Our extensive Shoreham site once again provided the perfect venue for VW enthusiasts as they gathered for the last Heretics meet of the season with some even travelling from as far afield as Northampton to make the meet…
Where’s this year gone? It only seems like yesterday that we were looking forward to the first Heretics meet back in April and here we are six months later nursing moist eyes lamenting the last gathering of 2016. And while the balmy, sunny summer evenings have certainly drawn to a close, the fact that darkness descended by 8pm only added to the buzzing atmosphere during the course of the evening.
As an added attraction this time top bloke Ned Faux from Hayburner was there to greet arrivals, chat and offer various bits of magazine paraphernalia and of course the VW Heritage shop was open late which gave attendees another incentive to come along.
What impressed as usual was the eclectic mix of vehicles, ranging from early Beetles and Split Window Buses to Bays, T25s and T4s right up to the very latest showroom fresh T6 Transporter. Highlights were too numerous to mention, but Brighton man Dave Walker set the benchmark suitably high with his US-import ’58 Snow White Split Bus. We also liked Damien Hughes’s ’71 Rat Rod Beetle. He’s taken 6in out of the roof to get the look he was after and seeing as though he’s only had it on the road for a few weeks unsurprisingly has plenty more plans for it. Meanwhile, Gecko Campers were there with a selection of vintage clothes and the offer of having your photo taken in their portable Bus-based photo booth.
The evening was also graced by a former VolksWorld magazine feature car in the form of Mark Pateman’s air ride ’54 Oval. Mark had driven down to Shoreham from Northampton and didn’t seem at all fazed at the prospect of a dark and wet drive home that evening.
So that’s about it for Heretics – until 2017, of course. Here’s some dates for your diaries (with gatherings happening every third Thursday of the month). The fun kicks off at 6pm and things come to a halt at approximately 9pm:
20th April
18th May
15th June
20th July
17th August
21st September
See you there!
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage.
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