Petrolheads

I am not a petrolhead and I've not got caught up in the cult of "Top Gear" but for his 16th birthday Calum wanted to go to the live show. So that's where we've been today and I can't tell you what a smashing day we've had. In addition to a static show of Top Gear paraphernalia, including vehicles they've made for various challenges, there were stands from motoring-related firms. Many were high-end stands; a firm selling car cleaning products had a Koenigsegg, Maclaren, an E Type and one of JK's Ferraris on display. Lots of Ferraris and Lamborghinis as well as some American muscle cars and the record-breaking Skoda in amongst stands with racing simulators and XBox games. There was an indoor track with a show hosted by Tiff Needell and a lot of different cars and stuff and then there was an arena show with the three presenters from TV and lots of stunts and some seriously beautiful cars. All up a brilliant day.

This shot shows James May trying to get our side of the arena to cheer for our stunt rider. He would shortly be riding up a ramp to fly his bike through a letterbox-shaped gap a couple of metres deep and suspended close to the roof of the arena. Two riders took turns and after each round the gap was reduced - not sure I've explained it well but this image might show what I mean. More photos on Flickr.