TR Action 228
I’ll start this report with an apology that I’ve missed the last couple of issues. No excuses, just poor organization at Wessex Towers, and a day job that keeps absorbing more and more hours of the day – and night.
We’ve been busy in Wessex Group, taking advantage of all the opportunities to get out and about in our cars, and with very high turnouts for the all events we’ve done so far, so thank you.
The visit to Sammy Miller’s Motorcycle museum in April was something a bit different when we ventured into the world of two wheels. I had arranged with Bill Gibson, the curator of the museum that they would open especially for us on our Club Night evening so we could view the bikes out of “normal” hours. 23 members made the trip across to New Milton and we had a fantastic time wandering among the exhibits. All of the bikes have been restored to exceptional condition, and nearly all are run on a regular basis. Wessex Group member Mike Eatough has two very early ‘bikes which he’s loaned to the museum. Mike is a keen cyclist but he recently had a bad accident; I’m pleased to say he’s doing well and on behalf of everyone in the group we send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Our next big outing was for the Wessex and New Forest Triumph Run on Drive It Day. This used to be one of the highlights of the classic season locally. Last year the run was resurrected by the sterling efforts of the TSSC, and the TR Drivers Club, and its success ensured this event is firmly back on the calendar for years to come. Some fourteen cars from Wessex Group enjoyed a very pleasant drive around the New Forest, eventually arriving at a lovely country pub for lunch, but not until we had all ascended the famous, or should that be infamous, Zig Zag Hill near Shaftsbury. The name Zig Zag is obvious when you consider the five or six switchback corners on the steep gradient, and apparently it has the most corners, in the shortest distance (about a mile), of any hill in the UK. After lunch the cars lined up for some informal judging. I’m delighted to say that Wessex Group members won three awards for their cars. Robin and Sharon Hughes won Best TR6, John Davies won Best TR7/8 and Bill and Alice Scholfield won best TR2. This run was superbly organised and marshalled by volunteers from the TRDC and The TSSC and I’d like to thank them for their hard work in putting this enjoyable event together.
Keep an eye out for Wessex News for a report on other events. Finally, don’t forget Club Night next Tuesday 22nd July which is our popular Invited Car Night where we invite other interesting and exotic cars to join us. This meeting will also be held at IBM Hursley and I look forward to seeing you there.
TR Action 226
Back at the beginning of 2006 I went to Australia for a family wedding and whilst there I met Gary John, the President of the TR Register Australia. I’ve kept in touch with Gary through the occasional e-mail, and he contacted me back to say he was coming to the UK in November, staying in London, and were there any TR events on in the locality during his stay? A quick e-mail (where would we be without e-mail.) to Jean Parkinson of London Group and arrangements were soon underway to give Gary and his wife Debbie a TRiffic visit to the UK.
Firstly, London Group invited Gary and Debs to be guests of honour at their regular Club Night. They collected them from their hotel, in TRs of course, and took them to the pub for their meeting where Gary got first hand experience of a local group meeting. The following weekend, our London Group friends organised a club run especially for Gary, and a route was planned heading south for Goodwood which I thought would also make a nice run for Wessex Group to meet up. On the day the weather was absolutely awful with heavy rain all day, so only I made the journey across to Chichester. Steve Whiteley of Goodwood Group also came out to support, and we met up with Gary and the London convoy at a quintessentially English country pub in the West Sussex countryside.
It was great to catch up with Gary again over a traditional Sunday lunch and real English beer, and to return some of the hospitality he had shown me when I was down under. He certainly had a taste of true English TRing, having been driven from Sunbury to Chichester in an open top TR6 through some very “English” weather.
After lunch I presented Gary with a Wessex TR Group polo shirt which will make the trip with him back to Oz after his stay.
When I wrote about my trip in the May 2006 edition of Wessex News, I noted: “Just like in the UK, the key to the success of the TR Register Australia is the friendly, co-operative attitude of members drawn from a broad cross-section of the community.” and: “Shared enthusiasm for a practical, affordable classic sports car has engendered a fine club spirit”.
I would like to say a warm thank you to Steve for his local knowledge, and arranging lunch at short notice, and to Jean and the London Group members who made Gary and Debs so welcome, and who went out of their way to organise something special during the short time they were in London. This is what being part of the TR community is all about, and is a real example of the friendly, co-operative attitude, and fine club spirit found throughout the Register.
TR Action 223
After the busy summer months, things have begun to slow down for Wessex, but we rounded off the season with two of our most popular events. Our Cream Tea Run is always eagerly awaited and this year was no exception with thirteen cars and twenty five hungry Wessexers gathered at Ower Services one Sunday afternoon early in October. The weather was perfect for top down motoring, and Stuart had devised a beautiful run through the New Forest on the way to our tea stop. After an hour or so of meandering along the Forest roads and tracks we arrived at The Station tea rooms at Holmsley deep in The Forest where the proprietor had reserved the whole of the outside patio area for us, and, once settled, we were treated to tea and scones with lashings of cream and jam.
The following week was our visit to the Isle of Wight when we met up with the Vectis Historic Vehicle Club and joined them for another tea run. Six cars took various crossings over the Solent and we all met up at the Hare and Hounds for a very good lunch. From there it was a short drive to Butterfly World to rendezvous with the Vectis members. The sunny weather certainly encouraged a lot of wonderful cars out of their garages including a Bentley 3 litre, Humber Hawk, MGA and MGC, Austin Healeys and of course TRs. In all there were thirty two cars assembled for the afternoon run, quite a sight. I’d like to thank Peter Hodgson of Vectis for inviting us to join their run, and Dave and Chris Bachelor for planning a wonderful route.
There’s no Club Night in December, so Tuesday’s Club Night is the last in 2007. We’ll be having a video evening and will be showing some photos from this year’s European Meeting in Italy, so I hope you can make it to the Nondescripts Club.
Lastly, I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and I look forward to seeing you all at our Christmas bash on December 8th. Don’t lay up your car for the winter though, because we’ll be back in business early in January for the New Year Cobweb Run.
