------NEWSLETTER & DIARY www.newburymgoc1023.co.uk

Month June 2019 ------Number 297 Committee Members

Area Secretary:- Tony Gilbert ( Newsletter with Eileen) Treasurer: - Peter Derbyshire Membership Secretary Pauline Whiffin. Website and IT Andy Wood Events Coordinators Janet and Colin Price (Events Diary) Events coordinator Trina Nichols ( Lunchbunch Walks and Midweek Meanders)

Meetings every second Tuesday in the month at 8pm Deanwood Park Golf Club, Stockcross Nr Newbury, Berkshire RG20 8JP 01635-4877 MANOR GARAGE

Our club is grateful for the sponsorship provided by Richard Chapman of Manor Garage. His company specialises in all types of MG both new and classic. Ring him or call in for friendly advice

Manor Garage Unit 4 Elm’s Farm Business Park Grove Rd. Wantage. Oxon 0X12 7PD ~~ Phone 01235 767751 ______Happy Anniversary 1023 . 25 years of fun.

Eileen and I joined in 1998 and we could write a book about the happy memories that we have of the years spent with the club. I think that the first that comes to mind is our very first South Downs Run in 1998 which was the event that made us appreciate the benefits of belonging to a classic car club. We did that run in our 57 Magnette ZB with Colin and Sonya Hutcheson in the back seat as their MGB was in dock. We had had many classic cars at that point but they had come and gone. It was the fun of belonging to this MG club that settled things and that only came about by a chance meeting with Alan, Brenda, Colin and Sonya at the Leukaemia Research Show at the racecourse. The lasting memories are of all the fun, laughter, excitement and good friendships that we have experienced over the last 20 years by belonging to our club and taking part in all its various activities. We are in the privileged position of being able to pass on our memories and it would be interesting to hear of your’s in the next newsletter.

Tony and Eileen. Newsletter sponsored by ~ Manor Garage – Wantage 01235-767751. Newbury Rocks ~ MG’s Roll Page 1 of 15 Newbury MGOC Diary 2019 Full details for all events will be published in the Newsletter near event date

June Wed 5 th Midweek Meander 51 - Tulip route and pub lunch, Ian Rose and Crown, Nymphsfield Sun 9 th Oxford MG MGs in the Park at Cotswold Wild Life Park Tue 11 th Club Night – Speaker, former Yeoman Warder Tony Peter D Strafford Thu 20 th Midweek Meander 52 - Hell-Fire Caves, West Barry, Penny Wycombe. Pub lunch. NT house visit. Thu 27 th Lunch Bunch Walk 147 Graham and Fran Sat 29 th Barbecue. NMGOC 25 th Anniversary celebrations. Committee At Bob and Carolyn’s. Sun 30 th Thatcham Classic Car Show. July 1 – 4 th Welsh Holiday, Llanerchindda Farm Pauline Sun 7 th Gazebo Get-together - Pageant of Transport, Peter D Broughton, Hampshire Tue 9 th Club Night Wed 17 th Midweek Meander 53 - Rural Life Centre, Tilford, Nr Trina Farnham, Surrey (picnic) Sun 21 st Duck Racing at Dipley Mill, Hartley Wintney (picnic) Roger Thu 25 th Lunch Bunch Walk 148 Wed 31 st Midweek Meander 54 - Lasham Airfield, Alton - gliding Brian T history talk & tour (pub lunch) August Thu 8 th Midweek Meander 55 - Friar’s Court Garden (picnic) Janet Optional 11.00am for coffee at Buscot NT tea room or meet 1.00pm at Friars Court. Sun 11 th Gazebo Get-together - West Berks Classic Car Show Andy, Colin Tue 13 th Club Night - Scuttles Rob, Marion Sun 18 th Late lunch - tulip route and pub lunch, Jack Russell, Ian Faccombe Thu 22 nd Lunch Bunch Walk 149

2019/20 Subs Its that familiar time of year again when our annual club subscriptions are due. Once again the rate is held at £15.

Payment can be made in cash, cheques or preferably by bank transfer but do let me know if you pay this way so I can mark you down as paid. The clubs bank details are:

Peter Derbyshire

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1994-2019

In celebration of our MG Owners Club’s 25th anniversary we should look to see how it arrived at this successful point in its career. We have gathered information about the early days of the club from three longstanding members, Chris Pritchard, Robin Williams and his partner Carol . Later in this newsletter is a copy of the first two pages of Newsletter No 1 of April 1994 supplied by Robin and Carol. This was printed by Robin’s printing company Castle Print & Design at a cost of 50p per copy. Alan and Brenda, memories are extracted from the 20 th Anniversary edition of this Newsletter as is the continuum of history below.

Chris , Robin and Carol have some memories of MG club type activities prior to 1994. Robin bought his MGB in 1987 and remembers going to the Leukaemia Charity show at the racecourse with others in 1991. His favourite memories from 1994 are of the Easter trip to Calais organised by “Classic Motoring Abroad” in company with other Newbury members. .

October 1993 A young lady called Linda Bowling met Nigel P Hedges who was the Southern Region Secretary for the national MGOC at an air display at Duxford. He suggested that she started an MG club in her home town of Newbury.

