Enthusiasts Of British Motor Vehicles
  • Home
  • News
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Photo Galleries
    • 2025 >
      • 2025 Pride of Longbridge Show ​Photo Gallery
      • 2025 NEC Resto Show ​Photo Gallery
      • 2025 Yorkshire Moors & Coastal Towns Tour ​Photo Gallery
    • 2024 >
      • 2024 BL Autumn Rally ​Photo Gallery
      • 2024 Fabulous Fourth Peak District Tour Gallery Gallery
      • 2024 Glos Vintage & Country Extravaganza Gallery
      • 2024 North Devon Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2024 NEC Restoration Show Photo Gallery
      • 2024 Norfolk Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2024 Coal in the Valleys Photo Gallery
    • 2023 >
      • 2023 NEC Classic Motor Show Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Fat Lamb 3 Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Warwickshire Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Lucas isn't bored Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Gar's birthday tour of Devon Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Shropshire Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Anglesey & Snowdonia Tour Photo Gallery
    • 2022 >
      • 2022 Classic Motor Show Gallery
      • 2022 Fat Lamb Tour Gallery
      • 2022 NC500 - the Grand Tour of the Scottish Coast Photo Gallery
      • 2022 Glos Vintage & Country Extravaganza Gallery
      • 2022 Best of Yorkshire Tour Gallery
      • 2022 Peak District Revisited Tour Gallery
      • 2022 Gaydon Weekend Gallery
      • 2022 NEC Resto Show Gallery
      • 2022 Forest of Dean Winter Tour Gallery
    • 2021 >
      • 2021 Classic Motor Show Gallery
      • 2021 Fat Lamb Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Welsh Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Jurassic Coast Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Crich Museum & Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Staffs Oatcake Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Boston CCC Show Photo Gallery
    • 2019 >
      • Yorkshire Moors Driving Tour 2019
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC Nov 2019
      • New Forest Driving Tour 2019
      • Gloucester Vintage & Steam Extravaganza Photo Gallery 2019
      • Tour of the Dark Peak Photo Gallery 2019
      • Codgers do the Cotswolds 2019
      • Bubble Car Museum Gallery 2019
      • Brecon Beacons driving tour 2019
      • Morgan Factory tour 2019
      • Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show 2019
    • 2018 >
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC November 2018
      • Isle of Wight Tour 2018
      • Brunel's Somerset Tour Gallery 2018
      • Gloucester Vintage Extravaganza 2018
      • Maesteg Charity Classic Car Show & Driving Tour 2018
      • Bubble Car Museum & Driving Tour 2018
      • Peak District Driving Tour 2018
      • Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show 2018
      • Coventry Transport Museum 2018 >
        • Joel Lodder's 2018 Coventry meet gallery
    • 2017 >
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC November 2017
      • Snowdonia Driving Tour 2017
      • Gloucester Vintage Extravaganza 2017
      • Lupin Farm Charity Car Show 2017
      • The Shackleton Trust 2017
      • Crich Tramway Museum 2017
      • Bubble Car Museum 2017
      • Pride of Longbridge 2017
      • April 2017 Practical Classics Restoration Show (NEC)
    • 2016 >
      • Crich Tramway Museum 2016
    • 2015 >
      • Bubble Car Museum 2015
      • Coventry Transport Museum 2015
  • YouTube
  • Insurance
  • Shop
  • Mailing List
  • Contact
  • Join
  • About

blogs

Categories

All
Alan Warwick
Andy Perman
Anthony Osborne
Austin Mini
Brett Richardson
Brian Allison
Brits Abroad
Callum Tooey
Classic Motor Show
Daniel Bysouth
Drive It Day
Eddy Glass
Eric Dalton
Focus On British Classics
Gar Cole
Graeme Moore
Graham Hemsley
Group Events
Group Tours
Gus Brooks
Holly Bush
In The Workshop
Jim Lodder
Joel Lodder
John Lonergan
John O'Cean
John Simpson
Kevin Thompson
Mark Smith
Matthew Homburg
Members Classics
Members Recollections
Mick Masters
Mike Peake
Nicholas Webb
Nick Arthur
Nigel Hughes (Vauxhall Cavalier & Chevette Club PR)
Paul Sweeney
Projects
Steve Favill
The Weekly Groan
Tony "Tosh" Brooks
Unsung Heroes
VLOG
YouTube

Archives

April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
February 2021
December 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
September 2016
August 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015

Poppy does Prom and then goes to Bomber County Part 1. Fatbloke and Poppy Pt 38

1/6/2018

0 Comments

 
By Mike Peake
​I’m still on a high from our Peaks tour, maybe because it took me so long to write the blogs, but now it’s time to get my head around our next event which was the group tour around Lincolnshire on Saturday followed by our meet in the show field at the Boston Bubble Car Museum on Sunday.
 
