The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2014

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not a car person in any way, shape or form. I am a history person, though, so I couldn't resist heading along to Regent Street on Saturday to check out the old cars taking part in this year's London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. For, when I say old, I mean OLD. To be eligible to take part in the Run, the cars must have been manufactured before 1905.

The Run came into being to celebrate the passing of the Light Locomotives on the Highway Act of 1896, which raised the speed limit from 4mph to 14mph, and abolished the need for cars to be preceded by a man on foot with a red flag. The Run has taken place every year since, with the occasional gap for world wars and petrol rationing. 

This is the very earliest days of motoring, complete with steam-powered cars. I've been getting into steampunk lately, and there was a distinct steampunk vibe about the event, especially as many of the cars' owners got into the spirit of the thing, and turned up in Victorian/Edwardian costume. It might be enough to tempt me into driving, if it meant I got to wear an extravagant hat and goggles.

There are a few misconceptions about the London to Brighton Car Run, the main one being that it's a race. It isn't. The cars keep to an average speed of 20 miles per hour. This got me wondering whether steam might be the way to go to solve our fossil fuel woes. According to figures from London Transport, the average speed in the centre of the city is a shade under 10 miles per hour! It would certainly be a more elegant way to travel, with all that wood and leather. Modern cars look very boring, in comparison.

London's Statues - from the quirky to the serious

If you love a good statue, London's your city. There are a lot of them here, commemorating the great and the good, the powerful and the worthy, along with the unexpectedly quirky. Or not so unexpected - this is London after all, a city which takes pride in its eccentrics.

So, amidst the imposing depictions of dukes and kings on horseback, you can also find a memorial to the firemen of World War Two near St Paul's Cathedral, a ballerina opposite the Royal Opera House, Eduardo Paolozzi's thoughtful "Newton" at the British Library, Henry Moore's Three Graces in Battersea Park and the ever-changing occupant of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. These are just a few examples, and their numbers are often boosted by temporary displays of public art, like the book benches which adorned London over the summer.

Now I think about it, maybe I'll do a London Statues Part 2 video at some point!