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| Home | Diary | Area News | Links |
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| Events 2001 | Events 2002 | Events 2003 | Events 2004 |
| February 2005 | Return to Top of page | |
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Into another year now, where does the time go? They say that times goes more
quickly as you grow older and I well believe it - though it must mean I'm
really getting old as it seems no time at all since we were last camping at
a show, and now it won't be long till the first events of this year start -
though perhaps a few months till we'll be overnighting in the van again.
This month we have the Triumph Show & Spares Day at Stoneleigh to look forward to, and meeting up with a friend from the States who we missed last year as we ended up waiting under different clocks - let's hope they haven't removed the clock we'll be looking for this year! As Easter is early this year, at the end of March, I already have the application forms for the Spring Vehicle Meet and Autojumble at Wyke Down near Andover so please contact me soon if you'd like one. There's generally a good turnout of all sorts of vehicles at this show, and we join up with Andover Area to put on a club stand. Strangely enough Mark has said that he doesn't plan to camp there this year, seems he's mislaid his spirit of adventure? Ok, so maybe March is a little early to be camping, might have to let him off that one, especially as we won't be camping ourselves! With luck we'll be able to take along the Campavan for use as a tea wagon though. At our first meet of the New Year we were surprised to find the Bakers Arms busier than usual though there was still plenty of room for us. We do still occasionally raise the subject of moving to a different venue for our regular meets but as yet haven't really needed to make the move though would be interested in your views on the subject. The Thomas Lord at West Meon may be a possibility so I'd be interested to hear if a move to there would encourage anyone else to come out to join us or conversely would prove less attractive to those who already come along. Just thought I'd mention that Alan was asking if anyone knew of an available GT6 bonnet - we didn't really want to ask why but suspect that he might have some nefarious idea of expanding his fleet again... I understand that Yvonne enjoys being able to keep tabs on Graham's antics through these pages so I'll try to do my best in that department. I can report that he was very well behaved at the last meet, despite not winning anything in the raffle, and we look forward to seeing Yvonne again at our Sunday lunches - and even more to seeing her bringing Graham in the MG! Speaking of lunches, please make a note in your diaries that we've brought our Sunday Lunch this month forward a week to Sunday 13th February. This is because Andover Area will be hosting this lunch and Railtrack inconveniently rostered Bob to work on the 3rd Sunday so it seemed unfair for us all to have too good a time without him. Please meet up at the now defunct Little Chef next door to the garage at the A32/A272 crossroads, across from the West Meon Hut by 11am in order to leave there by 11.15am for the half hour or so trip to Stockbridge. Suzie |
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| January 2005 | Return to Top of page | |
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Where does the time go? It seems no more than a couple of weeks since I was
writing about the end of the summer and here it is now, nearly Christmas,
and even that will have come and gone by the time you read this.
In November we had our first Sunday lunch of the winter season. It almost didn't happen as when I called the Thomas Lord to confirm numbers a week before the event as agreed it seemed new owners had recently taken over and the previous ones hadn't told them of our booking! Anyway, catastrophe neatly averted we took Guy's new toy (the Opel GT) for a drive and found that our hosts had set out a nice group of tables in the corner for us. Orders were placed for most of us with reassurances to the pub that the final seats would be filled but that two of our number were renowned for being a wee bit late. Wheelbarrow duly delivered, Alan and Wendy did arrive just before we ordered puds so of course had to endure a certain amount of ribbing for over-running even our most pessimistic predictions. Welcome too to Yvonne and I hope you'll be able to join us for some more of our Sunday lunches, and we'll try to keep Graham out of trouble during the Tuesday meets. We all agreed that the service and standard of food meant that we will definitely be returning there for another meal. A nice touch was added when I thanked our host as we were leaving only to find that he had had various Triumphs in his youth and so was very pleased to see some in the car park. We were a little late getting away from home for the Christmas dinner but were very pleased to arrive at the Bakers and see a sea of red (well, almost, as we discovered it was probably safer not to ask Mark and Jackie to display their 'red'!).Many thanks to Paul & Pauline for all their work in arranging the meal. It was another great evening with good friends, wine flowing (courtesy of the profits from our monthly raffles, thanks to Alan & Wendy our raffle masters) and much merriment around the tables. Nice to see Colin and Margaret back with us and to meet Lynne, Karen and Margaret - hope you'll brave our group again sometime now that you've found out we're not (too) bad. I'd made up little tags reminding everyone of their meal choices and it seemed to work till I discovered I'd put the wrong items on my own one. We were all then a little concerned to see Jackie pud-less for a while, wondering if Robert was getting his own back on her for last year but luckily hers was then brought out for her to enjoy. Our Bring and Buy Raffle once again worked very well with everyone receiving something from Santa, with some very appropriate gifts appearing - I wonder who's going to have gleaming cars next meet, who'll be able to produce a toolkit or torch when one misbehaves in the dark evenings and when Colin might have his new Triumph built? We'd also like to send our good wishes to Paul and Jane and have sent them the proceeds of our Midsummer Madness and Christmas Bring and Buy Raffles to go towards a mobile hoist in the hopes that they may be able to join us sometime during the coming year. I'd like to thank everyone for my very special prezzy, for those of you who weren't there I was presented with a jigsaw of a photo of Baby Blue during our first French trip. Very appropriate, and very much appreciated. I took note of the bribery and after a brief discussion with my wonderful chauffeur, Guy, we agreed that it would be churlish not to agree to continue as AO for another year, and we're both looking forward to it. I hope our group have as good a year in 2005 as we had in 2004. It just remains for me to wish you all a Very Happy New Year and remind you that for our Sunday lunch in January we're going to try out the newly refurbished West Meon Hut so we hope to see many of you there at 12 noon on Sunday 16th January. Suzie |
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| December 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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The nights are drawing in so our trip to The Barleycorn in Bishops Waltham
was our last evening roaming meet till next Spring. The menu did seem a
little pricey till we noticed that it was two meals for the price of one.
