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| MEETING REPORTS 2006 |
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Northants RHOCaR Meet, Sunday 12th November
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Having had it said that it is a shame to not have anything else to do this year with the cars, we mustered a few people to go to the Northants RHOCaR meet at Chelvesdon on the B645. We met up at the Baldock Services at 1030 and left at around 1110. A lovely sunny but fresh morning made for a very pleasant drive. The A1 is a little boring but once on the B645 it is a different drive totally. Lots of nice curves, hills, villages, too many speed limits but judging by the amount of motor cyclists who are injured on that stretch of road, it isn't that surprising. As we drove through Kimbolton village, there were quite a lot of people around following the service at the Cenotaph for Armistice Day so we had a lot of spectators to watch our convoy of seven cars pass through. Posing? never..... Good job we weren't early and disturb the peace with the roar of engines, especially with John's Cobra in the line up!
We arrived at the pub and were joined by a few other SG7 members who had driven straight there.
Attendees
Convoy:
Dax Rush: Sandie, Chris
Dax Cobra: John
Westfield: John
Hoods: Richard & Caroline, Stephen, Helen
At the pub: Alan Rowe - MNR, Mike Montegue - motor bike, John and Yvonne Hamilton-Smith and Meg (a very sweet West Highland Terrier) - NG, Peter Bell - Hood
 Meg in NG
Northants Members of Rhocar: Dave Rose, Tony
Thames Valley: Graham Mintram, Peter Ray
After a coffee and sausages in a bap we had a good chat as always. Peter took a few photos which you can see below. We left around 2pm. John thought I had left first but in fact I was still in the car park chatting! I almost caught up with Richard but then got stuck behind one of those drivers who does 40 mph on open roads and 40 mph in the 30 limits! As you can imagine, I soon dropped back but was happy to see Stephen, Richard and John waiting for me at the St Neots junction on the A1. We travelled back down to Baldock together, waved farewell to Richard & Caroline, down to Stevenage, waved farewell to Stephen, then I waved bye to John and took the Hood back to my mum's and John went home. A very nice drive was had by all.
 
Thank you for venturing out!
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November Monthly meet, Sunday 5th
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Well, you certainly made the effort to make the last meet of the year worthwhile. 25 cars and 2 tintops turned out on what was a warm and sunny November day.
We welcomed some new arrivals, Martin Marshall from Cranfield, Beds in a Robin Hood, Chris Fraser who has just bought a Robin Hood and Michael Southgate, who has a Stewart Taylor Motor Sports chassis and is raring to go with a build. Mal brought along his new TVR for its first visit.
Richard Sumner took some great photos for us:
 
We held the usual raffle, thanks to Sandie for selling the tickets again. Thank you for the prize donations received. Deposits were taken and paid to the pub for the Christmas Dinner. We also had on sale some SG7 web site car stickers, 50p each just to recover a little of the outlay. If anyone else wants one or two… please contact us and we will sort something out for you.
Mal has taken over the area secretary post for the local TVR club. His first meeting will be at Baldock Services on Junction 10 of the A1(M) on Sunday 19th November at 11.30. Anyone fancy coming along? If you want to go, get in touch and I will check with Mal as to what exactly his plans are. Nice to have somewhere to go to meet up!
Attendees
Hoods Glyn Rust, Andy Hamilton and Alan, Chris Brown, Richard and Caroline, Stephen and Lesley Altwasser, Alasdair Thompson, Mike Gouldsborough, Steve Putterell, Hugh Grant, Martin Marshall, Helen
Westfield John, Paul Brown, Ron Clements, Nigel Cady, John (XI)
Luego Mike Shearing (Anglia RHOCaR)
Tiger Doug and Maggie
Dax Cobra John and Sandie
MNR Alan Rowe
Dax Rush Chris
NG John Hamilton-Smith
TVR Mal
Banham Sprint Ced and Lorraine
Hot Rod Pete Cherry
Tin top : Michael Southgate, Chris Fraser, Ced & Lorraine's son
As you can see from the list above, a very varied and interesting group of cars, which as always makes for an enjoyable meeting.
Looking forward to seeing those of you who are joining in the Christmas meal. If anyone else wants to come along, get in touch asap. We have a few places left.
All that remains to do is thank everyone for their support again this year. It has passed by very quickly but we have done a great deal, been to lots of meetings, met loads of people and made lots of friends. Still lots more to do next year, starting to plan already, most likely be much like this year but with a few extra trips added in.
Have a Merry Christmas and all the very best in the New Year.
John and Helen
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SG7s meets Essex RHOCaR and Essex Westfield Sports Car Club, Sunday 29th October 2006
Now that John has the Westfield, it has opened up another set of meetings to go along to. Glyn Rust, the Essex Area Secretary of RHOCaR had arranged that for their monthly meeting, they would meet as usual at the Tulip pub in Chelmsford and then go over to meet up with us at the Lodge Inn, South Woodham Ferrers where the Westfield meeting takes place. The venue isn't the most obvious place to find, only a sign on the entrance to the lane, not somewhere you would drive by, see the cars, and think 'I will go have a look' unlike the George at Baldock. We didn't publicise our trip, not too sure if it would be worth the effort in going so thought we would try it out first.
There were two Westfields there when we arrived, both yellow, good choice, and then three more came along. The Inn is in a pretty setting and very popular for meals - a nice gravel car park with a duck pond in the middle.
We had a chat with the Westfield guys and ladies.
Glyn arrived with Paul, Paul's son-in-law and Andy Hamilton (who is hoping to build a Westfield so was pleased to be able to have a good look around! He intends building one of the new kits using the Mazda MX-5 as a donor).
You can see from the photos that we were blessed with a very sunny and unseasonably warm day, which made the journey (around 1 hour, 50 miles each way) very enjoyable unlike last weekend travelling home from the Stondon Museum.
Another enjoyable day out. Perhaps somewhere to go again next year?
One more meet for us at the George on Sunday 5th, and then time to tuck the cars up for the winter.
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Ace Cafe, North Circular - Tuesday 24th October
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Steve Hole from Total Kitcars arranged an evening at the Ace Cafe which is on the North Circular, London. The Cafe goes way back in history having been closed down at one time because of the trouble that is had on its doorstep. The Cafe is the base for Channel 5's Fifth Gear programme, it was fascinating to see the skid marks that were made in last week's programme when they were doing donuts in a go-kart. There is a wide variety of entertainment and various club meetings going on all through the year including a carol service at Christmas. It is a bar/cafe/diner/entertainment venue all wrapped up in one building.
I think Steve was hoping for more cars to turn up, we went with Richard and Caroline in a tintop, and I must say, it is not a journey either John or I fancy in a kit. There was a good selection of cars, Sylva Jester, Robin Hood, Marlin Roadsters, Ginetta, Ferrari replica, plus some others. The atmosphere was very friendly. The cafe is a very popular bikers' stop and there were plenty of bikes to look at also. The food was excellent, a huge plate of chips with chilli and cheese for just £3.25! Very tasty. We were even welcomed as kit owners with a free cup of tea or coffee. Nice to get the chance to talk to some different faces and to catch up again with Steve and Carol, the organisers. They put such a lot of effort into making these events worth attending.
We felt that it worked very well, just a hell of a place to get to in very busy rush hour traffic. It isn't that far from us here in Stevenage, but it is just the volume of cars on the A1 with all the roadworks that are going on at the moment that made the journey longer. Fortunately, Richard knew where he was going!
Thanks to Richard for driving us there and thanks to Total Kitcars for staging the event. We look forward to the next one and hope to muster up some other SG7 members to go. We will keep you posted.
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Lower Stondon Motor Musuem, 22nd October 2006
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At the suggestion of Glyn Rust from Essex RHOCaR, we arranged a last minute visit to the Lower Stondon Motor Museum. Yet again the forecast was very changeable but rain came into it in a very big way.
We set off to meet at the Baldock Services as usual. John went off to get petrol in the Westfield, I went to pick up the Hood only to get spots of rain on me as it came out of the garage. At the services we met up with Glyn Rust and John Hamilton-Smith (happy birthday to him for Sunday 30th). Peter Bell and Dave Rose were to meet us at the museum which they did. The drive to the museum was dry but it soon changed.
Going round the museum with John H-S was like going round a sweet shop with a little boy. The stories that he and Peter told were very amusing. Of course, we all had to go on the bus and the school day memories came flooding back of days running to jump on as the bus was pulling away, the copying of someone else’s homework on the back seat because I hadn’t done mine, and many other thoughts of days gone by. We were all reminiscing about our first car or our parents’ first car, none in the case of my parents, neither ever drove a car. Then came the question, how many cars have you owned in your life? That would be an interesting survey to do and also what cars and which was the most fondly remembered. The first car I ever had registered in my name was John’s MG Midget that he handed down to me, VBK 75K. That was in 1982. Funny that all this time later, I now enjoy open top driving either in the kits or the MX-5. It was down today and a neighbour remarked about ‘it being October, and I had the hood down’. It was great but he thought by now it would be too cold. Never!
The museum isn’t the most orderly place to walk around. So many, John feels possibly too many, cars crammed into a fairly small space. The standard of the cars varies from those that are almost falling to pieces, to beautiful showroom specimens. They have a section of military vehicles, many motorbikes – some with sidecars – the original invalid carriages, a bus, helicopter, a traveller’s caravan (the sort we used to see down the road in Stevenage when the fair came to town each September), a gypsy caravan, hearse and much, much more. They have a selection of cars for sale as well such as a Jensen. Oh, and not to forget the replica of Captain Cook’s ship the Endeavour which sits proudly in a ‘pond’. I have to say, it is so worth a visit.
As we were looking around the cars, it started to rain and boy did it rain. We sat and had a cuppa thinking it might soon pass. It didn’t. So, we braved elements and headed for the cars. The Westfield stayed dry inside. Not something that can be said for Dave’s and my Hood, don’t know about John’s NG and Peter’s Hood. There was as much rain on the inside of the screen as on the outside, only at least the outside had the wipers going over it. Not to forget the steamed up windows of course and not to mention the water that appeared from nowhere on my legs from time to time. With the spray from other cars, the rain on the outside and inside and the steam, I don’t know quite how I managed to drive home. The joy of owning and driving a kit!
 
