Classics in the Park

I didn't see this thread prior to the show. Did you end up going and taking pictures?

I took a couple. They are at:
http://www.mybarina.com/gallery/classics-in-the-park

 

that's crazy talk. of course we're interested, post the links dude.

 

dude! freakin WICKED post, except.... before the hour is up (hour grace being able to modify your post) can you pleeease do a find/replace so the links don't go to the thumbnail?

it's just that ".th" bit that needs to be removed, easily done in one step through werd or something. if not get a moderator to do it.

cheers, back to salivating for me.

 

suh-weeet!

great to see all those cars huh?

 

just don't fergit that part.

understandable... yet... unforgivable.

oh, hard to believe a 308 wasn't there for a spin. hmm, sadly, i've never been in a 308 either, here's my shoulder. my first 308 ride will likely be my own. being a massive Bertone fan, my first F car will probably be a 308 GT4, basically a 4 cylinder upgrade from an X1/9.

 

some great shots there dingo22. good stuff

 

I was always a supporter of that show until this year. Now I will do everything in my power to let everyone know about the scumbag (Paul Blank) that runs it.

I posted this when it happened straight after the show on a number of Lambo and Lotus boards and a lot of people in Perth have black listed him and will be boycotting his show.

My friend that I mention in the story below is the owner of the black Lotus Esprit S4 that Dingo has a pic off in this thread.

This below is exactly what I posted on all the other boards I mentioned, back in February. Everyone that read it was outraged, but pity that most are international, not in Aust and especially not in Perth.
This is a link to ********** since a lot of you are members there as well:
http://www.***********.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3878
and Lotus board on Pistonheads: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=17&h=0&t=157742

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This past Sunday, the 20th of Feb was the 'Classics in the Park' car show/exhibition, in Perth, Western Australia. This is organised by Automotive Events Management (AEM) - http://www.classicrally.com.au/

Previously this was the 'Celebration of the Motorcar' show for several years, but numbers looked like they have been going down in attendance, and from this year it was associated with Shannon's Insurance Giant's car show and auctions, etc.

We've been supporting this show with our cars, but at the last show (Nov 03) I told my wife that we won't be attending anymore as because we felt very taken advantage off. That was because we as exotic car owners were expected to bring our cars there without receiving any kind of appreciation, yet the show's promoter Paul Blank would make $10 per head entry fee of the thousands of people attending.
I am not talking about being paid, but for Paul to simply come over to the owners and say 'Hello' and 'thank you' for bringing the cars, just to show some kind of appreciation for our effort. But maybe expecting that off him would be too much.

The show that was scheduled for Nov 2004 was cancelled and moved forward to this past Sunday so it can be associated with the Shannon's show.

Anyway, this year Club Lotus organised a gathering at the show, so we agreed to go there just taking one car, in order to show some support for them and say Hello to some friends of ours that are Lotus owners, etc.

I had the flu, so Sunday morning I was a bit under the weather so I couldn't get out of bed, but as the day went on I felt better and at about midday I told my wife to get dressed so we can go to the show and show some support.

When we arrived there, we parked the car at the front gate and we walked to the entrance. The workers there saw the car and all the people swarming all over it taking pictures, so they said that it doesn't matter if we are so late, to just drive around the side gate and get the car in the show as well. We agreed, and drove the car around the side gate.

There at the side gate, the organiser, Paul Blank, told us that it is too late to drive the car in, to which I said fine and I just parked the car outside like I intended to in the first place.

When my wife and I walked back to the gate, he said that we have to go to the front as we have to pay entrance fees.

I was taken aback a bit, as it's not the money but the principle of it.
I said to him that we usually bring our cars to his show so he can have a show, so for our support he wants to charge us? To which he replied that what kind of support are we showing him if we are turning up so late?
Of course I replied by saying that he must have forgotten the past when we brought two cars for him at one time and he never even thanked us or showed us any kind of appreciation for allowing him to make $ off the people attending.
He now yelled at us that he doesn't give a f(ck and that we have to pay.
He was wearing a Shannons top and a Shannon's cap, so my wife thought that he works for Shannons', so she said to thim that she will speak to Shannon's about his attitute and she told me that we should go.

At this point, Paul Blank yelled at my wife 'Yes, you get the f(ck out of here, *****!'

I couldn't believe that someone just disrespected my wife like that and rage took over and I just walked right up to him and said 'What the f(ck did you just say?'. I was so angry, I was just about to smash him in the face, but my friend who was there, also displaying his car, quickly jumped in and told me to let him go. Paul Blank used that opportunity to literally run into the crowd, looking backwards to see if I was chasing him.
I wasn't going to chase that weasel, but I was perplexed by his mentality.

To begin with, when someone drives cars like this, you know that they have $. They might have made the $ from businesses, but also they could just as well be a drug lord, a hitman or a politician, so someone with power. Of course I am not involved in any illegal activity, but he doesn't know me so he wouldn't know anythng about me, so it's not smart usually to piss off someone like that, just in case he is one of the previously mentioned people.

Secondly, I am a professional bodybuilder, and I was not only taller than him but 3 times his size too. When someone so much more physically imposing than yourself is in front of you, would you be stupid enough to insult their wife in front of them and in front of a crowd? Honestly, what do you think that would happen to you?

And thirdly, and most importantly, this is the organiser of the show, who is supposed to be beyond reproach when he's organising these events, as without the cars, he wouldn't have a show, so he wouldn't make any $ off entrance fees and he wouldn't have any sponsors.

But now, from the way he acted, word is already travelling very quickly accross the motoring world here in Perth, and unfortunately, his sponsors Shannon's Insurance, Fremantle Motor Museum, Biante Model Cars, Shack's Holden Fremantle, Swissol and the Town of Cambridge, in my eyes, consiously or subconsiouly, are viewed in the same light as him due to their association with him and his show.
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