Classic & Sports Car UK – September 2019

OUR CLASSICS

192 Classic & Sports Car September 2019

MuchasI likea nicetidycar,I’ve

neverbeenmuchofa polisher.For

me,carswerebuiltto bedriven,not

tositona manicuredlawn,though

thelatteris becominganincreas-

inglybetterplacetoseedesirable

andunusualclassics.It is alsoa less

taxingenvironmentforthesubjects

onparade,sowhentheinvitation

cametodisplaymycarsasthe

featuredcollectorattheLondon

Concours,heldat theHonourable

ArtilleryCompanyon5-6June,

I agreedwithouthesitation.

TheHACalsoheldpersonal

memoriesforme,becauseinthe

late1960sournext-doorneigh-

boursat thetimewouldoftendrag

mealongtothevenuewiththeir

childrenforSundaylunch.

Amemberoftheorganising

teamthensowedtheseedofa

cunningplan:“Youshouldgetallof

theteamfromthemagtodrivea

careach.”Andso,ona miserable

wetTuesdaylunchtime,theC&SC

gangassembledin mybackyard.

Clementshasalwayshada thing

fortheblackGalaxie,whichis

moreinvolvingtodrivethesedays

oncrosspliesanditsoriginalsteel

wheels.Bigcar,bigguy:sorted.

Littlecars,smallerfolk– conse-

quentlyNorfolknativePhillipswas

thrownthekeysfortheLotusand

PopegiventheMini.Nota regular

onthesepages,thelittle 850 auto

wasmylatewife’scar,ownedsince

1989,andwasrequestedtofill

a gapin theIconsclass.

MacLemanhadeyedupWooly

Bullyat lastyear’sLeMansClassic

sohewasa shoo-inthere,and

photographerWilliamswasgiven

custodyofthe’32Ford.Walsh,on

theotherhand,waskeento experi-

encethecacophonousdelightsof

KandeeTwist,despiteitslackof

wipersortreadedreartyres.

Muchto everyone’samazement,

notleastmine,I wastoleadthis

RUNBYJulianBalme

ALLOFTHEM!

LONDONER DISPLAYS HIS ARMOURY

Drivers’ briefing is held in Balme’s kitchenSnapper Williams takes charge of the ’32

Tiger, Spitfire and Galaxie

Country Sedan aside, the

entire Balme fleet made

the journey into central

London (the non-running

TR4 arrived by trailer)

An understandably

nervous Walsh gets ready

to unleash a street-legal

dragster on wet roads