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| MEETING REPORTS 2009 |
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The last event of the year has been for the past few years a Christmas meal held at the George IV pub where we hold the meetings.
It was a good meal, enjoyed by all who came along. We had the usual raffle, quiz, good food, a few drinks, lots of laughs and chatter and then it was all over for another year. I sent an email to the pub to thank them for their efforts to make our evening a success.
Attendees:
Bob & Carol Howes, Stephen & Lesley; Bob & Sheila; Richard & Caroline; John & Yvonne; Mike & Shannon; Ian Brooker; Ian, Brenda & Robyn; Chris; Jon & Gill; Eve & Alan; John & Helen
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Diary dates will be advised in the next week or so for 2010. Look forward to seeing you after Christmas at the pub on 3rd January, same time, same place.
Take care, don't eat too much and don't drink and drive!
Thank you for your support this year, let's hope 2010 is a lot more settled that 2009 and things pick up financially for all.
 
 
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Monthly meeting November 09
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Last meeting of the year apart from our Christmas gathering.
What a wash out. What was promising to be a good final meeting was ruined yet again by heavy rain, which only cleared away about 1pm leaving it much too late for anyone to want to venture out.
Never mind, we still had a few come along, mainly to pay the deposits for the Christmas meal but still good to see them. As always, indoor meets are just as much fun, in fact Sunday's turned out to be quite a laugh. Having had a few cheeky comments, rude remarks etc made, I decided to keep a list; the naughtiest was John Hamilton-Smith who was on form with his remarks. He, like the others, you know who you are, are forgiven!
Attendees:
Bob & Sheila, Stephen & Lesley, John & Yvonne, Ian Harrison, Ian Brooker, Mike Montague and me.
Apologies from:
Chris Brown, John (stuck at home with a gas engineer fitting my new cooker) and Bob & Carol
That's all folks for this year. We hope it has been an enjoyable year for you and look forward to seeing you either at the Christmas do or next year. First meeting will possibly be Sunday 3rd January 2010, to be confirmed.
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Monthly meeting 4th October 2009
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What a good turnout for a meeting so late in the year! We had a good selection of cars join us today, 17 including an MR-2 and an MX-5 (yes, my car is sneaking back to the meetings again since the Hood has parted company with us).
Deposits were taken for the Christmas meal; we have booked for 30 people so spaces are limited this year (another group have also booked the same date). If you wish to come, perhaps you could drop me a line so I can at least add your name to the list.
Final deposits require to be paid at the November meeting please.
The sun shone today which made a difference to the attendance as always. The pub itself was very busy and we had a few tintops creep into our space!! The cheek of them J
photo by Richard Larman
Good to see Andy & Michaela from the East Anglian Kit Car Club; we wish them all the very best in their forthcoming wedding and a long and happy future together.
Gavin, from the Essex area of RHOCaR has now set up a website for a newly formed club, Essex Kit Car Club (www.essexkitcarclub.com). Good luck to him and his group. Hopefully we will be able to join in with some of the activities arranged by the club. He is going to raise money to fund the club and website on the same ‘pay as you go’ system we run at the George IV so it will be the same as us with £1 payable each with a bottle of something nice as a prize. As with SG7s all marques of car will be welcome, including sports and classic cars (that means I can go so that’s good).
photo by Richard Larman
We have already started to think of things to do for ‘kit and camp’ next year. It will most likely be in early June, hopefully the weather might be a little warmer than we have experienced at times! I will keep you posted.
Thanks to all those who attended today.
Apologies were received from John H-S, Bob & Carol, Peter Bell and Paul Brown.
Attendees:
Robin Hood: Chris Brown, Stephen & Lesley, Jill & John, Mike Bloomfield
Westfield: Martin Cockman, Ron Clements, Andy & Michaela, John
Fisher Fury: Dave Smith
AGT: Richard Larman
Morgan: Ian Brooker
Tiger: Alan & Eve Whale
Quantum: Ian & Robyn
Marlin: Mike Gouldsborough
MR-2: Chris
MX-5: Helen
Dax: Chris Shilton & Nigel Cady
Tin top: Bob & Sheila, Richard & Caroline, Dave GTST (?, the man who can from the AA)
photo by Richard Larman
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Firstly, an apology to readers for the delay in putting the report onto the website; some of you will know that after the meeting, we went home, packed up the camper and left for our holiday over on the Isle of Wight. So this is the first opportunity to do a write up having returned earlier this morning from what was a fantastic break with lovely warm sunshine most of the time. There were some brilliant sunsets and last night coming over on the 7pm ferry to see the sun setting over the Solent was very pretty indeed. We stayed at Grange Farm, Brighstone and can recommend it as a base to tour the island or just relax as we did most of the time. Quite odd to meet the two water buffalo who live on the farm! If you are heading for the Isle of Wight and want to break the journey, we stayed at Liphook, The Deer's Hut pub - there is a camping field at the back of the pub. It meant that we didn't risk missing the ferry, especially since the M25 is such a nightmare. It is just a short way from the A3 but in very pretty surroundings.
Anyway, back to the meeting:
We had a great turnout of 14 cars; there was plenty of chat, lots of laughs and generally just a good bit of fun.
I did have a moment to worry about though when Caroline, the manager of the pub, asked if we had decided on our Christmas meal date! I had booked it in February but it hadn’t been put in her diary for some reason. Anyway, it is in there now and is definitely on Sunday 6 December at 4pm. Can’t believe I am saying this already, but I will be getting numbers and deposits at the October and November meeting. As in the past, I need deposits (£5 per person) before the end of the meeting on 1 November.
