It was a great day, with lots of Classic British Cars and perfect weather. Billed as the largest one-day get together of British cars in North America, I think that it could claim to be the Best too.

Pictures of some of the more unusual cars are here.

My day started just after 7 AM when I left Owen Sound for the 125 mile drive to the event. I hit highway 6 after a quick stop at Tim Hortons for a travelling coffee, and encountered my first fellow British car driver of the day 45 minutes later when I passed a red Morgan. Despite the 5°C temperature, the driver (Trevor) had the top down and was well bundled up in leather flying jacket and helmet and a scarf covering his lower face. There were further encounters until just south of Guelph, when I happened upon a pair of MGBs.

I stopped just outside the park to fill up with a second coffee for me and Sunocco 94 for Grace for the return trip – fast driving in a Jaguar 420 isn’t thrifty! – and joined the long queue of cars snaking in to the show area at just after 10 AM. As usual, this slow traffic jam caused a few problems: several cars around me overheated and moved onto the grass to cool off and have their radiators refilled, including a Lotus 7, a Sunbeam Tiger and a couple of Triumphs. I had the usual British Car Day problem of boiling my brake fluid to the point that I barely made it to my designated spot, using the hand brake as a final resort. I really must get there earlier or later next year and miss the traffic!

After a very enjoyable day of looking at cars and talking to new and old friends, it was time to set off for the long journey home. This, of course, was not without incident, but serves as an example of the spirit of the occasion. The short story is that I gave a battery boost to Bill Berry’e E-type and Bill helped me bleed the brake booster line after I topped up the fluid from a bottle from my spares box plus a donation from fellow OJOA member Paul Turcotte, and everyone left for home without further disruption. Thanks, guys!

A big Thank You to the BCD committee and the many volunteers for making the event such a success.