Attendees John Hamilton-Smith, Glyn Rust, Peter Bell, Dave Rose, John and Helen
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Well, some say we are sad, some say we are mad. We have been away in North Wales for the past week but came home a day early so that we would be able to go to the Total Kit Car Live 2006 Show at Brands Hatch. John took Abby's boyfriend, Pete, in the Westfield and I drove Abby in the Mx-5. Quite a few kits arrived and parked up, the Cobra club had its own area…. Most of the major kit manufacturers were present. MNR, Luego and Robin Hood were absent. We signed in and were given a wristband which entitled us to be taken out on the track either free or for a small price.
Quantum Cars were doing two laps for free in their Extreme. This was the first port of call. Abby and I both had a turn in this one, fantastic. Pete opted to go out in one of the minis. He paid £20 but got five laps for his money. The smile on our faces told it all. Amazing experience. John didn't fancy going out in any so I thought I would go out again in one and chose to go in the GD Cobra. Once again, five laps for £20. That has got to be the best £20 I have spent in ages. Doing 120 mph along the Brabham Straight and 80-90 around Paddock Hill Bend was absolutely fantastic. Such hard work for the driver keeping the car steady, constantly fighting with the steering wheel. Out of this world, good job I am not younger, I think I could have taken this up as a hobby!!! I don’t know if I would ever have the 'bottle' to do the speeds needed but I would love to have a go. The other thing I would love to do is learn how to do doughnuts. They were demonstrating them at Brands but I wasn't brave enough to have a go and we ran out of time.
 