Thanks to those who came along for buying the raffle tickets.
Attendees:
John & Yvonne, Jeff Wilkins, Chris Brown, Jane & John (Merlin), Peter Bell (GTM), Clive & Sara (Viento), Ian Brooker, Richard Larman with his newly acquired car, Chris Shilton, Jill & John (good to see Jill in the driver’s seat – go girl), Alan & Eve Whale, Ian Tabor, John & Helen and Simon Kirby
Two wheels: Mike Montague
Thank you to all who came along and for the support you give to the club.
Next meeting: Sunday 4th October
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Knebworth House Classic Car Show, August Bank Holiday
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See here for the write-up
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August Monthly Meeting, Sunday 2nd
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SUNSHINE!!!!!!!
What a difference it made as well. It seemed a little strange getting ready for the meeting today having said goodbye to my Robin Hood on Friday evening. After the Kimbolton show, I made a quick decision to sell the car and as many of you will already know, it was sold in six days. ‘Arthur’ as the car has always been known as has been bought by Bob Welch, who, I am absolutely sure, will thoroughly enjoy driving and owning it. It was a very sad moment when Bob said he wanted the car, although of course at the same time I was really pleased to get such a quick sale.
So, all attention turned to the Mx-5, now my only pride and joy, so a good wash and shine before setting off to pick up John’s car, which had been on holiday at my mum’s whilst getting the Hood ready for sale. That was a real end of an era, the last time I will have to go pick up a car for a meeting. Mum has already moved her things back into the garage.
We were a few regulars short today - some of the Hoodies had gone to Tan Hill for the weekend (looking at postings on the RHOCaR forum, looks like they had a great time, despite the weather).
The weather certainly brought the cars out to the meeting. We had 18 in the car park today. Yet again we had some newcomers; Matthew Clark with his Kawasaki Green MK Indy and John & Jane with their Merlin FT. Bob Welch, the new owner of my Hood arrived! It was a weird moment seeing a car come into the car park, thinking oh it's a Robin Hood, then noticing the red devil on the roll bar and realising it was Bob. The smile on his face said it all. I won't add a photo, there are lots on here anyway 
Mike Gouldsborough was without a kit for a short while; he had withdrawal symptoms not having one and went out and bought a very nice Marlin Sportster. Good to see him back on the scene.
Back in April’s monthly meeting report, I mentioned Steve Griffith who had bought a part built kit and was having trouble with the new IVA rules and regulations. Things have gone from bad to worse for him with the powers that be demanding more and more alterations be made. Steve is unsure of what to do next, but the dream of getting the car on the road is fading.
Glyn Rust, Essex area sec for RHOCaR is arranging a trip to the Lower Stondon Motor Museum for Sunday 9th August. He will be at the Baldock Services to meet up with anyone wanting to tag along from 1030 leaving around 11am. Not sure we will be able to join in this time but it is well worth a visit if you haven't been before or just fancy going again. Get in touch with me for further details.
some of the gang
Attendees:
MK Indy: Matthew Clark
Dutton Phaeton: Richard Larman
Merlin FT: John & Jane
Sherpley: Bob & Carol
Tiger: Alan & Eve Whale
Locost: Paul Dancer, Andrew
Fisher Fury: Dave Smith
Quantum Extreme: Ian Harrison
Marlin: Mike Gouldsborough
NG: John & Yvonne
Morgan: Ian Brooker
Robin Hood: Bob Welch, Jill & John - it had looked like RHOCaR wasn't going to be represented until they arrived :-)
Banham Sprint: Ced & Lorraine
Westfield: John & Val, Martin, John
Mx-5: Helen
Tintops: Bob & Sheila, Steve Griffiths, David
As always a huge thank you to all those who came along. Next meeting is on SUNDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER
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We attended the show again as we have done for the past few years. Good to catch up with some of the Norfolk guys; long time no see, and everyone else of course.
As for the show itself, it was generally felt that there were not so many stalls to browse round although there were still plenty of cars. Perhaps the weather forecast played a big part in the lack of sellers.
It rained again, an official said it had only ever rained three times in the umpteen years he had been helping at the show. I would disagree with that, I can think of at least four since we have been going.... When I say it rained, I mean it really rained!
Met up with: Bob Rowell, Andy & Michaela, Martin Pidd, Paul Taylor, Mike & Lorraine, Dave, Trevor & Linda, Kev & son, Martin, John & Yvonne, Steve & Lesley, John & Jill, Graham Coles, Mal & Lynn Gwynne, John.
Steve and Lesley arrived with their new caravan in tow. I got into trouble for asking Steve via email the night before: "How the hell do you get in there" insinuating that he is on the large size. I lived to tell the tale.
When talking to my mum's neighbour about Steve's caravan, he told me about a caravan built in the cellar of their house in Suffolk by his dad and then towed all over the place by a BSA motor bike and side car. I apologise for the quality of the photos, I took a picture of the photos with my camera, you will get a good idea of what it is like though.
His dad apparently built six caravans in all. Just thought you might like to see this.
 
Perhaps Steve isn't as mad as I think!
As always great to see everyone.
