Vintage Fair

Nostalgia may be a thing of the past but it has really caught on around here. There's a lot happening to commemorate the start of World War One and we keep seeing vintage cars all over the place.

We had a huge gathering of Hillman Imps at the Racecourse over the week-end. The Imp was a small, square box of a thing, largely overshadowed by the Mini when it came out, but it had a lightweight rear engine with overhead cams and an advanced gear-box. This was a small version of the Coventry Climax engine used in racing cars at the time. I know all this because I had a fibreglass Bond 3-wheeler van with the same engine. It went like a rocket.

Ramsey is a small agricultural town that sits on a low ridge at the edge of the Fens. There is a local election brewing and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) stands a good chance of success there. Their main goals are to pull us out of the EU and curb immigration.

They represent the sort of disgruntled men who wind each other (and the rest of us) up in the public bar. For them, everything was better in the old days.

Radio comedian, Marcus Brigstock, parodied a UKIP rally in a sketch on BBC Radio 4.



"What do we want?"
"1950"
"When do we want it?"
"Now"

It's rather sweet to see UKIP as the "Bring Back Nostalgia Party" and they have a befuddled, tweedy, beer-drinking leader who epitomises that image for a lot of people, especially readers of the Daily Mail who believe Britain is going to Hell in a hand-cart. Sadly, they have attracted quite a few people with very right-wing views, and therein lies the danger.

This week-end, Ramsey was the place to be for nostalgic old guys of every persuasion. We had steam engines, old bangers, vintage tractors, steam powered fairground rides, motorbikes and a Wild West side-show.

It was all really great, except for the cowboys' acting which featured a lot of West Midland accents. (Imagine Noddy Holden from Slade as a cowboy). Dan loved it, of course, especially when everyone got shot dead. Dan's carer Malcolm even got in on the act.

There are more photos on my Facebook page.