TR Action 228
In the last report I mentioned that I bought a new car, and one which I was hoping will be a classic of the future. Well, out of my seven weeks of ownership, it has spent over three weeks in a dealership being fixed. There was a time when one drove around and the only piece of electrical equipment you needed to worry about was the clock (or the headlamps in the case of the TR7) and if that packed up, then there was always your pocket watch.
Today, however, all that has changed. Electronic Control Units, engine warning and management system, safe modes, get you home modes and vehicle stability control all go towards having a machine that is more complicated than the Apollo moon rockets, yet is apparently unable to get you more than twenty miles up the road. That’s progress for you!
As for Brunel, things appear to motoring along quite nicely. We’ve been out and about during May and June and have a number of events and activities planned for July, including a long weekend at the Le Mans Classic for the boys and a Sunday run to the Haynes Motor Museum for everyone else. I shall write about both these events in more detail in the next edition of TR Action.
In August, there is an update to the Glavon event, Classics at the Hall, which will now take place on Sunday August 17th and not on July 6th as originally published. The rest of August sees an Historic Racing Meeting over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd at Castle Combe, followed by the Oldland Horticultural show at Oldland Common a couple of Sundays later on the 23rd.
September has the Goodwood Revival and for those of you who have a diary to fill, the Brunel Christmas meal has been booked for Friday 19th December at the Henbury Golf Club. Hopefully we’ll be able to buy a drink this year!
As always, more details in the newsletter and on the Brunel web pages.
Have fun!
TR Action 227
It’s been an interesting past couple of months on the car front for me. My old Triumph has come out of hibernation and appears to be doing OK after six months of slumber. I briefly flirted with the idea of restoring a TR5, but that little fantasy was quickly dashed after setting eyes upon the neglected wreck, and finally, quite out of character, I spent an awful lot of money on what I am telling myself will be a future classic.
As for all things Brunel, the South West Intergroup Meeting in early April was by all accounts a good day out. I’m afraid I didn’t make it due to personal reasons, i.e. not wanting to get snowed in on my first run of the season. But those who ventured out in the freezing cold said it was very worth while, once they’d defrosted.
I did make an appearance in Priddy, Somerset, however, at a small gathering of cars associated with another local club. I bumped into a few Brunel members and had decided to go along instead of going on an alternative run to the New Forest. A nice run home in the sunshine through Cheddar Gorge and over the Mendips made it a pleasant day out.
Events coming up in June and July include the ACE Classic Run, which is organised by the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club and will be held on the 8th June. There is also a Sunday run provisionally planned for the 22nd to the Haynes Motor Museum, where our intention is to meet up with fellow Register members from Apple County.
In July the annual Glavon gathering, Classics at the Hall will take place on Sunday 6th. A small contingent of Brunel insurgents will cross the channel to visit Le Mans for the Le Mans Classic from Friday 11th through to Sunday 13th and a few days later we’ll all converge on Malvern for the International. I imagine it will be the usual plan for the International with an evening meal at the pub on Friday and a barbeque on Saturday night.
August has the Castle Combe Historic Racing Meeting over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd and there is the Oldland Horticultural show at Oldland common on Sunday 23rd. As always, more details in the newsletter and on the Brunel web pages. Have fun!
TR ACtion 226
The big news for Brunel in this edition of TR Action is the report on Brunel’s AGM that took place in February.
As predicted, there weren’t many surprises. Andy Spencer will continue as Group Leader, Roddy Haliwell as Treasurer and yours truly as the TR Action Social Scene co-ordinator, Brunel Newsletter editor and general good egg. Our thanks go to Kevin Jones for chairing the meeting and keeping order on the night.
Dave Lewis stepped down as technical guru as expected, but the stampede of volunteers to replace him didn’t materialise for some reason. Anyway, after a little gentle persuasion, we did manage to twist Mike Lake’s arm, and Mike has agreed to act as a contact point for anyone with questions of a technical nature, as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with a TR.
As for forthcoming events, many are still just dates in the diary as I type this report on a wet and windy March morning. However Andy and Elf Harris have been working hard to fill every possible weekend with an event or Sunday run. The South West Intergroup Meeting to be held on Sunday 6th April has the potential to be a good meeting, although TR Action publication dates will mean a report in the next issue.
There is also the Wessex & New Forest Triumph Run on 20th April and a planned Sunday run a couple of weeks later on Sunday 4th May. Two other events in May are the Standard Triumph Marque Day at Prescott on the 18th (which has been advertised in TR Action) and the Westonbirt Antique/Collectors Fair & Classic Car show on the 26th.
In June we have the ACE Classic Run, which is organised by the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club and which was very well represented by Brunel last year, so I think that might become a regular day out. Not sure who’s going yet, but as always, there are more details in the newsletter and on the Brunel web pages.
Have fun.
