NELLI News - British Invasion
BRITS INVADE, BALLOONS ASCEND, CARS SHINE
Stowe, Vermont. On the third weekend of September Chris Francis, Michael Gaetano and friends put on an absolutely smashing British car show - the 13th annual British Invasion. This year's event was also the site for a specialty show by the Jaguar Club of North America, so, as you might imagine, there was a multitude of Jaguars as well as many other marques represented among the 640 plus entrants. The venue couldn't be nicer with all of the natural beauty of the Vermont Green Mountains surrounding the showgrounds.
But the show was only one part of the weekend. On Friday morning I met up with Tom Beggan and his excellent Esprit Turbo on Route 93 in Hookset, NH, for the drive to Stowe. The weather was somewhat threatening but we had only a few light showers during the trip. If you recall, that was the weekend that Hurricane Isabel paid us a visit - or nearly did. Fortunately, she passed far enough to the west that we were spared the heavy winds and rain that had been forecast.
We arrived in Stowe around 11:30 and Tom headed off to the show grounds to register while I drove up to meet with Ray and Antje Boulay, my good friends and hosts for the weekend. About halfway there I noticed that an Audi had been following me for a bit. Since I wasn't going too fast with the Europa on the trailer, I pulled over to let it go by. Instead, the driver pulled up next to me, rolled down the window and said "Are you John White?" I admitted that I was, and he turns out to be one of the members of the Internet Europa Owners Group. We had a nice chat and I motored on to Ray and Antje's.
For the early birds, there was a Thursday driving tour that ended at Lake Willoughby where a picnic lunch was served. The Friday schedule opened with another tour of the Vermont countryside led by Ken and Diana Duclos in their Lotus Cortina. There must have been at least 25 cars in the group and we drew a lot of attention from folks along the way. The tour went straight up through Smuggler's Notch between Mt. Mansfield and Sterling Mountain, a very narrow piece of road with tight, sometimes blind turns, really steep inclines - the Morris Minor in front of me was busy trying to find first gear - and stunning overhanging rock faces. If you have never driven the roads of Northern Vermont, you must do it. Next year's show would be a good excuse. We arrived back at the show grounds after about 2 hours and joined the reception hosted by the organizers. Plenty of Old Speckled Hen – it’s a British show y’know – and excellent food. Later that evening we had a marvelous dinner at Tony and Giancarlo's "Trattoria la Festa" on the mountain road. One could spend a month dining at great restaurants in Stowe and never eat in the same place twice.
Saturday morning was sunny and warm. The Europa, however was muddy front to back so a quick scrub and then off to the show. What a scene! The vendors' tents, the field of show cars and the mountains for a backdrop – fabulous!
The show is divided into two parts. There is a Concours for the true to original restorations, and a "Participants Choice" judging for the rest. About a dozen Lotus cars presented including six from NELLI. Winner of Best Lotus was Ken Duclos from Stowe with his beautiful Lotus Cortina Mark I.
Too many cars and I can't look at them all, but I find a C-type
Jaguar that I recognize. It has a dash plaque from the 1955 SCCA
Nationals at the Beverly (Mass.) Airport. Just happens that I was at
that race and still have the program and entry list. So I go looking
for the owner and find John Sweeney who turns out to not only own the
Jag, but is the acting director of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in
Brookline, Mass. He is surprised by my story, but it's unclear
whether he is more amused by my having been at the race or because I
still have the program after almost 50 years.
No matter, I promise to send him a copy of the program and encourage
him to chase down the history of the car. Turns out there was
only one C-type entered in that race and it belonged to Jack Crusoe
of Greenwood, RI. - almost certainly Mr. Sweeney's car.
Incidentally, John drives the car on the road!
In the afternoon, we were treated to an opportunity to take a ride in
a (tethered) hot air balloon. I didn't but George Cheney's wife
Michelle and my wife Carol did. Don't know what the heck got into
them, particularly since Carol is nervous about heights. Anyway,
they went up and had a wonderful time. Now Carol is pushing to take
a ride down the Champlain Valley by balloon. Maybe…. By the way,
there is a summer balloon fest at Stowe. It’s truly spectacular and
well worth a trip north.
Saturday night, NELLI hosted a cookout for members and friends at the Boulay's house. Hamburgs, brats, corn on the cob, and a tour of Ray's garage with its fabulous view of Mt Mansfield.
On Sunday there were still more competitions including a "Competition of the colors" - mixed marques but all the same color compete. A parade of the class winners, a tailgate picnic competition in costume, and the JCNA Concours awards that completed the day.
This is simply the best British car show in the Northeast. It spans four days and has something for everyone, not to mention all of the attractions of Stowe, Vt - Mount Mansfield, Vermont maple syrup, Cabot Cheddar cheese, home of Ben and Jerry's ice cream… I could go on and on. If you only go to one car show next year, make it this one.
Last Updated: October 17th, 2003