You will need to book in advance [search on http://cvwoc.wordpress.com]

to find a link to the application form.

If you have a VW and wish to join us please insert Cornwall VW Owners Club when you apply

Meeting point is at Bodmin [see http://www.cvwoc.co.uk] for details.

 Eden have the £5 for locals promotion running so entry [excluding skate] is £5 and this will give you a 12 month membership with as many visits as you like for the coming 12 months…….good value. If you want to skate you will need to book yourself see website above for more information.

 Always a good day out.

 See you there.

Gates open to the general masses from around 10.00 with set up for
traders from 0900 on the day.

sky and warm sunshine greeted us for the Easter Sunday Swapmeet this year. Im marked contrast the earlier March event in 2008 saw bitter easterly winds and snow flurries and no trace of even a glimmer of brightness to be found.

Needless to say even though we had bookings for every bit of table space in the hall ion the day it was so nice outside that everyone decided to set up their stall in the fresh air and even though this restricted our available parking space there proved to be enpugh room for everyone to enjoy the day without too much overcrowding.

Luckily now the health centre located next door to the hall provides a large parking area and this was soon to be quite full and remained so until the event came to a close quite naturally at around 3.00pm, all of a sudden there they were gone!

The usual mixed bag of vehicles attended including one very show prepared example ,fresh from its appearance at the Volksworld Show,I believe of a Brasillia. Two Ghias attended the dark one is for sale at I think £6k,numersous Beetles, Splits, Bats, T25, T4 and aT5. A few Type 3 cars were there too along with a smattering of water cooled stalwarts in Mk2 Golf, Mk3 Golf, Bora, Mk1 Cabriolets,Caddy Pick ups,Sciroccos etc.

Plenty of items changed hands and a few were really delighted to find something they have been looking for for ages.

Our caterers [sorry dont know your name] were kept busy all day and at one time had to pop to a local shop to top up supplies.

In line with mormal practice we did not charge for attendance of the swapmeet but asked for a donation for pour supported charities which once again this year are the Friends of Penhaligon and the HCPT Trust

Will we do another one in 2010, you bet it has proven to be so popular with everyone why would we not do one.

Full photo set can be found at either

http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee114/g4usb/?start=0

or

http://www.flickr.com/photos/g4usb/sets/72157616681701288/

Lets hope the numbers attending are therefore swelled this year. On that point please come along as early as possible because parking os quite limited but at least there will be no library to consider this year as it will be a Sunday som all the area will be free for us to park on.

There should be a caterer in attendance and all proceeds will be handed to our nominated charity/ies.

Better take a warm coat if the temperatures are the same as they were last Easter, doubtful but you never know, lastb year Easter was early I know bgut who expected to see some snow flakes?

Lets make the 2009 Swapmeet something to be proud of.

Norman

It had been decided that the muster point would be the East Car Park at the Cornish Market World at St Austell with arrival being between 10.00am and the planned departure at 13.00 hrs.

I arrived at about 11.40 and there were already a number of our group there and they had headed into the children’s entertainment areas of the site. Best of luck I say!

Had a good look around the market and the other stores on the edge of the main car park and then returned and found several more of our party had arrived. Wow it looked like it was going to be a very well attended cruise, excellent.

As time went by more arrivals and we had at least 5 Beetles, a couple of T4’s, a few T25,s Bays and the regular Splitty invasion, two a penny those things. Oh yes and me in my Corrado and one Mk2 Golf to lend support to the water cooled side of the Hobby.

John arrived and debuted his Split Screen bus. Unlike John he had thrown together an interior, right, his thrown together and mine or your version are two different things of course! You can even hear the air escaping as you shut the drawers in the rear cupboards for example, thrown together indeed! John it looks fantastic and must be one of if not the best SplitScreen 1960’s van we have in the club in an original and unmolested form that is of course.

Well at 13.15 we all got underway after having a chat to Garry Brandon who had come there to shop.

By the time we were  outside of the St Austell town limits we had become well and truly fragmented. The lead group with Wayne at the head numbered around 20 vehicles and we were all too aware that there were many more behind us. To let them catch up we waited in a lay by for some minutes and then discovered they had turned off and taken a different route towards St Mawes, so, off we went again.

