By e-mail I was also informed that there would be adequate signage to show us where the event is being held. So, wanting to make sure I got my cars inside we planned to arrive around 1015h. After driving around the very extensive site and no signs anywhere to be seen we eventually stumbled into the right place. Others said they found it by following other British cars to the correct location. So, my second criticism is that the signage was poor and the location not well described in the advert.

My third criticism is that there was no supervision as to how the cars should be placed to allow the maximum numbers inside; there were a lot of gaps which could have been smaller. Also the public were going to be asked to vote for their favourite car; it was another driver’s wife who eventually found the numbers that were to be displayed on each car and distributed them, not the organisers.

The doors opened to the public at 1200h. And here is my next criticism; money was taken but no programs, with the voting slips, or tickets issued. Many of us felt the lack of tickets to be poor practice if not illegal. Because of this there was no check possible at the entry door and also no checking system that showed if you left the arena you could enter again without proof of entry the first time so many people came and went without paying and skewed the count of attendees. The main entrance door was also heavily congested by the queue for food, but this is the design of the building – not the fault of the organizers.

On the positive side there was a good variety of Jaguars, Triumphs and MG’s that showed up strongly supported by the OECC. There were three Minis in total including mine. A lovely Morgan and a Sunbeam, and a couple of Children’s Austin pedal cars which drew a lot of attention. The overall public choice for best car was a Triumph Mayflower which was well deserving of recognition. The owner received an alarm clock as a trophy. I am not sure how many cars were entered as some were outside scattered in the car park and I feel they stood no chance like that in the voting. No second or third prizes were offered.

There was a continuous show of good entertainment ranging from Morris Dancers to the Delta Police drum and pipe band. The Rod Stewart imitator scheduled for 1800h was too late for most visitors as after 1700h people and cars were leaving.

Overall, since this was the first of hopefully many more Cloverdale British Festivals, the event was a success. From this the organizers should have a better idea of its popularity and more vendors will participate and possibly encouragement for families to attend with family ticketing and events for children. There was supposed to be a Punch and Judy show – now how British is that? - But unfortunately they didn’t make it.