Sadly this year it nowhere near as warm as last year, although at least it was a little better than the previous day which had seen me don a bobble hat to watch Darryl playing cricket at Twycross. Cricket is not a sport to be watching in weather that requires bobble hats! The reason I was watching said cricket match was because, for once, Darryl and Jo weren’t away in the Pageant 7 for the bank holiday. Which was great news for me as it meant I didn’t have to do all the driving to and from the show in one day.

Well, that and also got to spend some time with those lovely Frenchs! The bug has barely been out this year, so it was great to spend a little more time behind the wheel. It made me realise just how much I love driving that little car!

Not only did I get to spend some time with Darryl and Jo but the Mountains also made an appearance at Stanford Hall! Unfortunately Brad was solo parenting so couldn’t make it. Jim’s bug has come back from the blasters and the restoration can now start in earnest, although it sounds as though it will be a slow progress.

I think I must be out of practice, because most of the photos from the day were a bit crap. That aside, the bug behaved impeccably all weekend (I f**king love that car!). I’m going to make sure I’ll remedy the photos thing when I come back for Stanford Hall 2020!

The post Stanford Hall 2019 appeared first on 72bug.com.

After a year off in 2017, the lads at the Herbie Hospital were in charge of this year’s charity raffle car again and they had done a cracking job of bringing a 90s show car, Peppermint Dream, back to life after it had been languishing in a garage for a couple of decades. Sadly none of us won, but it was great to see it finished and presented in fantastic fashion as a giant Matchbox car. Evidently Rich was having a lovely time selling raffle tickets and had even managed to come up with his own theme song!

Video: VW Festival Facebook Page

As in previous years, there did appear to be more watercooled stuff there than aircooled. That may have been down to us being there on the Saturday rather than the Sunday as in previous years.  Whilst not as plentiful, the quality of the aircooled stuff that was on show was very high, in particular some of the buses. I’m also hankering after a beach buggy – although now the weather has changed of late perhaps that’s not such a good call! As Bradley keeps pointing out, I have nowhere to put another one. Damn him and his facts!

We had a great day, but at £18 apiece for a day ticket, it does seem a little steep. The same issue had put me off going to Tatton Park the previous weekend and I’m just not sure how such high entry fees can be justified when compared to either Stanford Hall or even the Volksworld Show.

The post VW Festival 2018 appeared first on 72bug.com.

In addition to doing a couple of hundred trouble-free miles in the bug, I managed to find a paint supplier who could colour match the paint and sorted me out with a couple of rattle cans so that I can have a go at sorting some of the areas of surface rust. The fellas at Regional Paint in Leeds couldn’t have been more helpful and thanks to their great service I doubt it will be the last time I make a purchase from them.

Getting the filler flap off so that they could scan it was another of those “5 minute” jobs on a VW that took way longer in the end than it should have done and resulted in some rather salty language! Especially when it occurred to me that I could have just used the glovebox lid instead…… I think it’s pretty safe to say that Betty isn’t Kasan Red as she left the factory according to her birth certificate. In fact, she’s actually closer to a GM shade of red from their 1978 – 1979 range.

Saturday also saw Jim take Lucille in to see Ben at Robertson’s Restos down in Leighton Buzzard so that he can get a quote for the restoration. I’ll be intrigued to see what the quote comes in at!

Anyway, back to Stanford Hall and I’ll probably just let the photos do the talking. What I will say though, is that for me it has everything a good show should have. A fantastic variety of mainly aircooled cars in a great setting and all for only a tenner. I guess the wall to wall sunshine also helped! The one car I absolutely fell in love with was a dark silver oval on the Clique 53 display – those guys sure know a thing or two about stylish Volkswagens.

The post Stanford Hall 2018 appeared first on 72bug.com.

Due to the greater percentage of water cooled cars, previous visits have seen me question whether the show is really for me and I don’t think that view has really changed.  In my view,  unless (like us) you’ve bought a discounted ticket in advance, I don’t think the £12 you would pay on the door at Spring Dub represents great value for money – particularly when you compare it with a show like Stanford Hall for example.  It certainly seemed as though the overall number of cars on show was lower than in previous years and there also appeared to be fewer people visiting the show. That’s not a scientific observation in any way, just a gut feeling, and could be because we were there pretty early.

The advantage of there being fewer people meant that it was much more comfortable to take advantage of the merch opportunities and for once I did actually make a couple of purchases. I am so rock n roll these days that I picked a couple of tea towels (officially licensed by Volkswagen no less) and a pretty sweet tee shirt for a fiver that is certainly not officially licensed by anyone! I did also invest in a fridge magnet with the photo of the bug that was taken as we rolled into the show. Pricey, but worth it!

