ALL BRITISH DAY 2009

We were blessed with an absolutely delightful day for this years All British Day assembly on Sunday February 8, 2009. Having all sweltered through extremely high temperatures over the previous 2 weeks with some days in the low 40 degrees it was pleasant to have the chance to get the cars out and be able to drive up to the Adelaide Hills in relatively reasonable conditions. In fact to start with we had windcheeters on!
Given that all the entrants had either come from the UK or were designed there; and add quite a large number of years to the majority of the cars, they do not perform well in very hot conditions, not to mention the capabilities of the occupants.
We drove up to Uraidla from the city of Adelaide in less than 30 minutes, well a bit more than that as I had forgotten to display the entry permit, that was safely in its envelope on top of the fridge, where all important documents reside in our house; so having returned home, got the envelope and fixed it as per the instructions, we set off again.
Our trip through the city and up the freeway was uneventful but being a bit late did not see too many old English cars or motorbikes until we got off the freeway and wound our way through the Piccadilly Valley and on to Uraidla. The instruction was to arrive between 10.00 am and 11.00am; we just turned into the entry gate on the stroke of 11.00 am.
We were directed to drive around our line, the white section and marshals were there to park us, none other than our President Fred Neild and our Secretary, Arthur Ruediger.

Once we had parked there is the need to claim a section of the oval as our own just to the rear of the MGC, soon we had made our area secure and could now say hello to other Mg Car Club members, but not before Arthur had shoved a sheet of cardboard under the MGC to catch all the oil leaks.
After this Jan & I spent a considerable amount of time walking around the concentric circles admiring all the beautifully prepared examples all parked in lines with their desired car club.

So many wonderful marques and so beautifully preserved.
In the centre of the oval were the feature cars from the Morgan Owners Car Club of Aust. One of the oldest car clubs in Australia having been formed in 1958; they cater for both 3 and 4 wheeled models. The Morgan Car Company has the distinction of being one of a handful of companies still run by the same family; the Morgan Car Company is run by Charles Morgan the grandson of H.F.S.Morgan the founder.
There were 20 vehicles on display with 2 being 3 wheeled models. Cars ranged in age from 1936 up to a lovely 2003 model with a V8 motor.
Just on the other side of the main access way dividing the two half circles were the cars of the 1938/40 Lobethal Grand Prix on display, these included our own Chris Bucknell with his 1935 “R” Type MG single seater Race car and Phil Bradey with the 1934 “Prince Bira” MG K3 Magnette Race car. A truly stunning display! But nowhere near as exciting as the sound of hearing them out on the track in anger! if they were to start these wonderful old cars up then we are on another level, but not to be unfortunately!
One of the largest displays was our own club with 58 entries from a total of 45 Car & Motor Bike Clubs displaying 808 cars & bikes.
The temperature did improve during the day and I know a lot of us were surprised when we got home to find that even though we had put on sun-block and there was a good cloud cover, we were a bit red on the back of the neck and on the face.

There were so many cars to see and so little time to do it in really!
All this walking makes one a bit low on energy so a visit to the big green shed was necessary, run by the local CFS as a funds raiser there is a willingness to buy a coffee and a sticky bun at least!
So having recharged our energy levels and even though you had seen all the cars on the first round then it was necessary to revisit them in more detail, plus the need to stop and greet friend along the way.
The one day event requires a huge amount of organisation to achieve and I am sure that the organising committee will start soon on next years’ event.
All in all a very well run event which does work well at the Uraidla showgrounds, and with a pleasant day, not too hot or to wet can be one of the nicest days for all members of the family to enjoy.

By Mike Greenwood

... and some more photo's from Gerry Rankine, thanks Gerry!