I know I said I wasn't going to do this any more but then again, I've always been a damned liar. See how this goes...
It's the last Heretics meet of the year... a monthly(ish) open evening at what used to be VW Heritage and is now the sightly more clumsily-named Heritage Parts Centre. Thing is, being VW, the guys and girls working here aren't just dispassionate parts counter drones like you get at a main dealer. Most of them live, sleep and breathe the scene as well and are seemingly happy to open the doors late to a disparate group of like-minded reprobates. So for one evening a month, a desolate corner of an otherwise unremarkable industrial estate by a railway line in Shoreham thumps to the bass of a soundsystem, the clattering of aircooled fweem reflecting off the high walls while the smoke from a bratwurst van (a VW Type 2, of course) coats everything in a deliciously sausagey aroma. Yes, sausagey is an actual word. It means "in the manner of being like a sausage in some crucial aspect", obviously
But first, prep. Ada and I had been wrestling with the Beryl bus's rusty interior for the last two days so we could do with a break. So I had a break while Ada re-touched (again) his tyre lettering which he'd kerbed the day before. I only mention it because it's funny
prep by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
To be fair, I had one or two things to collect before we could set off, too
Dollys new heart by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It's slightly nerve-wracking setting off into the freeze-frame DVT of Sussex coastal rush-hour traffic for your inaugural trip on an engine that's two hours old. Especially when the clutch judders horrifically because a) it's brand new and b) it's a lightened flywheel and you can't really slip it at all because I'm running in with a strict 3,000 rpm ceiling and in first that's over in less time that it takes to say "pop". Anyway, joined by Nugget in his unbelievably shiny Dex (who he'd spent an entire day cleaning, so it ought to be shiny), we made it has far as the petrol station half a mile away. So far so good
on the way by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Sitting in the queue for the level crossing into the industrial estate, a couple or three things crossed my mind. One is that going from a 1200 to a fruity 1776 with an early small fanshroud certainly makes your heater more effective. B) was that it sure is cool sitting in a queue of Beetles with all the "normals" staring and smiling. iii) is that my bloody stereo seems to not work any more.
Queuin by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
And then, there we were. We'd made it so early that the crew were still trying to evict the delivery trucks from the loading dock, so we had to lurk over by the bins out of the way until they were done
Dolly tail by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
We've never managed to get the hang of parking in the correct red/white/blue colour order
MWVW by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Super-shiny Dex rump!
Dex by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
This is what I need; a mirror that doesn't rust and doesn't fold flat at the first sign of a stiff breeze. I took this to show what a brilliatn job Nugget did of polishing but all I can see is that mirror gloating at me about how horrible my Chineseum ones are
Dex d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Anyway, we were in. Time to look at the other faces before it gets too busy
Beetle white 67 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetles blue and orange by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle cab black 58 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
We didn't get too far before the lads marshalling got rid of some delivery trucks and decided to park us up in a more tasteful arrangement. Happily, this was now about the fifth time I'd started Dolly and she'd... well, started every time. You spent years in RX-7 ownership and it's not a luxury you ever take for granted. Who knew twin 40 twin-choke carbs could be so biddable?
Beetle noses by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle tails by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Not sure what the random Mazda's all about, but I do love a B-series pickup. We followed this lady over the bridge into Shoreham and at first I thought there was no-one driving this phantom truck. The I noticed all you can see is the back of her baseball cap poking up. It sat down for a rest at the level crossing and popped back up again on its air to drive over the tracks; good party piece. No wonder she calls it "Skippy"
B-Series pickup black by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
One of my favourite Beetle and all-round nice guy to boot, Jamie Lawrence's "parcel tape brown" 70s bug. Ask him what the colour is and he'll give you all kinds of daft answers with a twinkle in his eye that says "funnin' with ya". I think I believe the one about it being colour-matched to a garden waste wheelie bin....
