Er, misleading title here. No ride today as it was the annual London to Brighton run for the vintage cars. As the event runs pretty much past our house [we watch the leaders go by past our window whilst we eat breakfast] I make a point of attending. One year I was coerced into going for a ride, but the guilt of having my kids ask for the next ten months when we're going to watch "the old cars" made me stop that.
Yes it's turned into an annual event that myself and the kids go and watch. I'm not sure either of them are interested to be honest; they just like being out with Dad messing about. We didn't do much, mooch up and down between here and Merstham. I take the odd boring photograph whilst they wave at the cars. This year there was some excitement as I was tasked with pushing car number ten up a hill and my boy had to look after the wooden wheel chock. I can tell you now that whilst those cars look spindly they sure are heavy. If you see somebody pushing one, they are working hard.
This year the event was a dry one in that it didn't rain. However there was a dampness to the air that made the day feel really cold. I pity these people, sitting in these open cars. But then I remember that this is a pretty exclusive club and that these people have oodles of money so they could always burn £50 notes to keep warm.
It's a silly, essentially pointless event but a lovely one for all of that. The car I pushed dated from 1887 so should be in a museum. Indeed how many boring museums have we all been to, where the exhibits date from fairly recently yet are confined to static display for all of eternity? We visited a really tedious tank museum in Norfolk recently where you weren't even allowed to touch stuff. How much damage can one do to a 60 ton tank just by touching it?
And of course post event we retire to a warming restaurant for lunch with the whole family. Lovely.
Yes it's turned into an annual event that myself and the kids go and watch. I'm not sure either of them are interested to be honest; they just like being out with Dad messing about. We didn't do much, mooch up and down between here and Merstham. I take the odd boring photograph whilst they wave at the cars. This year there was some excitement as I was tasked with pushing car number ten up a hill and my boy had to look after the wooden wheel chock. I can tell you now that whilst those cars look spindly they sure are heavy. If you see somebody pushing one, they are working hard.
This year the event was a dry one in that it didn't rain. However there was a dampness to the air that made the day feel really cold. I pity these people, sitting in these open cars. But then I remember that this is a pretty exclusive club and that these people have oodles of money so they could always burn £50 notes to keep warm.
It's a silly, essentially pointless event but a lovely one for all of that. The car I pushed dated from 1887 so should be in a museum. Indeed how many boring museums have we all been to, where the exhibits date from fairly recently yet are confined to static display for all of eternity? We visited a really tedious tank museum in Norfolk recently where you weren't even allowed to touch stuff. How much damage can one do to a 60 ton tank just by touching it?
And of course post event we retire to a warming restaurant for lunch with the whole family. Lovely.
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