would not have ventured forth in such filthy weather in the Great White Whale (1985 Rover SD1 VDP EFi) because Rovers of this vintage tend to dissolve in the rain, but the Scimitar is trapped (I can't open the doors because my garage is full of new shed panels), and the Range Rover has no current MOT (due to 3 weeks waiting list). Anyway, despite the rain and large amounts of standing water, off we went at a cautious pace and arrived at Carat's about half-an-hour later. We counted about ten classics already parked up, and we joined their owners inside the café for a bite to eat (very nice, eggs on toast, for me). By the time we had finally finished eating and talking, the weather had improved somewhat, and a visible horizon was slowly appearing out in the channel. The wind turbine close-by, however, was still spinning at an impressive and audibly-noticeable rate. As is the normal procedure on these occasions, several of us gathered in the car-park and engaged in a bit more conversation, not always directly car-related, but always enjoyable, nonetheless. Although there were four Scimitar owners present, only two such vehicles were in evidence. Apart from them, I saw MG Bs, Triumph Spitfires and Vitesses, MX 5s, VW Caravelles, Not a bad showing for such a miserable day, but let's try and do better next time at the breakfast meeting at the Old Barn Nursery in March. See you there. As always, we extend our thanks to the staff of Carats Cafe for allowing us to use their facilities, and for providing a delicious breakfast and hot drinks. Also, of course, we thank all those owners who supported the event by bringing their cars! (Your webmaster's thanks go to Martin who has kindly provided this report). Click here for more breakfast photos.
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