We saw Mike Montague, Glyn Rust, Brian Barker, Alan Rowe and Pauline, Peter Ray, Will and a couple of other guys from Essex RHOCaR.
I can highly recommend this as a good day out. There were not that many trade stalls again although slightly better than last year. A little on the expensive side at £10 per person (£5 for drivers of kits) but the effort made by Steve Hole the founder of Totalkitcars and his family to put on this show makes it totally worthwhile. If my daughter at 18 can enjoy herself, it must have been good! An experience she will never forget and nor will I. Looking forward to another one of these events. There is a write up on www.totalkitcar.com already about the Friday event (this was a track event for owners to take their cars out) and I am sure Steve will be quick to do a report on Saturday's show, if in fact he has not already done so!
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1st October Monthly Meet at George IV
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Oh dear. What a disaster.
Whilst the day started off looking like it might be dry we would soon see a different picture. Not long after arriving it looked more like rain. Six kits chanced the weather but most came in tintops and Mike Montegue arrived on his Honda motorbike. Sensible people! Twice we had to dive into the pub for shelter, which made a change from standing round the cars. I only had the surrey top on my car and after the second downpour there was about an inch of water on the driver's seat. The heavens had opened and a deluge of water fell. Decided not to do a raffle today, not really enough people to make it break even let alone make a little profit. We also have SG7 car stickers for sale at 50p each (just to recover our cost of having them made up) but with the weather we didn't get around to offering them for sale. Hopefully the November meeting will be dry and we can make up for lost time. All things considered, still quite a good meeting.
These photos were taken later in the afternoon from our front door. Thunder, lightening, rain, hail, sun, I think that covers it, oh and the wind blew a gale briefly.
Very pleased that we both went out to the Dax open day yesterday.
Attendees:
Marlin Roadster : Andy Barbet
MG: John Hamilton-Smith
Dax Rush: Brian Barker
Westfield: John
Hood: Stephen and Lesley Altwasser; Helen
Tintops:
Cliff, Emily & Aiden, Mal (sold his car so is looking for a TVR), Mike Montegue, Chris Brown, Bill & Joey, Bob and Sheila.
Apologies: Peter Bell wrote saying he was unable to come.
Doug & Maggie put in an appearance although it was to have a family lunch for their daughter Laura's 18th Birthday. Happy Birthday Laura!
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Dax open day - Harlow 30th September
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John decided to go over to the Dax open day in Harlow to have a nose around. He hoped to meet up with Brian Barker (but he didn't get there until gone 2pm by which time John had left) and 'Scruffy the first' aka Hugh; John saw his car but didn't know what he looked like, so didn't get to meet him either. I decided to join him after I had done the chores at home and had a good ride over to Harlow in the Hood. We bumped into Chris Shilton (Dax Rush) and Nick Ferris, he has no plans to buy another kit for some time to come (he used to have a Fisher Fury). Nice to see so many cars turn out, the staff put on a nice little buffet and coffee and make you feel welcome. A nice drive out. Made a hasty retreat when it looked like the heavens would open; we were lucky and only caught the edge of the rain.
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Wheel Meet Again - Sunday 24th September 2006
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We met up with Richard and Caroline, Doug and Maggie at Puckeridge and arrived together (four cars in total) at St Mary's School, Bishops Stortford. We left home in rain hopeful that the day would improve as had been promised. The show was arranged differently this year; the last time we went, three years ago, the main showground was on the lower field with public parking on the upper field. This time the show was spread over both fields with public parking on the road and another field. Not such a good auto jumble as in the past. The school works very hard to put on this show and it is a great success even though it clashed with the show at Battlebridge in Essex. We had a ticket for the Battlesbridge show but decided to go to this one instead since it is more local to us.
John caught up with a few friends and as always we sat and chatted the day away in what turned out to be a lovely sunny day. Most of the local dealerships were present. There were some very interesting and nice classic cars on show. It is a very friendly show and one worth making the effort to go to next year. It is scheduled for 16th September; they have tried to avoid other major show dates but have decided to go for 16th and hope that people will choose their show to attend. Next year we hope to have an official pitch for the SG7s group so we hope some more of you will be able to come along.
Very enjoyable
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SG7s goes to RHOCaR Northants meet
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Sunday, 10th September
Alan Rowe of MNR fame, invited SG7s to go to the Northants RHOCaR meeting. Having sent out a general email to all members, we headed for Baldock Services to see if anyone else would come along. Richard and Caroline joined us but sadly no one else came. It was a lovely hot day, a run up the A1 to St Neots and then left on the B645. As we have said in the past, it is a fantastic road for a run in a kit although the addition of a few more speed cameras and limits has slowed things down a little. We had a great run out, the sausage and bacon baps were good and we had a chat with Alan. Five cars from Northants group were there but most of them left before 1pm. Called in at Kimbolton Go Kart track on the way home for a nose around. Not a good place to go to spectate.
Peter Bell went to Santa Pod for the day. Sadly, after he left, one of the spectators was killed by debris from one of the cars. Just a sharp reminder that motor sport is a dangerous pastime!
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Monthly meet - Sunday 3rd September 2006
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Weather first, as always. Yesterday at Bruntingthorpe was wet, the forecast promised today would be better and for once it was right. After the early morning rain and cloud, it all blew away in the strong winds to leave a warm sunny day. A shame for Stephen, he decided to leave the Hood at home and come in the tintop, bad decision. In fairness it was raining in Potters Bar and very threatening in Hemel.
John and I really know how to treat each other on our wedding anniversary (23 years today!), I bought him a pint of lager shandy and a packet of crisps and then spent much of the day at different ends of the car park talking to other members. Romantic - good fun though.
Chris Shilton arrived with his Dax Rush after some time off the road. John who we met at Knebworth came in his Westfield XI and also the beach buggy that we hadn't seen for a while. Steve Purr and two friends came along to have a look at a 2B; he is building one and is at the panelling stage so it won't be too long before it is ready to SVA.
 
A copy of Totalkitcar magazine was on show for all to have a look at; the SG7 article went down well. A proud moment for CNB!
Quite a lot of customers from the pub came and had a look at the cars. John's new car got lots of attention and was given the thumbs up. Mal has decided to sell his purple Westfield and move into the world of TVR but hopes to still come along to the meets. Not sure we should let him….. I guess it will be ok, you put up with the Mx-5 afterall.
Thanks to Maggie for selling raffle tickets today. Much appreciated. Thanks also to Mal for doing the number calling.
We have been busy with the cars recently and we are hoping to go the Northants RHOCaR meeting next Sunday (weather permitting, my mother has promised us good weather for the next couple of weeks!). Is anyone interested in going? It is along a great stretch of road, although they have spoilt things by putting a few more 30 speed limits and cameras in, just not allowed to have fun any more! The following weekend is the Donnington Kit Car Show (16th & 17th) and the Sunday after that, we are off to Bishops Stortford, St Marys School for Wheel Meet Again. Anyone interested in going to the St Marys show?
 
Attendees
Hoods: Chris Brown; Peter Bell; Mike Gouldsborough; Mike Montegue; Hugh Grant; Helen (nice to say that)
Westfield: Paul Brown; Mal; John
Westfield XI: John (sadly won't be with us for long, he is off to Australia with his car as well!)
Tiger: Doug and Maggie
MNR: Alan Rowe
Beach Buggy
Dax Rush: Chris Shilton
Tin tops
Cliff - Superspec builder; Stephen & Lesley; Bob & Sheila; Steve Purr + 2 - building 2B
14 cars - 24 people
A good meeting today. Only two more monthly meets with the cars this year. The year has flown by again - they get quicker as you get older! The High Street Charter Fair comes to Stevenage on 22/23 September and once that has been and gone, Christmas is just around the corner. I spoke to the Manager of the pub today about the Christmas do and was given the menu which I will get typed up and emailed out to members. I have arranged for coffee to be added to the menu for an extra £1 as we did last year. Not sure if they are doing any deals this year but will find out nearer the time. We can have around 40 seated for the meal. Deposits of £5 per person will be collected at the November meeting. If you wish to come but can't make the November meet, I am happy to take the deposits at the October meet or by post if that is easier.
 
