I WAS at Seaside, California, watching my hero, Jay Lamm, organise another great motor classic. Seaside is close to Pebble Beach, but without the class.
In fact, both the local Neighbourhood Watch and the Police Union have been trying to remove local police chief Vicki Myers because crime is said to be rampant and people are being murdered but her official numbers say not many shots have been fired.
Really the biggest crime in Seaside is that Curly's BBQ closed. Curly's chopped pork sandwich ($7.09) was better than Rene Redzepi's sea-urchin toast ($211) at Noma. Anyway Jay Lamm was once again challenging the more traditional Monterey Car Week festivities with his Concours d'LeMons.
Jay describes his show as "an ugly oil stain on auto week, with rust buckets, misfits, mistakes and the worst of the automotive world on display". "As usual," he said, "our celebrity judges accepted bribes for our Thrift Shop-sourced trophies. The best part is, the show is free for participants and spectators, so you'll get exactly what you pay for."