Good price and good portions - even Mark looked a little taken back by the
size of his 'snack'.
At the end of the month Guy & I headed off to the Restoration Show at Stoneleigh with a medium sized shopping list - but only managed to find 2 items from it. Not sure then how we managed to spend so much and fill the Estate for the trip home! We did find one or two useful items - even some for Guy's cars for a change after all those Spitfire shopping trips (and speaking of which - take a look at my Spitfire article for news of our most recent purchase!) November's meeting in Droxford was another really good evening with much merriment, Alan M. building a nice collection of relays and slave cylinders (some from as far away as Wales!), Alan H. folding himself into daughter Becky's pint-sized motor (after his half pint of Stromberg!), and Graham having some sort of influence with the barmaid - well how else do you explain table service and that she pulled his raffle ticket out of the box?? Oh, and thanks again to Alan H. from Guy for his new toy. Next month's big TSSC event is of course our annual Christmas Extravaganza - well - dinner at the Bakers! As our raffle has been so successful during the year we've decided that the funds should cover wine with dinner and soft drinks for the drivers. Do remember to bring your raffle prezzy with you on the night, one item per person, festively wrapped, not to cost more than £3, for our Bring and Buy Raffle. And for those who weren't at the last meeting it's been decided that everyone is to wear something red in honour of the occasion. Please make sure you've confirmed your booking and meal choices with Paul Kneen before the big night and we'll see you all there Other than that, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas (though not too 'merry' if you're driving!). If you fancy a trip out over the festive season to clear the head you have a choice of two informal classic car gatherings on Boxing Day, either in Wickham (which I gather tends to be very busy) or at Romsey near the bus station. There's also a gathering of vintage and veteran cars at the Elsted Inn near Midhurst on New Year's Day which usually has some great motors. Suzie |
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| November 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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The Ship and Bell was rather a long drive for us for September's roaming
meet but well worth while the trip. We got a nice early start after work in
the convertible and arrived at the same time as Alan and Wendy - also of
course riding al fresco. Being a nice mild evening when we got indoors we
got some rather strange looks and comments from the regulars, a bit
surprised at seeing us unravel scarves, woolly hats and various layers of
clothing. It was great to see Graham's Vitesse on the road though Alan & Guy
nearly missed out on their dinner whilst giving it a lose inspection.
Thanks to everyone who sponsored Guy, Larry & I for the Club Triumph Round Britain Reliability Run which we once again completed at the beginning of October, more details of which will be found in the Bond Register elsewhere in this magazine. Thanks also to those of you who sent emails and SMS messages of support, and especially to Mark who deserted his family to bring us a spare wiper motor as ours was beginning to tire and cause a bit of concern in case it didn't last the journey out. In the end Guy's inverse theory of logic applied and, with a spare in the boot, the original one was stubborn enough to survive long enough to get us home. Although it's a very pleasant, sunny autumn day out as I write this we are of course getting into much shorter daylight hours so this month will be returning to our roaming Sunday Lunches in place of the Thursday evening meets. Our first lunch will be held on Sunday 20th November at The Thomas Lord at West Meon. To those of you who are new to the Club or the Area all are welcome at these lunches. We don't have to pre-book meals though each pub we use would prefer to have some idea of the numbers they'll be dealing with so please try to let me know about a week beforehand if you'd like to join us. On the other hand, if you haven't done so but at the last minute you realise you can join us then please just come along and meet up with us at 12 noon at the pub chosen. We aim to always arrive and order early. These are very relaxed meets and Club cars are not obligatory - but it's nice to see them out if possible. Still on the subject of food, we have now confirmed that our Christmas dinner will be held at the Bakers Arms in Droxford, our usual meeting place, on 7th December at 7.30pm for 8pm. Paul Kneen has agreed to once again be our co-ordinator extraordinaire so please contact him on paulkneen @ FSBDial.co.uk asap with your menu choices. Please contact Paul or myself for the menu if you haven't already seen it. The cost of the meal will be £15 per person. We will also be holding a Bring and Buy Raffle on the night as last year's one went down so well. Please remember to bring along one item each, not to cost more than £3 and wrapped up so that everyone will receive a prezzy. You can be as inventive as you like with this - or just grab a box of choccies at Woollies, whichever you please, the variety is what makes it interesting. Suzie |
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| October 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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I think perhaps summer's been and gone - though we might yet be surprised by
an Indian Summer. It's certainly been mild enough to sit outside the Bakers
Arms for our meets the last few months. I think the landlord has now got the
hint - having seen us unload our own chairs the last couple of times - as
the other night we drew up to discover several new wooden bench tables and
brollies outside. Maybe by next month he'll have outside lighting to go with
them?
