Prescott Event 8/9th May

[gramand]

Anybody received their entry pass yet

[Sean Smallman]

It comes via email, you print it off and write your Parking Area on it.

I've had mine through.

[lindsayhbrown]

Yup got mine too, in fact got 2 sets of passes, as they emailed a paddock and an orchard pass !

[stratfordshark]

Yes all came via email a few days ago.

I never cease to be amazed by how complicated the organisers of this show manage to make the admin! My tax return is easier to navigate.

[gramand]

Thanks Sean, Lindsay and Adrian for your replies.

Apparently missed off the email distribution list - all sorted now though

See you all Sunday and hope the weather's good

[stratfordshark]

Cinderella here has a ball to go to this evening, so will be a very late night (on top of the election all-nighter!).

If I miss the Hopwood rendezvous then I'll see you all at Prescott.

Forecast has improved to sunny intervals, dry, 13C max. Better weather than Weston Park!

[Sean Smallman]

It's not going to be barmy hot like the last 2 years but at least it is going to be dry

[Graham Waller]

Some pics from today:

[Sean Smallman]

What did everyone else make of yesterday?

We have attended for the last 5 years and yesterday was the first time I was questioning whether I would attend next year or not?

The organisation seems to have become really complicated.

Individual name checking on the way in slowing the process down, the cavalcade was a shambles it took far too long and wasn't the seemless prosession up the hill as previous years.

I don't know if it is H&S that has got in the way or there has been issues with previous events, it certainly has lost some of it's charm. It could just be that it is very popular now and the hill runs were very stop start with all the offs.

[stratfordshark]

You raise an interesting and valid point Sean, and one which has troubled me at prior events at Prescott.

I've attended for past 4 years (and enjoyed other visits to the La Vie En Bleu events at same venue), including taking part in the Cotswold tour on the saturday, and have always hugely enjoyed the lovely setting, historic ambience, great variety of cars attending, watching the action on the hill, looking at fascinating exhibits in the Bugatti Trust museum, and taking part in a modest way via the cavalcade. Ironically my sig photo is a cherished shot of my 928 on the Prescott hill!

But I've always felt that this particular event suffered from over-organisation, and in the past have made a mental note that I wouldn't attend in future, but always wimped out in the end and booked again.

This year they surpassed themselves. The email with entry passes this year had no fewer than six or seven separate attachments, and pages of instructions. There seems little attempt to distinguish between the "paddock" hill climbers, and those who are just ambling up the hill.

What is really irritating is that they don't even adhere to their own (voluminous) instructions. Every year without fail I've stuck to their instructions and attempted to "sign in", and every year they have said that doesn't apply to Orchard/Cavalcade cars and redirected me to a briefing first. Happened yet again this year. I took one look at the queue for wristbands stretching round the hill control hut and thought sod it, I won't go up the hill this year. I was also encouraged to skip this part of the proceedings by previous experience of long queues to get to the start line, and an even longer queue to get back to our parking spot. Felt quite smug this year having a picnic in the Orchard, and watching a line of Alfas going nowhere for ages while they were barked at by an extraordinary number of blokes in hi-vis vests (the ratio of hi-vis vests to cars must be the highest of any event I have attended).

The over-organisation is symbolised for me by the inclusion in all the entry bumph of a "car park plan" with individual spaces marked and numbered, the instruction to put this number in the windscreen, and the reality of no numbered spaces. I'm not complaining that spaces are not numbered - far from it - just making the point that the organisers seem to rejoice in adding needless complexity to the process of parking in a field and spectating.

The organising Rotary club do seem to make a fetish out of administration. This is the only event where invites for the next year's event are sent out almost immediately after the current year's event. It's not as if it's the Mille Miglia is it?

The final straw is cost. In absolute terms the fee of £15 for Orchard cars is frankly neither here nor there in the current climate of motoring costs. What makes it stand out is that it is so far out of line with attendance fees at other classics shows of a couple of quid or so. I'm sure the organisers will say that as a Rotary event it's all "for charidee", but as I'm not a Rotarian this is beside the point. The premium price risks killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

I've ranted, and to be honest I enjoyed the day very much overall, and would have enjoyed it even more in better weather. However it's all the petty frustrations which put me off the idea of going next year too.

[lindsayhbrown]

You raise an interesting and valid point Sean, and one which has troubled me at prior events at Prescott.

I've attended for past 4 years (and enjoyed other visits to the La Vie En Bleu events at same venue), including taking part in the Cotswold tour on the saturday, and have always hugely enjoyed the lovely setting, historic ambience, great variety of cars attending, watching the action on the hill, looking at fascinating exhibits in the Bugatti Trust museum, and taking part in a modest way via the cavalcade. Ironically my sig photo is a cherished shot of my 928 on the Prescott hill!

But I've always felt that this particular event suffered from over-organisation, and in the past have made a mental note that I wouldn't attend in future, but always wimped out in the end and booked again.

This year they surpassed themselves. The email with entry passes this year had no fewer than six or seven separate attachments, and pages of instructions. There seems little attempt to distinguish between the "paddock" hill climbers, and those who are just ambling up the hill.

What is really irritating is that they don't even adhere to their own (voluminous) instructions. Every year without fail I've stuck to their instructions and attempted to "sign in", and every year they have said that doesn't apply to Orchard/Cavalcade cars and redirected me to a briefing first. Happened yet again this year. I took one look at the queue for wristbands stretching round the hill control hut and thought sod it, I won't go up the hill this year. I was also encouraged to skip this part of the proceedings by previous experience of long queues to get to the start line, and an even longer queue to get back to our parking spot. Felt quite smug this year having a picnic in the Orchard, and watching a line of Alfas going nowhere for ages while they were barked at by an extraordinary number of blokes in hi-vis vests (the ratio of hi-vis vests to cars must be the highest of any event I have attended).

The over-organisation is symbolised for me by the inclusion in all the entry bumph of a "car park plan" with individual spaces marked and numbered, the instruction to put this number in the windscreen, and the reality of no numbered spaces. I'm not complaining that spaces are not numbered - far from it - just making the point that the organisers seem to rejoice in adding needless complexity to the process of parking in a field and spectating.

The organising Rotary club do seem to make a fetish out of administration. This is the only event where invites for the next year's event are sent out almost immediately after the current year's event. It's not as if it's the Mille Miglia is it?

The final straw is cost. In absolute terms the fee of £15 for Orchard cars is frankly neither here nor there in the current climate of motoring costs. What makes it stand out is that it is so far out of line with attendance fees at other classics shows of a couple of quid or so. I'm sure the organisers will say that as a Rotary event it's all "for charidee", but as I'm not a Rotarian this is beside the point. The premium price risks killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

I've ranted, and to be honest I enjoyed the day very much overall, and would have enjoyed it even more in better weather. However it's all the petty frustrations which put me off the idea of going next year too.

i agree with what you say Adrian, but some of those cars make it worth it

[NXI20]

In case anyone is wondering what the strange appendage taped to the front of my car actually "saw" that day...



Apologies for the muffled sound, but the gear & engine were at opposite ends

[billus99]

maybe you should have gone up in reverse?!

Io answer the earlier posts, this was my first attendance, and although I never managed more than the 2 allotted runs (I overheard some people saying they got 8 - how did they manage that??) I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Also piloted my wife's car (triumph vitesse) up the hill for the parade, with kids in the back.

I'm sure there was a day when it was smaller and cosier, but the generally cheerful marshalls seemed very helpful, and also made the kids very welcome. I would far rather spend money on this type of event than an "average" car show (although they arent cheap either, esp at NEC ith its ludicrous parking charges).