Guess what Wayne and the lead half a dozen got away from the  40mpg Split cruisers and we were also then not sure where he had gone, radio and telephone contact was tenuous to say the least due to the terrain so we cruised through St Mawes and then, as we went back towards the turn off to the Roseland we passed another group coming towards us and decided to wait again until more had re grouped.

Whilst waiting Paul & Danny appeared from the other direction and let us know that the rest were parked in the NT car park at St Anthony. they then went off in search of the others and we waited until the group was complete again and then set off.

On arrival we managed to fill the car park quite nicely and other visitors wondered what was going on when they arrived to find no parking space available. The weather was excellent and the views from St Anthony were exceptional after making allowances for the heavy haze. It was remarkable to see just how prominent the two windmills at Longdowns were from there, just shows how tall they really are!

Lots of tea was made and quaffed and we all had a walk. Would you believe I have never actually beet there before in my 55 years of life. My school days all happened in Falmouth and St Anthony Lighthouse was well known to me but from a distance looking at it from Pendennis Point. Now I have the picture to prove I have actually been alongside it. I understand it was used in the children’s TV programme Fraggle Rock [whatever that is] but had no prior knowledge of this.

The time passed really quickly and all of a sudden we started to thin out. Wyne and Debs decided to take the King Harry Ferry back and, as I had not been on the ferry for many years I decided to tag along. Bit shaken by the fare though, £4.50 seems a little stiff as I doubt I would have used that much petrol but it was nice to take the trip on what was to me, a new ferry. The KH historically seem to have the cast offs from the Torpoint Ferry incidentally.

Quite a few ships laid up there and this echoes the economic situation the World is in at present and the numbers seen will probably increase rather than decrease in the short term I guess.

An excellent event, thanks Wayne for the idea of going there.

I have heard subsequently that we were lucky to get away with using the market world a s a starting point as they do not allow groups to do so apparently. O h well we all went to the market after all so in a group we were but as customers in my opinion.

Looking forward to the next and the Swapmeet of course on Easter Sunday.

Norman

Here is what my Buggy looked like a few weeks back, quite incongruous really

Roseland Cruise Pictures

Johns ‘just thrown together’ bus

Paul alias Jakey’s new look for 09

A Mixed Line Up

Some rough thrown together engine bay !

Tia & Kevin’s Split

George hiding in the shade

Sorry forgot your name! our friends from Hayle

Clean T25, looking good

St Mawes in the hazy distance

Summers coming at last

St Anthony Lighthouse or is it Fraggle Rock?

Stay tuned for more news soon

Norman

not conducive to a visit to Eden really but it was what we had to work

with so off to Chiverton Cross to meet the others and make our way

to the Eden Project.

www.flickr.com g4usb@btopenworld.com’s CVWOC Eden Project visit 231108 photoset

Some of the party had booked tro go ice skating but, preferring to keep
both legs and arms in tact I was not one of them.

We took the opportunity of taking out a years membership to cover
future visits in the next 121 months at a very reasonable £5.00 each
for locals as long as proof was given. A bargain at last.

With the temperature way down the entry into the tropical forest
biome came as too much of a shock for my main camera to bear
and the lens immediately misted over but not just externally this
time, the internal components of the lens had also misted up no
pictures with the main camera for a while. However the trusty
Nokia N95 came in to play as it was located in a nice warm shirt
pocket no problem with misting up.

The Mediterranean biome was much more pleasnat to be in warm
but not too hot and humid and the displays had changed from
my last visit too.

That covered it was off to get a pasty and a sit down followed by a
trek to the education centre.

A walk back over the open bridge and then down to the skating rink
to watch the others falling over alkthough not much if tat bwas evident
save Alistair who seemed to like the cold surface just a little.

Next outing is the Mince Pie Cruise to Falmouth on 14th December 2008
another chance to enjoy the company of friends at this time of year.

The 19th December will see our Christmas Dinner/Party at Newquay and
then well its ghet ready for nthe 2009 show season, won’t be too long.

Norman

may think of this notion.

Click ion the link and read the page, watch the enbedded video

when you reach it and see of you are convinced. The system seems

to be quite simple really and if it actually does work could save

pounds on every trip to an ‘up country’ show.

here is a link to the we site…..they charge $67 for the instructions

and reckon it would cotst in UK terms £60 maximum with good

quality parts to install.

http://www.affiliatesden.com/sites/61973.htm

I f we could actually save that sort of fuel consumption in % terms

it could be worth considering?