For the super-rich, Bonhams are holding an auction on Monday of vintage cars. For the less-rich, the cars also happen to be on display prior to the sale for everyone to peer at.
Being definitely a member of the less-rich category, I wandered up to the RAF Museum in Colindale this morning for a look at the cars and sigh wistfully at them.
Unlike a lot of blokes, I am not actually that knowledgeable about motor cars and if a road accident were ever to occur where the police asked for a statement, I would struggle to offer anything more than the colour and how many wheels the car had.
Nonetheless, I can look at a vintage car and admire the aesthetics, even if the intricacies of the engine etc are a complete mystery to me.
My ambivalence is slightly ironic, as my father was a collector of cars and had quite a few of them. Alas, being a typical car collector, practicalities were secondary and our trips into town often involved a 2-seater sports car with me squashed in behind the parents in the space normally reserved for the shopping.
Still, a display of vintage cars – and a free on at that is worth going up and taking a look at.
Bonhams will be holding the auction on Monday, so you really need to visit tomorrow (Sunday) if you want to have a wander round the place.
As it happens, I picked up the Sale Catalogue as it helps me with the photo labelling, but also gets me in the auction should I be so inclined. Interestingly, they are not just selling cars, but some old Penny-Farthing style bikes, which are affordable and in my older well-paid job might have tempted me.
I also got a bit confused when reading the catelogue and a six-page splash about one car seemed to have a reserve price of a mere £10-12,000 which seemed surprising. Then I realised that was for the license plate alone. The car itself had a reserve price involving several more zeros.
While I wandered round it was easy to spot the potential buyers as they were carrying out in-depth studies of the cars and talking in the strange language of motor enthusiasts. However, I also noticed a few kids crawling over some of the cars, and seemingly encouraged by their parents to behave like that. Had I behaved like that as a kid, I think a clip round the ear would have been the least of my worries.
Lots more photos, as usual over on my Flickr Account.
where were the bonham’s staff when those children were crawling over the most expensive merchandise? my daughter wouldn’t think of letting her children run loose in public!