Hitch-hike from Farnborough - 1953

In 1953 a friend, Keith A, and I decided to hitch-hike down to The Farnborough Airshow, at the height of its popularity, In those days there were no motorways - We left Altrincham, Cheshire in early morning and after some 8 or 9 lifts we arrived (via A6 and A5 roads) on the outskirts of London. Catching a tube from Cockfosters we decided to stay the night in the Earls Court area and train down to Farnborough the following morning. We watched, with thousands of others, a superb show and afterwards with no real knowledge of how we were going to get home went to the car exit and went along the queue of cars asking for a lift towards Oxford. Finally we found a car, the driver of which was willing to put us onto the Oxford Road. We arrived in a small village called Bracknell – a vastly different town now – about 6pm and went into a small confectionery shop (no supermarkets in those days) and stocked up with buns and biscuits for the journey home. Walking round the corner, we spotted a car filling up with petrol and asked the driver if he would give us a lift towards Oxford. At 17 years of age, we probably did not look too threatening but we can’t have looked too clean either. The driver and his passenger friend agreed to take us onwards. The chat was about the Airshow but when we arrived on the outskirts of Oxford the driver wanted to know where we were headed. We said we wanted to go on up towards Wolverhampton. He claimed he was headed that way too so would takes us on up. Finally the conversation went as follows: Driver – What's your final destination? Keith – Manchester Driver – which part of Manchester? Keith – Altrincham. Driver - You must be Keith A. I was playing golf last week with your mother and she said you were going to Farnborough. We were dropped on the doorstep at about 11pm!