Remember there was a time – pre-Corona – where we would utilise our classic cars as a means of socialising? WHAT?? I know, it sounds quite absurd in this new world which has been forced upon us. But I promise you; it’s true! We would all drive our classic cars on to some lawn or even into a perfectly kept park and then we would kick tyres, compare our toys, tell tales of yesteryear and yes, we would socialise. Well guess what, that time has returned…
Now I know that countries around the world are in various stages of recovering from Corona-induced lockdown. In fact, sadly, some countries have recently had to reinstate lockdown after having loosened the grip for only a short while. So, to all of you suffering under such circumstances, my heart genuinely goes out to all of you. Please understand that this report is by no means an attempt to gloat. Quite the contrary, if you are unfortunate enough to be sat in a country which has recently been hit by the second or even third wave of Corona, then I hope reading this might at least give you a glimmer of hope that everything will eventually return to some form of normality. I have simply been lucky enough to currently spend some time in Denmark, and at least for the time being, things are looking fairly positive here. I’m just hoping it will last.
In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy it while we can. The government has permitted socialising in larger groups again and that of course means that a number of the old classic car meets have been resurrected. During any normal Danish summer, there will be tons of weekly meets going on throughout the country. The larger ones are still a no-go, but smaller ones have been given the green light. One such event is “Classic Vehicles in Stenlille” which is held every Wednesday evening from 5pm to 8pm during the summer months. From my mother’s house, it’s only a ten minute drive through cornfields and a small forest, so while I had actually never attended previously, I obviously had to now.
I met up with two old friends who I hadn’t seen for years – one arrived in his stunning BMW 3.0 CSL while the other pulled up just behind in a near-perfect BMW M5 e34. What a fabulous presentation of all that is great about the proud Bavarian marque! Shortly after, two other friends arrived albeit sans classic car. I have to admit: Socialising felt damned good.
Especially the CSL pulled quite a crowd – understandably! Though simply through being ridiculously rare in Denmark, so did my old Reliant Scimitar GTE which I’m thoroughly enjoying having back on the road with two freshly restored heads. Many enthusiasts in Denmark haven’t got a clue what it is and several figured it was a Jensen of sorts. The Scimitar proved the perfect ice-breaker to get the Danish enthusiasts talking.
But I was keen to explore what else was parked on the lawn, so I ventured out among the 100+ classics which had shown up. The entire event was delightfully informal and low-key, which offered up a pleasant atmosphere with lots of chitchat and a very broad spectrum of classics to enjoy. When did you last see a first generation Mazda 323 estate? Or how about a vivid green Simca 1100 GLS? As a sharp contrast to these two endangered species of yesteryear’s daily workhorses, a bright red Maserati Merak looked positively exotic.
A bronze metallic Ford Taunus GXL Coupé caught my eye as well. I’ve always liked the shape and it reminded me that this was another classic which I would love to try owning some day. A beautiful Volvo 1800 ES offered up another stylish take on the shooting brake concept – it was only a shame that I wasn’t able to park my Scimitar next to it as I’m sure they would have complemented each other perfectly.
A first generation Celica, no less than two Kadett C Coupés and a liberal scattering of Americana with especially a second generation Buick Riviera drawing me in to digest the striking design. Despite being a casual weekly event, there was something for everyone’s taste.
Amusingly, my mate ended up winning the People’s Choice award with his lovely BMW 3.0 CSL and my old Scimitar bagged second place narrowly beating a Chevy Chevelle. Meguiar’s had sponsored prizes for all three of us which I found extremely impressive considering it’s a weekly event. But more importantly, it was just great to be back at a classic car meet again. The cars were all great and the people even more so. This is why I love our hobby so much…
