After an extra hot summer the steady rains of the first week of autumn were a welcome respite from the heat. Each night we watched the predicted weather forecast for Sunday and hoped that the predicted showers would have blown off shore. Veteran motoring is much more pleasant on drier days than wet ones. Optimistically the night before the car had been tuned, its tyres pumped up and the morning tea was ready to go.

Despite the promised showers, on Sunday morning the weather appeared to have cleared. It was a very picturesque drive to Galston Recreational Park. All the gardens have responded to the rain and cooler weather looked very green and refreshed. You could almost hear the grass growing!

While we stopped for petrol, Ian and Tim sped past in the Overlander. It was reassuring that others were risking the weather forecast. When we arrived, there were already four other veterans at the park, the Maxwell and three Talbots. Phil even had the hood down on his Talbot! Some of our friends from the Antique and Classic Car Club joined us.

Dorothy, Barry and I with my grandson, Hamish, had checked out the park late last year and it was a great choice given the weather and the size of the shelter. No-one else wanted to use it!

A light sprinkle sent us scurrying into the all-weather shelter for morning tea. Michael B had an interesting old book which he shared. It was lovely to catch up with Anne I over morning tea.

The showers did not discourage the local cubs. With their akelas, the cubs from 1st Galston were emu picking the rubbish in Galston recreational Park as their contribution to Clean up Australia Day. After a meeting between the akelas and Dorothy it was decided that we would clean up the weather shed and the ground behind it. Equipped with gloves, plastic bags and kitchen tongs, Dorothy, Marilyn and I collected nuisance rubbish – ring pulls, cigarette butts, bread tags, balloon strings, plastic straw wrappers, foil pieces and other minutiae that people drop. Leon S battled with some wire which eventually revealed that it had once been the boundary fence and part of it was still attached to some fence posts. After about half an hour of work it looked cleaner and we had a bagful of rubbish.

About 11, people left for home. Barry & family drove home with the hood down. The weather stayed fine for the rest of our journey home. There was time to put the car away and unpack before the promised showers arrived. As always, it is very pleasant to enjoy the company of other members and their families over morning tea and it’s a bonus to be able to drive the veteran before the traffic gets heavy.