Plum in the Sun

Historic Horsham once again held open its arms and warmly welcomed 130 aircooled Volkswagens for their third annual Plum Jam event. The brainchild of Plum Walheim and her husband Dom; this event has been compared to the Freddy Files in Ninove from day one, and is rapidly building in popularity, making pre-booking essential to be a part of the street lined displays. Although they hit ‘capacity’, they are already scheming on where to squeeze in a few more for next year as the town can clearly take it.

Bright and early

Things started early for me on Sunday morning, opening up at Heritage just after 7am to act as host for those convoying to the show. I was fresher faced than some though; many had already camped, drunk and not really slept Saturday night, and planned to do the same on Sunday night too! An hour or so of chit chat and photography later led to 50+ cars lined up along Dolphin Road, and just before 8.30am the procession proceeded through the Sussex countryside en-route to our destination.

Park and stride

Parking up the Split Bus outside Barclays, I was free to roam for the day and snap happy. Catching up with owners, talking to traders, informing members of the public as to what a swamp cooler did and offering my opinion on whether or not the Mk3 Golf was in fact now a classic, all whilst seeking a spot of shade from the unexpected but most welcome sunshine.

Setting the scene

Occupying all corners of the town centre, the show invited you to take in the wares from local food vendors on your way to see another selection of handpicked VW loveliness. From cobbled streets and listed buildings to modern open spaces with feature fountains and DJs playing dance music, Plum Jam offered something for everyone.

Best of show

The event was rounded up by an awards presentation on the bandstand, which had been used to host live music all morning. As sponsors of the event I had been tasked with picking ‘Best of Show’. A tricky task I must say; we could have easily cut that trophy into 5 such was the quality and diversity of the cars on show. Congratulations to the eventual winner, Russell Payton with his glorious white and black ’64 Ghia. He took home a £50 Heritage voucher, and a tidy trophy, too. Andy