Taken by Doug
Happy motoring until we meet again!
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Westfield Sportscars Track/Experience day 2nd September 2006
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Westfield Sports Cars took over Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground near Leicester for a track/Westfield experience day.
Two circuits were in operation, one for the track event for £125 for a full day of track driving; drivers had 20 minutes in each hour out on the track. There were also experienced instructors there to give you advice on how to get the best from your car.
The other track was a small circuit, where they were running two 1800cc Westfields. We were told that for £20 you got 20 minutes driving with track instruction. Not quite the case, if you were a complete novice to Westfields and took a long time to go around the track perhaps it made the 20 minutes but John and Mal had 5 laps, stopping at the end of each lap, and then one final ‘fast’ lap. All over very quickly and not the 20 minutes we were expecting to get. I enjoyed being John’s passenger though, once again, lots of swearing inside my helmet, especially when he spun on one of the corners! Great fun, just wish it had been a little longer. The test session was well organised with crash helmets/wet weather overalls/tea and coffee supplied.
Mal getting ready for a run
Met Steve Hole, the editor of Totalkitcar Magazine, nice to talk to his wife and daughter and put faces to names. Hope some of you have read the article in this issue of the magazine about our Club. Also saw Andy Petrie with Michaela and Nigel Cady with his son.
Thanks to Mal for driving us up there, sorry if I was snoring and talking in my sleep coming home!
Good fun! Just wanted a bit more of it…
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Knebworth Classic Car Show August 2006
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For a detailed report and photos of this year's show see 'Knebworth' section.
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Monthly Meeting, Sunday 6th August at Duxford
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The monthly meeting was held at Duxford Imperial War Museum, the report can be found on Duxford 2006.
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Brooklands Museum, Sunday 30th July 2006
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We were invited by the Cambridgeshire Westfield Club to join them on their monthly meeting which was to be a trip to the Brooklands Museum. Unfortunately, they couldn't get anyone to go from their area and the group that had said they would go from the Northants area cancelled also. So, we went on a Westfield day out without any Westfields! We did arrange to meet up with one guy, Chris. He arrived at the museum some time after us but we managed to have a chat with him. The SG7s group didn't do much better, only three cars turned up. Stephen Altwasser, Chris Brown, John and I, met at the slip road off the A1 by the Novotel and travelled in convoy to the museum arriving around 1200 noon. Rather boring driving on the M25 and as always very busy.
View of exhibitors car park from the side of the test hill
The museum is very well organised. It was a 'Brooklands, At Home' day and it was brilliant. There were displays of aircraft, cars, bicycles and much more, we didn't get to see it all! A quartet of jazz musicians were playing during the day, there was a barbeque (slightly expensive at £3 per hamburger and £3 for a small bottle of beer), you could pay to go on board Concorde, they ran some of the musuem cars around the display area, there was a cafeteria and something which we found to be great fun was the hill climb run which they opened for cars and motorbikes to run up (the hill is 1:4 and very steep, walking up the side of it wasn't easy). There was a comentator keeping you up to date with what was going on next. They also ran a couple of the airplane engines. For once I can say the entrance fee of £7 was worth every penny. Lovely to see all the cars that came in. Apparently they don't always do the hill climb so worth checking before you go if you decide to go, to see just what they have planned for the date of your visit.
One thing that I was amazed by was the members banking. I have for many years, as I am sure lots of you also have, seen footage of the races going round the big bank. I particularly remember seeing a car leave the track and go over the top of the banking. To actually be there and see it was great. Until you stand, or at least try to stand, on the slope of the banking you don't appreciate how steep it is. It is also made of concrete blocks so the drivers must have been shaken half to death over the period of a race. We asked if we could park the cars on the slope and take photos which we did.
A fantastic day out but a shame that so few managed to come along. A huge thank you to the Westfield guys for inviting us to join them, we would not have made the effort or possibly even thought to go had they not extended the invitation to us.
Stephen eating his burger and enjoying his beer
This is one place we will hope to go back to again.
Oh, finally, thank you Stephen for using the sat.nav. to bring us home (even if you didn't have a clue where we were going) but completely avoiding the motorways. It was nice to actually drive through the towns.
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Kimbolton Castle Country Fair and Car Show - 16th July 2006
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We would like to thank Chris Brown for arranging the free entry tickets to the show for both RHOCaR and SG7 members. Sadly, one I had to miss again this year, our holiday clashed with the show but John decided to go anyway and join us at the coast later on the Sunday (that’s dedication for you!). It all worked out very well. Hopefully next year we will both be there. Thanks also to Chris for bringing the barbeque and gazebo.
It was a very hot day after a cool start. The pitch which had been earmarked for us had been taken by the fairground folk so since there was a good bit of shade under one of the trees, that is where they set up home. It was, once again, a good show, with lots of interest for everyone; lots of cars, stalls, craft stalls and the usual tombola and other fund raising efforts. They also do 'dream rides', for a small fee you get to go out in the car of your choice from a selection of sports and classic cars. The Honda Goldwing Club was doing motor cycle rides.
Sporting Bears raises money for children, so it is a very worthwhile cause.
Thanks to Glyn Rust for sending in some photos.
 
