Summer Serendipity

Owners of older cars continue to enjoy driving to Mark Garfitt’s Summer Serendipity (a word introduced to the VSCC by Jenks — I didn’t know he had a dictionary) at the Verzons near Ledbury.This year’s brought sunshine and some 51 appropriate cars at the time of counting, with counter-attractions of a small autojumble and the very good Georgia jazz band. Hamish Moffatt flew over in his DH Gipsy Moth, on his way to the Shuttleworth Trust’s Moth Day at Biggleswade.

Oldest car was Chris Clark’s latest Lanchester, a 1908 tiller-steered coupe, which took the main prize. The Austins numbered 10, three A7 Chummies, the Seymour Price trio of smart Ulsters, two specials, a Pearl cabriolet and a Sixteen, Lagonda scored four, two 3-litres, a 2-litre, and Paul Tebbett’s special. There were three mixed Bentleys, seven 12/50 Alvises plus a Speed-20 saloon, Ian Green’s 12/70 special, and a Silver Eagle. Others to please were Arthur Gibson’s Akela GN, a 1924 Shelsley Crossley tourer, Mike Marshall’s T35B Bugatti, Greg Neale’s 319/55 FN-BMW, Steve Southall’s R-R Ghost tourerjohn Fenton’s elderly Buick, another Lanchester and an R-R 20 in the same ownership for 41 years.

Add one each of MG, Morris 8, Morgan, FordY, 20/25 R-R, Standard 10,Talbot 75, and two Rileys and a prize-winning 9/20 Humber, plus lots of PVTs, Ray Moses’ Ariel motorcycle and all the moderns of those not yet converted to vintage-power, and it was quite a party.