Stony Stratford Classic Car Festival 2012

On Sunday 3rd June I popped along to the Stony Stratford Classic Car Festival. It was my first visit to this show even though I’ve lived just five minutes drive from the town for the last 10 years. I now live about half an hour away so even though it was raining, I decided it was worth a visit.

I’ve read that the show has grown steadily year on year but I guess Sunday’s show must have been the exception due to the appalling weather. Quite a few cars did brave our British weather and quite a high percentage were from the local VW club – which was very handy!

Hopefully the weather will be a bit better for next years show and it will get back on track.

Counting down to June 23rd…

It all started back in 2005 after driving back to the UK from the vintage VW show in Hessisch Oldendorf, Germany. “Why don’t we have a Vintage Volkswagen show like that in England?” Well, now we do!

Lavenham is regarded as being the finest surviving example in England of a mediaeval town, with superb ancient buildings – over 300 of them listed as being of architectural and historical interest.

I was one of the organisers of the first Lavenham Vintage Volkswagen Show in 2008 which was a great success, with over 100 Vintage VWs arriving in Lavenham for the weekend from all over Europe. For our second show this year, things have had to get a little bigger to accommodate the 170 vehicle that have registered. The Market Square will be home to pre-1957 vehicles. Lavenham Press has the Big-window beetles while you will find Karmann Ghias, Type 3s and over sixty splitscreen type 2 campers in the meadow along with the trade stands.

On the Sunday we have organised a cruise around the narrow Suffolk lanes through some of the regions most beautiful villages. With over 110 VWs taking part in the cruise it should be quite a spectacle!

So if you’re in the UK and looking for something to do on Saturday 23rd June, why not come along and spend a day in Lavenham – It’s free to visit but don’t forget your camera!

http://www.pre67vw.com/lavenham

Leigh Garipidis

I was recently pointed towards Leigh’s amazing photography by a couple of ‘photo of the week’ posts on another automotive blog. No mention of who the photographer was though, just some great photographs! I dug a little deeper and discovered they were the work of Leigh Garipidis in Australia. Leigh’s work covers a wide spectrum of subjects all captured beautifully. It’s well worth a look at Leigh’s other work as these Volkswagen shots are just a very small part of a great portfolio.

Leigh writes “I am a photographer based in Melbourne Australia and have been photographing for about 9 years now. Having a passion for cars, I began there. This was always driven by the thought that alot of car magazines, where not capturing the character of the car. They seemed to be just photos. I wanted for people to see my images as portraits of cars, giving them identities, rather than just badges. Self taught for about the first 6 years, in both camera craft and photoshop, I knew that I wanted to do more and make a career out of it, so I went back to school to do an Advanced Diploma in Photography, which I have almost completed. Looking to major in commercial photography, and specialising in automotive.

I try to give my work meaning, whether through a story or an emotional response and to allow the viewer to have their own thoughts about the image rather than trying to portray a specific message.
I also wanted to try to capture what car designers envision when they create these things. Through school I have also delved into various other areas of photography, but when it comes down to enjoyment and relaxation, I always revert back to automotive imagery. I also just recently photographed the front cover and feature piece for the Australian online magazine, Aircooled Classics, the car being a Porsche 550 Spyder replica.”

Leigh is currently putting together a blog with limited edition prints available for purchase but
if you are interested in something, please feel free to email Leigh at this address for further details: leighgaripidis@gmail.com

View more of Leigh’s work on Flickr…

Stormy weather

Photo of the week #27 – The end of a sunny morning in Newquay, Cornwall as the clouds roll in during Run To The Sun 2004.

Hot Ghia

Photo of the week #26 – Shot at The London Volksfest 2003, a flamed orange Karmann Ghia sits side by side with a stock, restored 21 window Samba. Something for everyone at this show, including some August sunshine!

Smiths of Cornwall

Smiths VW specialise in pre-1967 Volkswagen campervan restoration & offer full or part restoration work, including interiors, body work, and paint. With over 17 years experience ‘classic vehicle restoration’ qualified Matt Smith runs a Volkswagen workshop in Wadebridge, Cornwall – building & restoring specialist classic busses for customers.

Smiths VW work with the best possible suppliers to deliver the finest job throughout your custom project. With factory standard welding, fitment & finish. No restoration aspect over-looked as we work with Kustom Interiors and AirKraft – supplying a complete one-stop-shop restoration service.

In addition to restoration Smiths VW can find/source and supply any vehicle for you – with strong international contacts and shipping – so if you are looking for a left or right hand drive bus do not hesitate to call.

Visit Smiths…

Rust in peace – Part 2

New South Wales, Australia

Peter Gibney is a photographer based in New South Wales, Australia. His website surfingart.com.au features a large collection of surf-lifestyle, coastal & VW images which are available as prints and digital stock images for commercial, advertising, editorial, corporate and design professionals. Peter has been lucky enough to visit a Volkswagen graveyard that very few people have explored. Hidden way off the beaten track, the location of this wonderful place will remain a mystery!

Peter writes “I located this lost VW grave after a conversation with an Irish backpacker at the Byron Bay markets. It took months to locate and many phone calls to get permission to visit and photograph the site.

When I finally arrived , I was miles from the nearest town and there was absolutely no sign of  human habitation except for the sheds and the VW’s The only sound was the wind roaring across the tree tops and the wild life.  It felt as though I was in a scene from Mad Max.

I spent 3 hours exploring and took 100′s of photos. The photos below are only a sample of what was on offer. What an adventure, I hope the images give a sense of the VW’s final resting place.

I’ll be respecting the owners request for privacy and will not give out the location.”

Rust in peace – Part 1

United colors

Photo of the week #25 – One thing you can always guarantee when you get a line-up of bay-window campers is there will always be a multitude of different colors! This shot was taken at the Peppercorn VW show during the summer of 2005.

Buses in the sun

Photo of the week #24 – Wow, nearly five hundred followers! I’d just like to thank everyone who’s following Bandwagen for their continued support and I hope you all enjoy the Volkswagen photos. Here’s hoping for some better weather in the UK so I can take some more pictures!

In the meantime, here’s one from the archives, taken during a sunny ‘Run To The Sun’ in Newquay, Cornwall – May 2004.

BBT

BBT Limited, managed by Arlette van Dijck and Bob van Heyst, has a team of more than 20 enthusiasts – each with their own speciality. With a range of products dedicated to rear wheel drive air cooled Volkswagens and Transporters, BBT is one of the biggest companies in the world in the Vintage VW parts business.

With more than 300 suppliers and many more customers from Tokyo to Los Angeles, BBT delivers with their expanded network throughout the world. By visiting customers and suppliers and by attending meetings around the world, the company’s philosophy and passion stays true: to help the Volkswagen fans and/or users to find the desired parts in the quickest way and at the best price.

Visit BBT’s website..