BEFORE hitting 50 next year, former SNJ news editor Sandra Ashenford has compiled a bucket list of 50 goals to achieve before her birthday.

The aim is to do one every week.

List item no.30 – have a Champagne picnic at Goodwood Revival.

I’VE mentioned before that the spouse is a huge fan of cars and motorbikes but his real passion is for the vehicles from the Golden Era of motor racing in the 1950s and 1960s.

Those were the glory days of ground-breaking developments and inspired innovation.

Of course, I’m glad that motor racing is much safer these days and I know it’s easy to view the past through rose-tinted glasses but there is something quite intoxicating about the spirit of adventure that existed on the race track as Britain emerged from the hardships of the war years.

It is this excitement that is celebrated each year at the Goodwood Revival, a three-day festival of motor racing, which plays host to vehicles from the circuit’s original period of 1948 to 1966.

There are lots of amazing cars and motorbikes and some very famous drivers (including Rowan Atkinson) but, to be honest, I’m not really bothered about those.

What I love is the fact that almost all of the thousands of spectators turn up in period costume from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s – it is the largest living history event that I’ve ever seen. People looked amazing in their 1940s military outfits, 1950s rock n’ roll dresses and 1960s psychedelic jumpsuits.

There is also a historic fairground, complete with carousel and helter-skelter and, at various times of the day, magnificent vintage aircraft take to the skies. The spouse first dragged me along to the Revival about 10 years ago, and I assumed it would be just another fairly boring car event (I’ve been to a few) but it was a truly magical experience.

We say we will go every year, but life has a tendency to get in the way.

But this year it was on the list, so we made a real effort to get there – and it was well worth it.

We all dressed in costume from the 1950s, with daughter number four sporting a gorgeous circular skirt and lace petticoats.

We couldn’t quite run to Champagne for the picnic (if you read a recent column, you will know I’m no longer a regular wage earner) but the sparkling wine complemented the corned beef sandwiches very nicely.