MINI ADVENTURE IN STAFFS

Crayford display and Star Wars theme make this celebration of all things BMC a hit

BINGLEY HALL, STAFFORDSHIRE, 31 JANUARY

More than 200 Minis, old and new, united for 2016’s first big indoor event held solely for these popular cars. Around 4000 visitors made it to Bingley Hall, and a picnic-themed display marking the 50th anniversary of open-air Wolseley Hornets was the undoubted highlight.

The stand was put together by the Crayford Convertible Car Club on its debut appearance at Mini Fair. It was used to highlight members’ efforts to track down surviving cars, of which the club’s aware of 42 in all. It was joined by the Mini 7 Racing Club, another club new to the event, which showed off eight cars that will compete in its one-make race series.

While the balcony area dedicated to Mini clubs from across the UK felt more subdued than last year, it was hard to fault the efforts of members who’d embraced Mini Fair’s Star Wars theme. The Midlands Mini Club and Birmingham Mini Owners’ Club were exhibitors who decorated their classics to tie in with the films.

The show managed to attract the usual selection of hard-core Mini drivers, with people coming in from as far afield as Spain and the Netherlands. The European contingent hardily drove to Bingley Hall in their own Minis in challenging weather conditions. For those who weren’t Mini’d up, there was more than a dozen for sale to choose from both inside and outside the halls. Spares were also well catered for in the event’s bustling autojumble. David Simister