Contradictory to the weatherman's promises, it was an overcast sky that greeted me as I dropped the top on the cabby. Following some mechanical troubles, Jeff had spent the night in Kingston, and so I was picking him up from there en route to joining the rest of the convoy at the regular No-Rice meet venue, Ladymeads in Guildford.
Upon arrival, it was plain to see that there was already a fine selection of dubs in the car-park. It was a little strange to be there during the day, since us J29ers seldom make it to the NR meets there before dusk, but as usual John and Nicky had planned things well and there was a map and directions waiting there for us. A quick stop for a nutritious breakfast from Burger King and we were on our way.
The route we were taking was pretty straight-forward: A3, M25 and M23/A23 all the way to Brighton with a stop on the way to meet more cars. Luckily, the traffic was fairly light, so it allowed for the usual convoy fun and good picture-taking oppertunaties. Everyone seemed in good spirits as we made our way along the motorway, with plenty of other road-users admiring the train of dubs occupying the inside lane.
Following some rather 'interesting' stops to sort out directions, we found our way to the A23 Burgess Hill service area where another load of dubs were waiting. After taking on some badly-needed fuel, it was a case of park where you could as all of the legitmate spaces were taken. By this time the clouds were begining to break up, and beautiful blue sky was clearly visible. So, after 30 minutes or so of chatting and taking a few refreshments, we were on our way again.
First stop in Brighton was at Stanmer Park for the photoshoot part of the day. I'm not sure the other park-goers where all that impressed at over 50 VWs rolling in, but you could not deny it was fairly spectacular.
The cars were quickly organised into groups: the various marks of Golfs and Jettas, Scirroco's and then the rest, including a tastefully modded Lupo. Cameras instantly started clicking at a tremendous rate. The line up worked well, with the classic Mk1 lines at the front, through to the modern Mk4s at the back.
With the sun now beating down, people's thoughts turned to hitting the beach in Brighton. Cars left in smaller groups to chance their hand at finding parking spaces on a bank holiday weekend. Even in our small group of five, people still stared as we made our way passed the Pavilion towards the seafront. The crowds were truely out, and the laydees were loving the procession of dubs rolling along.
We took in all the delights of Brighton seafront, including Rob winning the Dophin Derby on the pier, lazing on the beach and a bit of paddling, as well as enjoying the finest milkshakes in the world at the Boardwalk. By 7 o'clock we were ready to leave, and so the remaining few of us headed for some more banter and grub at the Harvester on the road out of town. An excellent day was had by all, and many new friends made in the process.
Jeff and I couldn't resist a final pimp up and down the promenade, and once we'd been admired by a few more girls, it was time for a leisurely jaunt along the coast to Eastbourne, before finally putting the top-up and joining the A22 homeward bound.
Words by Tris, pictures by Jeff & Tris.