Attendees:
Martin Pidd and family, Chris Brown, John Tween, Sandie and John, John and Yvonne Hammilton-Smith, Stephen and Lesley Altwasser, Dave Rose, Alan Rowe, Ced and Lorraine, Mike and Lorraine,Shearing, Andy Love, Peter Bell, Glyn Rust, Nigel Farrow , Fran & Steph Zbrozek (If your name is missing please let me know and I will add it, John not too sure about names of Norfolk guys)
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Barkston Heath 8th July 2006- report written by Stephen Altwasser
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I had a good day at Barkston Heath yesterday.
I camped over on Friday night with fellow competitors with a bottle of red and a few pints to wash down a massive mixed grill in Woodies Bar. I awoke to a nice day and a bit of a head; a fry up soon sorted that and a wash and shave finally made me feel human again, then de camp and set off to the track.
Les Walsher had finally arrived on Friday night after travelling down from Wales with Nigel (Longboarder) having been delayed fitting a new engine to his car this was the first run for the car's engine. Nigel then put in some impressive times when he found a forward gear.
We had 3 groups with 15 minutes per group to start then an open pit lane. Les had a bit of grasstracking at the last chicane; this was a new layout and added at least 3 seconds to times. His car then conked out as he came back around to the assembly area seeing him being pushed back to the parking area I stopped to try to help. No fuel was the problem. Checked the cut out switch, still not a drop of fuel, blew down fuel lines; all clear so took the boot apart to access the tank sender and in tank pump, 50 plus screws later revealed the tank. Took the pump out to find the jolting had caused the pump to drop off the rubber pipe so no flow - soon put back together - what a lot of screws.
One of the lads from Bristol - Andy - had an 'off' at the last fast bend, the car rolled over after hitting the tyre wall. I was only 2 cars behind him and he was out and unhurt. The car had a lot less damage than anyone thought when it was towed back. Once back home reality struck - damage to most of the panels. We had one other car have a 'straight on' at the same bend with minor damage to an off-side wheel arch. To say we took it a bit slower after that was an under statement. Knowing I am captain slow I did not bother with a timed run.
The day was exciting and the weather wonderful. Arrived home all in one piece, which was my main aim.
Stephen
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Sunday 2nd July, George IV Baldock
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Not such a good turnout today, there are quite a few shows and other things going on at the moment, plus the start of the holiday season and the promise of very high temperatures of 90 degrees perhaps made it just too hot to venture to the meeting. We still had a fair number of cars and bodies. We were plagued with the shiny little bugs when we first arrived but they soon blew away in the breeze. It is always great to see new faces and today was no exception. Cliff Fleet, from Potters Bar, is building a Robin Hood Super Spec, he was hoping to see one at the meeting but had to make do with a chat. Hopefully he can meet up with Glyn some time. We met James Radford from Cambridgeshire, he is building a Tiger Avon, not too far from the SVA, and finally Graham Smith and Matt Hilham, Westfield club members(they had been clay pigeon shooting, sounded fun, might like to have a go at that).
Richard Sumner couldn't make it today but Caroline came along, sadly not in the Hood, she can't reach the pedals! As usual the 'girls' had a good laugh and put the world straight while the 'boys' did the car business.
Still no new car for John, so the Mazda came along today, not a hardship, it is a great car to drive and puts the necessary smile on your face, I would buy another one.
The raffle was well supported with donations from some members. A huge thank you for that, it all helps to raise the club funds.
 Alan Hudson's Locust
Doug and Maggie's Tiger with a scooter club in the background
Ron Clements standing in front of James Lambert's Westfield with Ron's car to the right.
Don't forget, there is NOT a meeting at the pub in August, we will be at Duxford Imperial War Museum. If you have not received details about this as yet, let us know. We still have to arrange timing for arriving at the show. Not been told yet when we can gain access to the grounds at Duxford. We thought, as we did a couple of years ago, we could have two pick up points, Baldock Services at Junction 10 on the A1 and then The Little Chef, Royston and then travel in convoy (keeping to the speed limits….) to Duxford. I will email departure times when known. Hope you can make it, again it is a busy time for holidays etc. You will need I D for either SG7 or RHOCaR to get the discount. If you need an SG7 disk let me know and I will email one to you.
John Hamilton-Smith and Cliff Fleet having a look over Mike Shearings new Luego Viento. Looks Great!
Next get together is at Kimbolton Sporting Bears. John will be representing the Tweens again this year, I missed it last year because I was in hospital and I will miss it again this year due to another engagement. Hope you all enjoy your visit to the show. If you didn't manage to get a free ticket, just turn up on the gate and ask to be sent to join the SG7s/RHOCaR pitch, not sure what the entrance fee is, around the £5 mark per person I think. Well worth it if you like a mixture of country show, craft fair and car show.
Attendees:
Hoods: Peter Bell; Hugh Grant; Mike Gouldsborough; Dan plus James Radford; John
Westfield: Mal; Paul Brown; James Lambert; Ron Clements
NG: John Hamilton-Smith
Luego Viento: Mike Shearing and Martin Pidd (Suffolk)
Tiger: Doug and Maggie
Banham Sprint: Ced and son
Locust: Alan Hudson
KitHonda: Mike Montegue (very unusual raffle callings, three hairy ferets - 131….. interesting)
Tintops: Caroline; Bob and Sheila; Bob (a friend of Alan Hudson); Graham Smith and/or Matt Hilham (not sure who was passenger with James Lambert in the Westy)
MX-5: Helen
14 cars and 26 people
Thanks again to those who managed to brave the heat and find time to join the meeting.
Have a good month. See you in August at Duxford (if not before!).
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Haynes Village 100 - written by Peter Bell
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Haynes village, near Bedford held the first of what is intended to be an annual event, called the Haynes 100. It is a village fete to commemorate 100 years of motoring.
I talked my wife into coming along in the Hood and we went to see! There was a large display area in which cars were arranged in order of age. The eldest was a 1903 Vauxhall and went up to a newly registered Audi so really it was the Haynes 103! There were lots of very impressive cars and motor bikes, quite a few early ones, 15 pre 1930! With some of the occupants wearing period clothes. There were Ferraris, Lagondas, Gordon Keeble, Bristol, Noble as well as Austins, Morris, MGs Skoda, and not to forget some Chevvies a beautiful Mustang etc. well over 100 vehicles. Kit cars included an early 60s Tornado tempest, a cobra, 2 Marlins, one with 2.5 BMW running gear, two Gilberns. I wish we had got there a bit earlier to have more time to wander around and chat with the owners. The cars eventually departed in a date order convoy for a circuit around the village on the closed! roads. That left the fete a little empty, there were a few stalls, a band and bouncy castle etc for children. It was well worth going especially on such a nice day so next year perhaps a Robin Hood or two may be included! The car park in the field was impressive too, when I got back to my Hood there was immaculate TR4a and V12 E type parked next to it.
 Dodge
Some oldies 
 Skoda
Peter
Thanks Peter, reports are always welcome
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Cottered Village Festival
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Cottered holds a festival each year, this is the first time we have made it over there. Richard Sumner and Caroline were also there, as were Doug and Maggie. We had been invited a couple of years ago by the 750 Motor Club, but had not made it there before. The whole village is busy with stalls, open gardens (seemed to be a charge for going in them.. not sure) events including Majorettes on the playing field, well done to Richard's two daughters who did very well. Very nice to see Janet Edroff out with two of her old motors, one driven by David's son, Colin. Janet is doing ok following the sad loss of David back in February. A nice day out. We did however miss the Haynes Village 100 which Peter Bell had brought to our attention. He went along as you will have seen from the report above.
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Chiltern Hills Run/Inter-county meet at Bulbourne
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The following report has been written by John Peach, the area secretary for RHOCaR Thames Valley and we thought it should be included here on the web site.
Over to John:
Despite the draw of the British Grand Prix, or the London-Brighton Kitcar run on the same day, there was an enthusiastic response for the Chiltern Hilltop Run on Sunday June 11th, which had been carefully planned by our man Steve from Chinnor in the preceding weeks.
Start point was the Lambert Arms Hotel on the A40, just close to J6 of the M40. It has a lighthouse in the garden so you can't miss it !! Except that I did, going the wrong way along the A40 and having a practice climb on the first hill, leaving clouds of blue smoke visible across most of Buckinghamshire !!
Bacon butties and coffee were on hand at the start, as organised by Steve, with a landlord keen to show us all his facilities. Your area sec has noted this as a possible meeting venue for the future, a quick poll of those present met with approval. Plenty of side rooms, and seperate bars, no television, and a spacious lawn that he allows all sorts of cars clubs to park on. A recent E-Type Club gathering filled the whole football pitch (drool, drool).
Naturally we accepted his offer to use the lawn for the car.
We were joined by Peter Bell, and Stephen Altwasser from the Herts group, for our journey which was to end in a rendezvous with John and Helen Tween and the Herts/SG7s group at the Grand Junction Arms, in Bulbourne. Also along was Peter Wright in his good-looking MGB.
After photo's, Steve gave a briefing of the route and handed out direction notes . Mr Bluesky refused at the first, needing a new dizzy cap. Somehow Irene managed to get one on a Sunday in rural Buckinghamshire, and was able to rejoin us along the route.
A brisk climb up the first of the two 'Aston' hills, on the main A40, with plenty of roadwidth and sweeping curves, was very satisfying, and only ended with a stop to turn into a narrower road for the descent. For the first time that Christine and I can recall, we were NOT head of the convoy, so enjoyed the view of the line of hoods ahead of us sweeping along in the sunshine.
We rode on through Chinnor, past Steve's front door ( was that planned Steve?) until the roller coaster ride over Chinnor's speed humps took a toll on Peter Bell's S7, which died on a narrow section, bringing everyone to a halt, delaying one or two non-sympathisers who then forced their way past hurriedly. (No Samaritans in Chinnor then, Steve ! )
The vibrations had loosened Peter's HT lead, which was quickly spotted and he was soon back in action.
A short ride on, and we assembled for the next photo prior to the climb up Kop Hill. Nice sweeping road again, narrower this time,through trees with the hot sun flashing intermittently, and the descent was just as curvy.
I seemed to have lost sight of the rest on this one, and despite some tyre squeeling, it was a while before catching the tail again.
There seemed to be a lot of other vehicles about by this time, unsportingly clogging up some of the best bits of the route, including the second Aston hill at Aston Clinton. Our route was to take us up and down the same road, as there was no other suitable way down for a robinhood (no decent descent!) and the road surface was of a standard to shake a few bits loose. I was baulked by one of many 4X4 's and a speed limit, so couldn't let it rip fully.
We performed a team U-Turn, and wound our way down back to the main road.
Now, whatever is causing 'Old Smokey' to smoke, is doing its worst when at tickover, such as waiting at junctions. Well we waited and waited and waited while yet another people carrier judged it to be safe enough to exit onto the main road (you know the type, the road has to be clear from London to Oxford before he puts his nose out ). We could have nipped home for a cuppa in the time he took, and Terry is my witness, because he copped the full blue cloud when I eventually moved on, later suggesting I fit a tractor style exhaust stack to carry the smoke skywards .
We received a warm welcome from John, Helen and the Herts contingent on our arrival at the Grand Junction Arms, at nearby Bulbourne. By then the car park was brimming with sunday diners, so formation-parking was not possible, but the large number of our cars made an attractive sight nevertheless.
A good lunch, and jolification was rounded off with a walk along the Grand Union Canal, where a nice boating lady explained to me how the locks work. ( ! ) (John is a lock keeper.....)
Somehow, on our ride home, we passed a pub called The Robinhood, seemed like an appropriate note to end on.
I hope everyone enjoyed their spin out as much as we did, and our thanks go to Steve and Hilary for hatching the idea and for all the planning and preparation.
This trip may feature again at some future date,...... watch for news.
John Peach
Our thanks also to John's gang for co-ordinating this trip. Very successful.
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Inter-county RHOCaR Thames Valley and SG7s/Herts RHOCaR Sunday 11th June 2006
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After much arranging and talking over possible dates with John Peach, the area secretary for Thames Valley RHOCaR, it was decided to do the inter-county meet today. With a forecast of a scorcher the final arrangements were agreed and we headed off towards Tring.
The Oxford gang would leave their starting point of the Lambert Arms on the A40 (joined by two SG7s, Peter Bell and Stephen Altwasser) having first been fed with bacon butties; whilst the SG7s met at the Three Moorhens, Hitchin and left at 11.00 am. The drive through Luton and Dunstable was hot and not that pleasant but the final drive to Bulbourne was great. Passing alongside Dunstable Downs and Ivinghoe Beacon is very pretty, as is the setting of the Grand Union Junction public house at Bulbourne with its large garden and canal towpath. A huge improvement to the pub this time is the car park, which has now been properly surfaced. The pub itself has undergone major refurbishment. The journey there was 22 miles and slightly boring whereas the journey home was nearer 40 miles but far more interesting with very little sitting in traffic.
John was taken out in an MK Indy, 998 Fireblade engined car in yellow with an aeroscreen. He enjoyed it, but is now sure it won't be a bike engined car he chooses to go for. I think he has also ruled out an aeroscreen. The car is on Ebay at the moment but it isn't for him. I just have to be patient!!!!
Good to see John Peach and his merry men, and of course ladies. Met another lady owner/driver, Irene Maguire, she has a wishbone 2B Robin Hood, changed from sliding pillar.
Good job John doesn't to the write-ups for the meetings, in his words "we went there, we met up with people and we came home"… he did thoroughly enjoy the whole trip though. Not a man of too many words, he says it is because he doesn't like to interrupt me!
Attendees:
Thames Valley RHOCaR: John and Christine Peach; Chris Newlands; Steve and Hilary Goodchild; Terry and Kath Barry; Peter Wright (MG); Irene and Claire Maguire; Danny Maguire (Mach1); Peter Ray.
SG7s: Richard and Caroline; Stephen Altwasser; Mike Montegue; John Hamilton-Smith; Paul Brown; John and Helen.
Tintop: Lesley Altwasser
Quick visit from Clive who is selling his MK Indy, very nice car.
Thank you to those who joined in today and made it another trip to remember. We had such a good laugh, makes it so worthwhile. Until next time….
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4th June, Monthly meet at George IV, Baldock
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What a fantastic turnout today! Amazing what a bit of sunshine can do to bring everyone out.
Let's get the weather over and done with: The forecast had been a little 'iffy' but first thing this morning it was set to be a very warm sunny morning at least, with the possibility of a shower later on. Well, it is now nearly 8pm and although it has now clouded over, it is still dry. Thank you to everyone who came along today, as promised last time, because I didn't do a raffle in May, I did a bumper one today with first prize being a bottle of scotch! It was won by Paul Yeoman, on his first visit to an SG7 meeting. Well done! Thanks again to Sandie for selling the raffle tickets and to Mal for doing the 'voice' and calling the numbers out. Did anyone have ticket number 68? If you have that number, let us know, you have won a very sweet hedgehog ornament. If there are no takers, we will put it back in the raffle next time.
It is a credit to the club that we have so many ladies coming along and joining in. We don't talk much about the cars themselves, how much bhp, miles to the gallon etc but we have a good laugh! Oh, and of course, we put the finishing touch to these very pretty cars! Keep on coming girls….
 
