Herbie

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Photo of the week #74 – Surely the best known VW Beetle all over the world, Herbie, the star of many Disney Movies was first propelled to fame in ‘The Love Bug’ in 1969 when he was just 6 years old. When visiting any VW show you are almost certain to come across a Herbie replica or two with the iconic red and white stripes and  the 53 racing number. This one even has the banded-steel wheels and white-letter tyres too. Herbie’s 53 racing number was chosen by producer Bill Walsh, who was a fan of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player Don Drysdale (Drysdale’s jersey number, later retired by the team, was 53).

One careful owner

IMG_8552_1000x1500Photo of the week #73 – This one owner from new, 1972 Marina Blue Beetle was offered for sale at the Stanford Hall VW show this year. From what I can recall the only thing non original is that it has been fitted with day-mouldings, self-coloured fibreglass wings. Not too bad for forty years of careful ownership!

Stanford Hall 2013

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On Sunday Alison and I made our way over Stanford Hall for this year’s annual show which is organised by the Leicestershire and Warwickshire Volkswagen Owners club. I usually take my beetle to display in the Historic VW line-up but, this year we decided to bring my Audi A3. Last year’s show was one of many which fell fowl of the appalling weather being postponed to later in the year. By the time we got to Stanford Hall, at about 10.30 am, the show was in full swing and looked to be busier than ever!

There were lots of great VWs for sale including some nice, early stock examples, along with the lowered and custom cars which are always in plentiful supply. One of several which caught our attention was a very straight and original split screen pick-up which was a fresh import from Ohio in the US.

The concourse area was packed with immaculate VWs of all kinds from early air-cooled models right through to recent vehicles including the Audi TT and New Beetle. The Splitscreen Van Club always have a huge presence at this show as they have their AGM the same weekend and then cruise to the show en mass. The Historic VW display was also impressive and seems to be getting better each year.

We left after lunch having enjoyed wondering around the show for most of the morning, in sunshine for a change!

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Snowflake light

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Photo of the week #72 – Another snowy iPhone 5 photo from a wintery March. Hopefully I’ll be off to The Stanford Hall VW show at the start of May so I should soon have some more show photos to share…

Stephane Bar

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Some interesting VW related photos from Stephane Bar, a professional photographer based in France who specialises in BMX photography.

Stephane trained as a photographer for 2 years at SEPR in Lyon through which he discovered different shooting and image processing techniques. This vocational training has allowed him to explore other worlds and develop some diversity in the services that he can now offer including: weddings, studio shots, pack-shots, portraits and advertising.

“It is the sport of BMX has given me the desire to capture and keep preciously unique moments, and then have the opportunity to share. This sport has the advantage of bringing together diverse disciplines whose figures have their own specificity. The Street – pretty rough around the edges, offers feats that impress the eye with the height that some riders can reach and by the unusual places where they can be exercised.”

You can view more of Stephane’s excellent work at http://stephanebarphotos.tumblr.com

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