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In nostalgic mood Paul Whitelock recalls the day, back in January 2010, when the village square in Montejaque was overrun with old cars…
A dozen classic cars drove into the tiny village of Montejaque in the Serranía de Ronda and went on show in the village square, to the delight of locals and visitors alike.
As the collection of old cars purred up the narrow main street into the Plaza de la Constitución, they were greeted by cheers from the 20 or 30 youngsters who were waiting bravely in the rain for their arrival.
The SOL Classic Car Club had driven up from the coast through the mountains of the Sierra de las Nieves on this, their first outing of the New Year. The 40-odd members had braved the bad weather to arrive in time for a late lunch at the hotel in the square.
Although several cars couldn’t make it, because they were open-top, the vehicles on display included a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, a Ford Mustang Convertible, a Porsche 911, an MG Midget, a Roadster and a Caterham. There were also several more modern vehicles which fitted the definition of a classic rather than a vintage car.
The atmosphere was buzzing as the mixed nationality members, from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Spain and Sweden, as well as Great Britain, mixed with the locals, chatted animatedly and shared anecdotes about their experiences before enjoying lunch in the hotel.
President Qasim Shaikh, originally from Iran, was delighted with the day out, despite the bad weather. “This is the best welcome we’ve ever had on our many days out! It was so nice. We’ve had a great day, a drive through beautiful scenery followed by a fantastic lunch.”
Organiser and Treasurer, Bob Livermore, explained how he’d come to choose Montejaque for the trip. “I spotted an article in an English-language paper a couple of months ago about a hotel in the village which was coming under new management, so I decided to pop up and have a look.”
Bob explained that he liked the scenery en route, the village itself and the hotel so much he decided to organise today’s run and to book the hotel’s restaurant for lunch.
He added: “The Mayor of Montejaque has been very helpful – even agreeing to clear the square of cars so that we could put ours on show.”
François Van Hoof, a Belgian, is the club’s Technical Adviser. Speaking perfect English he told me: “Although I don’t have a technical background, I have restored several cars and I also started a classic car club in Belgium 30 years ago.”
The SOL Classic Car Club was established five years ago by a group of classic car owners who used to meet in a bar in La Cala de Mijas, called the Streets of London (SOL). As sol also means “sun” in Spanish, and the club is based on the Costa del Sol, they felt this was a great name.
With a healthy 125 or so members currently, the club welcomes applications for membership from classic car owners resident in the area.
Fact file:
A classic car is one that is over 25 years old OR one that is over 15 years old AND a make and model which has been in continuous production for over 25 years.
Website: www.solclassiccarclub.net
Email the President, Qasim Shaikh on: [email protected]
