To say that the trip to Beaulieu and back was eventful would be an
understatement.
This May, it turned out, was the worst on record in England in the last
38 years. After a serious water shortage that had resulted in a ban on
using hoses to water the lawns and gardens, the skies opened up and
bucketed down for 16 of the 19 days I was over there. The Beaulieu
Autojumble was hit so bad that the fields were a quagmire by Sunday, and
the event sponsors called an end to it three hours early. By that time,
most visitors had long departed and the vendors were anxious to close up
shop.
Before I left for England, Peter Shull had sent me a baseball cap with
"Buster's Texas Style Barbeque" emblazoned on it. Although before I had
worn a cap constantly before I went in the Navy, I had not worn one
since. I can't tell you how grateful I was to wear it every day I was
in England!
While at Beaulieu, it was fun to meet up with Jim Lodder from the list
(blacktulipmidget@yahoo.co.uk), his wife and twin boys. After I
encouraged the boys to nag their folks to bring them to Disneyland next
year, we will be able to play host to the family next summer.
I was delighted to pick up about half of my 100+ item shopping list at
the autojumble, and then moved on to AH Spares in Southam, Warwickshire.
The biggest disappointment of my trip was my inability to meet up with
several on the list who had wanted to get together, and even some who
had invited me to spend the night. Unfortunately, unforeseen
circumstances made it impossible to taken them up on their kind offers.
All in all, it was a very satisfying trip!
Buster Evans
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