You’ll have gathered by now that I’m kind of into cars. Like, not into into – I couldn’t identify a car by the noise it makes or any such super-spotter-y knowledge, but I like them. I like race tracks, too – I like the smell of the race fuel, I like the atmosphere, I like the competitiveness.
So I went to Goodwood Festival of Speed over the weekend. Goodwood is traditionally popular because everyone is allowed to get close to the cars – you don’t need a special paddock pass to get in. And I like it because it has the lifestyle-y element too, for when you’ve had enough of looking at four wheels (I know – shock).
We were there with Euphoria Lifestyle and Jacuzzi, who are the original hot tub people. See, technically Jacuzzi is a brand, that we’ve taken to mean the actual thing. Like how we call vacuum cleaners Hoovers. I didn’t realise. Maybe that’s just me. Anyway.
We had a browse of the latest models, which range from the super swanky to the everyday – turns out, there’s new technology being pumped into ‘spa’ tubs (as my South African calls them) all the time. The ones on display were the American designs, but they also have some super-slick, minimalist designs. I obviously got in one, but sans water (I hadn’t brought swim stuff. And it was a bit chilly. And, frankly, I may have been arrested..)
Play time over, we went back to cars. FoS is actually a hill climb speed trial rather than an actual race, so cars go one at a time. They go off in groups based on things like power and year, and the start is a pretty exciting place to watch. You get really close, too – presumably because they haven’t yet picked up the kind of speed that requires more stringent barrier-ing. If that’s thing.
It makes you thirsty, all that car watching, so we browsed the food stand area. There’s a bit of everything – not at all like your usual race track, which tends to specialise in the sort of food you keep in the freezer for emergency purposes. I went for calamari, and the boy had a grilled cheese sandwich. With lots of beer. Obv.
Naturally, that seemed a good moment to go on a simulator, so we went on the Honda one (mainly because it’s the voice of Jenson Button introducing it, but shh) to do a lap. The other choice was Top Gear. And I couldn’t help but wondering if they’d had to mute all of Jeremy Clarkson’s bits. Didn’t seem worth it…