Stewart and Hazel met Guy & I at the show at Newbury Racecourse having just acquired their Spitfire from Newbury Area's Dennis and promised to come along to join Southern Area. They took the Spitfire along to the Southern Classics show at Otterbourne but I don't think anyone else from the area made it to that one. Not to be deterred they came along to Droxford this month in the car to join a great line-up of seven Triumphs (sorry, 6 Triumphs and 1 Bond!). Welcome back to Darren and Paddy who've been busy with work and the new baby and to Paul who's been working hard this summer on Southern Area's new French campsite! August Bank Holiday weekend proved to be a very busy one this year - Guy & I taking in 3 shows in one day on the Sunday, Popham, Middle wallop & Bournemouth Classics on the Prom, followed by a rather more leisurely, and very enjoyable day at the new Hampshire Pageant of Motoring at Broadlands on Bank Holiday Monday. As their first show it was only a one day show this year but went so well they plan to extend it to a two day event next year, definitely one to put on the calendar if you can. Other than that we've had rather a quiet month, though have managed to take 'Monty' out a couple of times and looking forward to a run out with him to one of our Sunday lunches over the winter. This month will see the last of this summer's evening roaming meets before we start our lunches in November. As you can see from the diary dates below, our first event in October may not be quite the right trip for Monty though we're hoping Guy's Bond Estate will come up trumps for the third time. We'll look forward to seeing you all at Droxford 2 days later to update you on the trials and tribulations of the run - and to collect some sponsorship money! Suzie |
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| September 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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Another very busy month for us, hopefully we'll have a quieter month in
August after spending every weekend for the last two months away at various
events.
The International at Stafford was, as always, a very good show. We arrived on Friday (having just returned the previous day from two weeks on the canals) on rather a windy day. We'd had a message from Mark that they'd set up camp in the corner to get some shelter from the wind but when we arrived at the field we found that Derek Edmonds had already staked our usual spot by the autojumble for the Bonds so we joined him there. Saturday morning saw Guy & I up early helping to marshall Spitfires into Bingley Hall and then later found one or two bargains in the autojumble. During the weekend we met up with Mark (between pub sessions!) and Barry. It seemed a long way to our Roaming Meet last month which was held at The Ship at Langstone but a worthwhile journey and a good turnout, though unfortunately a little breezy to be sitting outside. Nice to see Peter and Hilary again. Classic Le Mans was an amazing event. I wish more of you could have joined us for that one but Southern Area were represented by Guy & myself with the Bond convertible, Boz & Sandy in their Spitfire (broken fanbelt notwithstanding), John & Bev Davey with campervan and Stag and Paul & Sue Young with their Spitfire - and Barry made the trip with 'the opposition', a pre-war MG! Many thanks again to John for his assistance in arranging a very good discount for us on the Portsmouth - Caen FastCat. The Nostalgia Show at South Cerney was even bigger than last year, and rather better laid out. The only slight hiccup was my mishap on Saturday morning. While having my first tryout of my anniversary present from Guy - a 1962 Triumph Tina scooter, I failed to spot a rope strung out in my path and took a bit of a tumble. I did managed to get back on the bike and ride it back to our camping area and only then realised I'd hurt my leg. Having it checked out at the hospital two days later I was surprised to find I'd done more damage than I'd realised and have been off work since and hobbling round with my leg bandaged from ankle to knee. I think I should get some shin pads for the next time I plan to ride the Tina. It was a lovely warm evening for our regular meet at the Bakers Arms and we had a good turnout of people there again, including the 3 cars from the Stag meet up the road who came along last month. Hope they enjoyed themselves enough to come along regularly. This month's news roundup finishes with our annual BBQ held here at Cadley. Barry and Jane came in the Spitfire and we were also joined by Bob & Shani from Test Valley and Dave & Mary and others from Newbury area. Alan and Wendy brought the Portafold up and stayed overnight on the front lawn, and joined us and some other friends for a full English brekkie in broad sunshine, al fresco on Sunday morning. Guy and I headed off after that to join the Newbury Area stand at the Newbury racecourse show in Monty (see Guy's Bond article!) leaving the breakfast dishes in Alan's capable hands. Thanks for that, Alan. Suzie |
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| August 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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What a strange summer for weather!