Made a big decision on the way home; I was going to sell my car. The old back problem rearing its ugly head again. Dropped the car at my mum's, went home in the comfort of my Mx-5, announced to John that I wanted him to put my car on the market, he said 'when', I said Now! So he put a post on the RHOCaR forum. Later that evening I put it onto Pistonheads. I had 6 enquiries about it, one of which resulted in my shaking hands on a deal with its future new owner, Bob, he and his family live in Brentwood; as soon as the cheque clears he will come and pick it up. See, it can be done, even in these difficult times. I hope he has as much fun with it as John and I have had since we bought it at the beginning of time.... I am sad and I will be even sadder on Saturday :-(
Martin of East Anglia Kit Cars Club has done a more detailed write up on the show and this is the link to his website to see what he has to say about it:
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk/kimboltoncastle.htm
He also has a few photos to look at, something I forgot all about doing, didn't take a single one!
Next meeting: 2nd August 2009, George IV Pub, Baldock SG7 6LZ
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Not as exciting as John's report of the trip over to Germany but still worth a mention. Whilst some were galavanting over in Europe, John and I were in Scotland/Lake District/Yorkshire for two weeks and only just made it to the pub in our tintop for 12pm to find there were only two cars in the carpark. We wondered if we had got the right day ....
Not a particularly eventful meeting, we did have some newcomers and our newly married member, Mike Montague to whom we send our congratulations. He was married over in the USA and is now waiting for Shannon to join him over here. Red Tape.
It was a dry meeting which brought out 12 cars so all in all not bad, oh and our Fiesta, still with topbox and packed full of holiday stuff.
 
Newcomers
Alan & Eve Whale - Tigercat, from Bishops Stortford
Jill & John Bridgeman - Robin Hood, Superspec
Paul Silom - Westfield
Ian Tabor - Tiger Supercat, from Baldock
The others:
James & Julian, Steve & Lesley, Bob & Carol, Paul Dancer, Ian Harrison, Ron Clements, Carol & John, Martin, Ian Brooker, Mike Montague and John & Helen, not forgetting Charlie, the Cairn Terrier.
Thanks for making the effort to come along. Next meeting is on proper Sunday, which is 2nd August.
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Nurburgring by John Hamilton-Smith
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John went with some other guys to the Nurburgring and has kindly put finger(s) to keyboard to provide a write up for us for which we say a huge THANK YOU.
These guys are famous in France now....
John (centre of picture) Stephen (left)
It was the SG7 and RHOCaR Clubs' combined journey to Nurburgring to drive the Nordschleife. The sun was blazing when we all met up at Dover. Stephen Altwasser (Robin Hood) leading, Steve Adams (Robin Hood), Ian & Carol Johnson (Robin Hood), John & Andrew Hamilton-Smith (NG), with Hugh Baily (Range Rover) riding at the back. The Norfolk Line ferry crossing was calm, and shortly after we drove out into the French countryside, stopping briefly near Vimy Ridge at the huge portal to the Cabaret Rouge cemetery where over 7600 British soldiers lie buried from the Great War.
Following a pleasant night's wining and dining at our first hotel at Charleville-Mezieres we drove off into the forests of the Ardenne. By Bastogne we were becoming accustomed to everyone smiling and waving as our convoy passed by. The Europeans simply loved our cars. We visited the massive Mardasson Hill memorial to the Battle of the Bulge, and continued forward in a short shower of light rain as we entered Germany at Dasbourg Bridge. That afternoon we arrived at Hotel Wilhelmshone in the Eifel Mountains where we were warmly greeted by Jacqueline Miller, the owner and lined up for a group photo.
Though tired, we couldn't wait to motor the 14 short miles to the Nordschleife to check the place out and possibly slip in a quick circuit in the warm evening sunshine. As we pulled into the trackside marshalling area we heard an ambulance rush out. Unfortunately, a Porsche had just wiped out a BMW M3, the wreckage was spread over 3 corners, and the marshalls closed the track for the rest of the day to clear things up. Shortly after, a friend of the driver was in the ticket booth handing over documentation for copying, and it is safe to assume a hefty bill from the Authorities would be handed out to the culprit.
typical Nordschleife corners
Nurburgring 
The following day was spent touring through the picturesque villages of the Eifel Mountains, visiting castles like Mandersheider. That evening we returned to the Nordschleife track in perfect weather. Stephen Altwasser, Steve Adams, and John & Andrew Hamilton-Smith decided to go for it. We bought our tickets, passed under the control barrier, and we were off. For a few metres we picked our way through a short section of the Grand Prix circuit before turning onto the track proper. The 20km dash through the steep hills and blind summits was a memory for life, tyres shrieking at every twist and turn. At the 9km mark we had a brief glance of spectators from the Cafe Bistro waving as our cars sped by, the sound from our exhaust pipes reverberating from the adjacent wooded forests. Around the 13km mark we entered the Carousel our offside suspension compressing alarmingly at we turned the tight left hander. At the 16km mark we rushed downhill to the two hard right handers, vaguely aware of people sitting on the adjacent grass banking waving before blasting uphill again. By now we were hooked, and knew why everyone loved the circuit. Just after the 18km there is another tricky section of curves before entering the home straight, where each of us let rip as we raced for the finish. All too soon we were parked back adjacent the Grune Holle restaurant, all 174 corners behind us, with the biggest smiles possible.
 Eltz Castle
The next day was wet, and whilst some went for drive to Eltz Castle hidden in the Mosel Valley, others visited the pretty town of Cochem. That evening, Ian & Carol Johnson and Hugh Baily raced the Nordschleife, lead by more rounds from Steve Adams. We enjoyed a great meal in a pretty restaurant at Schonbach, and opened a bottle of bubbly to celebrate (and opened the usual bottles of red to wash it all down).
