Beetle Gallery 2025

January 2025

Finally, after using Bertie during the recent cold snap, wind and rain there was a perfect weekend where I could give him a good clean inside and out. it didn't take me long to wash Bertie, just under an hour. He dried pretty quick and I was able to put him back under his cover nice and dry. Whilst I was at it I checked all the bulbs worked as the nearside indicator had been playing up. I needed to change the bulb as it was burning out. You will see a few photos of the Beetle seat covers we fitted the other year. You will also see the newly fitted rear parcel shelf as the old one was starting to disintegrate due to sun damage. It looks so much better than the old sloped black one.

February 2025

This weekend I spent time preparing Bertie for his Annual Service. I couldn't see anything wrong and hopefully neither will the garage. Having used Bertie in some of the cold weather I needed to wash and clean the front wings, bonnet and bumper. It didn't take very long and now Bertie looks smart again. I also gave the interior a click hoover and clean. I put a few spares into a metal box and located this behind the rear seat, better than having them loose in a bag.

I am still pondering whether to have the alloy wheels refurbished, just need to work out cost and time scale.

February 2025

It's Cake time again this month. I have to say, this does look like the best cake ever, even better tha last year. The sponge turned out pretty much perfect, the marzepan topping went on without too many issues and the decoration was pretty much spot on. A good job all round. It was a lovely cake and went down a treat. Enjoy the photos.

March 2025

For the firts time in 10 years I returned to the Volksworld show, and what a surprise it was to learn that they have moved from Sandown Park to the South of England Showground at Ardingly. I believe for the first time they were allowing members of the public to display their cars on the day as a special display, I booked early and got the show tickets at half price, bonus.

The lead up to the show had been wet/dry and the forecast was for heavy rain on the Sunday. The day started with light drizzle, thankfully this cleared up and only returned around 3pm. It was a cold day, you certainly needed to wrap up but you could still sit outside and enjoy the fresh air.

I bought a few items on the day. From the Swapmeet I purchased a spare wheel cover and two rather rusty toy Beetle bodyshells (not sure what they were at the time) and they were to be a project (more on this later). The trade stands offered me the chance to purchase a Volksworld hoodie and a little VW collapsible table. I also piced up a few items as spares for my Beetle.

We spoke to several people about heir Beetles, the last being the most surprising with a father and son team currenely restoring their 1980's Beetle, they said it perfectly in "you have cornered the market for Mexican Beetles, being the only one here!". This did make me laugh. The theme was Aircooled, they only let in Watercooled campers, but the range and age of Aircooled vehicles on display was great, mine being the latest Beetle around.

We enjoyed a great day at the revamped Volksworld Show and will be looking forward to next year. Maybe we will see you there!

May 2025

May was a busy month with 3 shows to attend, with the first being a trip to the Amberley Heritage Museum. Prior to that show, on the Saturday I was down at my Caravan enjoying the lovely sunny weather. It was a lovely day, heres hoping the summer is much of the same.

May 2025

May was a busy month with 3 shows to attend, with the first being a trip to Amberley Heritage Museum.

It was another warm day, we were glad to have some shade to keep us cool, others had to sit far away from their cars as the main arena doesn't have many trees to shelter under. This is the first time SCS have held a show here, previously having used it as a breakfast meet. I have been to Amberley on numerous occasions and it has certainly evolved over the years. There is much to see with the old railway, vintage buses, the roadmakers shed, BT Connected earth, the train shed, the tool shed and many more besides. If I recall correctly around 60 cars turned up, which was pretty good to be fair. I thoroughly enjoye the day and hope we visit again soon.

May 2025

Prior to te second show of May I was back down my Caravan enjoying the lovely May weather. This was the second outing for the rear window blind, it requires a little fettling but it fits which is the main thing.

May 2025

Southern Classics (SCS) first official show of the year was held at their old stomping ground of Clapham and Patching, which they hadn't used for some 20 years. This was local to my Caravan so I didn't need to travel far. Whilst the sun shone all day, there was a gentle cold breeze to bring the temperature down. For a new venue to show cars the turn out was quite good, I believe they had around 75+ cars turn up. Once again a large variety of vehicles arrived througout the day with some needing tlc and others looking like they have come direct from the showroom.

May 2025

The last show of the month was the bank holiday spectacle of the Laughton Show Spring Fayre. Unfortunately the previous weekends promise of glorious sunshine dissapeared and it was pretty overcast, a mild breeze and some rain thrown into the mix.

I really like the Laughton Show, you have that old time feeling of going back in time and seeing classic/vintage cars and tractors, Steam Engines, Stationary Engines, Commercial Transport and the rest. There are always plenty of Trade stands to mingle through to find the latest must have or the jumblers for that spare part or vintage toy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day, despite the weather and manage to pick up a couple of things from the stands dotted around the grounds.

If you ever visit or enter this show, it is well worth getting there early to ensure that you have a good parking space.

This show concluded three shows in three weekends.

June 2025

The first show this month was a new one. East Preston hold a yearly festival and this year they wanted to have a collection of cars on display and Southern Classics had been asked to put the word out and provide some cars. Around 40 cars turned up on the day, we were on one of their greens by the sea (the sea was only a short walk away). A good vairety turned up. Many locals came down to see the cars and chatted away with their owners. I spoke to several people who had owned a Beetle or their parents had one when they were kids. It was a good day out and well worth attending.

