We also laid on a full bar, serving
local real ale, with Rochford based
Kebble’s Brewery and St George’s
Brewery of Great Wakefield.”
Other attractions over the weekend
included a Saturday and Sunday
Show ‘n’ Shine, a small trade area
and a children’s sandpit play area,
bouncy castles etc. Camping on the
enormous field meant there was
more than ample space for clubs
to camp together, or for individual
quieter areas around the periphery,
at this most rural of venues, yet so
well connected roadwise and very
close to East London. With several
other major Essex based VW shows
taking a break for 2019, the TOMIE
event literally became very true!
Sunday’s Show ‘n’ Shine line-up
mustered its usual very eclectic
mixture of concours, Rat-look,
modified and stock vehicles,
incorporating Beetles, Type 2s,
T3s and more modern T series
campervans. Surely without doubt,
the most original Type 2 of the day
and a former VW C&C feature bus,
was Harry and Rose Cove’s 1966
example. Purchased brand new by
Harry, just a week prior to England
beating West Germany at Wembley
for the World Cup, this campervan
remains incredibly original andstunning in every respect. A fellow
enthusiast asked Harry when it
was restored? To which he quickly
responded, “It hasn’t been!” Indeed,
it’s so sharp, you can’t believe it’s
all original! In complete contrast
was Steve Sharpe’s 1971 Type 2,
a Brazilian import, which has
undergone major restorative work to
a very high standard, complete with
Samba style roof glass. The Split
now features an IRS set-up, Creative
Engineering steering rack, plus
numerous other modern upgrades.
Another bus attracting plenty of
interest, definitely out of curiosity,
was Nigel Broatch’s 1985 T3. Its
exterior is very rustic to say the
least, being painted with grease,
masonry paint and sand, leaving a
rather textured finish. The exterior
also features a myriad of solar
panels, which Nigel reckons can
return in total up to 400watts of
available power. He’s owned the
bus since 2007 and it’s also his
daily driver. It has a Bilbo’s interior
conversion and the whole bus
has been modified to suit Nigel’s
bespoke requirements. It even has a
roof garden!
Despite the rather cool wind
blowing for much of the weekend,
rain and hail showers on Saturday,
interspersed with quite bit of
sunshine too, not the best of
camping weather, TOMIE 2019 was
undoubtedly another successful
event.14: Subtle blue
detailing works well
with the white paint
15: Lots of lovely
patination on this
Type 2
16: T4 Trident –
one of the first
T4 camping
conversions from
Autosleeper
17: The custom
factory look
18: Can’t get much
lower than this?!
19: Lots of airbrush
artwork adorns the
front of this Bay
Window, including
a wood effect
bumper!
20: Very tidy T3
tin top
21: This Bay Window
pick-up truck is still
delivering stalwart
service22: 19-inch Bentley
Continental alloys
seem a popular
fitment with later
vans these days
23: Steve Sharpe’s
excellent 1971 Type
2 Brazilian import,
with matching
painted Puck in tow
24: Gary Dunlop’s
1976 Westfalia Berlin
Deluxe is now high
ridin’ courtesy of
Mercedes-Benz rims
and beefy tyres2324http://www.volkswagencamper.co.ukSHOW^37
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