Classic Motor Show 2018 – Birmingham NEC

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Some would say the biggest and best Classic Car Show in the UK!

This weekend, the whole team at Bridge Classic Cars attended the The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the Birmingham NEC.

We are regulars to the day having attended for a number of years consecutively but we’ve never visited as an ‘almost’ full team which made the day very special.

John and Ady were unable to make it to the day but the rest of us: Brian, Craig, Dave, Gordon, Tommy, Peter and OJ were all there flying the Bridge Classic Cars flag.

Source: The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show 

Joining together classic car enthusiasts from all over the UK and beyond, the 2018 classic car show once again graced the halls of Birmingham’s NEC. Covering over one million square feet – that’s about 18 football pitches – more than 3,000 iconic classic and vintage cars plus motorbikes were showcased this year!

The Classic Motor Show brings together the UK’s leading classic car dealers offering a wealth of marques to suit all needs and pockets.

300 classic car clubs and classic motor bike clubs present a diverse mix of marques, discovering rare and loved motors spanning more than 100 years shared with us by their dedicated members.

Celebrating ‘the best of the best’ from the UK classic car club scene with the grand final of the Meguiar’s Club Showcase. Not only could you find an unrivalled collection of vintage vehicles, you could also visit the UK’s biggest indoor Autojumble – a haven of car parts and spares for anyone working on their vehicle, as well as 500 specialist automotive exhibitors and traders offering a mix of products and services.

Be immersed in stunning classics, fantastic features, one of the most high-profile classic car auctions with Silverstone Auctions, all in the presence of motoring celebrities including The Wheeler Dealers and many more. This truly magnificent season finale of the motoring calendar will welcomed 72,000 passionate motoring enthusiasts and if you have not been yourself, it is well worth a visit next year.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23682,23683,23684,23685,23686,23687,23688,23689,23690,23691,23692,23693,23694,23695,23696,23697,23698,23699,23700,23701,23702,23703,23704,23705,23706,23707,23708,23709,23710,23711,23712,23713,23714,23715,23716,23717,23718,23719,23721,23722,23723,23724,23726,23728,23729,23730,23731,23732,23733,23734,23735,23736,23737,23738,23739,23740,23741,23742,23743,23744,23745,23747,23748,23749,23750,23751,23752,23753,23754,23755,23756,23757,23758,23759,23760,23761,23762,23763,23764,23765,23766,23767,23768,23769,23770,23771,23772,23773,23774,23775,23776,23681,23680,23679″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

£188,800 grant to Woodbridge Community, Arts & Youth Centre

Article shared from www.keepingintouchwith.com/woodbridge publication and image shared from Jetty Lane CIC

East Suffolk Council has thrown its support behind the proposed landmark community, arts and youth centre in Woodbridge by granting £188,800 to the social enterprise Jetty Lane CIC.

Jetty Lane CIC is working to build and run a new centre to support young people, artists and community groups in the heart of Woodbridge. Since Woodbridge Youth Club was demolished in 2017, many youth, arts and community organisations have been homeless.

East Suffolk Council‘s financial backing covers pre-construction costs for the planned development located near the River Deben. The proposed centre, which submitted for full planning in August, will provide much-needed space for theatre groups, martial arts and exercise classes, Woodbridge Scouts, Just42 youth charity, services for the elderly, local business people, artists and more.

Caroline Page, Chair of JettyLane CIC commented: “We are extremely grateful to East Suffolk Council for their generous response to our funding application. It is a great boost to the cause and guarantees that the money we raise from here-on-in will be spent on construction. Woodbridge is in desperate need of community space since Woodbridge Youth Club was demolished in early 2017, leaving many local community, arts and youth initiatives homeless. As the town continues to expand with new housing developments, there is a greater need than ever to build a new space for community and local groups to thrive.”

Jetty Lane was founded by County Councillor for Woodbridge Caroline Page, Caroline Rutherford from local charity Just42, Group Scout leader, 1st Woodbridge Adam Thorpe, and local resident Cordelia Richman. The planned building will comprise of eight individual studios to artists, two halls, hireable space for community groups to use at an affordable rent, as well as office facilities provided on a commercial basis.

