New Mayor of Bath Rides with the Cavalcade

Tuesday, 12 June 2012

2012 has turned into a year of celebrations and great events. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations rapidly followed by the London Olympic Games and then the Paralympic Games. However, these will not be allowed to overshadow a new major local event in Bath, the first Pageant of Motoring being organised by the Rotary Club of Bath to raise money for local charities.

This family weekend event, which will take place on Bath racecourse on 23rd and 24th June, will provide a cavalcade and history of motoring, cars and motorcycles, from its earliest days up to the present time. Among the attractions, in addition to the historic vehicles, will be displays from main franchise dealers showing the latest models, motoring clubs, auto jumble sales, trade stands and parades and competitions including the “Best in Show” and “Best Car & Costume Combination”.

One of the major attractions will be a display of over 30 “Super Cars”, such as Aston Martin, AC Cobra, Lotus, Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar and many others. “Dream Rides” will be available in these in return for a donation to the Charities.

On the non-car front both Mary Berry and The Bistro & Cookery School (Devizes) will provide cookery talks and demonstrations. There will also be childrens entertainments and other trade stalls.

One very important demonstration and activity will be provided by a team from the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering (BIME) with their Wizzybugs. Wizzybugs are best described as every young child’s vision of an electric car and are designed for disabled children age 18 months to 5 years (20kg) to use as their “first wheels”.

Most children enjoy supervised early years mobility using “wheels” – playing with sit-and-ride toys, tricycles, bicycles and even battery powered cars. The Wizzybugs provide these childhood experiences for disabled children, promote learning about movement and the environment and enable such children to choose when and if to explore their environment and interact with others. This is achieved by the Wizzybug being designed for use indoors and outdoors, being easily transportable and having a simply adjusted but extremely adaptable seating.

The provision to families of these fantastic mobility aids for very young children is to be a major beneficiary of the event.

One other celebrity making a guest appearance will be a 1923 Horstmann 4 seater Tourer owned by Dr Trevor Turpin. This car, originally owned by Sidney Horstmann, was manufactured in his James Street, Bath factory. Significantly, Bevan Horstmann, a descendant, was one of the driving forces behind the formation of BIME.