Beetle brown 71 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Ovals were the flavour of the night, with several turning up. Which is good, because I love an Oval most out of all flavours of Beetle. Most were in a lovely original unrestored state. No, it's not Patina™. It's just cars that have lived a long time
Beetle beige 54 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Plenty of buses, too. Mostly in either a splitscreen flavour, or T25 with surprisingly few bay windows. Some real honeys, too
Splitscreen turq&white 66 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
and some really old ones as well
Splitscreens by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Really old, in fact!
Splitscreen gold 55 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
We stopped and had a bratwurst and a Coke, which was both delicious and excellent value for money at only four quid with as much mustard as you like, and the vehicles kept on rolling past the queue at the food van
Volksrace wheel by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Full of spicy sausage, I wandered up the side carpark where the marshalls were running out of room, so great was the turnout. Some really proper and unusual cars were being parked almost round the back of the building out of sight, so heavy was the attendance
Scirocco Storm brown 81 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
I mean, a Type 34 Razoredge Ghia! Shoved round the back by the generators!
Type 34 beige 68 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
You're not going to see many more of these, and even fewer in such excellent condition and I make no apology for it ebing one of my cars ofthe night. They never sold any in the first place; a combination of punters shuffling their feet and moving away from air-cooled VWs and the dramatic re-styling of the original svelte and sensuous curves of the Ghia kept the buyers away in their droves. And they rust. Boy, do they rust! They dissolve faster than a fat kid's self esteem at school sports day
Type 34 beige 68 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
And you can't get parts. No-one makes them, VW don't stock any now. It was never worth tooling up in the aftermarket for such small production numbers, so bodywork.... nahhh. All those unique interior items.... nahhh. This is a rare car already and it's going to be super-rare one day, much more so than a "normal" Ghia
Type 34 beige 68 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Type 34 beige 68 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Moar Oval. One of the things I like most about Bugs is that every single one seems to have a different exhaust. Park up a row of Imprezas and I bet almost all will have a cannon like an industrial heater duct poking through the bumper. Park up a row of Beetles and every one will have a different take on how to package a lot of exhaust when you've got no room to put it
Beetle black 56 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle black 56 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It's not all VWs, mind. The reason Heritage re-branded as the Parts Centre is to encourage Porsche owners to not feel stigmatised by the VW element in the name. I never really "got" 911s but I do like an early frog-eyed one, especially in a daft colour with a Pasha interior for full acid flashback nightmare. I thought I'd taken photos of that, but turns out it was at a previous Heretics meet so you'll just have to take my word for it
911S greengold 82 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Even water-boiling modern weirdness is welcome
Golf MkIV red 01 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Doug (of Doug's VW Werks) had brought out his original Meyers Manx buggy. The one that started it all and that every buggy ever since owes it's inception to. Bruce Meyers was a visionary engineer and boat builder who built his buggies not to cock about on Venice Beach, but to destroy all-comers in vicious brutal rallies like the Baja... and that's exactly what he did. Within a few short years the astonishing efficiency of his design had not gone unnoticed and anyone with a pot of fibreglass resin was knocking out copies in increasingly hideous shapes. The surfer dudes down the strip bought all they could make. Meyers tried to prove his ownership of the concept in court, but was overruled and was bankrupt shortly after, an ill-fitting end to the saga of the man who invented an entire car genre. The reason Bruce couldn't compete with the imitators was that he refused to compromise on quality. The fiberglass of his mouldings is so thick you can sit on the fender of a Manx and it won't even bend. Try that with an imitation and you'll be spending the night in A&E having fibreglass splinters tweezered out of your colon by a hairy-wristed and very sleep-deprived duty junior doctor.
Meyers Manx blue 67 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beautiful Porsche basking in the setting sun. Now, 356s I do get... shame this is as close as I'll ever get to one. Genuine, too. Lovely
356 coupe grey 59 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
The sun was definitely setting now, and the Indian Summer warmth fled fast from the shadows, bringing a bittersweet feel to the evening. My car was five hours old, and I'd already missed the summer. The last show of the year was our first. Sad times. Happy colours
red white blue & orange by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
I wandered about aimlessly for a bit, trying my best to take some decent photos but the light wasn't helping and I kept stopping to talk to people... sucks knowing people and having to socialise, huh? as Ada jokingly said. Thing about VW people, is they love a chat!