Oh Vienna!

Over the Easter weekend, Brad and I travelled to Vienna to see a little rock band called Metallica. That in itself is another story, but of course we’re always on the look out for old VWs. Sadly we didn’t get the chance to snap the rather lovely old Porsche 356 that we saw, but I did manage to get a couple of photos of an LT35 that was being used as a promo vehicle for some sort of religious organisation. Right up my straße!

In an echo of Harewood Hall a few years ago I forgot to put the memory card back in the camera following the Vienna trip. Fortunately the camera on my phone is a little better than it was on the old iPhone 4……..

The post Spring Dub 2018 appeared first on 72bug.com.

I’d clocked some of the Clique 53 cars the last couple of times I’d been to VW Festival at Harewood House and they’re a bit special – hence following them on Instagram. I’m fairly sure that there will be some photos somewhere on the site. Anyway, the show was advertised as being open to all types of classic cars, not just VWs, and gave the impression it would be a pretty relaxed affair.

Which, in fact, it was. Weirdly, and despite the fact I’ve never shown either car before combined with my general anxiety levels, I felt very relaxed about Clarence being on show.  Mark used to have a ’66 bus back in the days when we both worked at CCM (the plum wine hangover is still one of the worst on record) and I think we can probably persuade him that he needs another VW  in his life one of these days!

We had a great day: for once the sun made an appearance; Newstead Abbey is a great little venue and the show seemed to be very nicely organised. So many shows these days are absolutely heaving, with more of an emphasis on trade stands so it was really refreshing to be at a smaller, less commercial event. I think it’s pretty safe to say we’ll be back at Spring Classics next year!

The post Clique 53 Spring Classics appeared first on 72bug.com.

Previous years have seen the water cooled stuff feature more prominently but this year there definitely seemed to be a greater number of aircooled cars on show. One thing that doesn’t change is the ridiculously high standard of some of the cars. The top 3 aircooled cars – in particular the gorgeous black oval that took top spot – were stunning.

This year the lads at the Herbie Hospital took a year off from building the raffle prize beetle but that didn’t stop over 20 grand’s worth of tickets being sold for the Herbie-alike that the chaps at Slambassador had put together. Obviously I didn’t win – not that I’m exactly short of old Volkswagens……..

Talking of the Herbie Hospital, the flame bug at the top of the post belongs to Johnnie and up until earlier this year hadn’t seen the light of day since 1996. If I’m not mistaken it won the People’s Choice award on the Saturday!

The post VW Festival 2017 appeared first on 72bug.com.

September saw Betty’s 44th birthday – sadly I was in Dublin for work at the time – but not long beforehand she was treated to a new exhaust for the bug (thanks GSF for the lovely 35% off deal!). She sounds much less like a Spitfire now. And the more I see of the guys at the Herbie Hospital, the happier I am. Both the bug and the bus will be heading there soon to have the electric windscreen washer kits (thanks again GSF!) fitted, and Clarence will eventually get the rest of those seals fitted.

I did also find out that a pair of K2 Public Enemies will comfortably fit in the front of the bug on my way over to see my old pal Karen in Manchester a few weeks back, so that’s good to know. Fortunately I can still ski too, because it’s only 15 weeks until we’re back (home) in La Plagne.

I was just about to write that I didn’t manage to get to any shows, but that’s an utter nonsense because I did get along to Harewood House for this year’s VW Festival! I didn’t seem to get too many photos so, rather than do a separate post, you’ll find them below.

The post How did that happen? appeared first on 72bug.com.

Whilst the quality of the cars on display is always phenomenal, and Sandown Park has been a great home to the show for many years, I can’t help but think that it is perhaps time for a change in venue. Either that, or perhaps they need to sell fewer tickets, because it’s getting to the point now where it’s just too busy to be enjoyable. Or take decent photographs. And don’t get me started on the swapmeet upstairs – we took one look at it and turned right around!

When you consider that one of the selling points for the show was the 60th anniversary celebrations for the KG, I must admit we were left disappointed by the presentation of the pretty rare KG prototypes for the show that the Volksworld guys had brought in. There was virtually no information on the cars themselves, and putting them on display in a bottleneck just wasn’t going to work with the numbers of people at the show.

But I have no doubt we’ll be back!

The post Volksworld Show 2015 appeared first on 72bug.com.

