Vauxhall’s Heritage Centre – a nostalgic trip to Luton - 08/10/12
As mentioned in an earlier blog post, this weekend saw the Vauxhall Heritage Centre open its doors to the public in an arrangement with the VBOA. On Sunday 07/10/12, I drove down to Luton to enjoy the sights, take pictures, reminisce, buy some souvenirs and maybe see some people I knew.
The weather on Sunday was fine and, bearing in mind the washout that was Billing 2012, that was a good start.
Here’s the format for the event:
The museum garage doors were opened to allow entrance into the centre. The car park in front of the museum was full of classics brought along by the attendees; the wider car park utilised for the Vauxhall car clubs (that chose to hold a gathering for members) and a collection of autojumblers selling their wares to the enthusiasts. There was a big grill in one corner selling freshly prepared food and the Help for Heroes charity represented just inside the doors to the Heritage Centre.
I was in my element wandering around, taking photos and wishing I owned more than one or two of the lovely cars on display.
Bizarrely, the best bit of all for me was walking into the Heritage Centre and smelling its aroma. The Heritage Centre has this distinct smell which is a combination of engine oil, leather, rubber, polish and no doubt many other ingredients too. Why was it the best bit? Well the olfactory delights just transported me back 16 years in a split second.
I used to work at Vauxhall’s UK head office (Griffin House) and I used to spend many of my lunch hours in the museum with its custodians, the likeable Bernard Ridgeley and Ray Cooper. The aroma all these years later is the same as it was in those days. It's a smell I associate with good times and I felt an almost spiritual uplift as soon as I walked through the door. Of course I got used to it quickly so then made the conscious decision to go out and come back in again a few times just to soak it up some more.
I’ll admit; I may have looked a bit odd walking in and out and then just standing still for a few moments breathing deeply! Still, looking odd was a risk I was prepared to take!
The funny thing is that if you had asked me before visiting what would have pleased me most about going back into this environment, smell would not have appeared anywhere in the list of sensational pleasure – I’d have gone for the visual every time.
Inside the museum, I photographed one of the latest editions to the collection, the droopsnoot Firenza KAU398N - last time I visited the Heritage Centre this car had been stripped to its original, and rather tired, shell.
The centre’s vehicle restorers worked really hard on this car and it took some time to complete but it looked fantastic. Practical Classics magazine covered the restoration process if you are interested to know more.
Back outside; the well-known Lindsay brothers had a stall and were selling various items and I stopped by and bought a variety of black and white photographs from them - my favourite of which I have scanned and posted to this article. This airborne, damaged and decidedly muddy Firenza grabbed my attention – what a great shot! The photograph is as creased as the car but somehow that feels just right.
On the subject of pictures, behind the autojumble, and away from the man display area, was a car that I was pleased to see and to photograph. It was a 1976 Viva 1300 SL with a black vinyl roof and painted in extra dark wine with hand-painted red coach lines – SCG552P. This unassuming Viva wasn’t in spotless condition, had the wrong grill and later Chevette Rostyle wheels but I loved it because it was just like my first car MMJ415P. That didn’t just take me back 16 years; that took me back twenty-something!
A classic car event is always going to be nostalgic but for me, this outing was better than normal thanks to the couple of time travel moments.
I have attached a series of the pictures that I took at the event, if there are any that you’d like a copy of, just get in touch and I’ll send them on.
Reviews and Recommendations Home
Home
The weather on Sunday was fine and, bearing in mind the washout that was Billing 2012, that was a good start.
Here’s the format for the event:
The museum garage doors were opened to allow entrance into the centre. The car park in front of the museum was full of classics brought along by the attendees; the wider car park utilised for the Vauxhall car clubs (that chose to hold a gathering for members) and a collection of autojumblers selling their wares to the enthusiasts. There was a big grill in one corner selling freshly prepared food and the Help for Heroes charity represented just inside the doors to the Heritage Centre.
I was in my element wandering around, taking photos and wishing I owned more than one or two of the lovely cars on display.
Bizarrely, the best bit of all for me was walking into the Heritage Centre and smelling its aroma. The Heritage Centre has this distinct smell which is a combination of engine oil, leather, rubber, polish and no doubt many other ingredients too. Why was it the best bit? Well the olfactory delights just transported me back 16 years in a split second.
I used to work at Vauxhall’s UK head office (Griffin House) and I used to spend many of my lunch hours in the museum with its custodians, the likeable Bernard Ridgeley and Ray Cooper. The aroma all these years later is the same as it was in those days. It's a smell I associate with good times and I felt an almost spiritual uplift as soon as I walked through the door. Of course I got used to it quickly so then made the conscious decision to go out and come back in again a few times just to soak it up some more.
I’ll admit; I may have looked a bit odd walking in and out and then just standing still for a few moments breathing deeply! Still, looking odd was a risk I was prepared to take!
The funny thing is that if you had asked me before visiting what would have pleased me most about going back into this environment, smell would not have appeared anywhere in the list of sensational pleasure – I’d have gone for the visual every time.
Inside the museum, I photographed one of the latest editions to the collection, the droopsnoot Firenza KAU398N - last time I visited the Heritage Centre this car had been stripped to its original, and rather tired, shell.
The centre’s vehicle restorers worked really hard on this car and it took some time to complete but it looked fantastic. Practical Classics magazine covered the restoration process if you are interested to know more.
Back outside; the well-known Lindsay brothers had a stall and were selling various items and I stopped by and bought a variety of black and white photographs from them - my favourite of which I have scanned and posted to this article. This airborne, damaged and decidedly muddy Firenza grabbed my attention – what a great shot! The photograph is as creased as the car but somehow that feels just right.
On the subject of pictures, behind the autojumble, and away from the man display area, was a car that I was pleased to see and to photograph. It was a 1976 Viva 1300 SL with a black vinyl roof and painted in extra dark wine with hand-painted red coach lines – SCG552P. This unassuming Viva wasn’t in spotless condition, had the wrong grill and later Chevette Rostyle wheels but I loved it because it was just like my first car MMJ415P. That didn’t just take me back 16 years; that took me back twenty-something!
A classic car event is always going to be nostalgic but for me, this outing was better than normal thanks to the couple of time travel moments.
I have attached a series of the pictures that I took at the event, if there are any that you’d like a copy of, just get in touch and I’ll send them on.
Reviews and Recommendations Home
Home
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
