Sunday 1 November 2009

November

Season of mists and all that. Today being the first Sunday in November it is generally known to residents of Brighton as Old Crocks Day. On Old Crocks Day, the weather is expected to be either cold and sunny or mild, wet and windy. Today it is mild, wet (very wet at times with heavy, squally rain) and windy (gale force, driving the rain horizontally). That should reduce the number of spectators along the route.

Old Crocks Day has nothing to do with the members of Brighton Lions Club, as some people might unkindly assume. No, it dates back to 1896 and commemorates the day that the speed limit of 4mph applied to horseless carriages was raised to 14mph: the requirement for a man with a flag to walk in front of the vehicle was also removed. It is officially known as the London to Brighton veteran car run and is restricted to vehicles manufactured before 1905. There are usually some 500 entries from all over the world.

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