English
April 2 – April 5, 2010: Happy Way 8th Edition, Amiens, North of France (organisation: Ledorga) May 21-May 24, 2010: Eurotour 2010, Northern Germany near Kiel (organisation: QueerLenker) If you would like more information about these events in English, please send us an e-mail: info@gccc.nl How gay was the fairy-tale king? Drive with stunning views MARKNESSE (Sept. 20th, 2009) - GCCC took you on a tour to the French Provence in the Netherlands. The tour brought you through the vast polde Lavender During the tour you could visit Viva Lavandula, the only lavender visitors’ centre in our country. Before and after the drive you could enjoy the different sorts of lavender scents, having a walk through the lavender fields or enjoying the view on a terrace while enjoying a drink. The drive would not only take you through the surroundings, with their vast polders and small villages, but you also visited a beautiful nature reserve: The Weerribben. What was the programme? After the drive through North West Overijssel you returned to Viva Lavandula. At 16.00 h there was a guided tour through the Lavender Visitors’ Centre. After the tour you could look at the different kinds of lavender. BBQ buffet afterwards At 17.30 h. the BBQ’s was prepared for an extensive BBQ buffet with various kinds of meat and fish, salads and other delicacies. To finish it all there was a sweets buffet. OXFORD (May 18th, 2008) – From May 16 until 18 our British sister club GCCG made Eurotour 2008 the main celebration of its 20th anniversary. The festive programme consisted of a number of beautiful drives in the Cotswolds near Oxford. Apart from that they had organised an extensive and expert visit to the MINI factory. We could enjoy the special Sezincote house, admire cars in the Heritage Motor Centre en visit the beautiful Blenheim Palace. Fortunately the weather was dry, usually cloudy but on the last day the sun made frequent appearances! Photos Eurotour 2008 SAINT WITZ (March, 24th, 2008) – The 7th Happy Way by Ledorga was held in the nothern region around Paris. The 112 international participants (not only from Holland, England, Germany and France, but this time also from Italy and Spain!) explored two rather widely divergent sceneries of this region. Video’s by Daniel V / Mark van E Photos Painters The first landscape was found in the Val-d’Oise department and the little town Auvers-sur-Oise. This charming town has become quite famous for the fact that scores of impressionist and neo-impressionist painters (e.g. Vincent van Gogh) have planted their easels in this town towards the end of the 19th Century. The GCCC is a unique collection of people who each in their own way are enamoured of cars and male beauty. It is the members within the GCCC that make the atmosphere, one that proves to be extremely good. There is a large core of people who turn up at almost every event which results in an enormous enthusiasm. On purpose we do not set limits to the age of the car. We think it more important for people to feel at home within the GCCC. An interest in classic cars is essential. The Gay Classic Car Club aims at offering its members the possibility to meet each other almost every month. Most events offer the possibility to be actively engaged with an old car, but sometimes it is more enjoyable to watch all that collected beauty leaning back in a chair on a terrace with a beer in one’s hand. Members without an old car have ample opportunities to join other members in their cars. These started off in 1993 when an Easter Run was held round Brussels during Easter, followed a few weeks later by the first RIGAC (Rencontre Internationale des Gay Automobile Club) at Le Touquet on the Normandy coast of France. Since then it has become a tradition for each club to take turns in organising such international events, which have become known as “Eurotour”. It was our turn in 2004, when, at Whitsun, we had a gathering of some 160 people in and around Antwerp. In 2005 the British club organised one around Southampton, 2006 saw a weekend around Gladbeck and Essen and in 2007 it was our turn again around Emmeloord (in the land reclaimed from the sea), with the motto ”Dutch Lowlands & Highlights”. From May 16-18, 2008 we where guests in the enviroment of the British Cotswolds, a special Eurotour organised by the GCCG. In 2009 we helped Anders, Lars and Steffan from the Danish GOVC to organise the first Eurotour in Denmark at the Island Fynen (May 29 – June 1, 2009). In 2010 QueerLenker organises Eurotour, from May 21-24 in Neumünster, near habour city Kiel. From June 10-13, 2011 the GCCC will organise Eurotour in Belgium again, This time in Roche-en-Ardennes.
Make a note in your diary!
Watch part 1 of the video
Watch part 2 of the video
It has become a tradition for GCCC to organise a sociable event in the Christmas period. At this year’s event on Dec. 13th, 2009 we were able tolook back at the past year together with other GCCC friends, enjoy the splendour and beauty of the Bavarian fairy-tale king Ludwig II and drive past a few fairy-like castles in the south east of the province of Gelderland (Hernen, Wijchen, Bergharen and Batenburg). The start for the 66 participants was at Hotel Restaurant Umberto, Graafseweg 699, 6603 CE in Wijchen (close to Nijmegen and Alverna) at 12.00 h with coffee/tea with delicious “Wijchen Emiliastoet” pastry. It was there that we also fisheshed this event. Slides show and talkPreceding the drive, our club member Jan van der Schee talked about the beautiful theatrical life of Ludwig II, de Bavarian fairy-tale king. In a breathtaking slides performance accompanied by the beautiful sounds of Richard Wagner, Jan took us on a journey to the neogothic period and old myths. Ludwig was engaged to his cousin Sophia of Bavaria, the sister of empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as ‘Sisi’. After having postponed the wedding a couple of times, he finally cancelled the wedding in October 1867. Ludwig was never to marry, let alone give an heir to the dynasty. Worldwide, historians suspect that he was gay, based on the monarch’s letters and the courtiers’ memoirs. This discussion will always remain controversial, because the Bavarians don’t want to talk about his homosexuality too much.
Then it was time for the drive. It was a beautiful day, rather cold but with the sun shining the drive was full of breath-taking views across the polders and at the country estates. All this variety made one feel sorry when we reached the end. That end was at the car park of Umberto and then we heard the second half of the slides show and talk. By now it was time for a drink and a chat with friends, followed by a nice three course dinner, if one had booked that beforehand. The menu could be chosen on the spot, with a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian.Our thanks to Aldrin, Erik, Rob en Jan!
rs and beautiful woods, but also through cute villages. In the evening it is followed by a convivial BBQ!
Photo: Classic cars in front of Heythrop Park Hotel
Photo: German boy spotted on Happy Way 2008
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The GCCC, Gay Classic Car Club (Benelux) was founded on 17 May, 1992, when, during the first event, over 45 people became members. The idea of such a club had come from the US. Its membership has risen to over 150 in the course of the years, a growth caused mainly by word of mouth, but also because of articles in several (car)magazines. The aim of the society is co-ordinating and stimulating the interest in historic, classical and special cars amongst homosexuals (m/f).
GCCC members and their cars are all extremely diverse. A 1929 Bugatti may be overtaken by an Austin A30, followed by, for example, a Citroën DS, Renault Caravelle, MG A or B, Panhard Dyna, Peugeot, Rolls-Royce, Alfa Spider, Chevrolet Corvette, Opel Rekord, DAF …..
Photo: Collected beauty among different classic (future) cars
Right from the start the GCCC has had excellent connections with a number of foreign sister clubs. Good contacts with the French sister club Ledorga, the English GCCG (Gay Classic Car Group), the German club Queerlenker, and the Danish Gay Owned Vintage Cars (GOVC) with whom we have a lot of contact too. These contacts have led to a number of highly successful international events.
April 2 – April 5, 2010: Happy Way 8th Edition, Amiens, North of France (organisation: Ledorga)
May 21-May 24, 2010: Eurotour 2010, Northern Germany near Kiel (organisation: QueerLenker)
If you would like more information about these events in English, please send us an e-mail: info@gccc.nl