Back on the Rainbows run
EARLY September saw the fifth running of the Rainbows Classic Car Run, which was organised, once again, by Terry Farmer and Vicki Friend of the North Leicester MG Club and Mick Squire, of the Reliant Sabre & Scimitar Owners Club.
Forty-six classic and vintage cars were in attendance, a record entry which was up 40 per cent on last year’s 33 participating vehicles.
The associated marques of Daimler and Lanchester were well represented, with four different models on display at the start of the event, hosted by the Hobby Horse Farmhouse Inn at Syston.
There was also a good turnout of models bearing the MG Octagon badge, in addition to the half dozen other classic makes which were lined up in the car park of the popular pub. These included Mini, Jaguar, Lotus and Alpha Romeo.
A fair slice of motoring history was on show, with three cars dating back to the 1920s, and one or two to the 1930s. Examples from most decades since the 1960s were also in attendance.
After refreshments ranging from a cup of coffee to a full breakfast, drivers and navigators set off on the predetermined route of nearly seventy miles, mainly along country lanes.
This took them through Charnwood and into the west and south of Leicestershire, terminating at Wistow Rural Centre for a well-earned midrun break.
The second leg of the journey followed roads in the east of the county, heading towards Leicester, via Beeby and Barkby, to the final destination at the Abbey Pumping Station Museum, where the cars were displayed in a dedicated parking area.
With last year’s run raising £600, this year’s increased turnout is expected to result in a donation of more than £700 to the Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.
• To find out about the work of the Loughborough-based hospice, visit www.rainbows.co.uk