The East Preston Festival is a week long event with different exhibits and events on every day such as the car show, art show, dog show etc. It is well worth attending.

June 2025

The second show this month was the charity show held at Leonardslee Gardens. There was some confusion as to the start time, all members had been informed to be onsite between 9am and 10am, although the gate staff weren't ready and soon a long queue towards the main road formed, thankfully this was soon cleared up and cars started to enter the parade field.

There is much to see at Leonardslee Gardens with the Wallabies, plants and trees the smaller interconnected ponds and the large lake at the far end of the site. If you are lucky you may even see Deer roaming the grounds. A walk around the grounds can take anywhere from 30 minutes (if you are a quick walker) to one hour plus (if you walk around the ponds and lake). On the bottom lake you will find lots of dragon and damsel flies after little bugs, they are quite challenging to get a photo of!

It was a lovely day and lots of cars turned out, this is now a popular event with around 90 cars turning up. It is well worth a visit.

July 2025

The first show of July was a trip to Broadwater Green, Worthing for the MNDA funday where Southern Classics had been asked to put on a display of Cars and Emergency Services Vehicles. The Worthing branch of the MNDA put on a good show in assocation with the Worthing Lions club for charity. There are plenty of things to entertain the kids and adults can browse the stalls for gifts etc. Around 30 cars turned up this year, much improved on last years turn out. It is a good place to spend the day and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere.

July 2025

The second show of July was a new one for me, the Káfer Nation UK show, held at Buckland Park just outside Reigate.

The weather report for the day was rain first thing until around 10-11am and then sunshine afterwards, well what can I say, it rained alright. There was persistant rain all morning until around 12:30pm when it finally stopped, the clouds departed and the sun shone eventually drying up the area. During the morning there were large puddles all over the place, some stalls were inaccessible without planks of wood to walk across. Some people left early and the prize giving was broug forward to accomodate those that wished to leave early.

I picked a couple of items from the Káfer Nation UK stand, including a hat and t-shirt. There were lost of Beetles on display, although many didn't turn up due to the weather. Talking to a few people they say that they managed to get well over 125 cars on display in the past, I am not sure about that maybe better weather would dictate the numbers. We had a brief walk round the firts part of Buckland Lake, which was peaceful due to the weather. Hopefully they host it again here next year, only time will tell. It was the first time they had held a Saturdat show, previously favouring a Sunday show, previous feedback had suggested a Saturday show was more preferred.

Despite the weather, we thoroughly enjoyed the day looking at various Beetles and Buses etc. I did see a Beetle with a rather nifty looking roof rack, just need to see if I can find one for sale as it looked sleek and not bulky at all. Here's to nect year, fingers crossed.

August 2025

This month Southern Classics hosted their annual home show at Worthing Rugby club, Worthing. This is always a popular show and this year didn't dissapoint, there were well over 100 cars and they reported on the day they believed it was the most cars they have had at the Worthing show. There were also a large number of auto-jumblers present, around 8 were selling their wares and doing a good trade which was good to see, some new and some returning traders.

Southern Classics resident Photographer Roger was absent due to a class with the Scimitar club he belongs to, so I was on duty as his understudy photographing the cars and the prize giving. I enjoy this as it is good to see the cars, get some photos and at times speak to the owners about their cars, usually finding out a unique fact about their car, such as the diesel Rover SD1.

It was a lovely day and with the sun shining meant it was a good turnout, many people popped in to view the cars on display. A couple of car clubs turned up and displayed their vehicles. If you want to attend one of Southern Classics shows, the best show to visit is the Worthing show, so much variety, quality and quantity all in one place.

September 2025

The first show of September was the return visit to Laughton for their Autumn Show. Despite it not being as large or popular as the Spring Fayre it is still worth visiting and experiencing. It is far more relaxed than the Spring Fayre and means you can wonder around without interruption. It actually made a change that they had cut the grass, usually it is quite long but it had been cut short (probably due to the recent good weather) and made it easier to navigate the site.

It was a warm September day and I enjoyed the fact we could sit outside all day without a coat on and enjoy the fresh air. The Steam Enginer Show towards the end of the day is well worth a view as you here from the ownrs/drivers and then at the end they all blow off steam with their Whistles, wear ear plugs if you have sensitive ears. Another plaque was gained at the end of day, a good addition to the collection.

I am still working out a way to display all my plaques, any suggestions gratefully received.

September 2025

The last show of the year for me was the Southern Classics Show at the Gatwick Aviation Museum, Crawley in West Sussex. I havn't been to the Museum for many years now and it was good to return.

The backdrop to the show was the runway, where you could see the planes taking off and landing all throughout the day. Surpsingly the noise wasn't as bad as I feared and you hardly noticed the planes all day. If you used the plane tracker app you could see which type of planes were due to depart or land.

It wasn't the warmest of days and if you got a little cold you could always pop into the Museum and look and their collection of planes and aviation equipment etc that were on display.

Around 50 cars turned up, which wasn't bad for a new location and the last show of the year. There were a few non regulars and few non members with a few interesting cars to mull over.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day looking at all the cars, walking around the museum and watching the air craft take off and land.

If you are in the area, the Gatwick Aviation Museum is well worth a visit.

This concludes the shows for 2025, it has been a busy year with some 11 shows to visit. 2026 is shaping up to be another busy year of shows.

Stay safe and see you next year.

JAW’S VW BEETLES