Sol Classic Car Club

Fun in the sun

Following last year's very popular May picnic "at home" in Valtocado with Qasim and Hebbi, it was unanimously decided to repeat it this year; in fact it looks as though this may well become an annual event!

A cavalcade of classics arrived early at the Club's new venue, Marbella Golf and Country Club so that members could enjoy a leisurely breakfast before the run. As we are now beginning to expect, the friendly staff were on hand to provide a warm welcome.

After April's decidedly inclement weather, drivers were relieved to see the sun streaming down on the gleaming paintwork of the line-up of cars, making an impressive display in the beautiful tropical gardens outside the club house.

The Hillman Minx owned by Committee member Ken Cotton was especially intriguing and more than one visiting golfer could be heard reminiscing that "we had one just like that when I was younger"!

Members had been asked to bring a "dish to share" and there was much ferrying of cool boxes and packing of bags in the car park, where Bobbie had kindly offered to take the food direct to the venue rather than risk any of it spoiling in the heat. The rest of us then set off to give the cars some exercise before lunch!

Led by Bob and Carol in their bright red 1984 Morgan, the cars then convoyed along the costa towards Mijas, an eye-catching sight on the N340, before turning inland. Although the route inevitably took in some of the concrete jungle, going past half-finished and empty urbanisations, drivers and passengers were amazed and delighted by the number of hidden "campo" roads that Bob had managed to discover in this area. These were made all the more attractive by the abundance of spring flowers after the recent rains.

The instructions proved quite challenging – it's remarkable how many twists and turns there are in some of the urbanisations below Mijas Pueblo – but everyone finally managed to arrive in Valtocado, everyone that is except Lynn and Sandra Lacey whose Porsche was definitely having an "off day" and had to be taken home. Fortunately for the rest of us Sandra's delicious pavlova with strawberries and cream had gone on ahead and was vastly enjoyed by everyone else!

An excellent afternoon was spent socialising and relaxing on the sheltered terrace in Qas's beautiful garden. The amount of food was impressive and everyone could tuck in to an amazing variety of dishes for very little cost (and there was enough to fill umpteen "doggy bags" afterwards!).

The Club is very aware that running classic cars in the current recession can prove a very expensive business for some members particularly if meals out have to be budgeted for on top of the petrol costs. But as today proved classic fun need not be prohibitively expensive!

Thank you Qas and Hebbi for hosting the event - we hope that you enjoyed it as much as Frazer who was in his element cadging all sorts of food from every table!

Gibraltar Rally 2010

Several members drove down to "the Rock" for the annual rally hosted by Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association. The day included a parade through the streets followed by a static display in Ocean Village where lunch was served later at Pusser's Landing.

Among the participants from SOL Classic Car Club was Elizabeth Howells, whose MG Midget, affectionately known as "Margaret" was back on the road for the festivities after an extended break for repairs.