HUDSON, N.H., July 27 — I’m so glad this year’s “Show of Dreams” was back at the Alvirne Hills House field. British Cars of New Hampshire (BCNH), the organizers of the show, did a remarkable job last year when they had to find a new venue at the last minute due to a soggy field. That show was good, but asphalt is not as welcoming as grass, so this year was even better for me.

I favor this event because BCNH donates the proceeds to the New Hampshire Food Bank. The advertisement for the Show of Dreams stated it would include 25 classes of British, American and International antique and classic cars with trophies presented in each class, plus car-related vendors, local craft vendors, a DJ, raffle and silent auction tables, regalia, great food and fun for the whole family.

All of that was there, plus a good turnout of judged motorcycles, and a man circling the fields playing the bagpipes!

Thoughtfully, BCNH provided a “cooling tent” complete with bottles of ice-cold water, both quite welcome on this sunny 86° day.

I counted seven Minis on the field. At this show the classes were determined by the age of the car, so Minis could be found in Class 22 (British Classics Pre-1970), Class 23 (British Classics 1970-1989), and Class 24 (British Classics 1990-2024).

Only one Mini was entered in Class 22, MaeLynn Hill’s 1962 Morris Mini Minor, which she imported from Canada. It has a bright turquoise exterior and is mostly original paint, but the interior has been redone. The previous owner of this beautiful little Mini had the license plate “Baby Blue,” but MaeLynn chose “BabyLou” in honor of her grandmother Louisa.

My car “Jack,” a 1973 Mini 1000, was in Class 23. I was horrified to see that Mike Gaetano’s gorgeous 1947 Bentley Mark VI was in the same class, as was an outstanding light blue Triumph. Surprisingly, Jack took 1st prize, followed by the Triumph and then the Bentley.

Class 23 also included Patrick Minhall’s 1989 Supercharged Mini, which he won in a raffle at U.K. Minis for £20. Shipping wasn’t included, but he didn’t care! Patrick has 10 other Minis at home (two rally, two modern and six R53s).

Anthony Santosuosso brought his Mini with a Honda VTEC engine. Anthony bought his car when he was only 14 years old and has been working on it for the last eight years. The exterior of the car looks great, and Anthony says it runs and drives well. The interior is not completed yet, but it will be in time.

Class 24 included a 1992 Mini Mayfair owned by Chuck and Diane Connors. The first owner of this vehicle lived in Italy and only drove it about 6,000 miles. Chuck and Diane have only had to put on new tires and a front suspension steady.

Adam Clement arrived in a JDM Rover Mini that was his daily driver when he was stationed in Japan. When Adam returned to the U.S., the military was kind enough to ship the car for free.

Also in Class 24 was a pristine 2004 MINI Cooper owned by Chris Bogart. The woman who owned it for the first 20 years of its life took fantastic care of it inside and out. Chris is the second owner, and he also takes meticulous care of the car. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear that this little yellow MINI was brand new!

BCNH, I enjoyed your event so much that you can plan on seeing me again next year.

ORFORD, Qué., Aug. 2-5 — To celebrate the 50 years of their club’s existence, Mainly Minis Montreal held a great weekend event to honor “Keeping the Love of Mini Motoring Alive.”

Events centered around the Hôtel Chéribourg in Orford, just north of Magog. This hotel was the venue for past Mini Meet East events and offered excellent accommodations along with fine French food selections.

The official count is not out, but it appeared there were over 100 Minis and 170 attendees. On the days of the event, locals kept coming in all day long, making the people count higher than the hotel guest count. The main event organizers were Deb Bolton, Norm Aubin, Denis Boivert and Lauri Jensen. Many other club members also worked the event.

As far as NEMO members attending, attendance was sparse. Only Bruce Vild, Faith Lamprey, Barbara Newman and I made the seven-hour drive north. We drove our 2013 Woody Clubvan, and Bruce and Faith drove their 2007 MINI Cooper S.

Arrival and registration were on Friday. Saturday started with breakfast and a car wash. A car show was held in the parking lot — no contest or awards, just time spent with Mini friends looking at each other’s fine cars. A kids’ event was held inside the hotel. A bit after 1 p.m., we departed for a drive to Mont Orford for the panoramic photo.

Next, we left on a self-guided tour to an ice cream factory, about an hour away in Coaticook. Bruce and Faith said they would follow us since we had a GPS. This area of Québec, to the east of Magog, is mostly corn and cow farms. Lots of it. Very scenic and rural.

The route was to be about an hour on paved roads. I missed one turn on the GPS and all of a sudden we were on very smooth dirt roads with lots of ups and downs. I called it our “Rallye Stage” and enjoyed it — for a while. But it kept going and going. Lefts and rights, hill and dale, farm after farm, until we finally ended up at the ice cream place.

On the way back, we ditched the GPS and took a longer paved route. But the “Rallye Stage” was fun.

We had dinner at a gourmet pizza place near the hotel. That night, as with every night at the event, Mini owners sat around in a big circle discussing old times.