Beetle beige 54 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Oooh, look, a normal Ghia. Do love a Ghia. Wonderful deep black reflected the setting sun perfectly.
Karmann Ghia black 71 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Karmann Ghia black 71 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Another example of the Beetle's squashed, brasher younger sister
912 yellow 67 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
912 yellow 67 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
The sun was nearly gone by now, and I hadn't got round everything. It was really getting too dark for pictures, even under the lights of the loading dock. Just enough of the guttering sun to pick out a fellow RRer's livery
sunset by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle green 67 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Nugget was happy; the Heritage guys were having a yard sale; slightly scratched alloys, dented tinware, mirrors with no sticky pads, basically slightly shop soiled but perfectly serviceable stuff. Lewis scored a Gas Burner to match the ones on Dex for only £40, so now he can replace the no-longer matching Fuchs spare. And the car will be a better thing for it [/Fuchs] #playedout
Early Passat looks slightly awkward on its bigger wheels; nothing short of hacking up the arches will cure the slightly gangly Bambi stance and it seems a real shame to cut up such a sound car
Passat orange 73 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Very early big-window Bug wore its years with pride, even down to the slightly shew-whiff nose. Like a retired boxer who still could, y'know
Beetle green 59 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle green 59 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle green 59 wh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Lacework by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Tesselating by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle red&black 72 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It was properly dark now, and some of the other drivers were talking about setting off for a little mini-cruise through nearby Brighton, out to the Marina for a photoshoot with the Heritage photographer. Seemed like a wheeze, it's been ages since we'd done anything like that and although I wasn't wild about blundering through Brighton traffic with that clutch, it seemed better than not going. So we waited for the off, taking a few last snaps best I could under the lights
Angel Delight Brown?
Beetle brown 71 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle red 62 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
23... count 'em... 23 window Samba. This is the one you want!
Splitscreen 23 window 59 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle cream EMPI d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Another Oval... another one of my cars of the night. I really love this little beater. Such an honest car, it gives no damns whether you like it or not. It's just getting on with enjoying growing old disgracefully
Beetle oval blue 55 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle white 65 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Lenny d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Then we were off. Beetle after Beetle rolled out of the estate in the direction of Brighton. It was both good and bad; bad because Brighton traffic is awful and Dolly wasn't especially happy to sit at every goddamned set of lights on the entire strip, but good because she dealt with it all OK. And as the prom rattled to the clatter of a phalanx of aircooled engines, evening strollers and passers-by stopped to take phonecam photos and point and smile.
on the strip by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Eventually we made it all the way out along Madeira Drive to the Blackrock car park, where it was apparent there were rather more of us than anyone had anticipated
Beetles at Blackrock by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
And while we waited for the photographer dude to do his thing, we stood around and chatted and soaked up the ambience
Salubrious surroundings by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
A lone police car trundled up, did a sweep of our arrangement and obviously figuring we were too old and too slow to be boy racers, pottered off again so we carried on chatting. Some cars, it must be said, look better at night that in the daylight
The eyes have it by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It was undeniably a superb line-up, but entirely too dark for either my camera or my phone to make much sense of. It was getting late, and one by one the Bugs drifted away into the night like autumn leaves chasing the zephyr. A moment of drama and hilarity when one starter motor stuck on, but plenty of helping hands were available to rock the guilty car until it freed up again. Finally, the photog was done and we said out goodbyes and I set off for the longest single journey yet done in the Nu Dolly Beetle. Turns out 3000 rpm is good for sixty, but she's only got little wheels on the front so that's probably a lie. But I loved it anyway, cruising over the dark hills, no music, just the thrum of an aircooled boxer punching away behind the seats, heater channels blowing lovely dry warm air on my bare legs (shorts maybe weren't the best idea)... with my two wingmen indistinct blobs of feeble headlight in the shaky mirrors. In my car. A feeling I've had too infrequently this year, and boy, does it feel good to be home
