I don’t think the last two Sprite Club of SA outings could have been more different. A warm barmy night, perfect for ice-cream and a summer evening cruise, followed by the overcast, wind and rains of All British Day!

Ice Cream Run

A perfect night for sampling the offerings from one of the newest ice creameries in town greeted the club. After a short interlude to reflect on the passing of Don and the passing out of Michael’s near cryptic clues for the route, it was ‘wagons ho’ for a scenic tour of the inner southern suburbs and the mandatory evening run through the city (although it was foiled by the road closures for the Fringe Festival).

One of us got a bit confused and had a bit of a detour on the way to the event but despite this, we had approximately 15 cars of all descriptions, including Gordon and his daughter Tiana who took the majority of the images of the run (thank you Tiana!).

With traffic lights and the road closures we were bound to have the group split up along the way yet we all managed to arrive safe and sound back in Unley to sample the offerings of 48 Flavours (some sooner than others – some people will do anything to be first in line for ice cream!).

I figure I’m one flavour down and only 47 left to sample now…! Just don’t tell Margy!

A huge thank you to all who organised the run with a special mention to Michael McLaren for pulling this together.

All British Day

The weather could not have been more different to the Ice Cream Run. Chance of light rains said the BoM. Phooey. Starting with a heavy-ish sprinkle of rain at 0800 as the cars came out of their sheds (and at least one un-named member considering pushing it back into the shed right then and there … two hours of washing and polishing the car too mind you!), the sun briefly came out in Echunga and, for an even briefer moment, it started to feel quite warm, until it didn’t. At times it bucketed down, followed by all to brief interludes of sunshine and then the wind would pick up as the next front moved through with yet another burst of rain.

Unlike Chris who said ‘rain, what rain?’ as he drove home in his Bugeye sans roof, most of us put up the top and tested out the weather sealing on the way home. For those interested, it rained just as heavily inside my Midget as it did outside so I’m not sure why I bothered to put the roof up at all!

With a few late withdraws, the Sprite Club had 14 cars on display in the club area and at least one member displaying his Sprite with another club as well as a few other Sprites and Midgets scattered through out, including Steve Kent’s mum and dad with their Sprite. Dean’s race car attracted a wealth of attention throughout the day (and decided it needed a jump start in the pouring rain), as did Clive’s Bugeye which is also currently for sale.

We also had a visit from a new member, Kelly Bannon (from Greenock) who came down with her partner Mark to finalise the paperwork for her BRG MkIII Sprite. From the lengthy discussions he was having with Dean and Chris, Kelly’s lovely Sprite might be on an upgrade path very soon if she doesn’t keep an eye on it! It was also fabulous to see Adrian and his partner up from Whyalla and Rick Williams and his son Sam out with Don’s car which now in their care.

Despite the forecast, a mouth watering display of cars congregated in Echunga, from the ubiquitous Morris Minor and the humble Austin A30, through Rileys, Jensens, Triumphs, Land Rovers and Aston Martins, not to mention more Jaguars that you could count! Nearly every British marque was on display, including an equally delectable range of motor bikes.

All in all a great day despite the rain, with lots of interest around our cars and we may end up with two more members which is never a bad thing!

The Sprite Club was well represented in the logistics of the day, with Chris, Michael, Gordon and Don all helping with the traffic control on the day and Darryl for bringing up all of the display gear. Thank you all for your efforts. For a small club we certainly hold our own on days like this.

Also, thank you to Gordon, Tiana and Gary Dodd for their photos! I’m always happy to receive photographic contributions!