Now to the next important thing, the cars. All together we had 27 today plus a few tintops. We recently attended a Westfield meeting at Grove Lock**, near Leighton Buzzard and two of the members (James Lambert and Ron Clements) came along for the first time. Hope they enjoyed the meeting, couldn't have asked for a better day for a first visit. Other first timers were Paul Yeoman with his 2B, Charles Oldham with his Exmo, Nigel Farrow with his 2B Plus, Andy Petrie with his new Westfield, and Tom Brown made the trip in his Hood.
Peter Bell, up to his tricks again (good lad) in encouraging new members, had invited Graham Coles to join the meeting. It turns out that Graham is in fact building three Robin Hoods at the same time. Started with an S7, whilst having to wait too long for parts embarked on a part built 2B and then decided to buy a Lightweight to build! Glutton for punishment or what?
Chris handed out tickets for the Sporting Bears Country Fair at Kimbolton (16th July). If by any chance anyone took a ticket but then can't go, would you please return the ticket to us so it can be given to someone else, rather short on tickets this year. Thank you. John will be at the show but I won't be there again this year. Fingers crossed for a sunny day. Memories of two years ago getting soaked and hiding under the gazebo spring to mind, having said that, many will remember that we were so busy talking that no one noticed the show had closed and the clearing up had started! We do talk a lot, which is why we go. Thanks to Chris for once again arranging for the tickets and club pitch.
Sunday 11th June trip to meet with the Oxford guys is going ahead. Anyone wishing to do the whole run , should contact us and we will put you in touch with Steve who is intending to do it all. Otherwise it is intended to meet at the Three Moorhens, Hitchin, and travel in convoy to the Grand Union Junction public house, Bullbourne to meet up with them there. I will e-mail mid-week to finalise times. Anyone not sure about going? It is a very pretty area; the pub is set alongside the canal. Last time we did this trip, we had a great time, the food was good, it was great to meet up with another area and the drive was fun, if a little worrying. I was stuck at the back of the convoy in the Marlin and had to risk a few reddish lights to keep up with the others! Not because I was driving too slow I hasten to add…. The biggest draw back was the car park. It was awful. Don't know if anything has been done to improve things…. If the weather proves to be too bad, I doubt the trip will go ahead. Please feel free to ring us to check details.
Can we take this opportunity to wish everyone going to Le Mans a safe and fun journey. Bon Voyage!
The next major show is Newark, this takes place on 17th and 18th June.
Now to the long list of names of those who came today:
Hoods: John, Paul Yeoman, Steve Puttrell, Glyn Rust, Peter Bell, Mike Montgegue, Steve and Lesley Altwasser, Mike Gouldsborough, Chris Brown, Nigel Farrow, Richard and Caroline, Hugh Grant, Tom Brown, Rosemary, Charles Oldham and finally Dan.
Westfields: Paul Brown, Mal, Andy Petrie and Michaela, James Lambert and Ron Clements.
Marlin Roadster: Andy and Connor
Dax Rush: Sandie
Dax Cobra: John
NG: John Hamilton-Smith
Banham Sprint: Cedrick
Last but not least, a little black Mx-5
Tintops: Mario and Lisa, Loraine & son, Graham Coles with his wife, daughter and son-in-law, Dan's dad, Carol Brown & family, plus a few others, apologies, didn't get all their names.
27 CARS AND 37+ PEOPLE
** does anyone fancy going to the Westfield meet over the summer? They meet 7.30 pm on the second Thursday of each month. As always, let us know if you are keen to go for an evening ride. It is a fair trek but quite a nice drive.
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Battlesbridge Classic Car Show, Sunday 14th May
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Glyn Rust, area secretary for Essex RHOCaR arranged a club pitch at the show at Battlesbridge, near Chelmsford. Eight cars all together, five from Essex and three SG7s, Stephen, Richard and Caroline, John and myself. Considering the cold dull weather the turnout of classic cars was huge. Plenty of interesting cars to walk round, a good auto jumble, a live band, and loads of antique stalls plus the mill by the river which is an antiques centre. Great if you like that sort of thing.
 