Steve & Stephen leaving the track
The following day we headed back through the beautiful Eifel, having bought our Nordschleife bumper stickers to advertise our efforts. The journey home was great, different cars leading at different times, with Hugh defending the rear from curious locals trying to get too close.
At Louvroil, half the village turned out to wave us off, including the local press and Town Mayor. Who knows, SG7 and RHOCaR Clubs may appear on a French website before long.
At Eperlecques we visited the Blockhouse where V1 and V2 rockets were to be launched against London. The final day we visited the beaches at Dunquerque and stood on what little remains of the paddle steamer 'Devonia' deliberately beached during Operation Dynamo. Our last meal together was spent in a little cafe nearby, before returning to the port for embarkation on our ferry home.
We said our goodbyes as the ferry berthed at Dover, all agreeing that it had been a great journey in super company. But then it's not so suprising that we all got on so well together as our two clubs have a really friendly bunch of members. Let's hope it's not too long before we are off together again.
John
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Stockwood Park, Classic Car Show
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Sunday 14th June 2009
Graham Coles from RHOCaR arranged for tickets to the show at Stockwood Park, Luton. This had been attended in the past by Graham and was considered well worth a visit.
It was a great show, caught up with Peter Bell, Steve and Lesley Altwasser, Graham and quite a few other members of RHOCaR. There were plenty of cars, buses, coaches, hot rods, auto jumble and other stalls to have a look round. It was very well supported and, of course, the weather must have played a huge part in bringing out all the classics etc. it was a lovely sunny day.
Well worth going. Booking in advance got us in for free, otherwise it was £4 on the day.
 
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Monthly meeting, Sunday 7th June
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The forecast for the day was dire! We woke up to pouring rain, even Charlie our dog turned round and came back indoors rather than go for a usually much enjoyed walk! We made the decision to leave the kits behind but as we left home the skies brightened up, changed from grey and black to blue and white and eventually out came the sun. We sat in the car park for a while and thought that we had the wrong day! The first photo tells it all…
We decided to head into the pub and sit at the bar until someone else turned up. After quite a wait, Richard arrived (tintop), followed soon after by Stephen & Lesley, in their Robin Hood. At least we weren’t going to be Billy Nomates. That has, so far, never happened. Even in the very early days we always had at least four cars.
I made a management decision to not do a raffle; no point when it is unlikely to make a profit to subsidise the website etc once the cost of the prizes is taken into account. So a freebie today!
Considering the weather we actually had a reasonable turnout of seven kits. Richard Larman’s Dutton Phaeton made its debut appearance. Martin Cockman, not seen since some time last year, joined us with his Westfield. Good to see everyone that came; they were braver than us! I guess had we left home a bit later, we might have changed our minds but we like to get to the pub early to greet you all! Some of the guys from the Locost forum were going to come along but called off their outing with the forecast being so bad; hope they come another time.
Attendees:
Dutton Phaeton: Richard Larman & Charlie
Morgan: Ian Brooker
Robin Hood: Steve & Lesley
Quantum: Ian Harrison
Westfield: Martin Cockman, Ron Clements
TVR: Mal Gwynne
Tintop:
Andy, Connor & Luke, Richard Sumner, Helen & John
Shanks’s Pony:
Paul Brown
Apologies received from: Bob & Sheila, John Hamilton-Smith, Chris Brown
Sed & Lorraine, Dave Smith, Peter Bell, Bob Howes
7 Kits 16 People
NEXT MEETING: SUNDAY 12TH JULY 2009
Finally, thank you to those who managed to get to see us.
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I am impressed with how many people actually read and take notice of emails and what is written on here! I don’t think anyone went to the meeting last week. Considering how many meetings we clashed with on Sunday, Battlesbridge, Northants meeting, Anglia meeting and family commitments, we had an impressive 17 cars parked in the car park. Strange how when the regulars are absent, we seem to get new people and/or people we see only once in a
blue moon.
 Little and Large (the cars, not the ladies!)
This month, Becks and Pete, with their black Luego Viento (built and co-owned by Becks and her dad Pete) made the effort to come and see us and brought a couple of friends with them in their MGF. Great to share a laugh or two with them, mainly at poor John’s expense! I can’t say any more, just ask me if you want to know ;-)
Jeff Wilkins joined us in his black Luego Viento also. He is welcome to return as much as he likes, he gave me a nice flattering greeting so he wins some brownie points from me!
Dave Armour, who came to a meeting some time ago, ventured out on Sunday with his Mach 1.
We also had a Morgan, owned and driven by Ian Brooker. We joked with him asking whether he minded being with kit cars? He said not at all, he lives locally and will no doubt come back in the future.
What else, oh yes, we were joined by two completely new guys, Dave Smith with his Fisher Fury and Ian Humphreys with his Dutton Melos. We hope they found the meeting enjoyable and will come back again. Talking about Dutton, Richard Larman who has recently joined us as a builder, has decided to stop building and is hoping to buy a Dutton Phaeton. Look forward to seeing that soon! As Richard knows, it is my favourite car (?). It looks good from the photos.
 
James Warner was due to make his debut at the meeting with his newly SVA’d Warner R4, already seen at Stoneleigh (photo below in the Stoneleigh report). Sadly, he split the petrol tank so was unable to join us. We will have to wait until June now to see it in the car park.
