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A year has past since The
Northern Centre hosted the last May Bank Holiday weekend at Skipton and
here we are in a brand new venue at Buxton, a lovely spa town in the Peak
District famous for its water.
The Northern Centre
picked the Palace hotel for its base, a very well presented hotel in a
commanding position overlooking the town centre... Its staff excelled
themselves to make us feel welcome. 33 Healeys had booked in for the
weekend.
The weather forecast was pretty poor with
rain showers and cold winds forecasted, however as usual Northern Centre
with their direct line to him upstairs asked for sunshine and got it and
the weather was fine for the weekend. The men would get their usual red
faces and the women would have their normal windswept hairstyles after
driving both days with the tops
down as usual!
Some people arrived on the Friday
evening; stories of horrendous journeys stuck in traffic were soon
forgotten over a bottle or two of wine and a lovely
dinner.
Old acquaintances were renewed with the many
friends who now travel from all over the UK to this weekend. Saturday
brought many more Healey friends to join in the fun.
Saturday morning was free to explore Buxton and a rendezvous for the
afternoon had been arranged at the Minors Arms Inn in
Eyam.
Eyam is the village where the Plague of 1666
killed 78 of its residents. It reached the village in a box of cloth sent
from London to a tailor who was lodging in the village. Some members took
the opportunity to follow the historical trail around the village whilst
the rest sat in the village pub.
A lovely run back
to the hotel had been organised through many pretty villages of
Derbyshire. The route plan warned of �speed humps� and �mind exhausts� but
gave no warning of the very irate lady brandishing garden shears (I
heard that it was an old lady brandishing a chain saw!" ED.) demanding
to know why we were on her road with � Unsuitable for motor vehicles�
clearly marked at either end. Were we on a rally?,- no was the reply- is
it a treasure hunt? No was the reply, then stop using this road was her
retort before storming off. Apparently she accosted many Healeys that
afternoon. I said I would pass her complaint onto the
organisers!
We all arrived back at the hotel safely
and due to the good weather, spent time chatting around the cars. A few
people also took the opportunity to test drive Rosemary and Phil Thorpe�s
Smart car, (sporting a Austin Healey on the front - don�t know when it is
to be released on sale) much to the amusement of
onlookers!
Saturday night was a very pleasant
evening, lovely food, ample drink and an excellent local duo � Chris and
Louise, who entertained us with songs from the past and present. They
played many requests and it was amazing how they knew all those old
songs!
Sunday morning again was dry and sunny and
after breakfast we set off on a drive which was to take us through much of
the Peak District National Park.
We headed through the Goyt Valley to Wildboarclough, Wincle and
Danebridge, we travelled over the moors through lots of beautiful
villages, around reservoirs and eventually descended to the historical
village of Ilam. By now we had a small group of Healeys traveling together
and had only just left a lovely coffee stop / garden centre, �The Potting
Shed� (why do we always go to these places in Healeys, it had gorgeous
plants, no room, said Tony (Then how come I spotted a large plant in a
pot in the rear of your Healey?? ED.)) when Richard Frisk�s 100/6 came
to a sudden halt.
Lots of �wanabee� mechanics
gathered around the engine and eventually it was mended. One hour of fiddling about and a new set of
points finally got it all going again!
The journey
continued through more delightful villages and we eventually arrived at
the highlight of the afternoon- the Tissington FORD! Anyone who was the
Northern Centre's run last year will probably remember him driving at
speed through a ford, drowning a poor lady eating an ice cream and soaking
his wife- Me! So it was with great fear and trepidation that I waited for
the� horns� to appear. However due to the fact that the Ford was quite
deep and we also had young Gemma Stonier in the back of our car we passed
very slowly and safely. The same cannot be said for Chris and Angie Davis
who came to a wet halt just at the exit.� I�m not getting out� said Angie,
whilst passing me her camera to take the inevitable picture of their
marooned car. Chris got his duster out, dried something under the bonnet
and they were soon off again.
Back at the hotel we
voted for the "Konkours". At the dinner that evening when the presentation
was made, Tim Valentine stepped up to accept prizes on behalf of his good
friend Ivor Davies. On the second occasion he realized that it was his own
car that had been mentioned the first time. (that�s what you call
friendship, well done Tim). Prize winners
were:-
Richard
Frisk (Best 3000 �
100/60)
Bernard
Jones (Best
BJ8)
Jean
Griffin (Best
Sprite) � after a
recount!!
Ivor
Davies. (Best
overall.)
Mike
Pye. (Best
trim.)
Sunday evening was again superb, the meal was
followed by a fantastic group who opened the evening�s entertainment with
a few quizzical looks from the audience. Is it a Ceilidh band or is it a
barn dance? It didn�t matter, the dancing was led by a very energetic
Bernadette Stonier and Dave Haslam who performed a cross between the two.
They were soon joined by others and a dance of confusion followed. Even
the band looked bewildered!
Monday morning came all
too quickly, after breakfast people started to make their way home, but
over half the entrants went to a nearby car show at Gawsworth Hall, (which
happens to be the ancestral home of our very own Rev Counter editor, Ron
Fitton) and several stayed on at the hotel for an extra
night.
Good things always come to an end, our thanks
go to all the organisers of the weekend and to those who attend, you make
the weekend the success it always is and it�s always a pleasure to meet
with old and new Healey
friends.
Caroline Curran (and her Chauffeur, Tony)
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