FORT MYERS, Fla. — The BCCSWF gathered in Lakes Park in Fort Myers for a picnic to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 2023.

We hosted about 60 of our members for a lunch of corned beef and cabbage, previewed by hot dogs as an appetizer. Planning was handled by Tom Shaw, who purchased the corned beef — the star of the event — from Cheney Brothers. He also provided the other organizers, Isabel Mack, and Chris and John Baum (yours truly), with a very complete checklist of what we needed to bring. Isabel and Chris were at home doing the pre-cooking of the vegetables the day before.

Not having had an event like this in recent years we were not sure what to expect. To our delight, the planning paid off and everyone enjoyed themselves, the good food and the socializing. It is with events like these that people get the opportunity to become more familiar with their car club friends, while enjoying the outdoors in sunny Florida.

The Park is perfectly situated in Fort Myers, which has several lakes, with walking paths around them as well as animals and birds in the wild to view. And if you look hard enough, you will spot an alligator or two. The Park also offers catch-and-release fishing, all of which is very entertaining.

We were able to afford the picnic due to the very successful invitational car show we held at the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens in Punta Gorda, Fla., this past January. Our Club President, Hermann Schaller, did the planning and coordinating for the show with much help from our membership. Events such as these give us a reason to work together for the benefit of all.

As in previous months, our Saturday morning Breakfast Run on March 25th enjoyed popularity with BCCSWF members.

This time, 26 established members and one new member, with his application form in hand, got together at Haney’s Café in South Fort Myers.

There were several British cars in the parking lot, with people gathering around before and after the breakfast.

In our separate room at the Café we enjoyed yet another opportunity to talk cars — even to the point of comparing the color of the coffee to oil in an engine sump, and what that would mean regarding the need for an exchange.

It is always a pleasure to have a reason to meet British car enthusiasts and enjoy a good (rich) breakfast! —Hermann Schaller

It is a good problem for a car club to have. We have grown so much in the last year that we have run into the problem of having more people coming to our meetings than we have room for!

Here in Florida our membership attendance is larger in winter. November to April in Florida is really the spring and early summer-like season, which attracts people from the cold North to flock to the sunny part of the country. With these snowbirds being a significant part of the BCCSWF, we had to deal with the higher number of participants, as well as give all our members choices on locations and the style of our meetings.

Therefore, we opted to try a southern meeting location in a country club setting for the large number of members living in or close to Collier County, while maintaining the barbecue dinner option for our members meeting in our central location in Fort Myers.

The BCCSWF believes in the attractiveness of choices, so that every member can find an activity in our club to their taste.

The first meeting in the Octagon Room at the Audubon Country Club was a success. While two members had to cancel in the last minute, we were 19 people distributed over three large round tables, which made conversations very easy.

The menu offered everything from burger to filet mignon and was professionally served to each table’s set-up in a classy way. The dinner took a little longer than the self-serve BBQ at the Mission, but it seems that everybody enjoyed having more time available to discuss British cars and related things.

We hope that we will be able to continue meeting there during the high season, and that our Naples friends will join us as well as other members who couldn’t make it to the Fort Myers meeting. —Herman Schaller

Charity Car Show

The Cape Coral Charity Car Show was held on February 25th at Mariner High School. Hundreds of cars of all makes were in attendance to support fundraising for a charity that provides assistance to local residents in need of basic living facilities including food, shelter, or utility help. Post-Hurricane Ian, the community’s need is even greater. This year’s event is projected to have raised $50,000.

There were nine British cars parked together, eight of them BCCSWF members. Two member vehicles won awards. A trophy was awarded by a sponsor to a member MG. Another member brought a German car to the show. The weather was sunny, with afternoon temperatures in the mid-80s, so we were happy to have a tree for shade.—IM

Chili Cook-off

After the success from 2022, several BCCSWF members tried their skills again to compete for prizes with their very special chili recipe on February 26th.

Last year’s champion decided to give another BCCSWF member a chance by not competing. Still, we had eight very delicious chilis lined up and 26 hungry tasting experts to try them all and vote for the “Best in Show” — make that “Best in Pot.”