Beetles on the prom by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It's the last Heretics meet of the year... a monthly(ish) open evening at what used to be VW Heritage and is now the sightly more clumsily-named Heritage Parts Centre. Thing is, being VW, the guys and girls working here aren't just dispassionate parts counter drones like you get at a main dealer. Most of them live, sleep and breathe the scene as well and are seemingly happy to open the doors late to a disparate group of like-minded reprobates. So for one evening a month, a desolate corner of an otherwise unremarkable industrial estate by a railway line in Shoreham thumps to the bass of a soundsystem, the clattering of aircooled fweem reflecting off the high walls while the smoke from a bratwurst van (a VW Type 2, of course) coats everything in a deliciously sausagey aroma. Yes, sausagey is an actual word. It means "in the manner of being like a sausage in some crucial aspect", obviously
But first, prep. Ada and I had been wrestling with the Beryl bus's rusty interior for the last two days so we could do with a break. So I had a break while Ada re-touched (again) his tyre lettering which he'd kerbed the day before. I only mention it because it's funny
prep by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
To be fair, I had one or two things to collect before we could set off, too
Dollys new heart by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It's slightly nerve-wracking setting off into the freeze-frame DVT of Sussex coastal rush-hour traffic for your inaugural trip on an engine that's two hours old. Especially when the clutch judders horrifically because a) it's brand new and b) it's a lightened flywheel and you can't really slip it at all because I'm running in with a strict 3,000 rpm ceiling and in first that's over in less time that it takes to say "pop". Anyway, joined by Nugget in his unbelievably shiny Dex (who he'd spent an entire day cleaning, so it ought to be shiny), we made it has far as the petrol station half a mile away. So far so good
on the way by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Sitting in the queue for the level crossing into the industrial estate, a couple or three things crossed my mind. One is that going from a 1200 to a fruity 1776 with an early small fanshroud certainly makes your heater more effective. B) was that it sure is cool sitting in a queue of Beetles with all the "normals" staring and smiling. iii) is that my bloody stereo seems to not work any more.
Queuin by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
And then, there we were. We'd made it so early that the crew were still trying to evict the delivery trucks from the loading dock, so we had to lurk over by the bins out of the way until they were done
Dolly tail by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
We've never managed to get the hang of parking in the correct red/white/blue colour order
MWVW by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Super-shiny Dex rump!
Dex by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
This is what I need; a mirror that doesn't rust and doesn't fold flat at the first sign of a stiff breeze. I took this to show what a brilliatn job Nugget did of polishing but all I can see is that mirror gloating at me about how horrible my Chineseum ones are
Dex d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Anyway, we were in. Time to look at the other faces before it gets too busy
Beetle white 67 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetles blue and orange by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle cab black 58 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
We didn't get too far before the lads marshalling got rid of some delivery trucks and decided to park us up in a more tasteful arrangement. Happily, this was now about the fifth time I'd started Dolly and she'd... well, started every time. You spent years in RX-7 ownership and it's not a luxury you ever take for granted. Who knew twin 40 twin-choke carbs could be so biddable?
Beetle noses by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle tails by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Not sure what the random Mazda's all about, but I do love a B-series pickup. We followed this lady over the bridge into Shoreham and at first I thought there was no-one driving this phantom truck. The I noticed all you can see is the back of her baseball cap poking up. It sat down for a rest at the level crossing and popped back up again on its air to drive over the tracks; good party piece. No wonder she calls it "Skippy"
B-Series pickup black by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
One of my favourite Beetle and all-round nice guy to boot, Jamie Lawrence's "parcel tape brown" 70s bug. Ask him what the colour is and he'll give you all kinds of daft answers with a twinkle in his eye that says "funnin' with ya". I think I believe the one about it being colour-matched to a garden waste wheelie bin....
Beetle brown 71 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Ovals were the flavour of the night, with several turning up. Which is good, because I love an Oval most out of all flavours of Beetle. Most were in a lovely original unrestored state. No, it's not Patina™. It's just cars that have lived a long time
Beetle beige 54 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Plenty of buses, too. Mostly in either a splitscreen flavour, or T25 with surprisingly few bay windows. Some real honeys, too
Splitscreen turq&white 66 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
and some really old ones as well
Splitscreens by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Really old, in fact!
