Yesterday we went out for a morning's stroll around Fleetwood as it was Tram Sunday, the town's annual transport festival.
In common with the last few years, there weren't all that many trams at Tram Sunday. But that's not really why I like to go anyway. I like to go because it's a chance to see some of the cars I remember from childhood and my own early driving years.
We'll start off with a 1960s Ford Anglia Super - no that was the name, the word Super replacing the more common Ford term Deluxe. The standard model did not have the chrome trim down the sides.
The owner was sitting by the car and kindly opened the door for me to grab a photo of the Anglia's unique dashboard. I really can't understand why car manufacturers moved away from the dash-mounted keyhole for the ignition. Something to do with the wheel lock I suppose, but how frustrating is it when you can't see the slot and have no idea whether your key is aligned with it! You get used to your own after a while but I'm always driving different cars for work.
An early 1970s Hillman Hunter GLS (another version of Super!) Grandad had one of these and passed it onto Dad once he had done with it. It was a nice car to drive, but my favourite Hillman will always be the massive tank that was the Hillman Minx - my own first 4-wheel car, after owning a couple of old Reliant 3-wheelers.
A couple of Jaguar MkII cars. My brother had a couple of these at one time. One that he used to drive about and another that he poached for parts. A lovely car though. The car of choice in all 1960s British gangster films...
The van that revolutionised vans - the Ford Transit MkI. Here presented in a motorhome variant. This van sold like the clappers when they first came out, they were everywhere. The alternative seemed to be a chugging Bedford or Commer and those just didn't have the same modern lines or appeal. And just look at the size of those indicators!
Not only were trams in short supply this year, but buses and certainly coaches were few and far between aswell. Here a 1955 Leyland Titan PD2/11 gets a wash and brush up ready for the visitors of the day. I'm not sure if I even saw another half-cab bus there...
And finally, a car that wasn't entered as an exhibit. We found this superb Jaguar E-Type parked on a back road as we walked back to our own, far more modest, car.
Don'tcha wish your own car was hot like me - don'tcha?
Very interesting, one of the favourite cars I owned was a Hillman Hunter, an estate version. Another was an Austin 1100.
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