With perfect weather conditions to allow all to spread out through the kitchen, lanai and pool deck, everyone had a good time and enjoyed the BCCSWF camaraderie. HS

The B.I.G. Show

Fifty-four British cars registered for the 11th Annual British, Italian and German (B.I.G.) Car Show in Cape Coral on March 5th. (The BCCSWF registered 26 of them, along with a German and an Italian car.) At the end not all registered cars made it to the show. It was relatively hot for that time of the year — even for Florida.

The variety and quality of the cars on display from all three countries was impressive. My personal favorites were the small cars, like the two Austin-Healey Bugeyes, the BMW Isetta 600 and the Fiat 126. The last one is the same model that I drove in high school in 1976.

BCCSWF member Gary Blessing made me sit in his Ferrari Mondial to show me that my 6’3” frame would not be a problem, and he was right — the car is surprisingly roomy. Perhaps all tall guys voted for it to win the Ferrari class against newer models!

The BCCSWF ended up winning nine Best in Class and two 2nd Place in Class awards.

February 18th

Due to Valentine’s Day falling on our usual meeting date, the members agreed to combine the monthly meeting with the monthly breakfast gathering.

President Hermann Schaller called the meeting to order at 10:35 a.m. There were 40 attendees with five British cars in the parking lot.

The discussion consisted of a review of the upcoming calendar. The club is increasingly active and we also have invitations to attend car events organized by others. Events hosted by BCCSWF are posted on the website.

Of note:

February 25 — Cape Coral Charity Car Show. All British cars will be parked together (not a club event).

February 26 — Chili Cook-off at the Schaller residence.

March 5 — B.I.G. Show. Registration cut-off is February 19th (not a club event).

March 11 — Monthly member meeting, time changed to 11:30 a.m. so we can be present for the daily singing of the National Anthem at Mission BBQ.

March 17 — St. Patrick’s Day event. The club will provide corned beef and traditional veggies along with a vegan option. Soft drinks are BYOB.

March 22 — South member meeting, convenient for members in Naples/Collier County.

March 25 — Monthly breakfast.

April 8 — Wheels Across the Pond (not a club event).

April 11 — Monthly member meeting.

April 22 — Monthly breakfast, location TBD.

April 26 — South member meeting, convenient for members in Naples/Collier County.

May 9 — Monthly member meeting.

May 17 — South member meeting, convenient for members in Naples/Collier County.

On February 17th, an e-mail was sent out with a list of event ideas on which members were asked to vote. Votes will be reviewed at the February 28th Board meeting.

Ron Lentz has offered to organize a scavenger hunt but is looking for someone familiar with the area to assist in planning.

Membership — New members Jim and Mary Thommen and Bill Reinheimer (1966 Triumph TR4A) were in attendance. With the new members, we have 90 active accounts and 176 members.

Treasurer — The Treasurer was unable to attend but it was noted that the January car show expenses were net positive for the club.

March 11th

President Hermann Schaller called the meeting to order at 12:16 p.m.

Membership — There are 93 accounts with 182 members. Two accounts joined during the meeting: George Harris (Aston Martin DB9) and Mike and Myra Jones (several MGs, notably their original-owner 1970 MGB GT). Dave and Lynette Grunberg (Jaguar XKR) joined at the B.I.G. Show.

Treasurer — The report provided a current balance and items due.

There was a summary of past events. The club’s cars have received a great level of recognition at the last several shows. The B.I.G. Show handed BCCSWF members nine 1st place trophies and two 2nd place.

Upcoming events were reviewed. All of the club events are posted or will be updated on the web page.

Items that received extra discussion:

The St. Patrick’s Day lunch picnic has 60 RSVPs so far. The club is providing the traditional dishes plus a vegetarian option and asking attendees to bring a dessert or side to share.

Coming up:

April 8 — Farewell, Snowbirds Dinner (planned).

April 18 — Visit to Discovery Commons Senior Center.

Also we have the Memorial Day ceremony at the British cemetery in Arcadia, a November invitation to Cars on Fifth in Naples (last year was great), and the Welcome Back, Snowbirds event.

After the February 15th Board meeting a proposed event survey was sent out. Response was light, but useful.

The Picnic Committee met immediately after the general meeting, and all departed at 1:30 p.m.

After seven months of planning and preparation, 130 vintage, classic, exotic and sports cars arrived at the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens in Punta Gorda on January 15th.

