MGCC South West Centre

Bruce Morgan bruce.carole@tiscali.co.uk 01275 790855

Our last event for 2010 was the Christmas Dinner at the Ring O’Bells Natter where around 60 members and friends enjoyed good food and festive socialising. Many thanks to Andrew and Sue Owst for making it all possible.

In October our final Championship event was a Social Run to Kimber House. John and Mavis Bird arranged a route from the M4 that took in some of the old factory ‘Test Routes’ and, on a bright but very cold day, got to the Abbey car park in time for some lunch. Then on to Kimber House where we were met by Brian Moyland and Richard Martin from the Abingdon Works Centre who gave us an illustrated presentation of ‘Life at the Abingdon Works’ and then a tour of the Club HQ which was much enjoyed by all. Many thanks to Mavis, John, Brian and Martin.

So, our Centre Drivers Championship was completed with the Oldies Class won by Dave Mothersdill, the 50s Class by Dave Coppock, the Midget Class by Jeremy Hawke, the ‘ABCV8 Class’ by Terry Drinkwater and the FWD Class by Jim Lott.

Our overall winner was none other than Peter Jones who scored points in both his 18/80 and his TC, well done Peter. Following closely was Mike Hawke who together with his wife Anne also won the MGF/TF Class. Mike competed in nine Centre events last year, more than anyone else, an example to us all and a demonstration of his love of everything MG and his belief in the importance of ‘grass roots’ motor sport. He will be sadly missed.

Full Championship details are on our web site.

Now to this year:-

There should still be time to book your place at the SW Centre and Southern Series of the Luffield Speed Championship Annual Dinner and Presentation of Awards at the Limply Stoke Hotel near Bath on February 19th. Look on the web site or ring John Bird on 01179 560175

The SW Centre AGM will be held at the Ring O’Bells on Tuesday March 1^st when I am sure our Chairman will rattle through the business at a fair old rate (just like his TC!) to give us plenty of ‘natter time’

On April 5^th the Ring O’Bells natter, Compton Martin, will again put on a 1950s film evening showing a variety of motoring related films from the archives of the ‘Dustbin Film Company’. Starts about 8pm.

April 16^th/17^th will be a busy weekend for us as we have the Kimber Classic trial on the 16^th and the Gymkhana on the 17^th. See the web site or contact Bruce Weston for more information.

Also, on the same weekend, the Bristol Classic Car Show at the Shepton Mallet show ground is open both days and our stand will have to be set up on the Friday afternoon so if anyone can help by either marshalling at the trial or being on the stand at the car show (with free entry!) then please contact Bruce Weston on 01963440941 or bruceweston@tiscali.co.uk it will be much appreciated.

The Wessex Sprint. The bad news is that the powers that be at Colerne Airfield have decided not to allow motor sport activities any more. The good news is that we have secured a date at Llandow Circuit, near Cardiff so we plan to hold the Wessex Sprint there on Monday August 29^th. The event will also be a round of the Luffield Speed Championship, Visit www.llandow.com for more information about the venue, B&Bs, Hotels, Campsite etc. Regulations and Entry Forms will be sent out to regular competitors and will be on the web site.

I hope you have been able to dig your MG out of the snow and that we can now look forward to some warmer weather.

Richard Lucking
richard@mgccsw.com

After a busy couple of months – another year comes to an end. The South West Centres “MG80” event – the Kimber Trial – had a very good turnout, the photo shows the MG contingent. Since then we were invited to the Bristol Pegasus “Chepstow Challenge” Autotest, in which Dave Coppock (the other photo) was narrowly beaten by a Mazda.

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The first event of the 2011 for your diary is the Annual Dinner, again at the Limpley Stoke hotel on Saturday 19th February. The menu and guest speaker will be on our website soon, all are welcome. Speaking of our website at http://www.mgccsw.com saw a major “update” this year along with the associated mailing list. We are slowly updating it with information about our events. By the time you read this we may have updated our calendar with details of next years events (Although Peter said the same thing last month). If not – join our mailing list and we’ll let you know when we do.

The final scores for the drivers championship are currently being totted up – the website will be updated as soon as we have all the scores in. We have had a fantastic range of vehicles (and people!) entered this year – both covering a similar age range. All are welcome to enter, it’s not as scary as some people seem to think – come along and marshal at an event if you want to see what happens.

As promised – Regalia! Well, you either love it or you hate it, apparently… When I brought up the subject as ‘any other business’ at a recent committee meeting, it was met with enthusiasm and revulsion in equal measure. Some of the negativity was based on past difficulties with managing orders, stock and returns but it was decided that – subject to addressing those issues, we ought to dabble in the world of regalia once more…

The committee has agreed to fund the production of artwork (ie the MGCC SW Centre logo). Work and holiday commitments mean that there is nothing to show you as I write, but by the time you get to read this there will be something to look at on the website. There’s been no attempt to create something fancy, we’ve gone for a straightforward design featuring the MGCC logo with “South West Centre” above and www.mgccsw.com below.