On Sunday, after a nice breakfast, there were more parking lot discussions, and those who wished to departed to Valcourt, about a half hour north, to visit the Bombardier Museum. Bruce said it was excellent.

Barbara and I ventured into Magog for some shopping. First, coffee at Tim Hortons. Then, visits to Canadian Tire and other stores. Barb found some hockey shirts. Then we searched for a store selling Labatt 50, a beer only available in Canada. We get the other Labatt beers in the U.S., but the “50” is special.

We left the hotel for the 4 p.m. dinner venue, the Bistro Brandy Creek, in Valcourt. The club had the place until 8 p.m. and it was a great dinner with good conversations. After returning to the hotel we enjoyed another huge parking lot meetup.

On Monday we had breakfast, followed by good-byes, and then we were off to home in the USA. It was an excellent, low-key Mini event, and we were glad we were invited.

HOLLISTON, Mass., June. 16 — The weather cooperated for a change and the annual Holliston Historical Society Car Show & Pancake Breakfast took place as scheduled this year.

This is a free show for cars and spectators, with the pancake breakfast proceeds going to support the Historical Society. The hours are 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., though the awards ceremony runs until almost 11 a.m. Former NEMO member Paul Saulnier is one of the show organizers and he likes to hold the event early so attendees have most of the day free for other activities.

Turnout was higher than I recall from previous years. I drove my 1968 Mini Traveller, and when I arrived at about 8 a.m. the front lawn was already packed. Wendy Birchmire and Bob Brownell drove their classic Minis and were parked together at the corner of the lawn and driveway. Paul directed me to squeeze in next to them, since classic Minis don’t take up much space.

We had our own tiny show within a show, and the Minis attracted a lot of attention. NEMO members Skip and Barb Tannen brought their 1965 Austin-Healey Sprite. It was great to visit with them, as we hadn’t seen each other since pre-COVID.

There is always a decent assortment of British cars, and this year was no exception. The standout was a concours-winning 1971 Jaguar E-type with a “For Sale” sign on the windshield. There was no price listed. (If you have to ask, you can’t afford it?) Other British cars included a 1962 Triumph TR3, a 1965 Austin-Healey BJ8, and a 1963 Austin-Healey BJ7.

One of the rarer cars was a 1967 Volvo 210 Douett Wagon. According to the owner, the 210 had a small production run and few made their way to the U.S. The car has a fold-down back seat, with wood slats on the floor and seat back. The 210 used a separate ladder chassis that allowed Volvo to market it as a panel van or passenger vehicle, hence the name Douett.

The oddest show car was a bright red mid-’60s Cadillac “El Camino” wearing wire wheels. The car appears to have started out as a two-door Fleetwood with the rear section converted to a pickup truck bed. The owner poked fun at Cadillac purists by installing a hood ornament with a devil thumbing his nose.

The truly abominable Tesla Cybertruck has been appearing at car shows this season and I have also seen a few in the wild. One arrived rather late at the Holliston show and had difficulty fitting into a parking space. When I first saw a picture of the Cybertruck I thought it was something drawn by a fifth-grade boy that Transformer-style would convert to a robot. It is an incredible waste of resources, and the batteries could power several modest-sized EVs. The truck has been criticized for its poor build quality, malfunctions, and stainless steel that is prone to rust. I don’t understand why anyone would buy one of these monstrosities.

There were at least three Ford Model As present, including a beautiful rumble seat convertible coupe. Two Model As sported flying quail radiator caps, which were original period accessories.

From a distance I spied a really nice early ’50s Pontiac woody wagon. On closer inspection, the car was all metal with the wood grain painted on both the interior and exterior. The car had a chrome hood ornament with an amber plastic Native American profile attached. A similar vintage Pontiac convertible had a more elaborate hood ornament with a three-dimensional amber profile and a tall amber headdress.

Another noteworthy car was a 1954 Hudson Hornet Hollywood. The car was a two-door hardtop and featured a white roof, maroon body, and massive chrome bumpers. The hood was open showing two enormous orange “Twin H-Power” air cleaners attached to the dual carburetors.

There were a lot of muscle cars from the ’60s and ’70s, a variety of hot rods, several Chevy BelAirs, classic Ford Mustangs, and a 1963 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk. As usual, this show had something for everyone.

Judging was done by the show sponsors, many of which are local automotive businesses. Some judges asked their kids to pick a favorite car, and most winners were muscle cars. I am happy to report that the concours Jaguar E-type was recognized this year.

Paul Saulnier e-mailed the day after the show to thank me for recruiting the other two Minis. He had an extra trophy, as one of the sponsors had missed the show. Paul wanted the trophy to go to a Mini. I replied that my choice for the best one was Bob Brownell’s pristine 1963 Austin Mini. At some point I will get together with Paul to pick up some Mini parts and Bob’s trophy.

SUDBURY, Mass., July 12-14 — Charles and Nancy Gould held the fabulous Microcar & Minicar Classic once again at their beautiful home in Sudbury.

NEMO loves this event. They have always welcomed our Minis and we have enjoyed, for once, being one of the larger cars at the event. This year, however, we observed that there were not many microcars there. That made the drives a bit faster and the breakdowns a bit fewer, though the larger minicars were not entirely immune!

