"Don't drip on the photos!"

Sunday 26th September 2010 heralded my first ever visit to Showbus - the UK's biggest bus rally - along with the return of the Rog...

An early start as chauffeur Mr Wood and his Ford Focus arrive to collect me, then it's a combination of M6, A14 and M11 as we progress through to Cambridgeshire. In-car entertainment is provided by some Smashy and Nicey 1970's rock and some overdue Rog baiting - it's his own fault for still having the long hair!

Showbus is being held at Duxford, an RAF base that is also home to the Imperial War Museum. Admission for adults is £16.50 but it's worth it for the amount of buses on display. We've arrived fairly early so some of the exhibits are still making their way inside. We survey the sales stands and note the rather extortionate prices at the burger bar - not that this stops Rog from getting himself a bacon roll. Our first run of photos include some Cozy Coaches and a Smith's driver demonstrating a 24-point turn.

A few planes catch our eye before a rain shower sends us scampering inside, an interlude we put to good use by visiting Concorde. It seems very cramped inside the famous aircraft but it's fascinating to peer inside the cockpit and admire the sheer engineering of it all. The hanger also houses some other impressive planes including a Tornado, and it's nice to see them at close quarters.

Back outside and the rain has thankfully relented, so we pitch into a serious session of photography that mainly involves me getting in everybody else's way as usual. Amongst my photo targets were a Stagecoach open topper, a Lodge's breadvan and a couple of glaring bald spots. We proceed out into the top fields to find Midland Red single deckers, a parade of WM Metrobuses sporting Coventry blinds and a motley collection of London routemasters. Another rain flurry sees us sheltering under a tree with some overpriced chips - it was about this time that Mr Wood's coat gathered a mysterious grassy stain too...

The final paddock beckons as the sun threatens to come out. Here we find examples from Thamesdown, DRM of Bromyard, Suffolk County Council and a Barkerbus. We pause by a tank to eat some sandwiches, then catch up with Ron for a chat. Almost immediately (and perhaps not entirely by coincidence?), the sky clouds over and the rain sets in once more - and this time it's terminal. We browse the sales stands, half hoping for goodies but mainly as a means of staying dry - hence the rather gruff quote about dripping on photos that one guy greeted us with - but in the end we have little choice but to concede defeat to the monsoon.

It's therefore back to the Woodymobile and the journey back home. Further metaphorical rainclouds arrive when I discover Wolves have lost at home 2-1 to the dreaded Villa, but despite the weather and the football, it had been a fun day. In the end I think we saw everything there was to see, and made the most of the better weather, so Showbus 2010 was definitely a worthwhile, successful excursion - I just hope for a bit of sunshine next year...