One of the joys of owning a VW – or any classic car, come to that – is that you can turn up to any event and chat with perfect strangers. Except that, amongst VW Enthusiasts, there are no strangers, only friends who have not yet met.
The Tramway Village people at Crich in Derbyshire hold a number of special themed events during the year and their Beetle Drive has become a firm favourite in the calendar. The 2009 event was held on 6th September.
I was all set to go to this event but the car refused to start. It had been troublesome for a while and I had been underneath to retrieve the starter motor so that I could lubricate the cog and clean the solenoid terminals which were a bit corroded. All was well for a while until it really started to get stubborn. I eventually tracked the problem down to poor connections behind the dashboard ... something to add to the annual servicing list, perhaps? When you only have six volts to start with, every fraction lost to a bad connection counts!
The Leicestershire & Warwickshire VW Owners’ Club has held their gathering at Stanford Hall on the Sunday of the May Bank Holiday every year since 1976. This year’s event was held on 3rd May and I was invited to show my Beetle in the Historical Volkswagen Club area in front of the Hall.
The Farm Fest Show at Exted Farm in Kent has become an annual event held over a weekend in September. The 2008 event was on 20th and 21st September and attracted a good range of Beetles and vans, plus a Type 3, a Type 4, and a Buggy.
The Tramway Village people at Crich in Derbyshire hold a number of special themed events during the year and their Beetle Drive has become a firm favourite in the calendar. The 2008 event was held on 7th September.
Page updated 10th September 2009 © J S Rastall