There was a lot of "Will she, won’t she?" from Mrs FB, not helped by my bumbling incompetence and double-booking myself.  A friend of a friend’s daughter was in need of prom transport and I didn’t connect the dates before I said yes. Therefore Friday afternoon had me making Poppy and myself presentable instead of packing for the weekend.
Picture
​Kayley and Oliver are a lovely young couple who seemed almost as smitten with Poppy as my family are. I had strict instructions on when and where to be. I arrived slightly early and was ready for the family photoshoot where Oliver’s extended family all oohed and ahhed over Poppy until Kayley arrived looking lovely and they all oohed and ahhed over her.
​Despite spending two hours on her hair and makeup and my warnings that it can be “quite blowy” in the back of a Herald with the roof down, Kayley insisted on leaving the roof down, and the 12 miles to the venue was covered sedately in an effort not to completely destroy the “do”.

​We made it with all our hair intact and then sat in the queue for the red carpet entrance. There were loads of interesting Promenader delivery vehicles but nearly all too new for our groups. Being a rural area, lots of the kids turned up in tractors which whilst agricultural, actually cost a lot more than the Ferraris, Bentleys and Mustangs that were also delivering young people. One tractor was pulling a trailer with a half dozen girls in their Prom finery, sat on hay bales. My personal favourite though was this old fire engine. Emily (my youngest) had a ride on this at her prom too.
Picture
​For every time Oliver would point out some flash, expensive modern Ferrari or Mustang etc, Kayley would always say, “ I prefer our ride” or” this one is much nicer”, which was lovely for me to hear. One girl in a modern Bentley Continental even shouted out that Kayley “looked so cute in that car”. Apparently this girl was one of the “It” girls and had never spoken to Kayley before.
 
45 minutes after joining the queue, I was starting to get a little concerned as Poppy was running really hot, but we were close to the drop-off point, so I just sat there and prayed to the gods of Proms and old cars that we would get the kids to the red carpet without embarrassment . We did. I jumped out and held the door open and the seat up in such a good chauffer manner that even Paul Mattinson would have been jealous. The kids got out and had a professional pic taken with the car. At last I could set off at a decent speed and Poppy quickly returned to normal operating temperature.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was a privilege to be part of such a lovely couple of kids special evening and I really hope they enjoyed themselves and felt special in my car. Oliver’s Mum sent me the following message along with some of the photos above which made it even more worthwhile for me.
 
“Thank you so much for yesterday, you really did make Oliver and Kayley’s day. It was very kind of you to take them and we greatly appreciate it. Kathryn.”
 
Prom duties complete and feeling that I might actually be a nice bloke, I went home via the chippy for some fish and chips and it was time for the giant game of Tetris. Mrs FB had decided that she would grace us with her presence on this event. So, all the camping equipment, plus all the luxuries that Anita would require like clothes, had to be packed into Poppy.  I did have the added space of my boot rack that I’d fitted to hide my painting disaster. However, we were still rather full and couldn’t have the roof down or everything would have blown off the back seat. 
​Now, I was planning on either driving all the way up and pitching the tent at midnight in the forecast rain or setting off ridiculously early on Saturday morning, but no. I had Anita with me and she had done the sensible thing and booked a Travelodge at Thrapstone about two thirds of the way. A very heavily loaded Poppy arrived at about 11.30 PM in time for a nice cuppa and a good sleep...  after we had to unpack everything to find the overnight bag.
 
Saturday morning, and after unpacking everything to get the overnight bag back in the car we set off. We hadn’t got far though before I realised that my ignition light was still on and we pulled over in a layby to see if I could figure out why.
Picture
​Well, the new brushes were still in place and seemed ok so I suspected the voltage regulator. Because of the limited space available and the fact that Mrs FB was attending, I only had room to pack the absolute essentials and I’d decided that my multi-meter wasn’t essential, so I couldn’t confirm my suspicions. I decided that I would press on and get as close to the Bubble Car Museum as I could, safe in the knowledge that if I broke down and  was close enough, ​Super Enthusiast Man would sense my distress and come to my rescue. It wasn’t necessary though because plucky little Poppy made it all the way there.
​
We pulled up on the site and took Poppy's roof down, whereupon all the stuff packed in there immediately exploded all over the ground. Offers of tea and coffee abounded from our fellow Enthusiasts. Anita accepted Lady Simpson’s offer of tea and I accepted the very “below stairs” offer of coffee from Tosh Brooks. This meant I had to cope with 2 drinks, but I managed somehow.
 
