When mother nature (not gender-neutral) decides she wants to rain, not even the Westside VW gents can persuade her not to, no matter how charming they are.
Their yearly show was in my calendar and come hell or literally high water I was told it was going to go ahead. I am a regular attendee of this show, as a regular show-goer, and as an Automotive photographer when the call comes.
Attending this year was initially difficult when faced with throwing the warm bedclothes off as the rain beats down on the roof of the house and against the windows. The one thing in the back of my mind is that this show delivers on the quality of the cars and in atmosphere. Could the wind and the rain stop me from dragging out the R32 from its slumber in the garage…. Nope.
A lot of the shows within the season are quite big and you can arrange to meet up with a friend but get carried away with the gleam and sparkle of newly prepared German automotive heaven and get separated from those you are attending with.
Not so with the Westside VW show as it’sh eld in the grounds of Chalfont St Peters Cricket Club. The grounds are ample to host the usual flurry of cars that attend, although it can get quite hectic when the weather is good. There are a handful of traders to spend your cash on, good food, and good music but above all is the friendly atmosphere that resonates throughout.
So, the R32 was fires up, and a quick coat of Rain-X on the windows to help maintain my vision while running up and down the motorways was a must. Should I have spent a bit of time cleaning the old girl considering the company she would be in, well yes but I decided I would do that when I was at the show.
I arrived at 10:30 am at the cricket ground and the show was well underway. Lots of cars, lots of clubs and plenty of people to fill the venue and although at the time a little overcast, it was nice to walk around and get to bump into so many familiar faces. For those of us who have been part of the VW / VAG scene for well over 20 years, this show has an abundance of fellow” boys and girls” who have put in the time just as I have.
The R32 Owners club were in attendance with a high number of cars. Tom Davies showing off his newly painted red R32 and there was a good mix or MK4 and MK5 R32’s to keep fans interested.
Walking along the lines of cars that were on show, I always come back to Ben Anson’s M50-swapped BMW E21. It’s sat on Air Lift suspension which drops the car lovely onto a set of BBS RS. Now I am not a massive lover of the BMW fraternity, but perhaps it’s the colour, the stance or just the car as a complete package that draws me and my camera back to take pictures at every show I see it at.
On the flip side to this, I am a huge fan of the MK7 Golf. This was ingrained into me after visiting Reuben Gata-Aura at Tuningwerkes in Croydon. Reuben and I have been friends now for more years than some of the younger lads and lasses in the scene have been alive which is a scary thought. I went to see him to get the R32 mapped, and while I was at his workshop I spotted that he had taken delivery of his MK7. Other than a set of decent alloys, suspension and a little bit of graphic on the car it was fairly standard. There was no hesitation from Rueben in giving me the keys to go for a little cruise around Croydon. The car certainly didn’t fail to put a smile on my face. Ever since I have been a huge fan.
Seeing Alex Lamberts stunning Grey MK7 club sport only makes the urge more intents, I really want to get one to add to the collection. In my head if I was going to modify a MK7, then I think it would be very similar to what he has done to his. I do like my Air Ride though,so I think I would need that on mine instead of being static. Perhaps that’s just because age has surely started to catch me up
VW Caddy’s are always good to see and there were two very good examples present. Toby Green stunning green Caddy was one of the winners at this year’s show. I do have a longing for a Caddy and generally love to look at the detail that is put into these commercial vehicles.
The detail on Toby’s Caddy from the S3 callipers to the green stitching on the leather interior shows the dedication he has to this awesome show winner. Saying that I know he has just purchased a well-known retro Passat to start to play with, so the Caddy may well be something someone could purchase if he requires more funds to push that project along.
A couple of friends picked up prizes at the show. Danny Birch picked up Best MK5 for his blue MK5 R32 on BBS and Shannon Saunders picked up a prize for best Polo at the show.
The usual amount of expensive metal was on show from retro Porsche’s, Audi Quatro’s, expensive Mercedes and BMW’s. All with varying amounts of customisation from the simple wheels and air ride to full customisation in the form of a custom wrap and interior etc.
One car that did defiantly stand out from the crowd when the bonnet was removed, and for a change its not German, but a good old car from Blighty was an original style red Mini. The amount of work that has gone into this build is immense. I kid you not I must have walked around this car 7-8 times and every time I would see something different.
If it’s not the custom-made door mirror housings, the lavish amount of carbon fibre in the cockpit to the digital race dials, the car just has so much character !!
Whatever your persuasion is when it comes to modifying cars be it German, Jap or these days even a few Tesla’s, you can appreciate the time effort and money that have gone into creating someone’s pride and joy.
The heaven did open up later on in the day about half one in the afternoon, and boy did it chuck it down. After a good 30 mins or so of sitting in the car waiting for the rain to pass, the relief of knowing that the R32 if called upon would utilise its four-wheel drive.
With a break in the showers to allow the presentations of the prizes to take place, it was announced over the PA system that prizes would now start to be awarded for the different show and sine categories. So it was a quick dash over to the main building to snap the winners.
Just after we had finished with the prize-giving mother nature returned with yet more showers and many like myself made the decision to call it a day
Thank you again to the Westside guys and girls for putting on a cracking show (whatever the weather) and let’s hope the tyres on the grass of the cricket ground didn’t cause too much damage as I know it was quite waterlogged on leaving the grounds.
If you have not yet been to the WestSide show, please put next year’s date in your diary, you won’t be disappointed.
See you all next year.
Scott.
