Despite its Italian-sounding name, Nantua is a picturesque small town located at the west end of the Jura mountains in the Departement de l'Ain about 50km or so from my home. The landscape is delightful in the area helped to a great extent by the lake pictured here.
So, I can hear you ask, what's this got to do with this blog? Well, sadly not much, although it does concern cars at least. I was in Nantua to meet a bloke concerning some possible work and the occasion was an English car show or more properly, gathering.
On arrival I saw plenty of Jaguars as the French have a great affection for these - yes even including early XJ6s! However there were one or two more recherché items, for example the bizarre Ghia Austin-Healey 3000 and the stunningly lovely Swiss-bodied Alvis:
I was introduced to an Englishman (who like me has a French name) resident in Switzerland, who had arrived in a splendidly restored 1953 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, quite a rare car in England - the Bentley version, the Mk VI being much more common. Incidentally I have read that R-R marketed the Bentley in the UK as at the time there was a "strong wind" blowing from the left in England and it was thought that the Bentley radiator grille was a little less "obvious" than the Rolls one.
The chap was very friendly and invited me to sit down with him and share a pleasant lunch and an excellent bottle of wine, which I did. Later we drove together up to the prize-giving where my new acquaintance received first prize for his car - deservedly so in fact.
However, for the Italian car fan, all was not lost; any of you who go to these kinds of event will know that the car park is often as interesting as the event itself. On this occasion, I found a delightful Ferrari 250GT, that I would very much liked to have driven home!
À bientôt
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