Through the narrow streets of a small market town, in the chill of an early morning in September, hundreds of cars line the pavements: cars that chart the history of the internal combustion engine. It’s the Buntingford Classic Car Show 2021.
Hundreds of people filled the streets: car enthusiasts, bikers, families and a few who got caught up in the confusion; the vibe was one of muted excitement, coupled with a rustle of consternation – being out in a crowded place has become so unusual that it almost feels like we’ve forgotten how to do it.
By 11 am, when the car show officially opened, the town was bustling: the bars and coffee shops were open and doing a roaring trade. The occasional late arrival added to the noise and the streets were awash with people taking photographs and videos, discussing the finer points of a V8 engine or whether they’d rather have British Racing Green or Bermuda Blue.
Just before lunchtime, a pink Cadillac purred up the main street, leaving a trail of envious sighs in its wake. And, at either end of the High St were the Home-Start stalls.
At the top end, outside the Tile Shop at No 117, we had our “Win A Track Day” charity raffle (opposite the excellent live music provided by “Bacon and Beans” proudly playing “both kinds of music.”). The Track Day prize was kindly and generously donated by Mr Derek Neil, who was also there at the end of the day to draw the winning ticket. Thank you, Derek, and congratulations to our winner!
At the opposite end, outside number 20, we were lucky enough to be given a spot with some absolutely beautiful cars. It’s probably not every day that a giant Peppa Pig can be found in the driving seat of a Land Rover, but the car owner was kind enough to let us place our colossal Peppa (and Home-Start Bear) in his car. It certainly caused a lot of interest and amusement from the spectators.
Also at Number 20 was our Buzzwire Challenge and Guess the Number of Toys in the Car.
Both these events proved extremely popular with adults and children alike, and the winner of the Buzzwire Challenge was 12-year-old Mason with a fabulous 7.5 tally on the wire!
At one point during the morning, I was approached by some of the members of the Royston Photographic Society who asked if I wouldn’t mind posing alongside the lovely pink Cadillac, and of course, I couldn’t resist! Another local group whom Home-Start are very much looking forward to working with at events in the future.
All in all, it was a wonderful day: the weather was glorious, we had a great time chatting with people from the community that we serve, and if anyone wants to buy me a gift, that pink Cadillac would do very nicely!
Cathy
Fundraising and Developments Manager
