First, an important correction from last month's Notes - the Annual Dinner and Presentation of Awards is on Saturday 11th March 2006. November's Notes were correct, but a gremlin crept into December's Notes; sorry! More details later…
Where were you on 7th October 1936? Before you ask, my father was not even a twinkle in his father's eye! Anyway, it was on that day that twenty members of the MGCC attended the inaugural meeting of the South Western Centre at the Weston Hotel, Bath (does it still exist?). The meeting was chaired by a gentleman by the name of Kimber and attended by Messrs Harris, Abbot, Bolton, Shackle, Spencer, McIannahan, Spence, Ellis, Goodenough senior and junior (!), Wren, Walters, Hill, Waller Macdermid and Siddall plus Miss Ellis, Miss Stewart-Black and Miss Tucker. I dare say that Mr Goodenough senior is no longer with us, but does anybody recognise any of the other names? A committee was formed and the rest, as they say, is history. The somewhat brief minutes of the meeting record that the meeting was opened with the reading of letters from those unable to be present, which indicates that there was a lot of interest in the fledgling venture. Your committee shall be considering how to mark the 70th anniversary of that first meeting - any ideas to me or the Chairman as soon as possible, please.
Now back to the Annual Dinner. It will take place at the Limpley Stoke Hotel on Saturday 11th March 2006 (got that?). Full details are available via the website or direct from the organiser, John Bird, on 0117 956 0175. Members and guests who wish to stay overnight should contact the Hotel directly on 01225 723333 to reserve a room. Rates have been agreed at £65 for a double/twin and £44 for a single, including a full English breakfast. When making a booking please tell the hotel that you are attending the MGCC Dinner. To avoid disappointment please book your tickets and, if appropriate, your room as soon as possible.
The results of the MGCC SW Centre Drivers Championship are available on the website for those of you that cannot wait until the Annual Dinner to find out if you have won any silverware. As usual, the 'top ten' includes all manner of machinery from a J2 through to a ZS via a couple of TCs, a TF (old one), Midgets, an MGB, a Metro and an MGF. Yes, I know that's more than ten - but some drivers have more than one car! Over 100 members 'amassed' points (some more than others!), so it's thanks to Russell Morgan for the mathematics that combined the scores of the 14 events to come up with the final rankings, particularly after the cancellation of the Sunday Lunch Run meant he had to recalculate everything in accordance with the rule relating to the total number of events. I cannot really accept the blame for cancelling the Sunday Lunch Run - all 1000+ of you that didn't enter can share that responsibility. However, to show I appreciate the ensuing extra effort on the part of Russ, I'll close with a picture of him from the California Cup Autotests driving a 'rented' Midget to victory in the team competition.
Neil
Neil Lock
neil@port-z.fsnet.co.uk
01275 817915 (before 9pm please)
SW Centre website: www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgccsw