Bicester – Heritage Open Day

I had learned that Francis Newman was planning to exhibit his Ferrari at the Bicester Heritage Centre on the Sunday morning, so I decided I would drive over there and meet up with him. The morning started at my end in sunshine, but by the time I was ready to get into the car for the journey, the weather had deteriorated to become as forecast – dull and misty, but I let Francis know that I was heading over, so took the camera with the 24-105mm lens and a pakamac in case rain came and joined the steady stream of cars heading along the A421 for Milton Keynes.

As I navigated the series of roundabouts that are the signature feature of Milton Keynes environs, the mist increased in density, though not as dense or as unpredictable as to be described as fog; I was simply driving through low-lying cloud! I came upon the entrance to the airfield quite suddenly and duly paid my £5 entry fee and parked up. I texted Francis to check where I might find him, but before I set off for the Motor Transport Yard, took the opportunity to capture a couple of the aircraft on the perimeter that stood with the backdrop of the lingering mist.

Using the map as a guide proved misleading as the gate I had entered was not the Main Gate as I had presumed, but once I had queried one of the marshals, I regained my bearings and headed towards where Francis was located, standing beside his blue Ferrari, after a short catch up chat I decided I did need to have a shot of his car and its owner. We talked for a while about the forthcoming Grand Prix where Vettel and Raikonen were hoping for some good luck against the Mercedes for a change, and we were soon joined by another friend who it transpired was now the Logistic Support guy for next year’s new entrant to Formula 1; the Haas team; that sounded quite an achievement and also a lot of hard work!

Francis and I soon went off in different directions as we sought out different vehicles of interest that were on display. I came back once to the yard to chat further and though his car was still there, he was not, so I continued my trip around the area, before returning once more only to find the car and Francis gone!

When I finally felt I had seen all of interest, I headed for the car and took slightly different shots of subjects that had hitherto been shrouded in mist, and once in the car, the sun was finally overcoming the mist and a glider passed overhead.