Splitscreen gold 55 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
We stopped and had a bratwurst and a Coke, which was both delicious and excellent value for money at only four quid with as much mustard as you like, and the vehicles kept on rolling past the queue at the food van
Volksrace wheel by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Full of spicy sausage, I wandered up the side carpark where the marshalls were running out of room, so great was the turnout. Some really proper and unusual cars were being parked almost round the back of the building out of sight, so heavy was the attendance
Scirocco Storm brown 81 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
I mean, a Type 34 Razoredge Ghia! Shoved round the back by the generators!
Type 34 beige 68 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
You're not going to see many more of these, and even fewer in such excellent condition and I make no apology for it ebing one of my cars ofthe night. They never sold any in the first place; a combination of punters shuffling their feet and moving away from air-cooled VWs and the dramatic re-styling of the original svelte and sensuous curves of the Ghia kept the buyers away in their droves. And they rust. Boy, do they rust! They dissolve faster than a fat kid's self esteem at school sports day
Type 34 beige 68 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
And you can't get parts. No-one makes them, VW don't stock any now. It was never worth tooling up in the aftermarket for such small production numbers, so bodywork.... nahhh. All those unique interior items.... nahhh. This is a rare car already and it's going to be super-rare one day, much more so than a "normal" Ghia
Type 34 beige 68 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Type 34 beige 68 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Moar Oval. One of the things I like most about Bugs is that every single one seems to have a different exhaust. Park up a row of Imprezas and I bet almost all will have a cannon like an industrial heater duct poking through the bumper. Park up a row of Beetles and every one will have a different take on how to package a lot of exhaust when you've got no room to put it
Beetle black 56 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle black 56 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It's not all VWs, mind. The reason Heritage re-branded as the Parts Centre is to encourage Porsche owners to not feel stigmatised by the VW element in the name. I never really "got" 911s but I do like an early frog-eyed one, especially in a daft colour with a Pasha interior for full acid flashback nightmare. I thought I'd taken photos of that, but turns out it was at a previous Heretics meet so you'll just have to take my word for it
911S greengold 82 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Even water-boiling modern weirdness is welcome
Golf MkIV red 01 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Doug (of Doug's VW Werks) had brought out his original Meyers Manx buggy. The one that started it all and that every buggy ever since owes it's inception to. Bruce Meyers was a visionary engineer and boat builder who built his buggies not to cock about on Venice Beach, but to destroy all-comers in vicious brutal rallies like the Baja... and that's exactly what he did. Within a few short years the astonishing efficiency of his design had not gone unnoticed and anyone with a pot of fibreglass resin was knocking out copies in increasingly hideous shapes. The surfer dudes down the strip bought all they could make. Meyers tried to prove his ownership of the concept in court, but was overruled and was bankrupt shortly after, an ill-fitting end to the saga of the man who invented an entire car genre. The reason Bruce couldn't compete with the imitators was that he refused to compromise on quality. The fiberglass of his mouldings is so thick you can sit on the fender of a Manx and it won't even bend. Try that with an imitation and you'll be spending the night in A&E having fibreglass splinters tweezered out of your colon by a hairy-wristed and very sleep-deprived duty junior doctor.
Meyers Manx blue 67 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beautiful Porsche basking in the setting sun. Now, 356s I do get... shame this is as close as I'll ever get to one. Genuine, too. Lovely
356 coupe grey 59 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
The sun was definitely setting now, and the Indian Summer warmth fled fast from the shadows, bringing a bittersweet feel to the evening. My car was five hours old, and I'd already missed the summer. The last show of the year was our first. Sad times. Happy colours
red white blue & orange by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
I wandered about aimlessly for a bit, trying my best to take some decent photos but the light wasn't helping and I kept stopping to talk to people... sucks knowing people and having to socialise, huh? as Ada jokingly said. Thing about VW people, is they love a chat!