Suzie and Guy are away on a booze cruise in a narrowboat on the Warwick canals so cannot write this month's report. Our Midsummer Madness weekend at The Flowerpots pub in Cheriton was well supported again, with many arriving on the Friday evening for the brewery tour. We had about 20 cars for the weekend, with a number of other areas represented. The Saturday runout of about 30 miles each way was a real pleasure - wonderful countryside in the sunshine. Picnic lunch at the Queen Elizabeth Park, where the raffle was drawn, was very pleasant. Then on Saturday evening the big BBQ was fired up, just outside the marquee, where communal cooking took place, and the prizes were awarded: Thanks to Barry for arranging the route - who was also winner of 'Navigational Trophy' for 'introducing some interesting twists to the day'. On the Sunday we convoyed to Basingstoke to visit the Milestones museum, making a nice lineup on the grass. Only mishap was a top hose going on Guy's Bond, which was fixed on the roadside in minutes. Many thanks to Suzie for organising the whole weekend! On Sunday 4th July Southern area attended the annual Sussex Show (formerly at Stansted House) and a small group of us went along. The weather was a bit drizzly and the public were a bit thin on the ground, but it was warm. The first Tuesday of the month evening meet on 6 July at The Bakers Arms, Droxford was well attended by newcomers, but few regulars appeared due to other commitments. We saw a new white Stag with Steve and Hayley, and 4 GT6s - Kevin and Dawn, Sue and Tim, John and Carol, and Andy (who has not been for a while). It was one of the sunniest evenings this summer, and we sat around outside occasionally lifting a bonnet or two. Mark (Vitesse) and Steve and James (GT6) went to the Cornwall Camping weekend and had a good time. Their thanks to the area for the hospitality. Suzie |
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| July 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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At last the summer seems to have arrived - or am I jinxing the weather by
saying that despite the temperatures we've had the last few days? We were
starting to wonder when things would change when our roaming meet in May to
the Pub with no Name turned out to be the dampest we've had there for some
time. Despite this we were joined by Steve and Julie who were thinking of
buying a Spitfire and were interested in seeing some up close, and trying
them out for size. Luckily Barry's MkIV and Mike's GT6 were both available
for inspection and I've heard since that they've joined the TSSC and are
actively looking for the 'right' car for them. I'm looking forward to seeing
them bring it to a future meet.
June started out much better with a warm dry evening for our meet at Droxford. Again we had a busy night and were very pleased to welcome Geoff & Steve Cater, Steve being on a trip over from his home in New Zealand. Having featured their Spitfire in February's Spitfire Register I was hoping it would be 'brought out to play' sometime so was very pleased to see it - and them, of course. The SHVPS Show at Queen Elizabeth Country Park was just how it should be, great weather, great people, and some great bargains, including - I hope, our latest mode of transport. Not a Triumph, not even a car, but a little electric scooter which, if I can manage to stay upright and not fall off should save my feet a little at some of the bigger shows. Our impressive convoy rolled onto the field following Alan - then nipped round past him when Little Blue decided to have a breather just as we reached the field. We reached the stand marked out for us to find a couple of other Triumphs there already. Great turnout for the club we thought, then realised that it was a few Club Triumph members. It was still good to see such a large group of Triumphs together at the show, though a little disappointing that people may not have realised that most of us were from the TSSC. Never mind, it was a glorious day and everyone there had a thoroughly good time. By the time you're reading this our Midsummer Madness weekend will have come and gone so look out next month for a few words about what a wonderful time we had. July is shaping up to be a busy month and we'll be at several shows, as will many of you, I'm sure. Guy and I will also be away for two weeks on our narrow boat so will unfortunately miss the Droxford meet but we're expecting everyone to have such a good time there anyway that we won't be missed in the slightest! We'll be getting back from that trip, and turning around to head off to Stafford for what's should be another great weekend. After that we're heading off to the coast for the Portland Show rapidly followed by another major event - Classic Le Mans, finishing the month in South Cerney for the Nostalgia Show. Away for seven weekends in a row! At least we'll be at home the following weekend, for the annual BBQ at Cadley, a month later than usual but still, we hope, as much fun as the previous ones have been. Suzie |
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| June 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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I do hope the weather settles down this year, and that we've already seen
the worst of it when it comes to show & event days. The Easter weekend was
busy for us with a trip back to Gosport for us in Guy's convertible on
Easter Sunday for the Classic Car show held at the Explosion Museum. despite
being rather a cold day it was very well attended, though mostly by 'big
Yank jobs' but our wee Triumphs made a nice show: Mark & Jackie & Bob &
Shani McDay in their Vitesses, Barry in his Spitfire and John and Carol
joining us for the first time in their very yellow GT6.