The results of the planning application are expected before Christmas 2018.

For more information about the project or to make a donation visit Jetty Lane online.

Miss GB Shelby Tribble out with some classics

Source: Instrgram @shelbytribble

Checking in on the world of showbiz we have former Miss GB Shelby Tribble enjoying a day out (or 2) at celeb hot-spot Sheesh Restaurant in Chigwell, Essex.

Here she is looking beautiful standing in front of the Sheesh fame classic MG followed by one of the ultimate classics…the Ferrari F40.

Bonhams London To Brighton Veteran Car Run Supported By Hiscox – 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Bridge Classic Cars at London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23649,23650,23651,23652,23653,23654,23655,23656,23657,23658,23659,23660,23661,23662,23663,23664,23665,23666″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Source: Veteran Car Run

As an unseasonably mild London was still covered by darkness, nearly 400 pioneering veteran cars, their intrepid drivers and plucky passengers gathered in Hyde Park on Sunday (4th November) waiting for daybreak to signal the start of the remarkable Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox.

It’s now more than 120 years since the original Emancipation Run, which was held in 1896 to celebrate the recently passed Locomotives on Highways Act. This raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 to 14 mph and abolished the need for a man to walk ahead waving a red flag.

Symbolising that new found freedom, the annual Run always commences with the symbolic tearing of the red flag – a ritual pre-dawn feat this year performed by supermodel and car enthusiast Yasmin Le Bon representing The Movember Foundation and F1 team boss Christian Horner who was joined at the finish by his Spice Girl wife Geri and young family.

Then, at 06:59am sunrise, the first of the pre-1905 horseless carriages was flagged away from the start with the earliest of the Victorian vehicles leading the way as they phutted and hissed their way through Wellington Arch, down Constitution Hill, past Buckingham Palace and Admiralty Arch and Whitehall into Parliament Square. Here, for the first time in its 122-year history the 60-mile route split into two, thus alleviating traffic congestion in South London.

Half of the plucky participants travelled over Westminster Bridge and then followed the traditional A23 route via Kennington, Brixton and Streatham Common; the other half left via Millbank, over Lambeth Bridge then journeyed via Vauxhall, Clapham Common and Tooting. The two routes merged on the A236 just north of Croydon with the entire magical cavalcade reunited as it headed to the spectator-friendly halfway point in Crawley High Street, the South Downs and eventually the Madeira Drive seafront in Brighton.

First away from Hyde Park was a Peugeot Type 3 dating back to the dawn of motoring in 1893. Hailing from the Turin Motor Museum, it is believed to be the first car to have been driven on Italian roads. Other early starters included the crowd-pleasing 1896 Salvesen Steam Cart – basically a steam locomotive running on the road complete with stoker shoveling coal into the boiler’s fiery furnace plus an evocative choo choo steam whistle – and a number of primitive motorised tricycles complete with riders and passengers regaled in period costumes.

Thereafter followed a staggering variety of antique machinery dating back to the era of innovative and experimental vehicles – some petrol powered, others propelled by steam and electricity, some fitted with steering-wheels, others with naval inspired tillers and helms.

As always it was an extraordinary sight without parallel anywhere on Earth: a living, moving testament to a bygone age when motoring technology was in its infancy. Blessed with such eccentric charm and incredible history, the renaissant Run enjoys worldwide participation and attracts huge crowds along the entire route. Among this year’s entries were cars from Argentina, Australia, Hong Kong, and South Africa as well as 21 from the United States

In total, 117 different marques ranging from Achilles (built in Frome, Somerset) to Yale (from Toledo in Ohio, US) were represented on this year’s Run – some, like Chevrolet, Renault and Mercedes, still well-known today, but the vast majority lost to history. Many cars and crews sported moustaches in support of Movember, the event’s official Charity Partner.

One of the ambitious brands to have fallen by the industrial wayside was making its Veteran Car Run debut this year: Vabis the embryonic Scandinavian company that can trace its descendants to today’s commercial vehicle giant Scania. Despite its rookie status, the newcomer completed the Run.

