So what happened to the damn drought?

The morning started OK, with sunshine in Nottingham, and I had a good drive down through Melton Mowbray to Burleigh House. Turning in to the entrance following a crocodile of Midgets, I could have sworn the sign said "MGs straight on" and we rapidly ran into a confused queue because we were indeed coming in from the wrong direction. Still the marshals soon sorted us out and we were all parked up on the field outside the house. By the time I'd got out and found the gents the first spots of rain were starting to fall, although light enough for me to put the tonneau cover on rather than putting the hood up.

The morning was little more than a bracing dampness in the air if you've lived in Wales for any length of time, so I had a good look round the cars and the stalls, supporting the traders with a new oil filter from MGB Hive, the Haynes manual for my ZS from MGCC and renewed my vows by rejoining the Midget and Sprite Club. Just about every type of Midget and Sprite was present, including a Dragonfly and an Arkley. Also a good selection of original "square rigger" Midgets, including a 1929 M type, the model that convinced Cecil Kimber there was more money to be made in a depression by selling lots of small cheap cars than a few big expensive ones. Also nice to see Frontline with a K series conversion and the Tifiso Rana frogeye replica.

A few other MGs turned up, including the Z register with some ZT V8s, a very nice MGA, an RV8 and some MGFs. I had a sit in the new MG6, which may be a great car but I still prefer my ZS.

As the day progressed there was always the hint of the sky brightening, but in fact the rain got steadily worse and I finally had to admit defeat and put the hood up. By 1 pm the air was increasingly filled with the sound of Spridget engines as people called it a day and headed for home. A pity as they missed the rocker box racing - idea for Caldicot? - and the birthday cake at 3:00pm. Standing around waiting to get a piece I got a familiar whiff of rollup and found I was standing next to Phil, who had travelled up in his Sprite with Richard. Good to catch up with them both. We waited until the end of the show to see if Phil had won anything in the Pride of Ownership and then the show wound up early, with the field already two thirds empty.

Then it was just a quick trip back up the A1 to Nottingham (I was going to go back the pretty way, but I ended up on the dual carriage way) ploughing through the tidal waves of spray from the lorries. I'd forgotten how little you can actually see out of a Midget with the hood up, especially in the rain.

Still, I made it home OK and I hope I'll see you all at Caldicot.

Report from Roger