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THE 32nd NASC STREET ROD NATIONALS
The 32nd Nats was the 3rd year at the renamed Trinity Park
at Ipswich, and was by far the biggest and best yet. With
over 1,200 pre entries it was always looking to be a very
special event.
The NASC were allowed on site on
the Wednesday before the event to start setting up, only to
be met by monsoon type rain, but the show must go on, with
everyone there cracking on regardless. The Thursday wasn’t
much better, raising a few concerns (well alright then, nervous
breakdowns actually) about the weekends weather, but Friday
morning rolled around and the Sun came out, the rain making
a brief appearance after the Disco finished that evening.
As planned we opened the gates at 8.30 am Friday,
to see a huge line of Rods and Yanks waiting to make the most
of the weekend. A re-seeding issue from the showground meant
a slight last minute change to the gate layout, which Nick
Shanley and the hard working crew from the BHRA coped with
brilliantly. A relentless stream of rodders coming into the
show kept the gate busy, and were always met with a friendly,
welcoming smile from the BHRA team.
The welcoming party in the Barn kicked of at 7.30 pm Friday
and the Nats faves The Fat Cat Trio played
their socks off to a very appreciative crowd, giving us the
best possible start to the weekend, thanks guys.
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One of the high points of the Nats has always
been the cruise. In 2005 we had over 600 vehicles on the Felixstowe
Prom, this year we wanted a more precise figure, so some poor
soul counted them, and counted all 643 of them. A huge pat
on the back goes to the AHRA team for not loosing anyone or
sending them into the Sea. We made sure the residents en route
knew we were coming again, lining the route with their box
brownies at hand.
The 32nd Nats saw Dave King and John Pryor
reach 30 years of dedicated service to the NASC and were presented
with commemorative plaques from the team. Their far better
half’s Alison and Glynis were presented
with a bottle of Champagne as a token of our appreciation
for their support . Those of you that know Dave and John already
know, that even at their age they are more than a little stage
shy, so thanks to the NASC team along with Alison and Glynis
for pulling off this Military style operation.
Sunday morning saw more than a few hangovers accompanied by
some lovely sunshine. The Choppers n Bobbers show, now in
its 3rd year was bigger then last year, and professionally
headed by Bob Holland with Paul Beamish from Krazy
Horse. The show is now becoming a must do event for
some of Europe’s top Custom bikers, well done guys.
The Auto Art Exhibition hosted by Chris Bunting
the guy responsible for the fantastic art work on the Nats
T shirts was well received, many thanks Chris.
Come midday the extended showfield was full, with over 2,000
vehicles out there. Unlike any other show the public play
a big part in building the atmosphere of the show, and this
year’s huge public attendance was no exception.
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Beauty pagent winners! |
As always Dave and Kate Maltby
worked their butts of for us, and Captain Glyn Lloyd
from HMS Villagepeeps worked wonders up on stage during the
evening, during the Show n Shine and Mondays Prize giving,
so take a step forward receive your ovation and start making
plans for next year.
Thanks to Nick Shanley and the company he
works for Meteor Parking for providing us with some of their
most excellent members of staff. I think we were a bit of
a culture shock at first but they worked as hard as any of
us and have asked to come back next year so I guess they like
us.
Mick Smith and the guys from DHSS saved
Vons life on the Sunday. She had been planning the
tot rod obstacle course with Micks brother Bryan
for weeks but sadly Bryan was taken ill and couldn’t
attend the Nats. Mick stepped up and put on what was a hugely
popular event. The kids and spectators had a ball and it was
much appreciated.
Thanks to Old Skool for getting all
the cars on the showfield. Brilliant job as per usual!!
Massive thanks to Glen Weatren and Mark Hempson
of Rod Bodies and Fenland Rod and Custom for the 41 Dodge
pick-up. (more detailed write-up to follow). Congratulations
to Spencer Manley, the lucky winner, we weren’t
sure if he wanted to laugh cry, jump for joy or just pass
out when his ticket was pulled.
What would we have done without Dave, Wendy and Brian,
the Nats resident Wombles? It’s a dirty job but someone’s
got to do it and they did it magnificently. We were a bit
disappointed that Dave never managed the flames on the dustcart
but there’s always next year.
Thanks must go to my team. They work themselves into the ground
for this event. Sleep, food, going to the loo etc is sometimes
not an option for any of us involved in running the show.
Some of us (not me I hasten to add, as I am in my prime) are
not getting any younger and we desperately need more help
to put on this event. Everyone on the committee does the work
of ten men so if you would like to help out we would love
to hear from you, in fact it would be fair to say that we
NEED to hear from you. This years Nats outstripped all our
expectations for pre-entries, pay on the gate weekenders and
the public gate. We desperately need some new blood if we
are to continue putting on the Nats without killing ourselves.
We’ve had a record year for supporting club events (can’t
remember when I last had a weekend off) and in return we’d
love to see more of the clubs getting involved with running
the Nats.
Last but not least thanks to each and everyone of you who
turned up and made the Nats the biggest event of its kind
in Europe.
If I’ve forgotten to thank anyone it’s not intentional,
I’m back home now but my brain is still in Suffolk.
A few facts and figures for all you
number junkys, we had over 4,000 weekend participants, 643
vehicles on the cruise, cruise distance is 7 miles long, the
council estimated an extra 5,000 visitors to see the cars,
we had over 2,100 vehicles on the showfield , dispensed 480
event T shirts in 8 hours, NASC committee consumed 4 packets
of Paracetamol over the weekend!!
A must do event for next year?
Absolutely! Boy, have we got some surprises for 2007.
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