Le Bon and Horner, too, were also savouring the event for the very first time; the former driving a 1901 Wolseley kindly loaned by the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, the latter behind the wheel of Lord (Irvine) Laidlaw’s 1904 Panhard-Levassor. Both made it all the way to Brighton enjoying the hazy autumnal sunshine and huge, cheering crowds lining the roadside.

“It was super,” enthused Horner. “We had a great run in a lovely car which ran seamlessly. I cannot thank Irvine Laidlaw enough for letting me drive his beautiful Panhard. It is an absolutely magical event and wonderful to see so many enthusiasts and car clubs coming out to support all those on the road. It was great fun – I’ll definitely be back for more!”

Le Bon was equally enthusiastic and enthralled. “I absolutely loved it,” she beamed at the finish. “I was grinning from ear to ear, even in the few more gripping moments that we had. The car behaved beautifully. The crowds were just astonishing – I had no idea quite how many people come out, but I’m delighted that they do to see these incredible vehicles all together on the road. It’s an extraordinary sight. What’s more, I was doing the Run for a wonderful cause – men should definitely be talking together more about health issues and taking charge of their wellbeing.”

In total, nearly ninety per cent of the starters made it to Brighton before the 4.30pm deadline to claim a coveted finishers’ medal – just 44 of the starters failing to reach the sea front. The first car home was the 1901 Oldsmobile of Andres Melkus from Austria arriving on Madeira Drive. Next across the line was Tom Loder driving a 1900 Stephens.

While the Run is famously not a race, the increasingly popular Regularity Time Trial does provide a competitive element. More than 320 entrants, more than ever before, elected to take part in the Trial by attempting to keep to a strict average speed for the stretch between Crawley and Burgess Hill. The winner was Paul Kelling in an Oldsmobile who covered the 13 miles at an average speed of 12.05mph compared to his 12mph target.

Ben Cussons, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, said: “It has been another exceptional Run in this quite remarkable event. The split route out of London definitely alleviated the traffic problems of the past, and it has been a real pleasure to complete the Run today.

“The weather has been kind this year, which makes a big difference for these types of extraordinary vehicles, and I have seen lots of happy smiley faces amongst our participants.

“I would just like to thank all the people that have come together to make this such a special event. Thanks must go to the marshals all the way down the route that continue to make it a real pleasure to drive this event, those at Goose Live Events who run the event on behalf of the Royal Automobile Club, plus the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain particularly in dating these cars and making sure of their authenticity.

“My final thank you is to the spectators who have lined the route. It is such a fantastic family event and it is great to see people of all ages enjoying themselves in the autumnal sunshine.”

As in recent years, the Bonhams Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox provided a fitting finale to the Royal Automobile Club’s busy London Motor Week – during which the Club presented an array of functions and events.

The penultimate event in the week was the free-to-view Illinois Route 66 Regent Street Motor Show, on Saturday 3 November, which turned London’s flagship shopping street into a motoring showcase that put the spotlight on veterans and moderns alike and attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors.

For more details of the event visit www.veterancarrun.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles – We Cover Them All!

Today, we took a trip to Manchester, to visit the Runway Visitor Park, a unique venue surrounding the world’s most iconic plane, the Concorde! It’s the perfect venue that caters for product launches, gala dinners, team building events, exhibitions or meetings.

What an amazing place. The setting is directly next to one of Manchester’s main runways with views of every take off and landing but if that’s not exciting enough, the restaurant houses the iconic Concorde.

A great day out for, not only plane enthusiasts but families too.

Great British Bake Off’s Manon Lagreve out in London

Source: Instagram @manonlegreve

Great British Bake Off‘s Manon Lagreve enjoying a day out in sunny London when she comes across this 1991 Nissan Figaro.

We followed Manon‘s progress throughout this year’s show and she did amazingly well, reaching the quarter finals of undoubtedly the biggest show of the TV calendar.

Not only did she achieve great things inside the tent but Manon owns and runs Manon’s Little Kitchen, a platform to which she shares her amazing recipes, travels and ideas.