Show n Shine in the Vines with a Little Rain
23 November 2014 / Words by Mark Gray, Photos by Peter Hilkmann
Members of the Hunter Chapter love breaking out the shampoo, polish and claybar for a bit of show n shine competition. The inaugural Hunter Show n Shine last year was a great success and this year promised to be even better.
The weather forecast promised to be warm but an early cloud decided to make rain while signing on at our Beresfield meeting spot. We held off our departure waiting for the rain to clear, but it was taking its time. Everyone had gone to a huge effort in preparing their cars for the day, so it was decided to complete the Show n Shine judging in light drizzle rather than at the lunch stop where they would inevitably be covered in grime.
Judging was divided into three groups for NA, NB, and NC using a basic scoring sheet, in addition to people's choice. After the judging the rain stopped of course and the roads even dried before our late departure.
Some headed off with roofs down and others chose to not risk it was we zoomed over towards Minmi, Mount Sugarloaf's nice winding roads and across into the back of Cessnock taking the picturesque views of the vines enjoying that burst of rain.
Arriving at our Lovedale Store lunch location we were greeted by Paul & Janee. They had enjoyed a busy few days in the Hunter Valley Wine country area hosting Mick Jagger's Rolling Stones concert which attracted over 18,000 people the night before. Their Lovedale Store had proved a popular breakfast and coffee stop for people heading home in the morning. Also a well admired Blue NA soon took centre of the row of the cars with many taking time to look over this MX-5 with different extras not often seen.
Lunch started rolling out with a choice of three selections and followed by desserts and onsite roasted coffees. The crew were asked to answer a series of tricky MX-5 questions and the winners were awarded some interestign items as spot prizes. The time came to announce the winners of the Hunter Chapter Show n Shine 2014 ... and the winners were:
| Class | Winner | Model & Colour |
| NA | Phil & Helen Mayo | Red NA |
| NB | Dean & Rowan Morgan | Evolution Gold NB |
| NC | Rachel Crawford | True Red NC softtop |
| People's Choice | Phil & Helen Mayo | |
| Overall Champion | Phil & Helen Mayo | |
| Head & Tails Hamper Award | Maureen Hilkmann | Donated by Lovedale Store |
A big thank you to Paul & Janee for a great day and hopefully we can return soon again enjoy their hospitality.
Click here to see Peter's complete photo album.
