BeachBuggin' 2005 - Review

Awaiting publication

Words By Roger Arnold

BEACHBUGGIN’ the annual VW Extravaganza has been staged for the last three years on Southsea Common in early summer. This summer however Southsea and Portsmouth played host to the Trafalgar 200 celebrations, so in consequence this year’s event, BEACHBUGGIN’ 6, 2005 was held over until Sunday 21 August. In order to avoid the usual snarl up of traffic along the seafront, this year the route to the showground was signposted well in advance, the idea being to bring the hundreds of VW fans in from the west obviating the right turn across Promenade Road, the previous cause of VW gridlock.

British summers are notoriously fickle, yet despite the week preceding the show being decidedly ‘iffy’, and the Sunday morning overcast, as if by magic, from mid-day onwards the sun came out and shone in a cloudless sky all day. Jim Chambers and Rich Stannard are renowned for their infectious enthusiasm, and joint ability to organise a great annual show. How they manage the weather must remain their secret!

The promise of fine weather and the additional visitor attractions of Southsea was enough to persuade my wife Christine to accompany me, so armed with a picnic and suntan lotion we set off in “Blue” my 1964 Beetle De Luxe Saloon for the 56 mile trip from Bournemouth. We arrived in time for “Blue” to enter the Show ’n’ Shine line up, in the Pre 68 Best Original Category, a trophy we won the year before last. This year’s winner was a very fine Black Oval, a US import. Unfortunately the entry form didn’t include the owner’s name, but well done anyway!

Another notable winner was a vehicle which appeared on the front cover of July’s VolksWorld magazine, Robert Wren’s immaculate hand crafted (he is an antique clock restorer by trade!) Vulture Beach Buggy. I did my usual tour around early in the day, photographing whatever caught my eye, comparing my choices with the judge’s selection later on. Robert Ives superb Splitty Double Cab was a vehicle I recognised from the VolksWorld Show at Sandown Park. I had previously seen this vehicle on a “rotisserie” in the course of restoration at Evolution, Kerry Smith’s workshop in Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire. It has been restored to a very high standard as a working advertisement for the owner’s Ceramic Tile business. Mike & Claire Case’s Blue and White Devon Camper appealed to me on sight! It’s a 1964 model, the same year as “Blue”, and was very “period”, and a really practical camping vehicle. As a caravanner (whoops!) myself I could be tempted to change my allegiance from T1 to T2 if I could obtain a camper as fine as this.

The full list of Show ‘n’ Shine winners appears below. As in previous years the show’s sponsors included Testament Clothing, German Swedish & French, Eastpak and C & C, with a donation from Beachbuggin’s proceeds being given to support the work of The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. Sounds were courtesy of the Eastpak sponsored ‘ThrowDown B’Boy’/B’Girl Breakdance team, all the way from Brixton, doing demonstration shows throughout the day. A brilliant day was enjoyed by all present, especially the Show and Shine winners who were:

Best original Beetle/type 1 pre ’68 211 UXG Black US Import Oval
Best original Beetle/type 1 post ’68 NYE 189L Alaska Blue 1300 Peter Ebling
Best custom Beetle/type 1 pre ’68 MYE 672E Nicola Down
Best custom Beetle/type 1 post ’68 WTG 552H Cal-look Ashley Rayner
Best original Split/type 2 XFX 549B Splitty Double Cab Robin Ives
Best custom Split/type 2 CAW 903B Blue&White Devon Mick & Claire Case
Best original Bay/type 2 YPO 774L Blue & White Danbury Robert Sendall
Best custom Bay/type 2 LJK 989L Blue & White bus with seats in back
Best original Karmann Ghia OCV 418F Blue Tony Woods
Best custom Karmann Ghia FYA 34J Light metallic blue Dixie Fox
Best custom T3/4 UAE 226G Dark Red, large stero system Rex Creed
Best Aircooled VW Beach Buggy WAS 432 Orange Robert Wren
Best Baja KOT11L Red Baja Hoonahs Bug Shack