Vancouver’s All-British Field Meet car show is happening this Saturday

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This Saturday will again see the annual All-British Field Meet take to the lawns of Van Dusen Gardens in the heart of Vancouver. One of the best car shows of the season, it’s a grand day out for all ages, even those who don’t actually remember the golden age of the British sportscar. You only have to look at the front end of something like a Triumph TR3 to get the appeal: it looks like Wallace from Wallace and Gromit.

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This year the show is paying tribute to the centenary of the MG marque. You’ll find all manner of more upper-crust machinery at the show – from Bentley to Rolls – but an MG embodies the everyman motoring spirit best.

And now, with a full century of cars to draw from, nearly everyone can pick out a favourite. MG has been around so long it even has its own beer: Old Speckled Hen, named after an experimental 1927 model with distinctively dappled sides.

The prewar cars were delicate and tiny things, like a pint-sized Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They carry a whiff of leather helmet and white scarf about them, relics from a time when motoring and aviation seemed inextricably linked. This 1933 J2 pictured can be seen at this year’s ABFM, and it is an exceptionally appealing little car.

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The T-series cars continued the eau de biplane theme right through until the 1950s, and are wonderfully anachronistic to drive. Imported by the thousand, they were everywhere during the postwar sportscar boom.

The MGA and MGB brought a certain modernity to the breed, though still encouraged a hands-on approach — and by hands-on, I mean hitting them repeatedly with a large hammer until the engine started again. Reliability was a bit questionable from the factory, though owners and specialists are often able to get things sorted.

The MG brand left Canada in the early 1980s but persisted overseas, and you might be lucky enough to spot one a grey-market import or two at this year’s ABFM. The MGF, for instance, answers the question, “What if a Toyota MR2 had a British accent?”

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More than a hundred MGs will be present (even if some need pushing there), along with sixty-plus classes of other British machinery. Whether you’re into Morgans or motorcycles, it’s an event not to be missed.

The show runs from 10 am to 4:30 pm on Saturday, with tickets available online or at the gate. There is also a run out to Harrison on the Sunday, so if you’re out and about on this holiday weekend, keep your eyes peeled for a parade of the best of the British.