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Saturday the 8th of Oct dawned overcast and still. I knew from an earlier discussionwith one of the show organisers that they were all on tenterhooks regarding rain as the grounds at the Mid Northern Rugby Club in Domain Rd, the venue, had suffered badly from recent deluges. However, by the time our group had departed the gathering point at 8:45 am the sun was out and it was a lovely day and so it remained. Led off by our intrepid President in his very tidy Fairmont we processed up SH1 for a relatively short drive to the site just past the Hukerenui pub. Thankfully given current petrol prices. Today was the 1st “run” for our latest “toy,” a pretty much immaculate 1988 Pontiac Fiero. And what a joy it is to drive. On arrival a well organised team took our entrance fee, a gold coin for the local Volunteer Fire Brigade I believe, and directed us to DRY parking. And what a turn out. I had expected....well, not much, but so help me there was oodles and oodles of all sorts. There were 3 full rows of side by side vehicles the entire length of the footy field & a 4th row filling up fast already at our arrival. We all checked in for the prize giving and raffles and began to wander around the fairly limited displays for the swap meet part of proceedings and on to the car displays. There would have been several examples of just about anything to satisfy the tastes of anyone I’m sure. We strolled and nattered and photographed and critiqued as one does at such events eventually making our way to the food and drink. The footy club’s bar was in operation for those inclined to imbibe. A bacon & egg roll with chips & a coffee hit the spot. Val & I then got out the folding chairs, joined some of our group gathered at the rear of the Fairmont and proceeded to swap yarns etc as one does in such circumstances. All the while more and more vehicles continued to stream into the venue. I have no idea how many in the end but I’d hazard a guess around the 300 or so at least. A really great turnout for what I had thought might be a modest, rustic affair. How wrong I was! What were the chances, too? It had not even occurred to me to look. However, my eagle-eyed PA, she who must be obeyed, tapped me on the shoulder while browsing another display of otherwise rusty junk pointing to a box of manuals. And lo! Amongst them she had spotted a mint copy of Haynes “1994 – 1998 Pontiac Fiero”. Really! Best of all after that it was only $10. That put the icing on the cake for the trip. Val insists we don’t actually need it, it’s just a good luck talisman. All in all it was a good day and one we look forward to reprising many times. The upcoming show at Kerikeri in Feb next year is next on the list for us.
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