Last Updated: 17/01/2012 13:41:49
Happy New Year! I trust that you all had an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas and New Year break and that you are rested and ready for a new season of TRing. We did manage to pack a lot into 2011, had lost of fun, and met some great new friends. We finished the year with a visit to Waddesdon Manor, to see the Christmas decorations, had a good lunch, a wander around the Food Fayre, and had the privildge of parking right in front of the house. That was followed by a very successful Christmas Dinner at The Peacock, many people taking advantage of the very comfortable guest rooms to stay over and have a few beers, instead of having to arrange transport home. We’re now into a new year and we have planned a busy calendar of meetings and events for 2012. Some are new and some old favourites. In addition to our regular monthly meetings at The Peacock, mid monthly meetings and various locations around the Chiltern Hills, shows and visits, there are overseas trips planned to Classic Le Mans, Angoulême for the Circuit des Ramparts, and Ireland for the Gordon Bennett Rally. A complete list of dates and details can be found on our website at www.chiltern-trs.co.uk/Events.html If you have not managed to get along to a Chiltern Group meeting or event before, why not get out the diary now and make a note of a few dates ? If you can bring your TR, we would love to see it, and if you can’t, no matter, come along anyway. You can be sure of a warm welcome at The Peacock in Henton, or any other event, from a friendly and enthusiastic bunch of TR people. It will be a lot of fun and I know that you will enjoy it. And ladies, do come along too, it is not all about oily bits!
I find it hard to believe that we are nearly at the end of November already, but here we are. Since the last report, Geoff Wooldridge took a party of eighteen to visit Prodrive at Banbury, the home to the Aston Martin race program, and where the new WRC Mini rally cars are produced, among many other things. A good time was had by all. On Sunday 4th December, Geoff has arranged a visit to Waddesdon Manor (a National Trust property) to see the Christmas decorations and the Food Fayre. A table for lunch has also been booked. Geoff has permission for us to park right in front of the house. Last time we did this, it caused quite a stir and many visitors found the line of TRs more interesting than the other attractions! The Chiltern Christmas Dinner will be at The Peacock on Saturday 10th December. Remember too that The Peacock has twenty-five clean and comfortable rooms which are available to us at a special discounted price. The last time I checked, we had already booked half of them, so if you are interested, you will need to contact (landlord) Martin as soon as possible. Check out our website at www.chiltern-trs.co.uk/Events.htm for details of these and all our other events and meetings. Our regular month meetings will continue at the Peacock in Henton and there’s usually a mid month meeting too, where we go out and about in the Chiltern area. It has been our pleasure to greet so many new people over the past year. We enjoyed your company and look forward to seeing you again. If you have not been along to a Chiltern Group meeting or event, and are thinking about it, do come and join us. You will receive a very warm welcome from a friendly bunch of like minded enthusiasts. Lastly, let me remind you that the TRR AGM is Sunday 27th November at Gaydon. I hope to meet at least some of you there. As this is the last TR Action you will receive before the end of the year, may I wish you and your family a happy and peaceful Christmas.
The pace of shows and visits starts to slow down at this time of year, but since the last TR Action we have been to the Oxfordshire Classic Car Show at Blenheim Palace, with our good friends from North London, Lea Valley, Birmingham, and other groups, and The Henley Show. Then a large party of us attended the Goodwood Revival Meeting, which unbelievably, gets better every year, and made a long weekend of it. Then there was a return visit for a Tour of the BMW Mini Plant at Cowley and the Kop Hill Climb. This is another fairly new event that has proved to be very popular. Finally there was another return visit, this time to Mercedes GP Petronas at Brackley to see the truly amazing technology that goes into producing a Formula 1 car. Still to come we have a visit to Prodrive at Banbury and a tour of the factory, where they are building and running the new Works Mini Rally Program, as well as many other fascinating projects. Later in the year we have a seasonal visit to a National Trust property and the Chiltern Christmas Dinner. More of that anon. I cannot believe that this year has flown by so quickly! We still have our monthly meetings at the Peacock in Henton and a mid month out and about somewhere in the area. It has been a pleasure to greet so many new people recently. We hope that you enjoyed your visit and that you will continue to come and see us whenever you can. We enjoyed your company and look forward to seeing you again. If you have not been along to a Chiltern Group meeting or event, and are thinking about it, do come and join us. You will receive a very warm welcome from a friendly bunch of like minded enthusiasts.
