I'm toying with the idea of coming back to blighty in the Morgan over the weekend of the Goodwood revival and to visit the Southampton boat show. While I know that I would enjoy 3 days of old car action, I'm not 100% sure if 'er indoors would. So, my questions (which may seem daft) are

1) If I only go for one day, which is the best one to pick - or is the ambience enjoyable enough for a semi interested other half to attend for 2 or 3 days.

2) The whole dressing up thing; I confess that it's not really my bag of tricks, but does everybody get dressed up in period rig ? Is pretending we all live in the fifties an integral part of enjoying the weekend, & by not dressing up will I miss out ?

3) who out of you lot will be attending ?

Giles get yourself away we only get one shot at life dont waste it you never know what fun you may be missing , dont be a sour plumb join in with the dressing up and have a laugh . We are going to have a crack at a bit of the Cleveland way depending on the weather ( its walking it or swimming it ) dont fancy the latter . SWMBO's idea . As for dressing up I can send my F -in - Law he told me the other week he once got dressed up in womens gear black fish nets high heels padded bra and a blonde wig ( he was a rough ars*d miner built like a brick sh*t house ) went to a party and two of his mates where so drunk they fell for his come on's . But got the P taken out of them at work the next week off all their work mates . He said only his sisters dog knew who he was .Funny he was a stuffed shirt when I was courting his daughter . You never know who or what you will meet .

Giles, me and SWMBO go to the revival for two days usually, this year we're going on the Friday to look around and take in the atmosphere (it does tend to be slightly less busy on Friday, but it's catching up) and on the Sunday to concentrate on the racing.
We always dress up but it's by no means a requirement, I reckon around 60% of visitors do and it is part of what makes the Revival unique. If you're not comfortable doing the dressing up thing just go in "civvies", most important thing is to enjoy it!

Having been a couple of times now on the Sunday I think the racing is bigger that day.

You don't feel left out if you don't dress in costume, there are Goodwood white overalls for sale if you want a quick change into period gear.

My wife likes observing all the different period regalias as opposed to the cars so it seems there is something for all.

It is an excellent world class show.

Enjoy

A linen suit and a panama hat would be ideal. You don't need to be a tart or RAF officer.

When I go for one day I prefer Friday because you get a chance to see all of the cars on the track in practice.

If there is a specific genre you'd really like to see racing then check the The Racing Programme on the Goodwood Revival website for a description of each of the races then see The Race Timetable for the day your favourite is on. For instance, if you want to see the Morgans battling with Lotuses, MGs, TVRs and other cars in the Production Sports and GT class then you'll want to be there for the Fordwater Trophy on Saturday. If it's 1.5-litre Formula One and Tasman cars that float your boat then you might want to see the Glover Trophy on Sunday.

For the last couple of years Saturday has been designated Ladies Day but that seems to have been missed out this year.



I'd say that N22MOG's estimate of 60% is low, I'd put it more like 75% at least. It doesn't take much, I got a sports jacket and a pair of cord trousers from a charity shop for a few quid. It really does help to get into the atmosphere of the event.



I already have my weekend tickets, pre-1973 car park sticker and paddock passes.

~iw

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like we're going to the boat show on the Friday & the revival on the Saturday as the missus is keen to get back to la belle France on the Sunday in time to pack N°2 daughter back off to Uni in Dublin on the Monday.

Reckon I'll go with the linen jacket/panama hat idea.

Nice one JTL

Booked Friday tickets. Looking forward to it. Taking a pal who has always wanted to go, and took less than a minutes to "YES I would like to come."

Ah, sunny Sussex by the sea.

It's timeless and comfortable.

It has the added advantage of you being able to stop for petrol without being laughted at.