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LAMBs bring Britain to Langley Good Times Cruise-in

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On Langley Good Times Cruise-in Saturday, look for a row of LAMBs parked along the grass at Douglas Park.

LAMB is an acronym for Langley Area Mostly British Motoring Club, and for the past 10 years, club members and their cars have been regulars at the Cruise-in, the community’s largest annual charity fundraising event.

LAMB past president Carole Borgens has been taking part in the Cruise-In since the first year the club began showing cars at the show and shine.

The club’s participation has grown, both in the number of cars shown (there were roughly a dozen cars on display in 2013) and the size of its display at Douglas Park.

“It’s grown beyond just cars,” said Borgens, who is taking her 1990 XJ-5 Jaguar V12 to Cruise-In. “We really push our members to understand the joy of the day, and to come out into beautiful Douglas Park. It’s very social. You see people that you don’t see any other time, you’ll see them at the shows.”

The Cruise-in charities keep LAMBS members coming back. One-hundred per cent of all proceeds from Cruise-In, including funds collected from vehicle registrations, are funneled back into the community through the charities that benefit from the event.

“We are a Langley-based club, and that’s our way of giving back to the community,” Borgens said.

LAMB’s charity of choice is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley, and proceeds from the club’s annual St. George’s show in Fort Langley goes to the local group that pairs children with adult mentors.

Cruise-in allows LAMB members to disperse their support in other directions.

Club member and webmaster Marty Ross is planning on bringing his Morris Minor, complete with a “cutaway” engine, in which people can see the inner workings of the engine, to the show.

“It’s very interesting for the public to have a look at,” Borgens said.

LAMB member Kelly McPherson is showing his four-speed, 1979 Triumph Spitfire at Cruise-in. The Spitfire is one of seven English collectible cars that McPherson owns, the oldest being a 1958 TR3, which is on schedule for a full restoration.

“I came out of the Corvette world and drove a little English car, and never looked back,” McPherson said. “It became an addiction.”

So much so, he started his own British parts company, Best British Car Parts.

The appeal to McPherson is simple: “They’re fun. They’re a fun car to drive, they’re easy to maintain. Everything about them is simple.”

And while the forecast calls for sunshine, the potential of rain won’t keep McPherson and most of the LAMB members away come Sept. 6.

“We’re rain or shine, most of us,” Borgens said. “English cars by their very nature [are driven in the rain] and if you’re going to own one, you pretty much have to have that mind set, don’t you think?”

Borgens said the beauty of being in Douglas Park is the LAMB cars are behind ropes, safe from baby buggies and “things that can scratch your car,” so members feel comfortable leaving them and venturing out into downtown to take in all the sights and sounds of Cruise-in.

“You have to see what’s out there,” McPherson added. “That’s the whole flavour of the show. We’re only one lick of the ice cream.”