Monday morning saw us heading off to Wyke Down. Bearing in mind how cold I'd been on Sunday I'd wrapped up warmly for a day on an exposed field - only to end up sweltering in the lovely April sunshine. Mark & Steve and the boys had been brave enough to have camped the previous night so were already set up on the stand. We set up the Campavan and after cooking a slap up breakfast had a wander round the stands and the boot sale finding one or two bargains. Alan had brought along his second Portafold which he's been restoring hoping to sell it and Bob had brought Colin Hannay's (Newbury Area) and both sold that very day. Alan did seem a mite sad to see his one drive off the field so I think it's about time he found himself a new project - any suggestions, Wendy? After such nice weather it was rather a shock to the system when we headed off for our last Sunday lunch of the winter months to find that the weatherman had definitely let us down. Mark with Luke and Chloe brought Barry, Boz and Sandy and newcomers Paul and Sam via the back roads from the West Meon Hut across to Goodworth Clatford where we met up with them and three cars from Test Valley Area for coffee and a chance to dry off a little. It was a VERY wet day! Paul and Boz had both had some problems with electrics in their Spitfires but although Paul's seemed to settle down, Boz's day was only to get worse and his car blew several fuses. In the end two callouts to the breakdown services were required and eventually a lift back home was the only solution to the day for them. They did manage to get as far as the Poplar Farm Inn with us for lunch (and Boz ALMOST finished his steak before the first breakdown truck arrived). In the end there were only a few of us who went on to the Museum of Army Flying at Middle Wallop though at least it was nice and warm and dry inside. It was a very good museum with a very full history or Army flying and well worth a visit if the subject interests you. The show at Popham was yet another wet day, in fact turned out to be the wettest Popham we've known for a long time - so much so that, despite a good turnout of 9 club cars we'd all left the field before 1pm. We did discover, however, that it's possible to squeeze 12 people in seats under the gazebo - and were also reminded that it's not completely rainproof! The Bakers Arms was full on Tuesday with 5 new members joining us, so welcome to Graham, Gregg & Jo, and Alan & Becky and we do hope to see you all again - complete with cars where possible. We held our usual raffle and Boz was lucky enough to win the electrical tester screwdriver - rather apt after his recent electrical problems. Next month we've got two good events to look forward to. For those who have passes for the show at the QE Park please note that we have to be on the field before 9.30, and as John will vouch, they're very strict with their timings. We hope to meet up either at the Hog's Lodge car park, or at the lay-by just along from there at around 8.45 in order to get to the Park in good time so that we can park up together as I understand that they're not having official club stands this year so we'd like to be able to create our own group. I'll aim to confirm time and location via our Yahoo email group but if you don't have access to that then please contact me closer to the time for details. And finally, Midsummer Madness. By now we (should be) just be dotting 'i's and crossing 't's and finalising our plans. Everyone seems to be looking forward to it so I'm sure it will turn out to be a very memorable weekend. Just one last reminder that we'd very much appreciate any donations from our local members of items to add to the raffle and prize fund so, if you do have anything for this then please do bring it along to the Baker's Arms in Droxford on 1st June. So, roll on Midsummer weekend - and LOTS of sunshine, PLEASE! Suzie |
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| May 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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I think it must be a sign of getting old(er) as time does seem to be going
by so quickly. Here I am on a sunny Good Friday, Easter again already,
writing about events a month past and a month hence, bringing us right up to
May. I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed for a good summer so I don't
need to get the warm ski togs out for camping too much this year. The season
really starts for us this weekend with the meet at the Explosion Museum in
Gosport on Sunday and then to Wyke Down on Monday so I'll be able to bring
you potted highlights of these two events next month.
