Annual Outing to Talana - 20 October 2018

A lovely day at Talana.
The Talana Live is an annual event which the VVCC participates in and this year the event was held at Talana Museum, Dundee.  Club members congregated at the Wimpy Junction, Vryheid on a very wet and cold morning.   No less than 14 cars departed en-route to the event.   :It rained all the way until the arrival in Dundee.   The morning was enjoyed with visits to the museum and various food stalls as well as interaction with members from other vintage car clubs.

During the day the weather improved and we were treated to a display of large Scottish bands of which members were from various towns.   In the afternoon we were entertained by a re-enactment of THE BATTLE OF TALANA between the British and the Boers.   True to tradition, the members of the VVCC were treated to a hearty braai organized by Leon and Neels before our departure back home.
The day's outing went very well with no mechanical problems.
Our thanks to the members for braving the bad weather to support the Talana Live day.   Well done!!!



A re-enactment of the BATTLE OF TALANA.

Submitted by Des Lemmon-Warde

The Annual Chicken Run - 15 September 2018

Our Chicken Run
The weather started off badly but eventually turned into a nice day.
Kowie Lombard, the sponsor from Valley View Chickens, came all the way from Mtunzini for the day.   We had a total of 17 cars enter for the short fun run that had been organized.
Some of our members came from as far as Piet Retief and Pongola.  The entrants were grouped in teams of four and five, and no two cars from the same group ran together.
This made for a very interesting run, and the  Kowie Lombard Floating Trophy, which was donated by Kowie some years ago, was eventually won by team four  -  Kobus, Cornell, Arthur and Harry.   After a prize-giving we all enjoyed a lovely chicken braai.
The salads and puddings ended a perfect day.   Thanks to the organizers.  We look forward to  another great day next year.

Submitted by Harry Heyns.

Annual Car Show - 9 June 2018

The following article was written by Fred Rasher in the Autonews:

"An often heard statement is that good things come in small packages.   This is certainly true in the case of the Vryheid Car Show, held this year on 9th June 2018.
It's always a mystery to me how a small town in the midlands of KZN can have such a varied selection of veteran and vintage cars on display.   Fords were obviously the chosen brand of the locals in years gone by.
I remember the editor of the old SAVVA magazine, Automobilist of about 30 years ago once writing about Fords and Chevs and how you could ascertain the political leanings of the drivers:  UP supporters had Chevs and National Party supporters invariably had Fords!
What makes this show so special is that it's not just a one day show.   The festivities start the night before at the Vryheid Club's clubhouse where they have a lovely dinner for all the members and visitors that have arrived from afar, and then after the show on Saturday evening at the clubhouse another dinner is organised for visitors and members.   You get a complete weekend package.
The standard of restoration of the Model T and the A Fords that appear each year is of an exceptionally high standard.   Originality is obviously a keyword in Vryheid.   I would recommend this show to anyone who is need of a weekend away.   The various B&B's in the vicinity of the showgrounds are not expensive and don't seem to overcharge visitors for that weekend.  To the committee and members that make this show possible my congratulations for a job well done.  -   FRED"

The Annual Car Show - 10 June 2017

Report on VVCC Car Show

The day of our car show dawned bright and clear - the Lord had blessed us with a perfect day!   The good weather resulted in record numbers of spectators turning up for the show.  

As always the big light cars were the main attraction and believe it or not, we had 14 Model T Fords and 18 Model A's on show.

The Volvo Club from Johannesburg had their 10th annual run to our show and, as usual, had a very large turnout with nearly 40 Volvo's joining us.   To celebrate this event we had a wonderful evening at the clubhouse with one of our local churches serving the most delicious meal of curry and rice.

The show was very well supported by other car clubs as well as individuals coming from all over the country.   Herman Nel came all the way from Nelspruit with his Model T.   A wonderful array of classics was on display with some really nicely turned out cars.   The local dealers put on a great show with John Deere pulling out all the stops.

Our tractor collectors can also really be proud of the wonderful collection that had all the older farmers in ecstasy as they called back their past.   This was well supported by the "doef-doef" engines with Johan Horn and Coen Labuschagne coming all the way from Pongola to display their magnificent machines.

A new attraction at the show this year was the music tent with artists entertaining the crowds who thoroughly enjoyed the music and the tent was packed out for most of the day.   Nico Van Wyk brought his little train and spoiled the children by giving them rides around the show at no cost.   We were fortunate to have the accomplished photographer, Rene Herrmann, taking photos of all the beautiful old cars and she has also made a video which is on sale to members at a reasonable cost.  As usual the church handled the catering and John Kitching was on duty to do the announcements and providing the background music.

After lunch, the car parade drew a large crowd who really enjoyed listening to the stories about each car.   The standard of restoration was cheered with loud applause and it was agreed that this was a great idea.

So after the show, all those who still had the energy, attended the after-show party at the clubhouse, ending of a perfect weekend.

Submitted by Harry Heyns

Seen at the Car Show - 10 June 2017