DEC 2020 / Jan 2021
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Founded 1967 There have definitely been a few silent nights for the club this year but, hopefully, we will be back to Hark the Herald by spring. Newsletter of the Traditional Car Club of Doncaster December 2020/January 2021 Email special due to Covid 19 virus 1 Editorial Hello again, I hope that I find you all safe and well, even if a bit restricted. The review of this last year won’t take long, I’ve not done much or been anywhere much but am still here so it’s not all bad. If the vaccine roll out works better than some other things, the prediction is some return to ‘normal’ by East- er. Must admit that I see a conflict between normal and our club but I know what they mean. Spring is the time that we really start to get going with Breakfast meetings, Drive it day and show plan- ning can really pick up so we may be back in full flow at our usual time, we will see. A reminder that the committee is proposing to carry over subs to 2021 as we were effectively shut for most of this year. We have found a way to carry on with Tradsheet and our members only Facebook page has kept us informed and entertained. The website has been running throughout and has visitors from all over the world looking to see what we are up to. In that respect, we have carried on as best we can and have fared better than some clubs that have all but disappeared for the time being. So, with a choice of grumbling about this year or looking forward to the next, I will choose to wait a bit longer until we can safely meet up and resume our activities, meeting up, putting the world to rights, tall sto- ries and everything that makes a club night worth going to. The committee have had a review of the email list to resolve some posting problems so, hopefully, more will get this Tradsheet first time via the traditional car club mailing. We also wrote to the mem- bers who are not on email to let them know how they can keep in touch so have done all we can for now. I have done a few bits on the Herald, but it hasn’t been anywhere much since March so I didn’t bother with the MOT and free tax for now. Done even less on the Zodiac project as I found that the front garden is not the best place to avoid neighbours who were locked down with nothing to do even though they are being friendly and pleasant. I have been out a few times in the van because I can boil up a kettle for the compulsory tea and get a bit of fresh air without getting close to anyone. I was tempted by the Thoresby show but decided against it in the end. I have probably spent more time than I should on the internet but I found a new motto, attributed to Mark Twain, I might keep this one for a while. It is time for that winter reminder about checking the classic, keep the bat- tery charged, handbrake off, tyres pumped and move it a bit to stop brakes and clutch sticking. Saves a lot of grief in Spring. You won’t want to find a club night starting up and car won’t go. I have picked a theme of presents through Tradsheet this year, with all the usual corruptions and idiocy that I can think of. Keep safe and well, have as good a Christmas as you can and I look forward to meeting up again soon. Seasons greeting and Happy New Year to all of you. Andy Campbell 3 4 Hello Club Members Before I put finger to keyboard I like to re-read my previous ramble to make sure I ei- ther don’t repeat myself or that what I say makes some sort of sense in context. The rapidly changing situation with Covid-19 makes reading my last article seem so long ago as we were then only looking at the “Rule of 6”. This second national lockdown has put the final full stop to the year as far as the Club goes so let me detail the current plans we have. I know that there is now talk of a Covid-19 vaccination, but at the time of writing this it is still not a possibility just yet and I am sure that the roll out of any vaccination will take some time to deliver so 2020 draws to a close with us all doing our bit to stay safe at home. Andy has been doing a fantastic job both keeping publishing the Tradsheet and in up- dating membership contact details so this electronic version of the Tradsheet is reach- ing as many members as possible. On that front Andy is also in talks with our regular Tradsheet printers looking at the possibility of producing a printed version of the Trad- sheet to send to those members who do not have access to either a computer or the internet or both early in the new year. Initially a print run will be limited to those mem- bers we have been unable to get in contact with by electronic means and then rolled out to the wider membership when that becomes possible, so keep looking in your e- mail inbox or the Club website for now and fingers crossed your door mat before too much longer. We have been aware that 2020 has been a non event as far as Club activities and that 2021 is fast approaching. The Committee have continued to be in touch with each oth- er and have decided to propose that the subscriptions you all paid for the 2020 year be rolled over to the 2021 year. This will of course have to be ratified by you the Member- ship at the 2021 AGM but I am sure you will be happy that 2021 will already have been paid for. 5 The Club is in the fortunate position to be financially healthy enough to support this so no worries on that front either. This means that you DON’T need to send us any subscriptions as would normally be the case from 1st January. If in the unlikely event that the 2021 AGM refuses to roll over 2020 subscriptions we will of course revisit the situation. Now that I have mentioned the 2021 AGM the Committee has al- ready been discussing how this can take place. Given that the Covid vaccine may take some time to be distributed we may by March be still in a situation where we are unable to meet physically. That being the case it may be possible for us to hold an AGM virtual- ly. I have had some Zoom meetings for the Doncaster Show, the Club held an evening on a live Facebook chat thread, Teresa our Facebook guru believes it is possible to hold a virtual meeting (like a Zoom call) on Facebook. There is also Microsoft Teams, Skype and many others to choose from so I am sure before we get to March we will be able to let you all know how, when and where to access the AGM. After all that can I take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year from everyone at the Traditional Car Club. I know it may be quite a bit different this year but enjoy it as best you can and stay safe—you will be criticising my verbal ramblings at a car Club meeting evening before you know it :D. At this time of year it is traditional to look back. I have been doing this with the website, more specifically with the archives of the Tradsheet. This is now expanding with more and more old copies of the Tradsheet now being available on the website as I upload them. I find it quite amusing on the one hand that some of the things talked about in the Tradsheet over 50 years ago are still relevant today. The other thing that strikes me is that in another 50 years someone may look back at what we are experiencing now with the Covid situation to read what a strange time it has been for us all (assuming in 50 years people will still read things and a new technology has not rendered it obsolete - who knows?) As for the home front, last time I told you that I had got the Morris up and running once more. I have now tuned the engine and it is running well. I have not repaired the damage the mouse caused to the headlining and wiring so that will be a job for the spring when the weather and the spanners warm up. Stay safe and well Graham Wickham Saw this and thought of you—Ed 6 Present Arms Coldstream Guards Christmas activity 1– name the cars. On the subject of parked cars, the show committee has been looking at the options for a venue for the 2021 show. Thank you to those who sent in suggestions, they have all been looked into and assessed. Unfortunately, many have hit problems of cost, accessibility or parking for paying public. Some are diffi- cult to enclose or ridiculously expensive to use. It is easy to forget just how big our show is and how many people drive to visit and a huge car park needs to be part of any plan.