Colourful car owner joins Ant and Dec in chaotic fun
WHEN John Bush saw Ant and Dec were on the hunt for the UK’s most colourful car, he jumped at the opportunity to showcase his multicoloured motor.
He submitted his application after being sent a link to the advert, and waited patiently to hear back.
The criteria applied to John, 67, from Farnborough, whose prized possession is his Peugeot. He said: “I saw an advert. These words spoke to me. I knew deep inside that they were talking about my 23-year-old Peugeot 206... but inside my car is a mess. I don’t clean it, I treat it with no respect. The inside is a murky place where delicate humans should take great care. But the outside of my car is absolutely magnificent.”
Describing his car as a riot of colour, each panel has its own theme. One door features an “Incy Wincy Spider” on a psychedelic web. ITV was blown away by John’s vivacious vehicle and instructed him to take it to Basingstoke’s Asda car park. Around 200 people showed up to the star-studded event featuring Stephen Mulhern and, of course, Ant and Dec. John even invited the presenters to paint on his car, and offered a tour of his grubby vehicle stuffed with strange items including a pink ukulele and a can of tuna.
John said: “I always carry a halfsized pink guitar and a small pink ukulele to amuse myself when the opportunity arises. I carry a selection of acrylic paints and brushes in case I feel like painting a bit of the car. And I always keep a special tin of tuna chunks in the car. Now, these were given to me by my friend Littlehampton Alan. Littlehampton Alan found himself with a surfeit of tinned tuna chunks. He gifted me a tin and said, ‘Here you are. Keep this in your car, in case you get peckish.’”
John added that Ant did a nice job of touching up a red square in need of a bit of TLC, and he stayed inside the lines. He added: “A thing that amused me was when Stephen and Ant were sitting on the bonnet of the car, I came to join them and, as I went to sit down, the car rolled backwards – I’d left the handbrake off. As Stephen and Ant tumbled to the floor, I rushed to put the handbrake on before the car crashed into other cars or unsuspecting shoppers.
“I told Ant about my tuna chunks and he was enthusiastic and thought that we should have a go at performing it. After a sing-song, John then participated in a parking challenge. His mirrors were covered and he had to reverse into a parking space directed by Ant. If parked correctly, John would get £100 and Ant would win a point. Yet the car was not quite inside the lines, so John sadly came away empty-handed.
He said he feels ‘snubbed’ over the £100, given it was Ant who directed him into the space, and joked: “Some have said I was cheated out of my winnings. But we can clearly see the tyre is on the line, not inside the line, so, strictly speaking, Stephen was correct to deny me my £100.
“But one could argue that it was [Ant’s] fault, so morally, ethically, and possibly a little optimistically, he owed me £100. So Ant, if you’re reading this, get in touch and find a way to get my £100 to me.”
HOOK Eagle Morris has announced its upcoming performance dates. Most are free to attend for all, and there are also audience participation dances. The only exception this year is the Wickham Festival in August, which requires a day or weekend ticket. To find out more, visit the website: hookeagle.org. uk/programme/ n
Wednesday May 1: 5.32am – May Day Dawn at the Shack Cafe, Hook London Road, Hook, RG27 9EH; Sunday May 5: All Day – Rochester Sweeps Festival; Saturday May 11: All Day – Bradford on Avon Green Man Festival; Saturday May 18: 3pm – Private Event, Hartley Wintney Twinners; Sunday May 19: All Day – Alresford Watercress Festival; Friday May 31: 8pm – The Crown Badshot Lea with Alton Morris, Pine View Close, Badshot Lea, Farnham, GU9 9JT. n
Saturday June 8: Noon – Hartley Wintney Festival, Village Centre; Saturday June 15: Noon – P**s up in a Brewery at Andwell’s Brewery, with guests – Andwell, Hook, RG27 9PA; Sunday June 23: 3pm – Midsummer Revells, For Earth’s Sake, Great Green Barn Small Barn, Shamley Green, Stroud Common, Guildford GU5 0SX; Friday June 28: 8pm – Wagon and Horses, Hartley Wintney – thewagg.co.uk; 9pm - The Phoenix Inn, Phoenix Green – www.phoenixinnhw.co.uk n
Sunday July 7: Noon – Hook Village Show, Hartlett’s Park, Ravenscroft, Hook, RG27 9NN; Saturday July 13: All day – Victory Morris Day of Dance, Portsmouth; Saturday July 20: 2pm – 70th Dogmersfield Fete and Flower Show plus Evening Barn Dance, Pilcot Farm, Dogmersfield, Hook, RG27 8ST; Friday July 26: 8pm – New Inn, Heckfield – newinnheckfield.com; 9pm – Leather Bottle, Mattingly brunningandprice.co.uk/ leatherbottle n
Saturday August 3: All day – Wickham Festival Weekend; August 23-26: Hartley Wintney Twin Town Visit to Malle, Belgium; n
Tuesday September 3: 7.30pm – The Plough, Little London with Basingclog, Silchester Road, Little London, Tadley RG26 5EP; Sunday September 8: All day – Swanage Folk Festival.