I had to get up early today and even though I went to bed earlier, I did not feel that fresh when I woke up and eventually dragged myself out of bed. I had left the radio on (a regular bad habit) and remember getting up around 2.30am to switch it off. When I got up, I quickly had some breakfast (Crunchy Nut Cornflakes not toast) and then jumped into the car to check the tyre pressures. As I reversed back onto my drive I heard my phone buzz in my pocket. It was a text message from Pav, he was on his way but had forgotten his photographic device and hoped I had charged up my batteries (62 quality photos uploaded to a fresh new FlickR set – two thousand seven hundred in total in just over two and a half years). The time was 8:01am. The sun was shining and it was a glorious day, so I took some photographs before Pav arrived. While I waited for him, I jumped on my laptop and did a quick update on Facebook and Twitter. Just as I was done, I heard an engine outside, it was the distinct sound of that Honda engine I knew. A Honda engine inside a 216i Rover. Pav pulled up and was pretty much ready to go, I got him to park up and helped him get his gear out. We were up and running and it was 8.39am or so (based on the first photograph I took). It took over an hour to polish all the panels. Pav did the hard work and I applied the wax. The bonnet took a few coats but overall the final results were very good.

We then hit the motorway, I was in the fast lane close to treble figures in a rush to get there as soon as possible. We got there for 10.47am and parked up in the Show & Shine slot, directed by Calvin. Four cars had arrived before us and had just started washing their cars (with collapsing buckets?). We opted to just buff up and finish off but when we saw the state of the front bumper, we could have done with a jet wash. There was a swarm of dead bugs that had landed there along with the windscreen. I started polishing the side windows and let Pav work his magic on the rest of the car. I felt most of the time I was just getting in the way and was actually glad when Pav gave me something to do. We had until noon to get the cars finished.

There was a lovely S3 next to be in black with black custom alloys and the owner, Andy was from Caversham (of all places). He spent a good hour washing and waxing his car and Pav got chatting to him, a potential client. I did something useful by cutting up some business cards for Pav as he finished off the car. I checked with Nick and Calvin what the timings were for the rest of the day and we headed inside to the cafe to get some food. We beat the mad rush before 1pm. After a leisurely lunch we decided to take a look around the mueseum. I of course, had been here before (but without camera) so there was nothing in particular I wanted to look at but Pav had a good look around, particularly the contemporary vehicles such as the Aston Martin and the JCB Dieselmax. We then headed outside to check out the how the Audi Meet was going and also the other car stands (there was a Ford event taking place with a range of vehicles including Transits). I looked at the competition and gave my verdict. The yellow TT, retro fitted with some RS parts and BBS alloys was light years ahead. The engine bay was so clean, it looked as if the car had just come off the production line. It was that insanely clean. I am obsessive about my car being clean but the owner was taking it to another level, I would be afraid of driving the car if I got it this level of godliness. We then had a look around at the Ford area, there were some modified (to the extreme) Cougars and Fiestas. A couple of great Mustangs (which I took photographs of) but apart from that not much to see. I spotted a great vehicle with the Transits (the Bat Van – ideally as The Dark Knight returns next week)

We had a sit down on the benches by the grass area outside the Centre main entrance and just chilled out for a while. The PA system was playing the greatest hits of The Beach Boys. However while Pav and I were chatting we missed the presentations. We rushed over but it was all over. As expected the TT had won and Caversham S3 man had won the raffle (free Parrot car kit installed by Ritcher – one of the event sponsors). It was around 3pm now and the show was starting to come to a close (a lot earlier than I had expected). The Revo team were packing up and I thought it best to call it a day. I thanked both Calvin and Nick for their time in organising the event and looked forward to the next meet as the winner had his photo shoot courtesy of Drive By Shooters. As I drove home on the M40, I saw some bright xenon lights in my rear view mirror. It was Andy, I let him pass and he tooted his horn (even that is more impressive than the one I have on my A3!) He was stuck behind a car for a while giving me a chance to keep up but the second the fast lane was clear he was away and gone. The acceleration was just breathtaking, particularly considering I knew the speed I was doing to begin with. It was too late the car was gone! As soon as I got home (minutes before 4pm) I said goodbye to Pav (with a gift of some somasas) and then grabbed my gym bag and headed to Castle Royle. I just had to get down there before I got comfortable at home. To my surprise the gym was dead with only a handful of people there. I got out just after 5pm and finally settled down at home at 6pm. The evening was mine to enjoy but after Top Gear there was little to satisfy me on the television, I should have just read my book. I watched Step Up 2 – The Streets last night, it was marginally better than the first movie. Mainly because the story was slightly more believable (but only just) and it featured Cassie Ventura! (Although her part was far too small and almost insignificant for my liking). The dance moves were better and the storyline was not as raw as before. However it still did not do everything for me. Sure it was good to see the little guy(s) (and girls) come out on top in the end but I just felt it meandered far too much in the beginning, although the opening was very clever. I will not be rushing out to see the third one, even if it is filmed in 3D? (Target audience of six year olds?)