The New Forest Annual Barbeque 2017

The New Forest Annual Barbeque 2017

The New Forest Annual Barbeque 2017

 

The New Forest Centre held its annual BBQ at the Forestry Commission’s Anderwood site on Sunday 18th June. The weather was incredibly good, such that seemingly everyone in the south headed for the forest or the beach. This resulted in those travelling from a distance, such as Honiton, Overton and Fareham, had to put up with very heavy traffic. The M27 was reported to be like a car park! It was a good decision to plan a local walk with observation type questions, as it would have been pointless to send attendees out on a planned drive. Six pairs tackled the walk, which was quite short and mainly in the shade.
The BBQ was ready at 1 pm, was very hot, and kept going for those who arrived later. Everyone took to the shade, but still felt quite hot. By the time of the “Members’ Choice” concours, 16 cars had arrived, which was excellent considering the competition from Father’s Day and the 24 hours Le Mans event. There were 2 x 100s, 2 x 100/6, 2 x 3000 Mk1, 8 x 3000 Mk3, 1 x 3000 Replica, and 1 x Jensen Healey, but notably no Sprite of any type.

At this stage, six cakes made by some of our ladies were devoured in no time. The results were then revealed. Alan and Sandra Pickford tied with the Two Sisters (Julie and Gill Gardner) at 17 out of 25 on the walk. The tie was broken by them estimating the temperature in the shade under my 3000 Mk3 Ph1. It was 77 deg F, and Alan was closer.

The Concours winners were; 100 – Alison and Trevor Hirst, Roadster – Julie and Phil Gardner, Convertible – Gordon Grant, Jensen Healey – Rowena and Jim Palmer.

People stayed around later than usual to enjoy the sun shining on the trees and the slightly decreasing temperature, before departing to take on the traffic jam which started just down the road!

Roger Smith

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