Car Show! Bones & Friends!

Yesterday there were 11 Alphards camping at the very quiet and empty Castle Combe racetrack. (See yesterday’s blip). Very early this morning we were joined by about 20 more Alphards who came for the day, as well as MANY other Japanese car club members and their cars, and those on general admission as well. You can get a sense of how busy it was by the middle picture (compare with yesterday’s pictures!).

The Alphards and Alphard owners don’t quite fit into the typical demographic of who participates in this event! Many of the car club members book a slot on the racetrack. It’s a noisy affair, but fun to watch! I’m afraid I didn’t take any pictures this year of the racing.

I’ve made many friends over the few years that I’ve been attending this event and it was great to see people again, as well as meet some new people, some of whom have only just bought their Alphards in the last year or so. Not everyone has had them converted to a Campervan, though it’s still possible to sleep in them as the seats go almost flat. It’s fun to see what people have done with their vehicles, especially those who have done the conversion themselves instead of having it done by a recognised converter.

My favourite member of the Alphard Owner’s Club is ‘Bones’, seen here on the left. I think Bones has been there every year that I’ve been attending, though this year he has a newer Alphard with a self-converted ‘camper’ or day-van. Very innovative and I loved the orange accents and the practical removable unit from IKEA.

My ‘Alfie’ is the one on the right in the top right picture. The one on the left has also been converted to a camper, but without the pop-top roof.

It was a HOT day and after starting at about 7am, the event started to wrap up mid-afternoon. A few of us went back to the campsite in Lacock where we had stayed on Thursday night - this time there were 5 Alphards. It was nice to be back in the quiet and tranquility of that campsite. Some walked to a pub in the village and a couple of us stayed behind and cooked for ourselves. A relaxing evening after a busy day!