The Dunsfold Collection Open Day, 7-8th September

Not having been invited to attend as a Club in recent years, this event was intended to be a low-key affair in order to test the water for next season. As it turned out, there was more EMLRA at Dunsfold than there was at the Military Odyssey, Kent County Showground.

Arriving on Friday night in the dark proved to be not such a good idea; if you don't know where the Dunsfold Collection hides then you're not going to find it. Mike Allmey didn't - and didn't. He eventually found the rest of the Club Contingent with the aid of high-technology multi-channel full-duplex radio and a short-range line-of-sight signalling system - otherwise known as a mobile phone and Mark Buddle armed with a red torch.

Daylight revealed cheating of breathtaking proportions - Peter Barratt was attending with his EW101 and Special Sock Trailer, but had brought them a fair part of the distance from Cheshire by commandeering two low-loaders in order to save petrol.

His "excuse" was that the fan belt had failed on the M40, taking the generator belt with it. Fortunately, as his destination was Dunsfold, he was able to continue his journey in the knowledge that Phil Bashall & Co. had the necessary (and unusual) items ready and waiting for his arrival.

No matter how genuine the excuse, the general view held by many (not associated with EMLRA of course) was that "that chappy with the 101 brought it down using a low-loader, the utter Cad." Or words to the effect.

The repair was carried out by the two 24v 101 owners, Peter and John Butcher. Mike excused himself on the grounds that his 101 is "merely 12v" and therefore only has the one belt to get tangled around the engine.

Armed with instructions supplied by Dunsfold and aided by dubious insights from Dave Middleton, the intrepid pair of unmechanics spent most of Saturday in and under the 101 before eventually declaring it fit and just hot enough. In all fairness, what should be a simple job is made impossibly awkward by the very fact that the 101 is a 101 - if you can see a component then you won't be able to reach it. If it is within reach then you won't be able to see it. To be a mechanic on a 101 you really need the skills of a gynecologist - i.e. the ability to decorate the entire ground floor of your house by standing outside the front door working through the letterbox. That sums up 101 mechanics rather well.

While all that had been going on, out in the sunshine other things had been going on - Mark, Dave and Carl Honeysett had been busy. With their nets. As if by magic, the whole display vanished and was replaced by a big, wavy green thing.

As soon as that happened, in came the people. A passing psychologist could make something of this behavioural pattern - the act of hiding something makes people even more determined to look at it, even if they're not entirely certain what it is they're looking at. Not that this was a problem at Dunsfold. On the whole, those present are of the very clued up variety, and anoraks would have abounded had the weather not been so warm.

Has Mark forgotten something, or is it a guilty conscience?

Throughout the weekend Phil Bashall was giving guided tours of the Dunsfold Collection, which was well worth the walk around the field - there are some truly mind-boggling Land Rovers there, and generally seeing the photos of them is nothing when compared to running your hands over the real thing. The first Range Rover? Series III Ninety? Freelander hiding in a Maestro van? First 101-based Marshall ambulance? Prototype Third Generation Range Rover (only delivered the previous day)? All laid out for your inspection.

All in all, a good weekend. Dunsfold were impressed with the EMLRA stand, even to the extent of inviting us back. Now we know space isn't a problem, let's all go.