Today was the occasion of one of my favorite local car shows, "British By The Sea 2017" (BBTS), held at a glorious venue in the town next to mine: Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford, CT. It is sponsored by the MG Registry every year on the first Sunday in June, and if the weather cooperates, it has been known to draw upwards of 300 cars to the show field, a huge meadow overlooking Long Island Sound. This meadow is part of the grounds of the former Harkness Estate, which features a Newport-style 'cottage' which is open for tours today, and is generally reserved for weddings. With the exception of Lime Rock Raceway Park, there is no better venue for a car show in southern New England!
Those are the highlights of the show field, at least from my perspective. There were several hundred cars out there, at least. Needless to say, I didn't photograph nearly all of them. Just the ones I like. ;)
And of course, there is always the show in the parking lot.... of cars not admitted to the show, or choosing not to enter. So I always take a stroll around to see why's interesting out there!
The cars above were all parked in the general parking areas. Having been to this show a number of times before, I know that they always set aside a "Specialty Car" reserved parking area. That is where you will find all the non-British cars, and it is often populated with a wide variety of Porsches, Maseratis, Citroens, BMWs and who knows what else.
So when I arrived at the show in the 323i Baur, I naturally asked to be directed to the Specialty Car Parking area. The first two parking lot traffic fellas thought I was kidding and laughed it off, but the third guy gave me directions on where it was located and how to enter the special roped off area.
I was the first to arrive in the Specialty Car Parking, so I pulled right up into the the most prominent spot, visible to anyone entering the BBTS show! Cool!!
Each year the BBTS has a Featured Marque, which is given the most prominent front row position on the field, naturally! This year the Featured Marque is Morris. I made my way down the front row to reach the southern end of the line to get the better sun angle for my photos, I heard a gentleman talking about his Morris truck, which happened to be the very first in line. I recognized the voice as I approached, and, sure enough, I find my friend, and fellow Baur owner David Tothill of New Hampshire! He is also a Morris guy, it turns out, now owning six of them, including this beautiful pick-up example below!
Well, what a surprise ----for BOTH of us, btw ---to run into each other at a British Car Show, of all places! Our connection up until this moment has only been through our respective ownership of BMW Baurs! It is indeed a Small Baur World, even at a British Car Show! It was great to see Dave here in my backyard, and we had a nice chat. I also had the privilege of meeting his wife, Nancy, for the first time, who for the occasion apparently made an incredible strawberry rhubarb coffeecake, of which Dave was singing the praises! Dave had graciously offered to treat me to some, but I took a temporary 'rain check' on the offer in order to get on with my blog-related photography. I regret that I then got immersed in the rest of the show, and forgot to get back to the NH Car Club tent to take him up on the offer! Mea culpa, Dave!
Anyway, here is Dave and Nancy's Morris truck. A simply gorgeous example, and of course, Dave had an extensive history of the restoration, in this case, by a previous owner. Dave takes pride in doing his own restorations, but this is the one exception in his Morris collection. It is beautiful!
David Tothil and his 1960 Morris Minor 1/4 ton Pick-up. Congrats, Dave, and it was great to see you today!
As an aside..... here are David and Nancy in their 1974 BMW Cabrio Targa by Baur a few years ago. This pic appeared in Hemmings, btw. ;)
1961 Morris Minor 1000
Note the "cheese grater' front grill, which marks this as a pre-1955 model, if I understood Dave correctly.
This one reminds me of the 1969 Morris Minor Convertible driven by Ian McShane in the old BBC comedy/drama/mystery "Lovejoy".
Ian McShane as "Lovejoy" with his Morris Minor convertible.
A woody!
The Morris Mini-Minor! As opposed to the Austin Mini-Cooper! See below.
Here is the rear of the woody! Love it!
London Taxi owned by Curtin Cab Company. You can see this parked daily out on Cross Road in Waterford at the Curtin office. Along with a Checker Taxi. :)
Interior of the London Taxi.
MG sedan section. I mean.... MG Saloon, section. Sorry. Britspeak. ;)
Triumph, I believe.
Jaguar Mark VIII, I think. ;)
Riley Sectiom
Riley
The Life of Riley. ;)
Riley Bonnet Ornament
Roller
Jensen Interceptor
Whoa! What is a Deux Chevaux doing here?
Oooooh! Well, that explains it. ;)
Yes, it is, in fact, a Citroen Deux Chevaux, folks. ;)
Lots of TR6s.....
MG TDs
And the TR-8s....
Triumph Spitfires
MGBs
Triumph TR-2 and 3
Healeys
Sprites!
XK140 Drop Head Coupe!
My friend Steven's beautiful 1984 Series III XJ6. Steven is a Jaguar Series III fanatic, and currently owns 4 of them! All black, btw! And I have to agree.... the Series III is a gorgeous car.
There are a lot of Jags that I like, the majority of which are of this vintage or earlier. But nothing fits the Jaguar image of "Space, Grace and Pace" better than the Series III.
Mark VII
My choice for Best in Show! Amazing Mark V Drop Head Coupe. Drop dead gorgeous!
Get a look at this tool kit! Not to mention the fitted luggage!
Elegant.
Mark X
Yes..... but, I mean 'no'. Don't I? ;)
Meh.
Oh, Lordy! FHC!
And the Land Rovers were there. Lots of them!
Morgans!
Morgan Trike!
Here is what a functioning Lotus Europa looks like. Posting this for a friend. You know who you are! ;)
TVR Gran Tura
Those are the highlights of the show field, at least from my perspective. There were several hundred cars out there, at least. Needless to say, I didn't photograph nearly all of them. Just the ones I like. ;)
And of course, there is always the show in the parking lot.... of cars not admitted to the show, or choosing not to enter. So I always take a stroll around to see why's interesting out there!
You don't see many old Fiats around these days.....
But tow of them came out for the show today!
And an obligatory Datsun Z.
BMW 840CI.
I believe that his is my friend Josh Lyon's Alfa Romeo, although I did not see him on the field today.
So when I arrived at the show in the 323i Baur, I naturally asked to be directed to the Specialty Car Parking area. The first two parking lot traffic fellas thought I was kidding and laughed it off, but the third guy gave me directions on where it was located and how to enter the special roped off area.
I was the first to arrive in the Specialty Car Parking, so I pulled right up into the the most prominent spot, visible to anyone entering the BBTS show! Cool!!
This is what the area looked like when I arrived. You can see that there is a large area cordoned off with yellow tape. The entrance to the lot is at the far end of the field, btw.
But wait! This is also exactly how it looked as I departed, which is when this pic was taken. I was apparently the ONLY guy who knew that the BBTS sets aside a special area to feature "Specialty Car" that are not eligible to be in the show!
Well, now! Don't I feel just so special! ;)
Anyway, it was a great show as usual. The weather, always a roll of the dice in early June in these parts, started out beautiful, but the clouds were rolling in throughout the afternoon. It was completely overcast by the time I left. And then the rain came, but fortunately not before most of the participants had headed home.
Thank you to the MG Registry and Harkness Memorial State Park for another great day!
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