Pole Position

I went to Old Warden to see a Shuttleworth Collection flying display for the first time since I arranged a family outing there in the early seventies. I well remember then being thrilled to see a Blériot in the air.

I spend a lot of time alone - my choice. I'm not keen on crowds. The place is much busier than in the seventies and I think around 10,000 were in attendance.

I arrived mid-morning in time to see the sprint of the veteran and vintage racing cars. A man with lots of photographic kit and a tall tripod had chosen his position. He hadn't gone to the main arena area as it was already crowded. I picked the pole in the middle of my pic, fairly near him, as my position to shoot from. At the time few people were around here.

Just before the sprint a friendly family arrived. They proceeded to unpack five portable chairs and arranged them in a semi-circle around me. Weird. I told them I intended to stay. They disappeared and when they had gone I discovered that they had joined the chairs together with cable ties and attached the chair-chain to the fence! They were gone for ages, missed the sprint and I availed myself of one of their chairs while I waited for the flying display to start.

Eventually they returned with carrier bags full of shopping including a model of a Lancaster, even though a Lanc wasn't flying, and lots of smelly foodstuffs. They sat and scoffed with a lovely view of my back as I danced around shooting.

I very much enjoyed trying to get decent and different shots of the fantastic motors and aircraft and chatting to some interesting and knowledgeable enthusiasts. My blip was to be the extra but I was having difficulty identifying the car so gave up and went to bed. It's an American Hupmobile - never heard of that marque. :) A Taylor Titch "Catch 22" is in the foreground.