Friday started with registration check-in, looking at all the eclectic cars, and a sumptuous meal. This “meal” is billed as “appetizers,” but anyone who could not get full on all that was served just did not take enough. The fish chowder was especially delicious. The caterer they use is amazing and the cost of the event is worth it just for the food!

Oh, did I mention there is also an open, help-yourself bar with wine and a cooler full of microbrews? There were also coolers full of water and soda fully stocked all weekend.

Saturday started with coffee, bagels and pastries at the Goulds’ before heading out for our first drive — the annual trek to Mt. Wachusett. The route took us on back roads and scenic byways that we had never been on before. We stopped for lunch along the way to give our cars (and us) a chance to cool down before climbing the mountain. I am happy to report that all made it to the summit and down again without incident.

After that, of course, we had to stop for ice cream. I discovered the “kiddie” size was bigger than the “small” I remember as a kid. Then it was off to Matchbox Motors, two warehouses where Charles keeps his cars. It always amazes me how many small cars you can fit in a large space!

We did not stay too long at Matchbox Motors as we had to get back to the house for the Saturday night feast. While we were off on our drive, the wonderful caterer had been busy with his staff preparing the meal.

We picked up our beverage of choice and then headed to the buffet. Again, the food was delicious and there was plenty to feed all in attendance. We did not save room for dessert, but ate it anyway.

Everyone stayed around talking about the day and the cars. Then out came Charles’ “world famous two-stroke” frozen Margaritas. What a way to end the day! It was a good thing we were staying at a hotel only a couple miles away and our Mini knew the way.

As if we had not had enough, we showed up Sunday morning back at the Goulds’ for more coffee and pastries and then mounted up for another drive over beautiful back-country roads. Lunch this time was at a Chinese buffet. After stuffing ourselves there we, of course, had to stop for ice cream! Then back to the Goulds’ for the evening’s activities, or hugs and goodbyes until next year.

This is a unique event with unusual and interesting cars owned by unusual and interesting people. The Goulds are generous, hospitable, and lots of fun, and their grown daughters join us as they had when they were little girls.

If you have never been to a Microcar/Minicar Classic, you should seriously consider attending next year!

WATERFORD, Conn. — Scheduled at the culmination of the 28th Annual British Car Week, the 36th Annual British by the Sea Gathering was held on June 2nd, at Harkness Memorial State Park. Hosted by the Connecticut MG Club, this is one of our family’s favorite events of the New England car show calendar.

This was the first outing of the driving season for our 1967 Morris Mini Cooper S, and other than boosting the battery charge, topping off the oil, and adjusting tire pressures, remarkably little maintenance was needed to bring ‘Mini KK’ out of her winter hibernation. In particular, I had switched to using waterless coolant last season and I was glad to see that it fulfilled its claim of protecting well during the long, cold winter months — without the problems of antifreeze gelling that had plagued us in previous years.

The drive down from Cambridge on Rt. 90/Rt. 395 took a little over two hours and the Mini didn’t miss a beat. The weather was clear, but on a hot summer’s day the adjacent sea breeze coming in from Long Island Sound was most welcome — especially as with many British cars, our Mini does not have air conditioning.

I would estimate that around 350 to 400 British vehicles in total attended this picturesque location, including eight classic Minis and three modern MINIs. There is a popular vote held for each class and the winners are shown below:

Classic Mini Class — 1st, David Icaza, from Amston, Conn., 1969 Austin Countryman 2nd, Iain and Nuala Barker, from Cambridge, Mass., 1967 Morris Cooper S 3rd, Kat Szymanski and Myles Luboff, from Waterford, Conn., 1986 Austin.

MINI Class — 1st, Lisa D’Alton, from Stamford, Conn., 2024 Cooper S Auto (Seaside Edition) 2nd, Barbara Newman, from Kingston, Mass., 2015 Cooper Roadster 3rd, Shawn Gray, from Cranston, R.I., 2006 Cooper.

I found it interesting that despite only three MINIs in attendance, there was one from each of the three new MINI generations, and as Dave Newman pointed out, all three were convertibles — reinforcing the notion that in spite of being practical transportation, MINIs are still fun summer cars at heart.

Of the classic Minis, the Szymanski/Luboff car was particularly striking — being both bright pink in color and re-engined with a supercharger, complete with remote SU carburetor, which had somehow been squeezed into the Mini’s diminutive engine bay.

Benefiting from such a large attendance of cars it was impossible to see everything in detail, but my own personal ‘Best in Show’ award would have to go to a 1970 Lotus Europa S2, which appeared to be in mostly original condition and held its own well against the array of more modern Lotus models. With its distinctive fastback-style rear wings, it looked like it was doing 150mph just sitting still.

Another highlight of this show were the vendors, which in addition to the usual memorabilia and regular ‘classic car scene’ stalls, included at least two autojumble-style sellers. If you are prepared to rummage, you could just find that rare 1950s carburetor set, or MG leaf springs needed to finish your never-ending restoration project!