Rather than stocking a limited range of clothing – usually in the wrong colour, or size, or both – I’ve identified a local supplier who will make your item to order in the style, size and colour of your choice. The downside of this approach is that there can be no returns (unless faulty of course) but the advantages are manifold. Firstly, the range of items is huge. Secondly, it is possible to personalise your regalia at extra cost with, for instance, your initials, registration number, natter or even the name of an event. Thirdly, there’s no waiting for the next natter or event so that you can place your order with the ‘regalia secretary’ (indeed, there’s no need for a ‘regalia secretary’ at all, so that’s another plus point) – you can buy what you want, whenever you want. And finally, the arrangement keeps the taxman (and Centre Treasurer) happy as the sale is between you and the supplier so no money passes through the Centre accounts. Following on from the last point, sales of regalia provide no financial benefit to the Centre so the price is keen; in fact, our supplier has offered to provide single items at the price usually quoted for bulk buys.

To choose your item, visit www.propeaks.co.uk (there’s no need to memorise the URL as there is a link from the Centre website) and follow the link to the on-line catalogue. Choose your item(s) then call Peaks to get a price and place your order. Delivery is extra, but as the cost is ‘per delivery’ rather than ‘per item’ you can get together with friends or your local natter to make up a bulk delivery.

I apologise to those of you without internet access at home, but your committee considered that regalia had potential to become a full-time job and hence the need for an arms-length approach. To get round the difficulty, each natter leader will be provided with a hard-copy brochure.

The range of stuff available from Peaks is absolutely huge as I said, and includes items from well-known brands such as Fruit of the Loom, Helly Hansen, and Regatta. You can choose from clothing, outerwear (including zip-together fleeces and rain jackets), hi-viz, overalls caps and hats, bags and accessories. There’s even a selection of underpants! Man sizes range from small (chest 34”) to 2XL (chest 50”) with some items available in sizes up to 5XL. There are clothing ranges for women (sizes 8 through 22) and children of all ages. Most items are available in a variety of colours, with up to 20 choices in some ranges! There are tens of thousands of combinations, so you ought to be able to find something to suit…

The number of options can seem a bit daunting, so I’ve identified a ‘core’ range to get you started. Please note that this is simply the stuff that I like the look of; it’s most definitely not the cheapest, so you shouldn’t be put off by the prices – there’s something in the catalogue for everyone with plenty of items at less than a tenner. To see what I’ve chosen, please go to the website or give me a call.

I’m guessing that you’ll get this issue of Safety Fast! after MGLive! but, if not, please don’t forget to support your SW colleagues at the California Cup – if not with actual help, then with kind words or smiles! A great deal of effort goes into organising and running the club’s premier autotest competition, with many people giving up part of their Silverstone weekend for the good of the event.

Surprisingly, there are no other ‘official’ SW Centre events in June – but we do have an invite from the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club to an Autosolo at Chepstow Racecourse on the 19^th. Details are available on the website or via John Delafield on 01453 544 497. Our only event in July is the MG Auto Aero Day on the 4^th. I’ve not had any ‘blurb’ from Tony Blake – but expect the usual format. If you’ve not been before and want to find out more then give Tony a call on 01179 790 108. You’ll have to wait until the 1^st of August for your next dose of SW Centre fun; more about the Chew Valley Gymkhana next month!

Weather for the Kimber Classic Trial was fantastic – at least for the officials and spectators. The sun shone all day, and tee-shirts were in order. I wasn’t able to get to all of the hills on account of official duties, but those I did see were reasonably dry if somewhat bumpy! My moment of the day was stopping alongside a couple of gentlemen in a MMM car of some sort to see if they needed any assistance… the car was up on jacks, the hubs were off and a differential was being ‘sourced’ from behind the seats. I wonder how long that had been there, “just in case”? Their cheery response was to the effect that they were going to make it to Alham Splash (the next test) and would I tell the marshal to keep it open for thirty minutes… true MG spirit! On that subject, I’ve been forwarded a letter of thanks from Steve Dear on behalf of the ‘Help for Heroes’ charity in respect of the donations received during the event itself, the evening dinner and the informal gymkhana the following day. I cannot reproduce it all here, but suffice to say that Steve, and the charity, are most grateful for the contributions of MGCC members and friends.

I’ve not seen a report for the Wessex Sprint, so I’ll seek out some details and fill you in next month. In the meantime, Jim Lott has (as ever) put his photos on the web (accessible via a link on the SW Centre website). My favourite is entitled ‘Frank Ashley on a convoy run’ – see if you like it too!

PHOTO

I’ll finish by reminding you to change your ‘bookmarks’ for the SW Centre website to www.mgccsw.com and to visit regularly for updated information on all of our events. I do understand that not everyone has access to the internet, or even the inclination, so remain happy to provide any information by telephone – my number is available from Club Office.

Neil