We didn't seem to do so well bringing people out to the Red Lion at West Meon for our lunch in February though it was nice to see Chris and Nicky Eason again in their Vitesse and Paul & Pauline, for once our lunch not clashing with time working on their house in France. Apparently we were in the presence of a future TV star as Pauline was due to be on the shopping channel a few weeks later. Unfortunately we don't have all those extra channels here in the depths of darkest Wiltshire so we missed out on the big event. Anyway, we do hope it went well - never know, might be the start of a whole new career! This week's meet in Droxford was very pleasant though we did chicken out of taking the convertible since we'd had rain, wind and even hail during the day here - only to get into Hampshire and find the skies clear and blue for the rest of the trip. It was a very pleasant surprise to see Paul and Kay there, our previous hosts from the White Horse. I think several years of 'first Tuesdays' were rather ingrained so even they felt the pull to Droxford to catch up with us all again. We discovered that Mark, after the Navy getting the most of his services by sending him away for his last month, was finally demobbed and is now casting his net for a new job in civvy street - ah, never thought, maybe I should have offered him the job of Scribe? Mind you, my deep appreciation wouldn't pay the bills so I guess I'll have to leave him to get a 'proper' job. He came along to the meet laden down with goodies from the garage at Dryad who were having a clearout prior to closing. Barry got the bargain of the evening with a new clutch for his Spitfire and I managed to cadge a little something from Mark to go towards our Prize stash for Midsummer Madness. Don't forget that next month is the South of England Meet at Leatherhead Leisure Centre. If you'd like to join the fun and travel up with like-minded people on Sunday 16th May, please meet at the lay-by just north of the West Meon Hut on the A32 at 9am for a departure around 9.15am. This as always promises to be a great show with a very good autojumble so, if you're looking for anything in particular - or just hope to find a bargain or two please don't miss this event. Plans are well in hand for the Midsummer Madness weekend so please do contact me for an application form if you're not likely to be able to get to this month's meets to pick one up in person. They will also be available at SEM. The brewery tour will be a little earlier this year, 7pm, and numbers are very limited due to the small size of the premises so please get your applications in early if you'd like to attend this as it's first come first served. Barry has been roaming the highways and byways putting together another interesting Hidden Hampshire tour for us and Sunday's away-day this year will be to the Milestones Museum in Basingstoke. All in all it promises to be as good or better than last years brilliant weekend so make sure you don't miss out! Suzie |
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| April 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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Sunday lunch at the Baker's Arms was a resounding success with 15 sitting down
for lunch, and 3 other visitors. Paul came along to meet up with Barry to
borrow his Spitfire hardtop fittings and I gather he's now found someone to
reproduce a set for his car. We also had a surprise visit from Peter and Rosie
who were taking the opportunity of a lovely bright crisp day for a drive around
Hampshire in their GT6 - and spotting a bunch of Triumphs in the car park
called in to say hello. I hope we'll see them all again sometime.
Our early February meeting also saw a good showing, 15 again - probably find I'm tempting fate by being so pleased with the recent turnouts and find everyone's double-booked themselves for the next meet! It was good to see Darren and Monique again and to hear the news of their new arrival. Congratulations to them and maybe its time to start looking in earnest for a Vitesse to fit a baby seat into and still leave room for Paddy. Good too to see Steve again and to hear that the GT6 has emerged from hibernation for the Spring. Now all we have to do is to get Gerry motivated to get his back on the road again soon... During the evening discussions turned to Midsummer and our plans for another Madness weekend. Please mark up the 18th to 20th of June on your calendars and watch this space next month for further details. Another future date for your diaries is 18th April when we're visiting Test Valley are for an away-day Sunday lunch at Abbot's Ann near Andover to be followed by a trip to the Museum of Army Flying at Middle wallop. we will need to have confirmed bookings for this day ahead of time to book tables at the restaurant and to ensure we can get the group discount for the Museum. Some early confirmations would be nice but we would like to have reasonably confirmed numbers by the time of our early April meeting. Talking of looking ahead, we've made a slight change to March's diary dates, for one month only. Having had it pointed out that the 3rd Sunday is actually Mother's Day we've brought this month's lunch forward a week to 14th March. That means that, by the time this issue of the Courier gets to you it'll be just the right time to confirm with me whether you'll be able to join us that day. You'll note that the Midhurst autojumble is on the same day but, as it starts at 10am there should be just enough time for those of you who'd like to go to wander round and then come on over to West Meon to join us. Alan and Mark have noted that it does tend to consist of mostly parts for pre-war cars - but then they may just be trying to dissuade others from going along and picking up bargains they might otherwise have found. Another event listed below is the Southern Classics Goodwood Track Day on Saturday 20th March. There is no entry charge and there will be a variety of cars on show. There will be an opportunity to drive your car for two parade laps for £20 - plus a photo at the chicane for extra cost. The event will be raising money for two Cancer charities so an opportunity to do something 'a little different' as well as help some very worthy causes. This event is being organised by Dave Kimber, the Southern Classics Promotions Secretary so please contact him on 01243 553445 if you'd like to attend. Guy & I went last year and had a very enjoyable day. Suzie |
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| March 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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Sunday lunch at the Baker's Arms was a resounding success with 15 sitting down
for lunch, and 3 other visitors. Paul came along to meet up with Barry to
borrow his Spitfire hardtop fittings and I gather he's now found someone to
reproduce a set for his car. We also had a surprise visit from Peter and Rosie
who were taking the opportunity of a lovely bright crisp day for a drive around
Hampshire in the ir GT6 - and spotting a bunch of Triumphs in the car park
called in to say hello. I hope we'll see them all again sometime.
