PAG 17, page 14
Barmy Army visit the Uxbridge Motor Show July 2003
By Gerry Fosh
It was last year that Liz & Dave’s daughter Kirsty told us of the Uxbridge Motor Show run by the Rotary Club of Uxbridge. So with their permission, Brian and I decided to go. When we arrived, Liz, Dave and Kirsty were already there so in all, there were three Pembletons. Liz had brought a picnic which she shared with us, and we enjoyed the show and her picnic so much we decided to repeat the visit this year. However, for 2003, we were a bit more formal in that we booked an area for five Pembletons, this was found to be too small anyway, because seven ‘Hoppers’ turned up in all:-
Dave Meredith (Bristol), Don Corbett (Powys), Liz, Dave & Kirsty Millar (Wales), Robert Kennet (Essex), Brian Carmichael (Aylesbury) and me Gerry ‘Three Goals’ accompanied by Ian Lorrimer (Aylesbury). Ian has now become an honorary member of the ‘Barmy Army’.
Also sharing the pitch was Ray McGowan (Buckingham) who brought his Marlin Kit Car (unusual I know but there are some people who don’t build draughty, noisy ‘Three Wheelers’), however in his favour, he did try to sell the Marlin, and if successful, perhaps he will see the light and build a Pembleton (after his lobotomy).
The show was even better than last years. There were many attractions including a hovercraft and a racing car built by a university. There were many classic cars including a very old Lagonda of yesteryear, not remembered by many, except Brian who remembered the launch of the car.
There were demonstrations and shows in the centre arena, one of these was a motorcycle team riding thro’ obstacles that included a wall of fire, this consisted of a bale of hay soaked in kerosene and burning profusely, unfortunately the chap firing the hoop forgot to remove the wire holding he bale of hay together!!, so when the motorcyclist went thro’ the wall of fire he ended up wearing the bale of hay, with his clothes on fire, the motorcycle stalled and was also seriously on fire. The bike would not go again, but the rider was okay, however, we suspect that the lad who forgot to undo the wire received a painful reminder for subsequent performances.
It was a little later when walking round the show that one of the ‘Barmy Army’ crowd found two more Grasshoppers on the far side of the showground. These had been brought here by Steven Burt (Uxbridge) and Richard Cherry (Bicester, Oxon). It seems that when they arrived they could not find us because it was such a big show. Naturally we all met up and had a couple of drinks and a long chat together. Steven has produced his hopper in record time, and a terrific job he has made of it. His model making skills and the ability to make it in his workshop could have been a contributing factor.
As usual, Liz had brought a huge picnic with wine and beer which was enjoyed by all the ‘Barmy Army’ members. It was about this time that Christopher Stone’s parents showed up. Christopher is making a Pembleton but was abroad at the time of the show, so his parents came on his behalf. After seeing our vehicles and having spoken to us all, they went away totally convinced that Pembleton Owners are ’COMPLETELY OFF THEIR TROLLEYS’. The whole day was a resounding success and as usual we were inundated with questions from members of the public who wanted to build one. There were moments of usual interest, like when we helped Brian to stick his detached front wings back onto his car using loads of black tape and tie wraps. His ’Hopper’ is always entertaining ’cos he tends to leave bits of it on most of England’s major roads when they fly off. My outstanding navigational skills came to the fore again, I got lost coming out of the toilets, this did not go unnoticed by Brian, who made great mileage out of it.
All our thanks go to Liz for sharing the wonderful picnic. Next year, Dave Millar (the new chairman of the ‘Barmy Army’) has asked me to reserve a larger plot for the Pembletons to enable more people to attend. We would ask those wishing to go next year to let me, (Gerry ‘Three Goals’) know soonest in order that I can ensure that we get a larger pitch. The show is usually in July and is really worth a visit, the chances are that Liz will let you sample some of her wine, and the Pembleton chat is great.
Best wishes to all and keep ‘Hoppering’ - Gerry
Sounds more like p*** up than a Kit Car Show, pity I missed it Algernon