Trevor, with the all aluminium body work Locost, joined us with his friend Dave. Trevor has been designing and constructing a solid roof for his car. Looking at his photos, it makes the car have a slight ‘hot rod’ look. It apparently takes 15 minutes to fit the hood; to do so, the aero screen has to be removed and the full hood fitted in its place. The doors are shaped like a gull wing, allowing for ease of getting in and out of the car and open ‘suicide’ style (hinging at the back). Fascinating to see the pictures of how he started with a wooden framework and ended up with such an interesting finished hood. I hope we don’t have to see it too often because that would mean that it is raining! It looks good on the photos so do look forward to seeing it some time in person.
So, apart from the usual chatter, micky taking, raffle, and generally having a good time, nothing much more to report. We still have a couple of spaces for the camping trip on Friday this week. Not sure the weather is going to be fabulous but they do get it wrong much of the time with the forecasting. Let me know if you are interested in going.
Chris Brown has tickets left for going to Le Mans, get in touch if you are interested. Time is running out! He also has tickets for Kimbolton Castle in July. We will be dishing these out at the June meeting. If you want a ticket and can’t get to the next meeting, get in touch and one can be mailed to you.
There is an ad on the for sale section of various spare parts for sale by Andrew in Doncaster. Check it out to see if there is anything of interest to you.
Finally, as always, a huge thank you to those who made it to the meeting, some travelling a fair distance to be with us. The meetings continue to be friendly and well attended and hopefully will stay like that. Many have commented that it is nice to come to a mixed meeting rather than just a particular ‘breed’ of car; hope it continues!
Attendees
Robin Hood: Steve & Lesley, Chris Brown, Mike Bloomfield, Helen
Westfield: John
Dutton Melos: Ian Humphreys
Mach 1: Dave Armour
Fisher Fury: Dave Smith
Sherpley: Bob & Carol
Viento: Becks & Pete, Jeff
GTM: Peter Bell
Quantum Extreme: Ian Harrison
Locost: Trevor, Dave, Paul Dancer
Morgan: Ian Brooker
TIN TOPS
Bob & Sheila, Chris & Nigel (Nigel has sold his Westfield and now has a BMW Z4!)
Chris and Becks’ two friends
27 people - 17 cars
Next meeting: Sunday, June 7th
Finally, a little photo for the ladies out there and of course male gardeners!
 a lovely white camelia from our garden!
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Bank Holiday Weekend May 3rd and 4th
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Bank Holiday Weekend May 3rd and 4th
Stoneleigh National Kit Car Club
At the beginning of the week, the forecast had been promising, however, the nearer the weekend came, the more the forecast changed. From the promise of a warm sunny spell, we now had the prospect of cold, dull, rain, wind, and anything else unpleasant. Saturday had been lovely, hot, sunny, perfect for kit car outings.
However, Sunday came and we were in for a bit of a shock. It was COLD. We set off, had a good although chilly journey with a stop over at Watford Gap Services.
We had passed a convoy of four coaches a short while before. By the time we had parked up and got out of the seatbelts, the coaches had also pulled in. A huge party of Chinese people streamed from the coaches heading straight for the conveniences! Bad timing or what? Considering the size of the queue and the amount of people, by the time we were strapped back in the car and filling up with petrol the four coaches drove away and back onto the M1. Amazing, and very noisy!
Anyway, back to the show. It was good as usual; at one point there were over 120 Robin Hood cars counted on the club pitch. Westfield had a very good show also, although there wasn’t anyone manning the marquee, just an empty tent. We were impressed with the welcome shown by Chris and Steve to anyone coming to the club gazebo. Plenty of tea and coffee, stickers, mugs. Apologies to James Warner, he had made it to the show in his newly SVA’d car, I would have liked to seen it. We will have to wait until the next meeting. Good to catch up with some of the local guys and to finally put names to faces with Ian and Steve from the RHOCaR committee. There was to be an AGM later in the day but we had left before that took place.
The show itself, as regards manufacturers, was good. Some lovely shiny motors, it would be very hard to choose one to take home, although I still like the Sebring, Austin Healey look-alikes. Memories of going round the track at Snetterton spring to mind! John liked the Gardner-Douglas, Lola replica.
It was very well attended and by lunch time, the halls were pretty packed. There were the usual stalls outside selling all sorts of stuff ranging from socks to tents, hats etc and plenty of stalls inside selling everything you need to complete a build or make changes to the car you own.
We had a good trip back home, although I was rudely woken by a police siren wailing in the fast lane! Yes, I was asleep!
Well worth attending this show, no doubt we will make the trip again next year.
A huge thank you to those who supplied the following photos. Some very nice pictures:
don't mean to be a kill joy but how do they get away with the safety issues when they do this?
The R4 Built by James Warner, making its debut at this show.
 Jago jeeps
Richard's Jago won 2nd prize on the Jago Owners Club pitch
 cobra
 Ultima
 
 
 
when this becomes ..................................................................... this
Monday, Old Warden, Classic Car Show
Hmmmmm. When I woke up, John said ‘it is cloudy out there’. I answered ‘it is always better to start cloudy and then the sun comes out’. HA! Was I wrong again?
Yes. It stayed cloudy, and cold, and windy, and it rained. Weather forecast from my mum, who many of you know gives a good and accurate forecast, usually, said there might be a few spots of rain but nothing much until later. Sorry to say, she got it right for Stevenage but very wrong for Old Warden. It rained enough to need the hoods on the cars. Met up with Bob and Carole with the Sherpley, Mike Bloomfield, and later on Sandie and John arrived. Dave Hall, with his Jag, had sent me a text while we were at Stoneleigh, asking where we were. He didn’t realise we weren’t going until today! Sorry to miss him. By all accounts it was far busier yesterday and no doubt the better day to go. ‘Mayhem’ was the word Dave used to describe it.
