Wallop '25

With the tail lights looking fabulous (all four done now), it seemed a good time to show the car off. Fortunately it was booked into "Wallop Wings & Wheels". We set off bright & early with the Sat Nav constantly saying "Turn around where possible" because it thought junction 4 of the M3 was closed - it wasn't.

We were parked up on the first row of the show field next to a 2CV, so as the show cars were still coming in, we went to look at the planes. The selection was interesting rather than spectacular, but we got a few photos in before the crowds arrived. this one is an Auster from the Army Air collection.

There was a very early Bell - we should see this fly at Shuttleworth next time.

Unfortunately around this time the compare started talking, think local hospital radio DJ, irritating but not overly so, but then the music started, there was a variety for maybe half a dozen songs, then the Eagles came on - not the good tracks, the country & western end of the repertoire. Then more, then more, then it was all repeated, track after track. We were getting really quite cross. Only as we left did "Life In The Fast Lane" & "Hotel California" come on.

It's not an air show, but there is some flying & it was opened by a red Arrows flypast, after which we got on with the serious business of looking at cars.

There was quite a variety, though an awful lot of Morgans 

Nice old Seven, an actual Lotus, with "God's own engine" (a Crossflow) & in the right colour.

 Alpines - original & modern, the original probably has more luggage space.

lovely old Aston Martin

I've seen this a few times, it's lovely - though I am biased towards a 100e (yes, I know that's a 300e). This one's a little odd as it has BL running gear - an MGB engine, hence the signwriting (H Ford, MG Spares - Dagenham & Cowley), but the style & finish is excellent.

I liked this AH3000 too, the black with cream roundels, very nice.

Very nice TVR Grantura, there were a couple of rows of TVRs, I'm affraid they lost me after the Cerbera, just way too outlandish - & I'm the one that likes Hot Rods

Can you tell that was designed before speed cameras? 😁

It needs some orange though.

Next the RAF Falcons parachute display team did a jump, they were very good - certainly better than the RAF woman doing the talking for them, "If anyone sees the plane they're going to jump out of, can you point it out for me". "This is just a sighting pass, they won't jump yet - oh - they're jumping". "Now they're doing the such & such formation - oh no - that's the something else formation".

After that a recently civilianised Lynx did a display - getting into some of the "helicopters-can't-do-that" positions that a proper Lynx display does. The following photos are not rotated.

This aircraft isn't currently cleared for the more extreme manoeuvres the Lynx is capable of.

After the Lynx, the Army Air Corps put on a very spectacular display with loud bangs & fireballs, but by this time we'd been wandering round a field with no shelter in 32degree heat for six hours, we'd drunk all the bottles of drink & had gone to hide from the sun in the museum, I've seen photos other people took & it was really quite spectacular - but not worth collapsing with heat exhaustion for.

So at 4:00 we wandered back to the Stylus past this '40 Ford & the Consul Capri - shame on Ford for calling that electric barge "Capri" - it's not even a Ford, it's a VW in a brightly coloured frock.

Any ideas?

It's a Datsun 240Z that's been soft topped. Never seen one before.