It was a slightly tired voice that answered the phone as Pola & I arrived in Tadley. Slugga had instructed us to be at his for 7:30 at the latest - sadly he had "somehow" slept through his alarm, so our departure for the Welsh border was slightly delayed. We needn't have worried, for two hours later we arrived at an almost-empty Three-Counties Showground in Malvern.
Still, as they say, the early bird catches the worm - or in this case, the trade stand bargains. We hurried in to see what was available, each with our specific wants, knowing that Inters was just round the corner. Slugga was after some front-end parts for his new project valver; as usual, Pola wanted anything bling; and I was hunting for a replacement pair of bumpers for the Cabby.
GSF provided most of the parts, with a new pair of mk1 wings somehow finding their way into my hands - Slugga managed his usual trick of getting a few quid off the purchase! I also picked up some dash inserts for the Cab from Trimsport. Then it was time for us to be tempted by the company selling polished strut braces and cages. Luckily they didnt have any mk1 stuff, otherwise I could have been waving goodbye to even more cash!
Once the buying was out of the way it was time to investigate the various cars that had turned up for the event. The were several club stands, as well as a hotly contested show & shine. The two mk1s stood out for me (quelle surprise!), one black and looking stock, the other orange, with a awesome front-end and custom interior.
Following that, we went out to sniff round the car-park and take a look at Leon's mk1 whose exhaust had half fallen off on the journey down. There were plenty of very nice cars to be seen, including a Caddy and old-skool Audi.
In summary, the show was a bit on the small-side, but it provided a good oppertunity to buy new parts, also to get a glimpse of what other dubbers are going to be showing this year.
Words & pictures by Tris.