This year the show had been moved to a different field by the lake. It didn’t seem to have the same atmosphere somehow. Perhaps the weather put a damper on the proceedings as it always does. By lunchtime loads of cars had left and there were very few members of the public walking around. Shame really.
We decided to cut our losses and come home to get warm. Not sure if we will go next year, always seems to be so hit and miss with the weather. It is a shame we have so many bank holidays so early in the year when it is still cold.
Reminder: Monthly meeting is Sunday 10th May
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Detling National Kit Car Show
For various reasons (falling on Easter weekend, decorating, bad back, bad weather forecast etc) I thought I would sit this show out and put the time to more use getting sorted out at home. Richard had said he was going to go in the Jago Jeep, which has a roof, and I suggested to John that perhaps he could ask Richard if he could go with him, which is what they did. Two’s company and three’s a crowd (another reason for not going); the two of them had a great day and as in previous years, John felt it was a very good show. Next year I will try and make sure I go!
John said it was good to meet up with some new faces and of course our ‘old’ mates from the Herts area.
Vindicator cars have built a rather interesting specimen; we leave it up to you to decide if you like it or not.
A nice row of Beach Buggies was on display:
A reminder that the May meeting of SG7s/RHOCaR is on May 10th. There will no doubt be someone that doesn’t read this, their email or have listened to me telling them!
Stoneleigh is next so hope to go with John and meet up with all the guys and gals.
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Firstly, a little nag! We have to respect other pub users and the management so please try not to create too much noise when leaving the premises. I would hate to be forced to find a new venue!!! Thanks.
We certainly can’t complain about the turnout for the meeting this month. We had 16 cars, one new one to the club, Andy Semon with his Locost with Westfield body panels.
We also had two newcomers who are building; Richard Larman who is building a scratch build Locost and Steve Griffiths (no, not our original Steve Griffiths, another one) who bought a part built Robin Hood 2B, which is now finished.
A cautionary tale: Having purchased the part build 2B, Steve explained to us the problems he has had with the SVA system. Having completed the car and put it in for its SVA, it was rejected since he hadn’t built the car from day one, which means the car cannot pass. Not a problem, he went back to the original builder/owner who provided the necessary guarantees of the work undertaken etc. However, by the time this was all sorted out, Steve was told that he was now too late to retake the SVA and it would now have to go through the IVA in order to get it on the road. The downside of this is that the cost for the IVA is £450 compared to £190 for the SVA.
The moral of the story is: make sure if you buy a part built car, the original builder can provide photos of each stage of the build, the receipt for the donor vehicle and the log book, and keep every receipt for each item bought. Check out the RHOCaR forum for more details on the IVA, it is in the construction/SVA section posted by ‘SPG’ http://www.transportoffice.gov.uk/crt/repo...r-Cars-V3.2.pdf . (If Steve reads this, perhaps he could give me a little more information about his problems with the SVA)
Chris Brown arrived just after us, but soon left to go to the rescue of Steve & Lesley. They had broken down in St Albans! About an hour or so later, both cars arrived at the pub. It turned out the clutch cable had broken on Steve’s car, and, as luck would have it, Chris had a spare with him (as you do), which was soon fitted and away they both went.
Richard Larman came to the meeting for the first time; he lives just round the corner to us so it is nice to have another local car being built. We look forward to seeing the car at a meeting some time in the future; he is not in a hurry with the build, just taking his time. Hope to see him again at the next meeting.
Alan Rowe came in his Lotus Elise, he is still a fair weather driver, so with a good forecast he decided to come and join us.
We received a number of apologies from those who couldn’t come to the meeting, namely:
John Hamilton-Smith; Bob & Sheila; Mal; Paul Brown; Ced & Lorraine. They all had good excuses for not coming so they are all forgiven! We appreciate hearing from you when you can’t come, so thank you for getting in touch.
Attendees:
Robin Hood: Graham Coles; Dan; Chris Brown; Peter Bell; Mike Bloomfield; Paul Carter; Steve & Lesley; Helen
Westfield: Ron Clements & Peter; John
Jaguar: Dave Hall
Quantum: Ian Harrison
Ginetta: Dennis
Locost: Kev; Andy & Tom
Lotus: Alan Rowe
Tintops:
Dan, Sarah & Mike, Richard & Charlie Larman; Kevin Sydes; Steve Griffiths;
Mike Montague; Chris; Abby & Mike
The May meeting will not be on the first Sunday, but the second (10th) This is so as not to clash with Stoneleigh (Kit Car Show) and Old Warden (Classic Car Show)
There are still a few places available for the camping weekend, get in touch if you are interested.
Finally, the usual thank you to those who came along and made a very interesting meeting. Look forward to seeing lots of cars at the next meeting.
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Well, what a result, after all the nagging and email reminders, John posting on the Locost forum and me on the RHOCaR forum, we managed to entice an amazing 20 cars today. I think, as is normally the case, the better weather forecast without much likelihood of rain, brought the cars out of the winter quarters.
It was great to see Sandie and John, not seen them for a long time with their cars. The Cobra still sounds a beast when it comes down the hill and into the car park. Mike Gouldsborough also put in an appearance having missed loads of meetings last year with his Marlin Berlinetta.
Seeing so many cars certainly adds interest to those going to the pub just for a drink or lunch. It is fun hearing people saying how nice the cars are, they ask questions, kids want to sit in the cars; it gives them something different to talk about. The pub continues to make us feel welcome there. Just a reminder to those who come to the meetings, can you try not to disturb the other customers with excessive revving and roaring up the road as we leave; we don’t want to upset the manager and get thrown out!