Our early February meeting also saw a good showing, 15 again - probably find I'm tempting fate by being so pleased with the recent turnouts and find everyone's double-booked themselves for the next meet! It was good to see Darren and Monique again and to hear the news of their new arrival. Congratulations to them and maybe its time to start looking in earnest for a Vitesse to fit a baby seat into and still leave room for Paddy. Good too to see Steve again and to hear that the GT6 has emerged from hibernation for the Spring. Now all we have to do is to get Gerry motivated to get his back on the road again soon... During the evening discussions turned to Midsummer and our plans for another Madness weekend. Please mark up the 18th to 20th of June on your calendars and watch this space next month for further details. Another future date for your diaries is 18th April when we're visiting Test Valley are for an away-day Sunday lunch at Abbot's Ann near Andover to be followed by a trip to the Museum of Army Flying at Middle wallop. we will need to have confirmed bookings for this day ahead of time to book tables at the restaurant and to ensure we can get the group discount for the Museum. Some early confirmations would be nice but we would like to have reasonably confirmed numbers by the time of our early April meeting. Talking of looking ahead, we've made a slight change to March's diary dates, for one month only. Having had it pointed out that the 3rd Sunday is actually Mother's Day we've brought this month's lunch forward a week to 14th March. That means that, by the time this issue of the Courier gets to you it'll be just the right time to confirm with me whether you'll be able to join us that day. You'll note that the Midhurst autojumble is on the same day but, as it starts at 10am there should be just enough time for those of you who'd like to go to wander round and then come on over to West Meon to join us. Alan and Mark have noted that it does tend to consist of mostly parts for pre-war cars - but then they may just be trying to dissuade others from going along and picking up bargains they might otherwise have found. Another event listed below is the Southern Classics Goodwood Track Day on Saturday 20th March. There is no entry charge and there will be a variety of cars on show. There will be an opportunity to drive your car for two parade laps for £20 - plus a photo at the chicane for extra cost. The event will be raising money for two Cancer charities so an opportunity to do something 'a little different' as well as help some very worthy causes. This event is being organised by Dave Kimber, the Southern Classics Promotions Secretary so please contact him on 01243 553445 if you'd like to attend. Guy & I went last year and had a very enjoyable day. Suzie |
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| February 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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2001, Icy cold - 2002, bucketing it down - 2003, a few bearable showers. Yes
folks, January 1st at the Elsted Inn to drool over dozens of veteran and
vintage cars who brave all weathers to have a relaxed, friendly get-together -
this year with two Vitesses (Alan & Wendy, & Bob & Shani McDay on a day-trip
from Basingstoke) and Guy's SAH tuned Bond Equipe 2+2 sneaked into their midst.
Guy & I arrived at The Bakers Arms in Droxford on Tuesday to a very pleasant and warm welcome from the landlord there. We'll be back there at least for our Sunday lunch this month and for next month's regular meet while we find out what's happening at The Hurdles, our other possible new regular venue. In order to see how the Hurdles suits us we'll be having our Sunday Lunch in February there - and its new owners have been nicely primed by Paul & Kay from the White Horse - not to mention Mark too - as to what lovely people we are so that should be a very good first meet there. Actually, that reminds me. Everyone is welcome to our lunches, members, family, friends, parents, children etc. It would help greatly, though, if you could give me some idea beforehand if you'll be coming and approximately how many people you'll be bringing with you. It takes quite some time ringing round to find enough places for these Sunday lunch meets which are happy to take a booking for an unspecified number of people as many do want bookings for definite numbers, or even pre-ordering menus which wouldn't suit us at all. By cajoling and wheedling I can usually make a vague booking for say 15-20 but it's rather demoralising when only a handful turn up. Alternatively, if I only booked 8 or 10 seats we could end up with some very hungry people or having to eat in shifts. All I'm asking for is a reasonably close version of "I will / might / definitely won't be able to make it" so that I can estimate a little better than I have sometimes in the past. A phone call, email or confirmation at a previous meet is fine, and we can usually accommodate some last minute additions or apologies but it's just nice to have a reasonable guesstimate beforehand. The deal is usually that I call the chosen pub in the week before the lunch to give them an approximate figure but it's better to only be 2 or 3 out than 10 or 12 in my bookings so some idea from you about 7-10 days before would be ideal. Ok, grumble / lecture over, and back to the rest of the news. Boz and Sandy came along to January's meet to introduce themselves to us. Unfortunately they couldn't bring the Spitfire along for us to admire due