ANE o ma favourite pastimes in the simmer is gaun a jaunt wi ma brither tae classic caur shows. We’ve aye hud a gleg interest in motor caurs, an nou in oor mid/late 05s the caurs that we drove as youngsters, an that wir a common evri day sicht oan oor roads, are becoming rerr sichts indeed! Ocht aye, there’ll aye be millionaires an zillionaires wha see classic caurs lik fine wines or art, as investment “vehicles” (pardon the pun!) fir tae pit their ill-gotten gains intil.

Exotic caurs at the tap end o the mercat hae seen their prices gang throu the ruif ower the past hauntle o decades; the fawmous Aston Martin DB5 (some o ye’se wull hae mind o the Dinky diecast model o this wi its 007 ejector sate!) cuid hae bin bocht fir £70,000 about 20 year ago. Nou? Ye wid need north o £700k tae own sic a caur. Ae big bank reckon that classic caurs (an agane we’re talkin the exotic models) rose 257 per cent in value atween 2005 and 2013.

Sae, gin ye hae a wee Lotto win tae spare then ye wid dae waur than tae coff a classic caur wi yer windfall. The mercat fir classic caurs is ettled at ower £4 billion in the UK alane. But, likesay, the caurs me an oor Jim gang til see are maistly the evriday, rin o the mill, breid an butter daily transport o oor youth. Ah passed ma test in 1978 in a Mini van! E’en that nou sells fir abune £5,000 – an as muckle as £10,000. The caurs o that 1960s and 70s era are nou maistly seen at the classic caur shows – an paradoxically, the mair common a motor wis back in the day, the rerrer it is noo! E-Type Jags an Ferraris are relatively common sichts compared wi the hamelt wee Austin 1100 or e’en the Austin Allegro. When’er did ye last see either o thae models oan the public heichwey?

A decade ago maist caur shows kythed maistly motors frae afore 1980. Yesterday at the braw wee classic caur show in Sanquhar, Dumfries an Gallowa, their wir a wheen o 1980s saloons in the line-up. Mind, think aboot it – the 1980s is mair as 30 year ago nou. (whaur did that time gae?) an the caurs that wir common oan oor roads then are maistly aa rustin awa in the great scrapyaird i the lift! Sae we thairfore hud the likes o Ford Fiestas XR2s, Ford Capris, XR3is an Audi Quattros.

A couple o weeks ago we went tae the big show at Biggar, in the Borders. The Biggar Rally is alsae hame tae the Albion lorries gaither-up; owners o big commercial rigs (frae tattie lorries til fire engines) aa converge oan Biggar that weekend. Thair’s Albions that date frae the First Warld War – an micht hae cairtit the wounded frae the Somme – log lorries an milk tankers. Aa restored tae gleamin perfection bi their obsessive owners. Biggar alsae hosts hunners o classic caurs, motor bikes, push bikes an agricultural vehicles as weel; ubiquitous auld grey Fergie 20s, rid Massey Ferguson 135s, an the like. Biggar is the epitome o the verra best type o classic vehicle show.

Agane, tho, ye’ll fuin shows in the wee touns an villages tae – lik Sanquhar! Lest Sunday we taen a jaunt doun tae a show at Kirkcudbright, set in the middle o the picturesque toun, nae a stane’s throw frae the harbour. No a big show, the Kirkcudbright yin – but set in a verra scenic location an it haes a richt friendly atmosphere til’t! Plus, as the “Artists’ Toun”, Kirkcudbright haes the added attraction o bien wee galleries, gift shoaps, cafes, etc that provide an byordnar alternative fir wives an pairtners wha aiblins dinnae hae the passion o their men fir rakin aboot auld caurs! Mind, we wir spiled fir chyce lest week – Biggar wis alsae hostin the big Volks Fest Volkswagen show. A must gin ye’re a fan o auld camper vans!

Thair’s websites aplenty (sic as http://www.classicshowsuk.co.uk/ or The Scottish Vintage Vehicle Federation https://www.svvf.org.uk/) that wull tell ye whaur aa the shows are bein held. The neist big yin comin up is the Selkirk Rally, oan Sunday, September 20, at Sunderland Hall nearhaun Lindean. Ah’m ettlin tae be there!

Agane, fir maist fowk these auld caurs arenae aboot investin big money – ah’d say it’s aa aboot re-leevin yer youth, an juist wantin tae enjoy drivin these auld machines. It fair gie’s yer hairt a heize tae see a cute wee Austin 7 tootlin doun some wee back road in the Borders. It taks ye back til a time when motorin wis a pleasuir – an no a grid-locked bourach, lik it can be nou oan wir pot-holed roads.

The shows are a gaitherin pynt fir caur owners tae meet like-mindit sowls, an blether aboot aa the technical haivers an minutiae that wid deive non-classic fowk tae daith! Plus, maist o the bigger shows hae muckle raws o stalls an tents sellin “auto jumble" – the rerr spare pairt ye micht need tae keep yer auld caur chappin awa fir anither year! These stalls hae evrithing, “frae a needle til an anchor” - leeterally! UNF bolts, galvanised washers, bonnet mascots, AA badges, specific types o engine oil ... the leet is endless!

Fowk wull generally gie ye a close keek at their caurs – but mind an get the owners permeesion an dinnae gae openin doors an bunnets athoot askin first. Ae owner o a bricht orange Triumph Stag at Biggar gien us chapter an verse oan his ootstaundin restoration – an liftit the bunnet tae reveal a Vauxhall Monaro 6 litre, supercharged engine, wi 500 horses unner it! Porsche brakes – an BMW back axle; talk aboot a wolf in sheep’s claithin!?

Oan a braw simmer’s day (the waither can mak or brak sic events!) their naethin better than daunderin aroon a classic caur show; seein the motor caurs o yer youth, or yer faither an mither’s youth, an lattin memories frae lang gane ither simmers cam fludin back tae ye. These fowk are keepin dreams alive! Ah’ll see ye at Selkirk!

Rab Wilson is a Scots poet and health campaigner