We had the usual raffle, bottle of Vodka, chocolates and a screen de-icer. I think Stephen was a little disappointed when Lesley chose the sweets rather than the booze!
A few jokes were exchanged, lots of laughs, chatter and the usual banter between certain members, no names mentioned.
I nagged Graham Coles (Area Sec for Beds & Bucks) to set a venue and a date for a meeting to try to build up his area. Perhaps he needs a little more encouragement from other members! We would love to have another monthly meeting to go to. COME ON GRAHAM!
Greenwood Exhibitions have sent out application forms for their shows at Old Warden (May 3rd & 4th), Barleylands (11th and 12th July), Knebworth (August Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday), and the London to Brighton rally. If anyone wishes to attend these venues and has not received their own copy from Greenwood, either download a copy from www.classicmotorshow.com or pick up a copy from our next monthly meeting on 5th April. Pre-booking gets you in the shows for £2.50 per car instead of approx £7 per person. Worth the gamble that bad weather might keep you away.
PLEAE NOTE! If you want to go to the Old Warden show, you will need to get your application in before 1st April; you have to book no less than 28 days ahead of an event. Otherwise you have to pay full price on the gate.
Is anyone likely to be camping at the Knebworth show this year? It is an extra £4.50 and has to be booked in advance although you can do this much nearer the time by contacting Greenwood by phone. (Camping is for the Sunday night only).
When you are filling in the forms for Knebworth and Old Warden, please mark it that you are part of the SG7 Club as we will be booking in as a club pitch for both of these events. Old Warden will be attended by us only on the Monday (the Sunday is the National Kit Car Show at Stoneleigh and we hope to go there) Also, a reminder that because of Stoneleigh and Old Warden, the monthly meeting for May will be the second Sunday 10th May.
With regard to Barleylands, Glyn Rust from Essex should be arranging this one, so if you are interested in going either contact him direct, through the RHOCaR forum or get in touch with me and I will pass your details to Glyn.
Check out the diary section on here to see what else is going on this year.
Thanks to all those who came along today.
Attendees:
Robin Hood: Chris Brown, Paul Carter, Mike Bloomfield, Stephen & Lesley,
Graham Coles, Dan, Helen
NG: John Hamilton-Smith
Locost: Paul Dancer
Westfield: Nigel Cady, John
Dax: Sandie, Chris Shilton
Cobra: John Balm
TVR: Mal
Luego: Simon Kirby
Sherpley: Bob & Carol
Quantum: Ian Harrison
Marlin: Mike Gouldsborough
Jaguar: Dave Hall
Tintops: Bob & Sheila, Dan & Sarah
Lastly, we were a little worried by the buzzard that was flying overhead; hope it wasn’t waiting for one of us to ‘go’ so that it could have its lunch ;-)
Until next time, Sunday 5th April.
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Lower Stondon Motor Museum - 15th February
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Glyn, Area Secretary for Essex RHOCaR, had made a suggestion that we could do a joint Essex/Herts trip to the Lower Stondon Motor Museum. The date was set for Sunday 8th February. All was looking good, but then it snowed. We decided to postpone it to the weekend after especially when the owners of the museum contacted Glyn to request we postpone it since the car park was under a few inches of snow.
So, with a new date set, unfortunately some of those who would have made the 8th were unable to come on 15th.
We did the usual and met up at the Baldock services with Glyn and the Essex guys (in fact only Glyn supported the event from Essex – he told me he had become separated from his convoy – I believed him until he owned up and said he was alone!). It truly was an inter-county RHOCaR event with the following areas represented:
Essex – Glyn Rust
Hertfordshire – Mike Bloomfield, Ian & Robin Harrison, John, Helen
Northamptonshire - Shaun Egan
Bedfordshire – Graham Coles, Dan, Paul & Damien Carter, Tom Hayden
Thames Valley – Graham Bowden
Leicestershire – Phil Shelton, Duncan Price
There was one other kit there, sadly I didn’t get to find out who he was! If anyone knows perhaps you could let me know, also if I have put you with the wrong area, again let me know.
We were also joined by Mike Montague, Kevin Sydes, Graham’s family, James Warner.
 
First thing we noticed was that the masts had been cut down on the life-size model of the Endeavour – I think down to pressure from locals who objected to it, and something to do with planning permission. Shame, it was quite a sight to see it in the middle of the countryside!
The museum is yet again undergoing changes, mainly to the tea room and entrance but also two of the ‘halls’ had been opened up into one bigger hall. Many of the cars had been moved around so it was good to see them displayed differently. We all had our favourites. It is such an amazing collection of cars, some in great working order, others looking more sad and in need of a great input of funds to restore them. There was a great collection of motor bikes as well as tanks, buses, and pedal cars.
 
Half way round, there was the familiar sound of rain spots hitting the roof! What a maze to try and get out of quickly! Had to push past all our guys trying to find our way out. Once outside, it didn’t seem so bad but we decided to cover up the cars anyway. Good call. It poured down! What is it about arranging trips out that makes it rain?
 
The general opinion is still that this is a fantastic collection of cars and memorabilia. It must be an ongoing and never ending battle to try and get the building sorted and leak free.
 
We thoroughly enjoyed the half hour long dvd, we were all totally glued to the tv screen….. (fibbing a little there, it was just lots of photos of the cars put on a disc with music added). Good try though; at least we were, as always, made to feel very welcome. No Eccles cakes though! Well worth the £6 entrance fee. We gradually drifted off home, with Graham Coles taking many home for bacon butties.