Facilities were lacking i.e. the loos were terrible. There was a £5 entrance fee per person unless you managed to book in advance (if you do that you get in free) so I would have expected decent facilities. Very grim.
A good day out, there is another show there in September if anyone fancies going. Thanks Glyn for the invite.
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Monthly Meeting on 7th May 2006
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Firstly I must apologise for not having faith in the weather and thinking that it would rain, no one would turn up, and therefore it would not be worth doing a raffle. How wrong can you be??? Not a drop of rain, lots of cars, lots of people, some prize donations, but sadly no raffle. Next month will be a bumper raffle, I will try and get a bottle of whiskey for first prize. As I sit typing this report, the heavens have opened and it is absolutely chucking it down out there. Thank goodness it is today and not yesterday, I think a boating club would have been more in keeping! The road is flooding now..
As I said, we had a good turnout, 16 cars and 3 tintops. Surprised to see Mr Montegue venturing out in his Hood with the likelihood of rain. Chris Brown emailed to say it was pouring with rain up his end of the A1 so would not be coming and poor Andy Barbet was poorly at home in bed, hope he gets well soon. Hoping to get to see him and for John to help get the Marlin back on the road.
Nice to see the Lotus 7 joining us along with their friends in a Westfield and the Spyder. They have been to a meeting before so nice to see them back again. Sandie has at last had her car fixed and it is looking very smart again.
John (cobra) had a slight hiccup on the journey to the pub - the throttle cable broke - so in true kit car fashion, out came the tool box and in no time it was fixed.
an interesting way to drive a Cobra..
My John was taken out in Nigel's Westfield for a test run, he is thinking about buying one which means I get to buy his Robin Hood from him. What a shame.....
Good to see Lisa with Mario, she seems to be doing ok since her operation 3 months ago. Nice to catch up with them. Don't think a car is on the cards there, problems with having somewhere to park it. They live up in Melton Mowbray so I have asked them to bring a big pork pie next time for us all to share.
 
A new guy to SG7s, Alan Gadenne, is building a 2B seen here having a look at Steve Puttrells's car parked next to John's very nice NG.
Attendees:
Hoods: Stephen Altwasser, Peter Bell, John Tween, Richard and Caroline, Mike Montegue, Steve Puttrell
Dax: Sandie
Cobra: John
Westfield: Mal, Nigel Cady, Geoff and Margaret Spencer
Tiger: Doug and Maggie
Lotus 7: Geoff and Ann Hodge
Spyder: Alan Piggott
NG: John Hamilton-Smith
and little me in my MX-5.
The plans for the trip to Duxford are progressing well. Nearer the time we will see if anyone wishes to go in convoy as we did when we went last time.
Not sure about the inter-county meet with Oxford. I will have a word with John Peach.
We are hoping to go to the Battlesbrigde show next Sunday (14th). Richard and Caroline are going as well. This is to meet up with the Essex group. Is anyone else interested? Please get in touch if you are.
Then on 21st it is the Walsworth family day in Hitchin. We went last year, where I hate to rub it in but my Robin Hood won a prize for being so nice..., is anyone interested in joining us there? It is just like a village fete really with a few cars on display. Again, let me know and we will give you details.
Our thanks again for all your support.
I have to venture out in a short while so need to find an umbrella!!!
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Old Warden Classic Car Show - Sunday 30th April 2006
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This show is much the same as the Knebworth show but on a smaller scale especially when it comes to the number of kit cars that attend. It is a shame really because the grounds are very pretty, the mansion house looks very interesting. As usual, the compare did a splendid job of talking about every car, every car company, sadly in the end some of us just stop listening! There were four of the SG7s kits there; Doug and Maggie in their Tiger, Richard and Caroline, Steve Putterel and John and me in Hoods. Not so many spectators there either yesterday, perhaps it was the weather forecast that kept them away. Although cold, it didn't rain, unlike this morning when I was going to go to Stoneleigh with John and Mal but declined.... It was as always nice to have a chat and a laugh with the girls! So pleased to see so many ladies taking an interest in the car scene, even if we do talk about everything but cars. At least it gives the guys ears a rest for a while.
You can see from the photos that: The sun did come out now and then; yes, there is a club for Alegro owners! and also Miss Piggy and Kermit came along. I must remember to pre-book next year - worth risking £2, ended up costing us £13 instead. Anyone wishing to have an entry form for Knebworth make sure you ask me and I will sort one out for you.
 
 
You do see some strange people driving around these days!
Trojan Bubble Car
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There is nothing worse on a meeting day than to wake up to bright sunshine streaming through the windows only to have it start to rain as you are driving away from home to go to the pub! Well, that is precisely what happened today. I started out with the top off my mx-5 but after stopping to put petrol in, up went the roof! Not such an easy task for the kits. Had it stayed as slight showers, it would have been ok but at one point the heavens opened and we decided to cover up the cars and take refuge in the pub.
It was nice to actually sit down and chat for a change; we did the raffle, thanks to Caroline for selling the tickets and to Mal for calling the numbers. As you know the raffles fund the site and the club, at the same time giving us all a chance to win something useful or nice (hopefully). Thanks also for the donations received for the prizes, it all helps (always a good opportunity to pass on that unwanted gift!)
Considering the weather we had a good turnout of cars, 11 in all (if you allow me to count my mx-5 as one…) and 10 who arrived in tintops.
Quite amazed to see Alan Rowe venturing out in the MNR Vortx, Chris Brown was showing us his collection of bit he has in his boot, including his ECU.
 