Beetle beige 54 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Oooh, look, a normal Ghia. Do love a Ghia. Wonderful deep black reflected the setting sun perfectly.
Karmann Ghia black 71 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Karmann Ghia black 71 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Another example of the Beetle's squashed, brasher younger sister
912 yellow 67 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
912 yellow 67 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
The sun was nearly gone by now, and I hadn't got round everything. It was really getting too dark for pictures, even under the lights of the loading dock. Just enough of the guttering sun to pick out a fellow RRer's livery
sunset by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle green 67 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Nugget was happy; the Heritage guys were having a yard sale; slightly scratched alloys, dented tinware, mirrors with no sticky pads, basically slightly shop soiled but perfectly serviceable stuff. Lewis scored a Gas Burner to match the ones on Dex for only £40, so now he can replace the no-longer matching Fuchs spare. And the car will be a better thing for it [/Fuchs] #playedout
Early Passat looks slightly awkward on its bigger wheels; nothing short of hacking up the arches will cure the slightly gangly Bambi stance and it seems a real shame to cut up such a sound car
Passat orange 73 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Very early big-window Bug wore its years with pride, even down to the slightly shew-whiff nose. Like a retired boxer who still could, y'know
Beetle green 59 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle green 59 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle green 59 wh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Lacework by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Tesselating by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle red&black 72 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It was properly dark now, and some of the other drivers were talking about setting off for a little mini-cruise through nearby Brighton, out to the Marina for a photoshoot with the Heritage photographer. Seemed like a wheeze, it's been ages since we'd done anything like that and although I wasn't wild about blundering through Brighton traffic with that clutch, it seemed better than not going. So we waited for the off, taking a few last snaps best I could under the lights
Angel Delight Brown?
Beetle brown 71 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle red 62 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
23... count 'em... 23 window Samba. This is the one you want!
Splitscreen 23 window 59 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle cream EMPI d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Another Oval... another one of my cars of the night. I really love this little beater. Such an honest car, it gives no damns whether you like it or not. It's just getting on with enjoying growing old disgracefully
Beetle oval blue 55 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Beetle white 65 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Lenny d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Then we were off. Beetle after Beetle rolled out of the estate in the direction of Brighton. It was both good and bad; bad because Brighton traffic is awful and Dolly wasn't especially happy to sit at every goddamned set of lights on the entire strip, but good because she dealt with it all OK. And as the prom rattled to the clatter of a phalanx of aircooled engines, evening strollers and passers-by stopped to take phonecam photos and point and smile.
on the strip by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
Eventually we made it all the way out along Madeira Drive to the Blackrock car park, where it was apparent there were rather more of us than anyone had anticipated
Beetles at Blackrock by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
And while we waited for the photographer dude to do his thing, we stood around and chatted and soaked up the ambience
Salubrious surroundings by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
A lone police car trundled up, did a sweep of our arrangement and obviously figuring we were too old and too slow to be boy racers, pottered off again so we carried on chatting. Some cars, it must be said, look better at night that in the daylight
The eyes have it by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
It was undeniably a superb line-up, but entirely too dark for either my camera or my phone to make much sense of. It was getting late, and one by one the Bugs drifted away into the night like autumn leaves chasing the zephyr. A moment of drama and hilarity when one starter motor stuck on, but plenty of helping hands were available to rock the guilty car until it freed up again. Finally, the photog was done and we said out goodbyes and I set off for the longest single journey yet done in the Nu Dolly Beetle. Turns out 3000 rpm is good for sixty, but she's only got little wheels on the front so that's probably a lie. But I loved it anyway, cruising over the dark hills, no music, just the thrum of an aircooled boxer punching away behind the seats, heater channels blowing lovely dry warm air on my bare legs (shorts maybe weren't the best idea)... with my two wingmen indistinct blobs of feeble headlight in the shaky mirrors. In my car. A feeling I've had too infrequently this year, and boy, does it feel good to be home
Beetles on the prom by Nick Liassides, on Flickr