As I had (rather rudely) refused all help from the Snowdonia veterans, my tent went up perfectly. And yes, unbelievably, it was the same tent I had at Snowdon.
Picture
​Anita was left to pack everything that had exploded out of Poppy into our perfectly erected tent while I opened the bonnet on Poppy and pretended to look for my charging fault. My ruse worked and like bees to honey, Lord Simpson and Super Enthusiast Man were instantly at my side along with most of the men on the campsite. I told them of my ignition light and that I’d only just fitted new brushes and stood back. 
​It would appear that no one else thought a multi-meter was essential either, as the only one we had was Howard’s which looked like it came with a Happy Meal. Well the two experts prodded and probed and hummed and hawed before pronouncing that my voltage regulator had had it. Disappointingly, they didn’t have a spare about their personages and Howard had surrounded Bridget’s 1200 Herald with sand bags, barbed wire and machine guns to prevent me pilfering hers.  SEM and LSB did tell me how to manually close the relay and get a charge though.
 
Well, with nothing to be done with Poppy without a new regulator, it was time to set off on our gentle pootle around Lincolnshire.
 
To be Continued…
More By Mike Peake...
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Privacy Policy 

© 2025 Enthusiasts of British Motor Vehicles
  • Home
  • News
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Photo Galleries
    • 2025 >
      • 2025 Pride of Longbridge Show ​Photo Gallery
      • 2025 NEC Resto Show ​Photo Gallery
      • 2025 Yorkshire Moors & Coastal Towns Tour ​Photo Gallery
    • 2024 >
      • 2024 BL Autumn Rally ​Photo Gallery
      • 2024 Fabulous Fourth Peak District Tour Gallery Gallery
      • 2024 Glos Vintage & Country Extravaganza Gallery
      • 2024 North Devon Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2024 NEC Restoration Show Photo Gallery
      • 2024 Norfolk Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2024 Coal in the Valleys Photo Gallery
    • 2023 >
      • 2023 NEC Classic Motor Show Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Fat Lamb 3 Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Warwickshire Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Lucas isn't bored Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Gar's birthday tour of Devon Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Shropshire Tour Photo Gallery
      • 2023 Anglesey & Snowdonia Tour Photo Gallery
    • 2022 >
      • 2022 Classic Motor Show Gallery
      • 2022 Fat Lamb Tour Gallery
      • 2022 NC500 - the Grand Tour of the Scottish Coast Photo Gallery
      • 2022 Glos Vintage & Country Extravaganza Gallery
      • 2022 Best of Yorkshire Tour Gallery
      • 2022 Peak District Revisited Tour Gallery
      • 2022 Gaydon Weekend Gallery
      • 2022 NEC Resto Show Gallery
      • 2022 Forest of Dean Winter Tour Gallery
    • 2021 >
      • 2021 Classic Motor Show Gallery
      • 2021 Fat Lamb Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Welsh Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Jurassic Coast Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Crich Museum & Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Staffs Oatcake Tour Gallery
      • 2021 Boston CCC Show Photo Gallery
    • 2019 >
      • Yorkshire Moors Driving Tour 2019
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC Nov 2019
      • New Forest Driving Tour 2019
      • Gloucester Vintage & Steam Extravaganza Photo Gallery 2019
      • Tour of the Dark Peak Photo Gallery 2019
      • Codgers do the Cotswolds 2019
      • Bubble Car Museum Gallery 2019
      • Brecon Beacons driving tour 2019
      • Morgan Factory tour 2019
      • Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show 2019
    • 2018 >
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC November 2018
      • Isle of Wight Tour 2018
      • Brunel's Somerset Tour Gallery 2018
      • Gloucester Vintage Extravaganza 2018
      • Maesteg Charity Classic Car Show & Driving Tour 2018
      • Bubble Car Museum & Driving Tour 2018
      • Peak District Driving Tour 2018
      • Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show 2018
      • Coventry Transport Museum 2018 >
        • Joel Lodder's 2018 Coventry meet gallery
    • 2017 >
      • Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC November 2017
      • Snowdonia Driving Tour 2017
      • Gloucester Vintage Extravaganza 2017
      • Lupin Farm Charity Car Show 2017
      • The Shackleton Trust 2017
      • Crich Tramway Museum 2017
      • Bubble Car Museum 2017
      • Pride of Longbridge 2017
      • April 2017 Practical Classics Restoration Show (NEC)
    • 2016 >
      • Crich Tramway Museum 2016
    • 2015 >
      • Bubble Car Museum 2015
      • Coventry Transport Museum 2015
  • YouTube
  • Insurance
  • Shop
  • Mailing List
  • Contact
  • Join
  • About