Me & My Vette ..a members story in their own words.

Having told Jeff Shadbolt about my C2 appearing in October’s edition of Classic Cars Magazine he asked if I would write a small article about the day and how it came about and lets be fair who can say no to Jeff and the club after what he does for us.

It all began back in March this year when I received a request from the Jaguar Drivers club asking for a club members Mk 1X to appear in an article in Classic Cars Magazine. To cut a long story short I offered my vehicle and it was chosen and consequently appeared in the May edition having attended a photo shoot in April.

Towards the end of May I received an e-mail followed by a phone call from Russ Smith the deputy editor of the magazine, Russ had seen and admired my car when he came to attend the photo shoot for the Jag. He asked if I would be willing to let the mag do the same with my C2, I agreed and a date was set for the 17th July.

The magazine runs a monthly article where readers write in with a list of ten vehicles requesting a drive of any one of them as their dream car. Apparently they have hundreds of such requests with the first two on the list normally being somewhat elusive and unreal such as a Merc Gullwing etc. I had already gone through the anguish of worrying would the reader look after my car when my Jag was used and knew that the Mag vetted (no pun intended) its chosen reader well making sure they were suitable in all aspects to drive someone else’s pride and joy. The article is based on what the reader thought after driving one of their dream vehicles and sometimes was quite negative indeed which I can understand having driven an Aston DB4 a few years back which ruined all my beliefs in it.

The lucky reader chosen was Chris Walker who had apparently written in his list over 2 years earlier. He had driven down from Cumbria to my home in Leigh-on-Sea in order to fulfill his request to drive a C2. To say that Chris was about my age and appeared very knowledgeable on classic cars was a big relief as it reassured me he would look after my car, when the Jag was featured I sat in her with the reader and Russ but of course this was not possible in the C2. The photographer Charlie Magee arrived along with Russ and after introductions, coffee and a little about my car we went into the garden where she was sitting outside my garage Chris actually said “wow they certainly got these so right! God bless the Americans” this was followed by the grin of a Cheshire cat which lasted most of the day. All three thought she was superb and laughed when I pointed out the odd mark and explained the even Jane Fonda or Joan Collins must have had the odd blemish when they were the same age as my car.

We then set off towards Andrews Airfield near Felstead in Essex, this was the same location used for the other photo shoot due to open fields and perfect roads. I drove first with Chris as a passenger in order for him to get a feel for the vehicle and after a while I let him drive with Russ as a passenger and watched as he drove my car all the while wondering what if something happens and the worse came to the worse after all its one thing the magazine insuring the car but what good is the money if you can’t find the same again. Anyway I need not have worried as he drove her perfectly and we arrived at the chosen location where for the next couple of hours he continued to treat my car with upmost respect driving it up and around the roads surrounding the Airfield.

If I wasn’t driving the photographers car with him hanging out of the back on a harness or leaning out of a rear window in order to get the shots he needed then he and I were standing by the roadside watching my car go around the tight bends while he took more pictures. Having never seen my vehicle moving before as I was always driving it I realised that it was even more beautiful to watch in motion than I had imagined but what was even better was hearing just how awesome it sounded.

On one of the occasions we drove past the entrance to Andrews’s airfield I noticed a sign which read “fly or drive in for good food and drink” as I was in need of caffeine hit I suggested to the others that we should have a break and a coffee. Russ very kindly offered lunch for all of us with the Mag picking up the tab, having dually agreed that this was a great idea we drove onto the airfield and having parked went into the café.

The food was of a good quality at a very reasonable price and I would recommend popping in if you are nearby and in need of refreshment. We asked permission in order to complete the still shots of Russ and Chris with the car on the airfield which was granted and I would like to thank all concerned at Andrews for their help and welcome to strangers who asked a favour.

All the pictures were now taken and we headed home, I allowed Chris to drive her all the way back to my house. Once back home in my kitchen we again had coffee and a final chat during which he admitted that his preconceptions of the C2 were completely shattered as the car was far better than he expected and that if he was fortunate enough to own one he would not change a thing. He said a lot more but perhaps it’s best if you read the article for yourself.

I would like to thank Russ and Charlie for sending some pictures of the shoot to me and allowing the club to show them on its web-site.

Hope this has been of interest to you and ask that if you can give me any information about the history of my car then please e-mail me on w.riches@btinternet.com.

Bill Riches.