These cars had applied for an invitation to participate in the car show there and were selected to represent their specific model. The Show Committee would only allow one car per model and tried to get as many different characteristic models of each brand as possible to show the development of the manufacturer’s design over time.

As a result, the 50 brands represented from seven countries featured all different cars. The most complete model history came together with the line-up of Chevrolet Corvettes, where cars from all eight series were invited.

But not only decades of car model development were presented. There was a one-off Lotus prototype brought by BCCSWF member Peter Blackford, as well as other extremely rare cars.

Some special-built vehicles completed the exhibition. A 1967 VW Beetle took the highest production crown and won in the Volkswagen class.

While the cars invited from the U.S. brands would have made up the largest group by country, some no-shows moved this record to the cars from the U.K.

The oldest car was a 1909 Buick 16, which won the hearts of the audience for the People’s Choice Best in Show. It may have helped that the owners, Randy and Marge Hall, were dressed in period-correct clothes.

The exotic and sports cars from the 2010s made it the strongest-represented decade, followed by cars from the 1960s, ’70s and ’50s.

Over 500 people came to see the cars in the Gardens, which made it the largest one-day event at this venue.

BCCSWF members brought 43 cars, including eight non-British, and won 28 of the 78 trophies — including the Overall Best in Show, which went to the 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II DHC by H. J. Mulliner presented by Peter Bokos.

Another British car, not from the BCCSWF, caught the eye of the President of the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens. Without knowing what the owner went through to bring a small 1960 Triumph Herald Coupe on its own wheels from Atlanta to Punta Gorda, he selected this cute little car for the President’s Cup.

Overall, it was a great show, and one which will become an annual event. —HS

On January 28th, three Austin-Healeys, a supercharged MGB, two BMWs and a Camaro (where the driver wore an Austin-Healey jacket) — most of whom BCCSWF members — assembled at the 7/11 on Kings Hwy. in Port Charlotte, close to the I-75 exit. From there we drove north and northwest on some slightly curved roads to Myakka City and Herrmann’s Lipizzaner.

(And no — I have not started a four-legged horsepower business. They use Herrmann, with a double “r,” as their last name.)

Once there, we were welcomed and pointed towards the premium display parking. They offered a group discount for the show, as well as hot coffee, donuts and other small food.

The show was very different from their Vienna counterpart, but very well explained and presented. We learned a lot about this special horse breed and the circumstances that brought them to Florida.

Afterwards, most of us drove back to Punta Gorda for lunch at the Celtic Ray, where we enjoyed Irish food and drinks.

With this event, our club showed that we do so many things that we even have competing events on the same day! Another group of BCCSWF members met for breakfast in South Fort Myers (see report below). Since both events had good participation, I guess this is a good problem to have. Our members can choose the kind of events they prefer. —HS

Haney’s Breakfast Run

While some diehard roadster drivers faced the cold and drove to Myakka City on January 28th to see some horses, a larger group went to Haney’s Café in South Fort Myers for breakfast and to look at the British cars in the parking lot.

A total of 28 club members and guests gathered at Haney’s Cafe for breakfast, and six British cars were admired in the parking lot before and after.

During the event, John Orr discussed a number of upcoming car shows and events. —IM

BCCSWF at “Cars on 5th” in Naples

February 4th was another very cold morning in Florida but 21 British cars got together to drive as a group to Naples’ 5th Avenue, where Southwest Florida’s most prestigious annual car show once more hosted lots of supercars as well as some classic automobiles.

The line of British cars caught much attention from the very large audience.

As happens every year, the organizers inspect the cars and hand out a Best in Show to the most deserving car in its category. BCCSWF member Alex Manzo won the Best in Show/British Car award for his 1959 Triumph TR3A. —CC

BCCSWF takes the ice with the Everblades

Large parts of the U.S. experience winter weather, with icy roads creating challenges for the drivers. While we don’t miss the ice under the tires of our British cars, a group of 20 BCCSWF members went to watch a game played on ice — the hockey game at the Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla., on February 8th.

Our local team, the Florida Everblades, beat the visiting Jacksonville Icemen in the third period, with just 27 seconds left in the game. It definitely finished the game with much excitement, and proved once again it’s not over, until it’s over! Club member Mark Shlien made all the arrangements on our behalf with the group ticket office. Thank you, Mark!

Though the event wasn’t car-related, our group enjoyed the evening out. —JB