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Darling Buds Classic Car Show

One of Kent`s Most Popular Events.

12th July 2009

The Rover P5 Alive Club

is pleased to announce

The Darling Buds

Classic Car Show

The show will be held on Sunday 12^th July 2009, from 10 am to 4 pm, at “Pop Larkin`s” farm, Pluckley Road, Bethersden, near Ashford in the heart of Kent.

All pre-1980 makes and models of classic cars, their owners, enthusiasts and members of the public are cordially invited to a “perfick” family day out with a warm, friendly atmosphere. The venue has ample public car parking and gates open at 9.00 am. An estimated 900+ classic vehicles are expected at this year`s show, making it one of Kent’s most popular annual events. This exclusive location was used in the making of Yorkshire Television`s well-known series “The Darling Buds of May” and is the only time that the farm is open to the public. This year`s show will include: Pop Larkin`s yellow Rolls Royce and blue Chevrolet truck, a birds of prey flying display, childrens` rides, live music, autojumble and craft stalls, food for all tastes, a visit by the Kent Air Ambulance helicopter (operational circumstances permitting), plus a licensed bar.

A special nostalgic exhibit is a 40 year old restored classic - not a car, but a “little” treat for historic computer buffs - a massive restored and working ICT 1301 main-frame computer from the 1960`s, which occupies a whole barn, answers to the name of Flossie and is believed to be the only functional machine of its type in the world. For more details on this elderly lady, please click here. Throughout the day there will be arena displays of exhibitors` vehicles, with a live commentary.

Admission is just £2.00 for pre-booked classic vehicles,

£5.00 on the day or £10.00 per. car for the public.

This includes all occupants.

Thank you for your support.

To date, you have helped us donate £35,785 to the

Kent air ambulance and cancer- related charities

Show Chairman:

Paul Mill, Show Hotlines:

Bower Place, 01622 751000

Maidstone, 07977060350

Kent ME16 8BG

E-mail: paul.mill@talktalk.net

Show memorabilia

and

mementoes

will be

for sale

on the day.

Special

“Darling Buds”

T-shirts, mugs, posters,

plaques, etc;

will all be

available.

As featured on TV and radio!

Click

here and here for videos

and here

for audio, or right-click and “save as”.

(Please be patient, as the videos may take a while to load).

Video clips by kind permission of Granada.

Click on any image on the site to see a larger picture.

Please note:

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that all attractions appear as advertised, the show may be subject to changes in the event of any

unforeseen circumstances or incidents occurring beyond the organisers` control.

If travelling any distance to view non-car exhibits or attractions,

please check by phone before setting off.

The farm is normally a private residence and is not open or accessible to the public at any other time.

We would ask that the owner`s privacy be respected.

Thank you for your co-operation and have a good day.

*A Little Trivia*

The meaning of the phrase “Darling Buds”

An appreciation of what is fresh and new.

The phrase refers to the opening buds that point toward the warm summer season ahead and to the freshness and exuberance of youth as it turns toward adult maturity. It refers not to the month of May directly but to the May tree (the Common Hawthorn) that flowers in England at that time of year. The hawthorn is important in the mythology of old England and there's a rich symbolism wrought from its standing as an early flowering common tree. Global warming has now given the UK a climate that causes May to begin flowering earlier, but it`s doubtful that the 'Darling buds of April' will ever catch on. The legend of the Glastonbury Thorn is also related to the flowering time of the hawthorn. The story has it that when Joseph of Arimathea arrived in England from the Holy Land he stuck his thorn walking stick into the ground and it began to flower, and continues to flower each year at Christmas to mark Christ's birth. That's a myth but there are some facts that give it a little credence. The Glastonbury Thorn is unusual in that it does flower during the winter. There is a middle eastern form of the tree that flowers at that time and some would have it that this is what Joseph brought with him.

Not all the symbolism relating to the hawthorn is warm and inviting. The tree also has negative associations. In Ireland a hawthorn standing alone in open ground is known as a fairy tree and there is a strong superstition that to cut one is unlucky. Even in recent years roads in Ireland have been rerouted to avoid uprooting hawthorns. It is also considered unlucky and an omen of death to cut the blooms and bring them into a house. This may well have come about from the unpleasant aroma, which is like decaying flesh.

Back to the phrase itself, best known these days as the title of H. E. Bates' story of idyllic country life, which has been made into a successful television series. Bates took the title from Shakespeare who coined it in his celebrated Sonnet 18.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

With acknowledgement to The Phrase Finder