to a slight miscalculation with garage doors ... Although Guy & I took Brown Dolly (as being the easiest to retrieve and start on a damp evening) Alan & Wendy kept up the topless tradition - wonder if the snake helped keep Wendy's knees warm on the way home??? Ah, talking of topless, Mark (Spitfire) has found an alternative to last month's suggestion of hat, scarf, hot-water-bottle, long-johns etc by taking custody of the hardtop Mark (Vitesse) had found. Mark (Vitesse) even made the supreme sacrifice of New Year in Kenilworth rather than joining us in Elsted to fetch it for Mark (Spitfire). Confused? Oh well, time you came along to one of our meets then to see who all these people are! And talking of Marks, welcome at last - officially - to Mark Steinson - as in Mark (Vitesse) - now that he's a bona fide TSSC member - thanks to Jackie's very special Christmas prezzy to him. As I keep saying, you don't have to be a TSSC member to come along to our meetings, though we do hope any new visitors to our group won't actually take 6 years to take the plunge! Suzie |
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| January 2004 | Return to Top of page | |
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It still seemed quite a long time before Christmas when we met up for our
Festive Feast at The White Horse on 2nd December, but with a few fairy lights,
crackers and Christmas pudding everyone appeared to enjoy the evening. Potted
highlights of the evening included:
* Barry reciting from a book of poetry from the Bring and Buy raffle * the squeal of pleasure when Kay (our hostess) opened the prezzy we'd got her (a fibre optic flashing lights Santa) * and the equally heartfelt groan from her husband Paul when he saw what was about to be added to the pub's decor * and the Case of the Purloined Pudding, whereas the suspect, Jackie, having refrained from a starter in order to make room for the rest of her dinner, was so impressed by the sight of the cheesecake heading past her that she nabbed it - only to later discover that she'd taken Robert's pud instead of the Chocolate mousse she'd in fact ordered! 
During the evening, Mark Smith declared that he'd taken our coaxings to heart and decided to drive to work in the pre-dawn hours one morning with the roof down on his Spitfire. When he wondered if he'd been doing something wrong - due to being frozen stiff and taking 3 hours to thaw out - we did have to check whether he had the complete Spitfire driving ensemble - windproof coat, scarf, gloves, woolly hat, working heater, rug and, if all else fails - hot water bottle!. It seemed he was missing one or two of these pre-requisites so perhaps he'll have another go one day having stocked up on one or two of these items. Not long after this fascinating discussion I was very pleasantly surprised to receive a Christmas Present for the group so I'd like to say thank you again, to everyone who arranged this for me, for the perfect combination - a teddy bear, chocolate and a hot water bottle! If it was designed as bribery I think it worked as I've agreed to continue as your 'fearless leader' for another year, at least all the while Guy is happy to chauffeur me down to the wilds of Hampshire on a regular basis as the Southerners are a great bunch and I'll be happy to continue in the role. During the evening we also had various discussions regarding a future regular venue for our meets. Pay and Kay had been delayed in their move but are definitely heading west in the new year. We will miss them greatly as they've looked after us so well over the years we've been there but it looks like it's now time to find pastures new. Apparently the White Horse is due to be refurbished as more of a restaurant so we don't feel we would feel quite so much at home there. Several pubs were suggested and we will have farther discussions before we make a definitive decision but in the meantime we made the following plans. For our next regular meet, on 6th January 2004, we will be moving a few hundred yards along the road to The Baker's Arms, still in Droxford. We will also be visiting the same place for our Sunday Lunch on 18th January. I had already booked the lunch thinking we could use the opportunity to check the place out before discovering that it was even dubious that the White Horse would be open in the New Year so, by moving just along the road we hope any newcomers who would like to join us in January will still find us there. From February onwards we are provisionally thinking of moving just a little further on to The Hurdles, which is currently being refurbished itself. The new owners of this hostelry are currently using The White Horse as their 'local' so Paul & Kay will be giving us a good reference and paving the way for us to move on to there. The Hurdles is due to re-open sometime in January but, not being sure of the date, we've plumped for The Bakers' Arms for our first meeting of the year, just in case. And finally, at the time of publication we're reasonably sure, but not 100%, that the Elsted Inn gathering will be happening but if you're interested in popping along to gawp at some gorgeous veteran and vintage cars on the 1st day of the new year, please do contact me and I'll be able to give you confirmation or otherwise as to whether it will be held. And just to close, I'd like to wish everyone reading this a very Happy New Year and hope we'll see many more new and familiar faces at our meetings during 2004. Suzie |
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