All in all another great trip out, shame about the weather and the mud in the car park, but then it had been covered in snow a few days ago.
 
Thanks to all those who attended, and hope to arrange something similar later in the year.
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A cold day, with snow forecast for the afternoon, early evening! Turned out to be mostly an indoor meeting. Considering the weather, we had a good attendance. The sun even came out briefly.
We were revisited by James Warner, we last saw him back in 2007; he is building a scratch build and has his SVA at the end of this month; he wanted to come and pick some brains which he managed to do. We wish him luck with the test and hope to see the car at future meetings.
 
Simon Kirby, who has recently passed the SVA with his Luego Viento brought his car along for the first time today as he promised when he last saw us in November last year. Sorry to not be able to speak longer with him but we had to duck out and get off home. Look forward to seeing the car at the next meeting when we can have a better look. I did take a photo of the car and very smart it is too!
 nice shot of Stephen's rear end...
We had a raffle; we weren’t going to bother but it was just about worth doing. Stephen won the bottle of wine, Peter a mobile phone holder and Mike Bloomfield won a multi-tool. Raffle prize donations are always gratefully received.
Glyn is arranging a trip to the Lower Stondon Motor Museum for Sunday 8th February (this Sunday coming). We will be meeting at the Baldock Services at Junction 10 on the A1(M) at around 1015 am, aiming to leave for the museum at 1045. Anyone wishing to join us, please meet up with us at the Services or, if preferred, meet us at the museum at around 11.00 am.
The diary section of the website has been updated with many of the events we are attending this year, check it out and put dates in your diary! I have not heard yet from Greenwood Exhibitions but will get in touch with them soon to get details of the shows they run.
This photo is for the softies amongst us, our dog, Charlie, on his walk this morning (2nd February) - slight problem with his legs covered in snowballs.
Attendees
NG : John Hamilton-Smith
TVR : Alan Hudson
Robin Hood : Glyn Rust, Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Altwasser, Peter Bell
Quantum: Ian Harrison
Luego Viento: Simon Kirby
Westfield: John Tween
Tintops
Bob Plastow, Bob and Carol Howes, Andy Barbet & Emily, James Warner, Helen
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Here we are, back again!
Christmas already seems ages ago, all the decorations are back in the loft, most of the mince pies have been eaten and we are now left with the boxes of sweets that are both bought for the festive season and received as gifts.
Although numbers were greatly reduced, those who were able to attend the Christmas meal thoroughly enjoyed the food; it was one of the best meals we have had. We had a raffle, a Christmas-based quiz (apparently too difficult) and generally a good laugh.
So, with that out of the way, it is full steam ahead for 2009. We wish everyone a happy, healthy and safe New Year and hope that the ‘credit crunch’ doesn’t badly affect any of us.
The first meeting of the year was held this Sunday, same time, same place. Considering how cold it was we had 8 kits brave the low temperature and a few feint hearteds in their tin tops. Stephen arrived in his newly acquired Alfa Romeo.
I had a slight panic when my Robin Hood’s battery was rather flat and unable to turn the engine over; a quick call to John and he brought the jump pack down and soon had the car running. Now I know what to do, I can (fingers crossed) start both my MX-5 and the Hood if need be.
As I drove towards the entrance of the car park I noticed a man lurking in the hedgerow on the roadside. It was Mal! He was taking photos with his new toy. He will be given a job as chief photographer if he proves to be any good!
Richard made a noisy entry to the car park. As he drove over the gully his exhaust parted company and it sounded more like a V8! It is great to have a new 'breed' of car joining the meetings. Richard's Jago is one of the nicest we have seen and it has improved with the mods he has done.
 
We did well to stay outside for a while but soon gave in to the call of somewhere warm to sit so went indoors.
Chris won the bottle of wine in the raffle and Stephen the box of chocolates; he very kindly shared them round!
As soon as I get the chance, I will do the diary section listing the meeting dates, both at the pub and the local/national gatherings. One shame is that, according to Stephen, there will not be a show at Peterborough this year; there apparently wasn’t a suitable date available. This will return on the to do list in 2010. (I am double-checking and waiting for a response to an email since Martin has an August date for this). By popular request, we will be arranging a camping weekend, most likely in May.
If you are reading this and have as yet not joined a meeting, do try and come along. You will soon find that we are a friendly bunch and that there is always someone to talk to. Ladies play a big part in this club so bring along your wives/girlfriends or should I say wife/girlfriend; not sure you could fit more than one wife in a two seater kit car ;-) plus no doubt you would consider one female in your life quite enough without having a hareem.... Of course if you are a lady and reading this it goes that you can bring your husband/boyfriend with you. Don't want to be accused of assuming all readers are male!!! If you are looking to join an official car club, speak to either Stephen Altwasser, who is 'Treasure' as he puts it, of the Robin Hood Owners Club and Register, or me and one of us will sort it for you. SG7s is not recognised by insurance companies so you would need to join a registered club (the annual joining fee is £15).
Finally, let’s all keep our fingers crossed that the weather is kinder this year than last. We did have some bad meeting days weather wise.
Attendees:
Sherpley – Bob Howes
Quantum – Ian Harrison
NG – John Hamilton-Smith
Jago Jeep – Richard & Caroline
Westfield - John
Robin Hood – Chris Brown, Helen
TVR – Mal
Tin top
Bob & Sheila
Kevin Sydes
Stephen & Lesley
Paul Brown
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