This year's MITP was hosted at Silverstone, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the mini. The event was extra special as it was turned into the official staff outing for the minimaster lads.

The first day was an arranged visit to the Motor Heritage Centre, just up the M40. We spent a few hours looking around the museum, taking some liberties to check up on the authenticity of certain vehicles, and working out the proper configurations. This will help us with the rather unique restorations that we are starting to receive, and making sure they are authentic.

The day started with the morning prayer to the mini, facing south to Oxford (as we are based in Cumbria!). Being at the altar of the Mini Cooper S was a privilege and opportunity too good to miss! After coffee, we split into two parties: one going for some shopping in nearby Bicester. The other going to the pub, where we also congregated in the evening for a meal.

The next day, some feeling the worse for wear, we went to the show. The morning started with a mad panic to get the Mini40 and S-Works ready for the concourse competition. The other minis went to the Border City Mini Stand. Then after standing around for ages waiting for the judges to come round, we spent a few hours looking around.

There seemed to be lots going on, and in my opinion, there was probably too much to fit into one day: it may have been better to hold the event over two days. Still, there were some interesting minis on show. My favourite was the BMC Competition Department transporter.

The whole weekend was great fun, with Anne's success (third in class) on the concourse competition against some very stiff competition topping it off.