Dear Listers,
The Woodley Park event in Los Angeles was just superb. As organizer, I can
provide the place, hire the band, line up the clubs and vendors and send
out the publicity ( over and over and over again - as many of you told me!
) but it is the car owners and the enthusiasts who bring the attitude and
"vibes" with them that really make the difference between an OK and a
really fantastic meet.
My morning started at 6AM. On my way to the park with the top down on our
'59 Morris Minor, I said to myself, "My, this is pleasant," without
thinking that if it was pleasant THAT early in the morning, how hot it
would be at noon! As the vendors arrived and set up and the big PA from
Hollywood Sound started pumping out strains of Vivaldi, Motzart, a little
Chet Baker and some Stan Getz, the magic began. The crew from Chequered
Flag International in Marina del Rey insisted on being placed near the
stage and soon their tents and beautiful display cars totally obscured the
public restrooms! Tres cool but unintentional. Soon the smell of bangers
and imported bacon filled the air as The Ministry of Food prepared a
traditional English breakfast. On a sad note, Esther, the expresso cart
lady, had trouble with her generator ( Honda, not Lucas, I might add - damn
thing wouldn't start!) and had to go home because we had no 220 volt
electricity on site for her cappicino machine. I sure missed my iced mocas.
Cars came from all over for the first time in a long time. Fred Gooch and
his wife drove all the way from Tucson, Az in his green, skirted Morris
Minor 4-door, George Kelson drove his pale yellow '58 Minor ragtop down
from San Francisco and another Morris guy, who I didn't meet, sported
Washington number plates on his white 4-door. Skip Burns trailered his
pre-war "cream cracker" MG PA from San Antonio, Texas for both the San
Diego meet the week before and Woodley. He won the MG "British Spirit"
award, a pair of the MGs Across America tapes from British Car Films of
London.
Other winners were: Bob Dietz' fantastic red Cad Allard J2X roadster in
postwar sports, Orlando Herrera's superb silver Aston Martin DB5 (like
James Bond's) in postwar 4-place, a late-'30s BRG MG TA winning for the
second year as Best Pre-war and finally Dennis Webb's recently repainted,
red Land Rover as Best Truck/SUV. The Club Participation Platter went to
the Southern California MG Club.
Speaking of MGs, the American MGB Association did their West Coast National
Convention at the Woodley meet and provided additional awards and
activities for MGB and Midget owners. Their "People's Choice" MG awards
went to four (count 'em, four) green winners! EACH ONE A DIFFERENT SHADE OF
BRG!!!
By the end of the day, we had about 400 cars on display and a couple
thousand people visit the park. A special thanks to primary sponsors; Moss
Motors, Victoria British Ltd. Barlow Insurance, British Car Magazine, and
British Motorsports Inc. of Campbell, CA, and to all of the local shops,
suppliers and British car clubs who helped support and publicize the event.
Also a special thanks to Mark Bradikis and his autox.team.net lists that
allow everyone online British know about the event. Without you all, we
have nothing.
But again, a BIG thank you to the SoCal British car enthusiasts who brought
your cars, hearts and smiles to the event. We all enjoyed the day - Hope to
see you next year.
Rick Feibusch
Venice, CA
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