Peter Bell had invited Ed and Hedley Denmark to come to the meeting with their very smart red Caterham, sorry, meant to take a photo but didn’t – has anyone taken any photos? Nice to see new faces as always. Doug and Maggie have their Tiger back on the road again. Sad news though that Pete Cherry has sold his Hood and is hoping to take on another project in the near future.
Attendees:
Kits: Mal, Maggie and Doug, Stephen and Lesley, Richard and Caroline, Alan Rowe, Chris Brown, Peter Bell, Mike Gouldsborough, Ed and Hedley Denmark, John and of course, last of all, me with my mx-5.
Tintops: Sandie and John, Keith Herridge (he has a Cobra for sale), Simon and Laura Ball, Pete Cherry, Chris, Tom Brown, Jason and Jane (2b rebuilder)
11 cars – 25 bodies
Apologies from Andy Barbet (who preferred to go to Clacton...) and Bob and Sheila
There has been a fair amount of interest shown in both the run with the Oxford guys on 11th June and the trip to Duxford on 6th August so it looks promising that we will go ahead and arrange these two trips out. Trying to get the Duxford trip promoted by RHOCaR to get more people involved and turning up on the day. I know it seems a long way off but time will go very quickly as it always does. That reminds me, I booked the Christmas dinner date at the pub on Sunday for 3rd December at 4pm. The pub is under new management but hopefully they will maintain the standard we have been used to! I met with Caroline and Paul the new manageress and assistant and they are happy to still have us meet at the pub.
Thanks for making the effort to come along on Sunday, hope to see some of you at Detling next weekend (we are going on Sunday).
Finally, the programme with Rizla should be shown on Tuesday 4th April on ITV1 at 9.45pm, remember to set your videos. The write up in the Sun tv magazine says: 'Take my mother-in-law: Gill moves in with daughter Julie and her car-mad husband Andy. Although he earns four times the amount his wife does, after he has paid the bills all of Andy's money is spent on his kit-car, leaving Julie and their two children feeling unloved and neglected. When Gill moves in with the Essex family, the first thing she does is arrange for his beloved car to be towed away while he is at work, and during the ensuing argument Andy is shocked to learn how his family feels. While his attitude improves over the week and he reconnects with his wife and children, they all wonder how long it will last once Gill has returned home.' Should be fun to watch! Sad though, that he sold his car just after the programme....
Until next time, take care and safe driving… and watch the speed limits if you are in Stevenage!
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March 5th, George IV Baldock
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When you regularly do meeting reports it makes the passing of time so much more obvious. To think we have already had two meetings this year! We are constantly making plans and trying to think of interesting places to go or things to do. John Peach is trying to arrange an inter-county meet and will be getting back to us with a date sometime in the near future. We have also been looking into attending Duxford on the weekend of the August meet, instead of going to the Motor Museum at Stondon. Still working on this one but some feedback would be appreciated as to whether any of you would like to go there. On that particular weekend, there is a big car show and we would have a pitch within the showground itself. It won't be cheap but anyone who went before with us will know that it is worth the money and with a car show thrown in, it should be better value than ever. Please let me have your comments as to whether you would be interested in such an outing.
We are hoping to go to an Essex meet to join Glyn Rust and his merry men. Their meeting is held the last Sunday each month. As soon as the weather warms up we will get in touch to see if anyone else is interested in an outing over to Chelmsford.
The meeting this weekend was as bleak as the photos show, although the sun was shining, it was bright with lovely blue skies but at the same time the wind was chilly. We had a good turnout of cars, 12 in all.
 
Hugh and Marcus Grant came along with their car for the first time. We saw this car at the rolling chassis stage so they have done very well to finally get it through the SVA and on the road. Hope to see them as regulars now.
Chris, Bob and Stephen giving some useful advice no doubt!
Good to meet Chris and Nigel. Nigel owns a red Westfield, hope they will join us again in the future. Chris has a Dax.
It won't have gone unnoticed that we now have a proper club banner. It has been useful to have the RHOCaR banner up until now but the SG7 one will give better publicity in this local area. Our thanks to the supplier for doing such a good job. It will be useful at events such as Knebworth to have both banners on display.
Still no news as to when Rizla's tv debut will be shown. It was due to be on 7th March but has been moved to April as far as we know. We will let you all know when we get another date.
Attendees:
Kits: Stephen & Lesley, Chris, Mal, Hugh & Marcus Grant, Eddie and Cherry Martins, John & Sandie, Mike Gouldsborough, Chris & Nigel (Westfield) Steve Putterell, Troy & Mick (Mach 1), John and Finally Helen (mx-5 with new Rage exhaust system)
Tintops: Andy & Connor, Richard & Caroline, Tom Brown, Bob & Sheila, Colin & Julie, Dave and Dave Levett (Builder super spec). If I have forgotten/missed anyone let me know.
Motorbike: Mike Montegue
Shanks' Pony: Paul Brown
12 cars and 31+ people
NEXT MEETING 2ND APRIL 2006
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SUNDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2006 - MONTHLY MEETING AT GEORGE IV, BALDOCK
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Well done to all those who braved the chilly day to come along to the first meeting of the year. 29 people, 11 cars and 3 children, mustn't forget them, they could be the enthusiasts of tomorrow!
Good to see a few new faces again, Glyn brought a friend with him, Nick Hancock from Epping. This was the longest run Nick has done so far in his SuperSpec. Neil Bray from Jacks Hilll Motors came along, sorry to miss him, he arrived after I had left. Good too to see a couple of old faces from the Norfolk group, Andy Petrie and Mike Shearing with their respective partners. We arrived to find an old caravan parked up, John wondered if it could be used as our club house??
Attendees:
Kits – Peter Bell John Tween Nick Hancock (Epping) Glyn Rust Chris Brown Steve Puttrell
Alan Rowe Paul Brown John & Sandie John (NG) Stephen Altwasser
Tintops –
Mike & Lorraine Shearing (Norfolk) Andy Petrie & Michaela (Norfolk) Bob & Sheila Peter Cherry
Mike Gouldsborough Tom Brown + 2 children Andy Barbet & Connor Richard and Caroline
Bob the Builder and his wife Mike Montegue Leslie Altwasser Helen (part time) Neil Bray
 
Just some of the cars Glyn's dash board
Alan Rowe is selling his V8 Robin Hood. If anyone is interested please get in touch with Alan direct or via us.
John has suggested that at the next meeting we should run a convoy through the tunnel if it is open by then.
We have been told by Rizla that the date for the showing of the tv programme he was involved in is due to be 21st February. Keep an eye on the tv listings....
Next one Sunday 5th March
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