TR Action 231
Where has the year gone? Here we are almost at Christmas and I am writing the last report of 2008.
Many of the long standing group members will remember Dr Michael Bingley. Michael and his wife Joan were members of Thames Valley Group but as the two groups held many joint events, they were known to many. Michael unfortunately lost his fight for life recently and several London Group members, and their TRs, attended the Service of Thanksgiving. Our thoughts are with Joan at this time.
Chris Gleeson, assisted by his brother, completed the ‘Round Britain reliability run’ in October - London to John o’Groats to Land End and back to London, all in 48 hours. Last time he took part he was in his TR6 but this year it was the TR5’s chance to shine. Unfortunately the sun didn’t shine much but Chris insisted on completing the run with the hood down, with much grumbling from his rather damp co-driver. They ended up even soggier when the car broke down but with the aid of a tow truck, the assistance, yet again, of Chic Doig, and several cups of tea from a very welcoming nearby café, they were back on the road.
Mark Ockendon’s TR6 is also back on the road following its mishap. It had a good run out in October as a small group of us (four TRs) gathered for a rather relaxed Sunday lunch at the Parrot on Forest Green. Originally the idea was to watch the start of the Norwich Union classic at Denbies Vineyard in Dorking and then have a convoy run around the Surrey hills, ending up at Forest Green. London Group aren’t that much of early risers so Keith and I were slightly lonely at 8 am at Denbies. Roger and Sue decided to give the start a miss and headed for the finish at Silverstone.
Our thanks go to John and Erica Millward (and their long suffering neighbours) for hosting our annual firework party this year. John and Erica’ neighbours are either very understanding about having a large quantity of extremely loud fireworks detonated nearby, or deaf – probably both after this year.
The Christmas meal is definitely on at Stamford Bridge but they weren’t too keen on the camping idea. Don’t forget it’s on Saturday 6th December. There is just time if you think of anyone you would like to nominate for one of the annual awards. The awards are:
The Piston from Above – awarded to a person having a run of bad luck with their TR.
The TR Nut – awarded to someone who shows true dedication to all things TR
And lastly but not least, the most sought after award, The Dipstick. This is awarded for somebody completing something outstanding in the field of incompetence. Hopefully I will get rid of the ‘Dipstick’ to another worthy contender this year.
All that is left to do is to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a TRiumphant New Year.
TR Action 230
After all the excitement of the camping weekend followed by the International, things have been a bit quieter on the London Group scene.
You saw the photo in the last report of Irv’s TR4 undergoing restoration. The good news is – it is now complete. Well, it’s almost complete as there are still those small little snagging jobs to do. So HOT has finally made it to its first meeting. Unfortunately the evenings are drawing in, so we were unable to photograph the momentous occasion, as it was rather dark. At least now on convoy runs we won’t have a rather rusty Maestro in the middle of a line of gleaming TRs.
The first weekend in September saw the usual crowd go off to the Lakes weekend. The travelling up and back was rather wet but the Saturday, Sunday and Monday were fine. The very heavy rain did mean that all the Lakes were full and the waterfalls were spectacular. It also meant that there were rather a lot of fords (watery ones not rusty ones). The theme for the weekend was Halloween and I know Roger dressed as Harry Potter but I’m not sure why ‘Sweep’ was in on the act. Sue dressed as a black cat and apparently it made the headlines in a local paper.
The fireworks party will be taking place; the date and venue just need to be confirmed but we will let everyone know in due course.
Chris Gleeson has finished his research for the Christmas meal. We will probably be holding it at a new venue this year. One venue under consideration at the moment is Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea Football Club. Tony was wondering if there was any chance of taking a sleeping bag so we can have a drink or perhaps they might even allow us to pitch our tents on a nice grassy area!
TR Action 229
After my last comments about the dipstick being hotly contended this year, the camping weekend in June turned up a few more little faux pas. I have added them to the list. At this rate I think everyone at the Christmas meal will get a nomination.
It was great fun. Saturday saw a brisk walk to the beach for fossil hunting. We managed to find quite a few, and several members did quite good impressions of fossils themselves as they draped themselves between various rocks. The afternoon saw one half of the group on a convoy run round parts of Devon and Dorset. Many of these roads had probably never had a TR along them. A good job it didn’t rain as the 4 inch layer of cow muck could have made driving rather interesting. Upon stopping for a quick conflab in the middle of nowhere, the four men in the party took the opportunity to relieve their discomfort in the hedgerows. The face of the woman who drove round the corner was a picture. We assumed it was the sight of a row of immaculate machinery in front of her eyes.
The International at Malvern was very different for us this year, as the Bring and Buy autojumble had been handed over to Cotswold Vale Group. For most this meant having a day of lazing around - at least one person has reported being bored and fidgety without the autojumble! Cotswold Vale did an excellent job - many thanks to them for taking over a hard task.
We had a grand turn out in the noisy campsite. It was great to see faces that had not put in an appearance for a few years and good to welcome those who had never camped with us before. We hope you enjoyed our company. Many thanks to Mark, Sarah, Su and Bob for organising the food and drink for the barbecue. Guess which car was officially the noisiest at Malvern? Su’s TR8.
Jonathan Horner had photos with him to prove his TR4 exists, as many of us have never seen it on the road. It looks to be nearly finished so, maybe, it will be at the International next year. And HOT off the press, look whose car is also nearing completion. It will soon be back on the road after, er, just how long is it exactly Irv?
Another car that needs restoring is Snowy, Tony Lennon’s 3A. At Malvern he was slumming it in an Escort, which was unfortunately damaged by an Audi - Steve Redway’s! Could it be a part of a cunning plan to destroy Tony’s other transport so he has to get Snowy back on the road?
The planning of our usual autumn and winter events is underway. Chris has been doing some preliminary work on finding us a suitable location for the Christmas meal. Not sure just how many pubs he has visited so far in the name of research but he is doing a thorough job!
