30.06.2002
feeling kinda
i woke up this morning to the sounds of car horns. my first sleepy thought was that there had been another near miss outside the house. as i lay there debating whether to call the cops, i realised that these weren't angry horns. they were happy horns. people cruising up and down the streets, beeping and tooting and generally having a good time. 'ah. brazil must have won the world cup!' really nice to wake up to happy city sounds.
there's a large brazilian and portugese population around here, much like my college neighborhood. it's an interesting, wonderful cultural education to live with people who celebrate by taking to the streets. people dancing, singing, generally whooping it up, hanging out of car windows with flags, cheering and calling to each other - and they were everywhere today. made for a great drive into the Square.
headed off to another car show today, this time British Car Day. i love that the Museum of Transportation had a lawn show nearly every weekend in the summer. and this one was a good one, too. i was happy with the MG/Rover show, having discovered the latest object of my lust and affection there. this promised to be even better. and it was.
small segue: these cell phone thingies are addictive. oh, yes, they are. i had to pick up sunscreen and coffee, not necessarily in that order, and headed off. then i realized while in line at Dunkies that i probably should have asked if Rocky wanted anything. so what do i do? yep. called him. *shakes head, smiling* oh, the places we go with new toys.
anyway, headed over to the show and was immediately happy. it's so nice to be driving around town and see all these little British cars on the road. there's a camaraderie about it, too, with nods and waves going back and forth. Rupert was in the show today, which made it fun as well. (Rupert is Rocky's car. let's just say it's a good thing to name cars.) put on some sunscreen, kicked off my shoes, and wandered around, drooling over various cars.
lessee... what was good... 1954 Jaguar, with possibly the sexiest front end i've ever seen - wonderful rounded headlight housings, looong hood which came to a near point, smooth, sexy curves all over the place - yum. interesting thing is that the model from two years earlier and a year later just weren't as sexy. leave it to the engineers to keep tinkering with a good thing. several friends had cars in the show (bumped into an old coworker who had the twin car to Rupert, in another instance of SmallWorld). a genyuwine London cab - now, why can't we have sensible taxis like that? one of the vendors came in on a Royal Enfield, which i had never seen or heard of before. classic British motorcycle, and very sexy, along the lines of a Harley. when he rumbled by, i literally stopped in midsentence, turned around and followed him across the lawn, just to get a closer look. *giggle* thanks for teaching me to love these monsters, ChicaBeanie!
and i had the great good fortune to meet the man who founded The British Invasion, an annual car show up on Stowe. he had a mint car that i was curious about even before i knew who he was. 1947 Rolls, tricked out with Oriental carpets on the floor, linen and crystal on the trays in the back, and pillows in the back seat. the car is just mint, mint, mint. right hand drive, of course, and the glove compartment has the original tools in it. also, in the boot, the original tool box - which, classily enough, was a gorgeous wood. when you think that these were built to be touring cars, it makes sense that there are trays and tools.
he also had a six foot tall bear in the driver's seat, and a tiny bear wearing racing leathers in the back seat. i asked him if i could stick my head in the car to take a picture of TinyBear (seemed only polite), knowing that mom would love it. he did me one better - opened the door for me to get a better shot, then took TinyBear out and perched him on the hood, telling me that it was a much better picture. (he was right.) talking with him afterwards, he encouraged me to register for the show. 'but i don't have a car to show.' ah, but if you register, you get a lawn chair, goodie bags, a marque from the show, and a pass to the cocktail party with tickets for two drinks. hell, since the show founder told me that little trick, i just may do it. ;)
