Swedish Day UK 2012

Swedish Day 2012 was another great success and the order for good sunny weather was pleasantly answered. After weeks of rain it was great to see the sunshine come along just when it was needed although it did result in very long grass in the show field.

As in the last couple of years the weekend started on Saturday evening with another successful Carvery at The Sparkford Inn. 32 Swedish Fans sat down and enjoyed a three course meal followed by lots of chat until closing time.
Many of our friends from Europe were there sharing their love for both Saab and Volvo. 
The car park was full of Swedish cars including a Rally ready Volvo PV544 and a Saab 900 Toppola.

The day of the show saw Alex, myself, our families and members of the South West Saab group turn up at 8.30am to get things organised,

Some gazebos were erected and flags were put up to fly in the gentle breeze. The Volvos and Saabs started to arrive around 9.30, and there was a steady flow of Swedish vehicles driving through the gates. As in previous years, they were parked as they arrived therefore having a nice mixture of Cars on display.  About 10.00 a Volvo FH13 driven by "Lardy" came into the field, a great shining site with all his chrome on show.
By 12.00am nearly 200 vehicles had received their welcome instructions. We parked the cars in an arc formation as we did last year which again turned out looking very nice. There were opportunities during the day to have photo shoots with like models if you wanted. I want to thank Lyde Road Scouts at this moment for their great help in organising the parking.

By the end of the day we had had a total of 190 different Swedish vehicles on display for all to see. It was great to talk to so many enthusiasts and to see so many people smiling all day.

The variety of Swedish cars was brilliant. The older cars were there, a couple Volvo PV544s and a couple of Volvo 1800's, a few Saab Two Stroke’s including a couple of Saab Sonetts and Saab 96s. The cars ranged from the 40’s right up to the most modern of the two brands including the rare new shape Saab 9-5 and the new Volvo S60.

The Saabs and Volvos came from all four corners of the UK, and were joined by many of our friends from mainland Europe.

The other attraction of being at Haynes was the Museum. Everybody who signed their car in received a reduced rate to enter the Haynes International Museum. Almost everybody took a visit to enjoy the great cars in the Museum. Others attractions were taking place, including a Swedish Knowledge Quiz with some very tricky questions. Count the balloons in the back of the car. The winners each receiving a very nice limited edition print signed by Eric Carlsson. A raffle took place with many great prizes. I want to thank the many wives of the South West Saab group for looking after the many duties that go on during the day.

During the day there were eight judging competitions going on. Three were named “The Most Admired Volvo, Saab and Truck” and was sponsored by "Chris Knott Insurance" and "Tailored Transport". Each entrant was given the task of choosing their Most Admired Volvo, Truck & Saab at the show. Another was “Best in Show”, sponsored by Peter Swann from “Car Lives”. As Pete said it was very difficult to choose one as there were a great many “Best” cars, so he decided to ask himself, which car would I like to travel home in? The local Saab garage "Astley Saab" was there to choose their favourite Saab and Andy and Lynn from "Send Fresh Chocolates", who chose his favourite Volvo at the show. Andy Briggs chose his favourite "Young Swede" and Chris Hamley gave an award to the "Furthest Travelled"
A big thank you to all the sponsors for supplying the trophies. The prizes at the 2012 show were awarded like this.
 

The Chris Knott “Most Admired Saab” chosen by the people at Swedish Day was presented for Paul Channer to John Skaar with his Saab 99GL.
The Chris Knott “Most Admired Volvo” chosen by the people at Swedish Day was presented for Paul Channer to Alain Rosset with his Volvo PV544.
The Tailored Transport "Most Admired Truck" went to Adrian Beal and his Volvo FH13.
“Send Fresh Chocolates Favourite Volvo” was presented by Andy to Peter Smethurst and his Volvo 164.
“Astley Saabs Favourite Saab” was presented by Lynn to Chris Redmond and his Saab 900 T16S.
Peter Swann of the GB Motor Book Company’s Best in Show or later re-tagged as "Vehicle I would most like to drive home in" was presented to Adrian Beal and his Volvo FH13.
"Andy Briggs Property Services" favourite Young Swede went to Tim Davis with his Saab 9-3 Aero.
The "Chris Hamley" furthest travelled went to Alan Shepherd who travelled down from Scotland
 

I would like to thank everybody for supporting this event, the helpers, the seven sponsors mentioned above, Matt and Haynes Museum for the location, my friends Pete, Clive, Mike & Marion, Mark & Carol and Alex & Isabel for the constant support, the local Saab owners group for their fantastic help on the day, the internet forums and blogs, for their support and of course, my wife Kerry. But the biggest thank you goes to all the owners of those lovely Saabs and Volvos that came along on the day.

Next years show will be held on Sunday the 12th May.
Camping on site is being planned with a Saturday evening of Swedish food. Hope to see you there.
Robin