My Minor was a Brighton show star
Your piece on the Brighton Classic Car Show held in The Metropole Hotel
( The Way We Were, CCW, 7 November) evoked memories of the 1981 Thoroughbred and Classic Car Show held at the same venue.
The show date was planned to coincide with the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which finished on the Sunday at Madeira Drive. I remember taking my white Morris Minor Convertible to the Metropole on the Friday and on arrival having to drive the car on to a wooden pallet, then sit at the controls as the car was hoisted up to the first floor balcony by a fork lift truck. This was a very juddery and precarious ride if your car club was allocated a space on the balcony!
This very slow procedure was repeated on the Sunday evening after the show closed, and I remember not being able to exit the show until after 9pm, therefore arriving back in Cheshire well after 3am the following morning. It was a memorable show – the Minor was awarded the Car of the Show trophy.
You are correct in stating that there were two big classic shows in 1984, as I attended the show at the NEC in May, again with the Minor Convertible.
The prizegiving at this event was carried out by Mike Smith and Sarah Greene, both television personalities at the time. I was fortunate to win Car of the Show at this event too – both trophies still have pride of place in my display cabinet!