Incredibly this is the first thing I’ve written for the site since September – no idea where those 6 months have gone! Time apparently flies when you pack up the smokes! Back in September I was really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Circle the Wagen. At some stage in October the copy I’d ordered from Amazon turned up, and to be blunt I wish I hadn’t bothered. I desperately wanted to love the movie, but it just irritated me I’m afraid. The premise of the film was awesome; after all, who wouldn’t want to go on a road trip across the States in an old VW? Sadly, it failed to deliver on pretty much all counts. Our protagonist, Dave, bailed on the journey after less than a third of the way, leaving the bus at a motel whilst he buggered off around the world apparently teaching English and no doubt “finding himself”.

Four years later, along with his flat-cap-wearing, pipe-smoking hipster mate (who contributes precisely bugger all to the film), he decides to finish the journey. And finish it he does. Woo hoo. Once back in California, Dave gives us his clearest demonstration yet that he couldn’t give a crap about owning a bus, as he promptly dumps it at his mate’s place. I even gave the film a second watch, just in case I’d misjudged it the first time around. I hadn’t, and I doubt very much that I’ll bother with it again. Sorry fellas – great idea, awful execution.

Anyway, that’s my little rant over. After 4 months in storage, Clarence has made it through the MOT with minimal work. Just some air in his washer jet bottle and a bit of tighten up of the old handbrake – unreal! So after a service, it was time to give him a run down to the Waterloo Inn at Biggin to catch up with Darryl and Nick and eat some pie. Yep, we went camping in February! Not sure I’ll be doing that again – even with a little oil filled radiator in the bus, it was still awfully chilly in there. And by the time the snow arrived on Sunday lunchtime, I’d had enough! But despite the chill, the food beer and company were all of the highest order, and of course we managed to squeeze a visit to the cheese shop at Hartington!

So Clarence is back at Beetle People having a few of the goodies I’d ordered for him at Christmas fitted. On the shopping list was a full set of window and door seals, a set of jail bars, and after 3 years of ownership I’ve eventually bought him a script batch for his rump! It’s not all good news however – John sent me some pictures the other day of the rust around the bottom of the windscreen, which has necessitated the purchase of a repair panel to put that right. The guys at Custom & Commercial came through though, and got the panel to John the following day and by the looks of the photos he’s sent acrosss he seems to be making pretty good progress.

And after attending the first Spring Dub a couple of years ago, at the weekend I headed back up to what they now call the Yorkshire Event Centre in the bug. There was definitely a stronger turnout from the watercooled boys, and I’m sure that there were more aircooled cars there a couple of years ago. I’m not sure I understand why there were a couple of BMWs on show, and whilst there were a few things that caught my eye the vast majority wasn’t really my cup of tea and that doesn’t really inspire me to visit again in the future.

One show that I am very much looking forward to heading back to is the Volksworld Show at the end of March. After a year off last year, it’ll be good to be back at Sandown Park with Brad, Rossy and Nels. Hopefully we get the sunshine of 3 years ago rather than the snow of 2 years ago!

The post A Little Rant, Some Rubber and Spring Dub 2015 appeared first on 72bug.com.

“Would you like to enter your car into the show?”

Not quite what I expected to hear when I wound down the window on the bug on arriving at Escrick Park near York on Sunday. Had I even dreamt it was, I would have at least washed the car before heading up there for this year’s VW Field of Dreams! Maybe that makes me a bad owner, especially seeing as it was Betty’s 43rd birthday….

I’d had a potter around last year’s VW Field of Dreams up at York Racecourse, and was really interested to see how the new venue would fit the show (or should that be the other way round?), which is now in its second year. Two of the key things for me about the show are that a) it’s in the north, and b) it’s aircooled only. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against watercooled stuff, I just prefer the aircooled variety!

Overall, the show seemed really well organised, with a good selection of traders and relaxed atmosphere. I wish I’d bought my day ticket in advance, as I’m not sure that (for its current size) £10 for the day represents the best value out there. But that’s my own fault for being a disorganised sod! Maybe camping for the weekend might be the way to go in future? Especially as there seemed to be a pretty packed entertainment schedule from what I could tell, including a screening of Circle the Wagen which, having seen the trailer, I’m now desperate to see!

I’m hopeful that the show n shine will grow as the show becomes more popular and, gauging by the numbers on view, buses are still enjoying a greater popularity than bugs. And next year (already pencilled in for 11th – 13th September), the bug will definitely be clean before I head on over! Someone else may need to drive the bus over in that case…..

The post VW Field of Dreams 2014 appeared first on 72bug.com.