April 1994 The first newsletter is produced and through Linda’s recruitment drive 17 owner’s cars met at The Bell at Boxford. Linda is recorded as Secretary in the MGOC magazine .Chris, Robin and Carol have memories of other members of that time i.e. Colin and Sonya Hutcheson, Chris’s relative Fred, Graham and Helen Bartholomew, John Lester and Tim Knight. Tim who was running an MG repair and restoration business may not have been a fully paid up member but he was certainly a kingpin of the club in those early days. He had learnt his trade as an apprentice to a man called John Taylor at H. E. Bates Garage in Newbury. . At some time Linda who was a Dentist handed over the job of secretary to Helen and Graham Bartholomew

April 1997 Alan and Brenda take on the role of secretaries, an account of which is printed later in this Newsletter and started working hard to build the club as we know it today. They took over from Peter Nightingale (whose name has not arisen in our enquiries). He is recorded as secretary in an early MGOC listing . Colin Hutcheson was by now established as the Editor/Publisher of the newsletter. The membership steadily increased and the range of activities widened.

Oct.2004 Colin Hutcheson retired from his employment at Aldermaston and relinquished the role of editor of the newsletter, he and Sonya were on the point of moving to Wales to enjoy their retirement. Tony and Eileen took over as Editors.

Jan.2008 Due to ill health Tony and Eileen relinquished their role as Editors and Roger and Nicky took over the mantle.

April 2008 After ten years hard work Alan and Brenda passed the role of Secretaries over to Ian and Sue who carried on moving the membership on and activities of the club forward.

May 2011 Terry Whiffin became Secretary with the help of Pauline, who also carried on with the role of Treasurer, until ill health forced him to resign. Terry was a great organiser of some wonderful trips to France and Wales. To assist the club Ian became temporary Secretary for 3 months. Newsletter sponsored by ~ Manor Garage – Wantage 01235-767751. Newbury Rocks ~ MG’s Roll Page 3 of 15 Jan. 2012 Roger and Nicky took over the reins as Secretaries . Tony and Eileen returned to editing the newsletter. Peter Derbyshire became the treasurer and Mike Stone and Brian hay joined the committee. Jan 2014 Peter Nichols joined the Committee.

Dec 2015 Pauline joined the Committee.

Nov 2017 Trina Nichols joined the Committee

Dec 2018 After six years of dedicated hard work Roger and Nicky stood down from the role of Secretaries.

Jan 2019 A new Committee was formed to run the club with Tony as Area Secretary (and newsletter), Peter as Treasurer. Colin and Janet Price Events Diary. Trina walks and Mid Week Meanders. Andy Wood Website and Regalia. Pauline as Membership secretary.

1023 – THE EARLY YEARS. CHRIS PRITCHARD My earliest recollection of the club was being persuaded to attend a meeting at The Bell by the Boxford branch of my family, Fred Ashton and my cousin Bruce. They were both MG owners and were aware of my general interest in cars having frequently admired the Triumph Spitfire which I had restored over two years of my spare time.

It was around this time that I had decided that another restoration project was due and had bought on spec a GT with two weeks MOT remaining from a used car lot in Croydon whilst passing through. Needless to say there was very little right with this car; at twenty years old it had ten previous owners and even the colour was non- standard, but I was looking at a bigger picture and some of the details of that adventure have been previously published.

The format of the meeting was very simple, being an informal ‘noggin and natter’ organised by a very personable young lady called Linda who for some time carried out all the necessary admin duties of the club. This was in fact a re-incarnation as there had previously been a club in Newbury which I think met at The Woodpecker;

I must say from recent observation how good it is to see the oak tree that has grown from that little acorn all those years ago thanks to the hard work and dedication of those who have filled the various offices over the years. OUR MG CLUB 1997 – 2008 ALAN AND BRENDA

1997 was the year we bought our MG. We quickly learned that more knowledge concerning old cars was needed than we possessed, so we joined the MG Owners club which at that time was meeting at Sun in the Wood pub in Stoney Lane near Thatcham. The secretary at the time was a young lad called Peter. He was soon sent abroad to work so the secretary position became free. The usual number of people attending each meeting was in the region of 8 to 12. One particular club night Alan departed to the meeting and I had to attend our local village hall as I had been seconded to take the Minutes of a meeting regarding the running of the place. I was not happy to be doing it as I hated taking Minutes. It was a particularly frustrating meeting and I came home at 9 o'clock with steam coming out of my ears thinking what a waste of an evening as I could have been enjoying myself at our MG club night. Imagine my surprise when my phone rang and it was Jan Jones (a member who had been elected to call me) to tell me that as I hadn't attended the meeting I was now Secretary of Newbury MG Owners club! I can't remember my, probably unprintable reply, but when Jan put the phone down she told Alan that he should go home as soon as possible as I didn't seem happy at the news! Alan duly arrived armed with crisps and chocolate and soothed troubled waters. In the morning, having cooled down we both decided that we could run the club together. I am no good with numbers, so Alan agreed to do the accounts and I would do everything else with his help. Although Alan and I ran the club for 10 years, we could not have done so had it not been for the members who came forward and gave their unstinting support to us on every occasion.

The Secretary’s role was passed to Ian and Sue. Newsletter sponsored by ~ Manor Garage – Wantage 01235-767751. Newbury Rocks ~ MG’s Roll Page 4 of 15

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Back to 2019 and a summary of events in May and June.

In early May twenty two members met at Nuffield Place the home of car maker William Morris who became Lord Nuffield and laid down the foundations of MG . Trina had arranged this trip well and we were greeted by a talk by one of the National Trust’s volunteers on lord Nuffield’s fascinating career not only in car manufacture but as a philanthropist spreading his wealth for good causes including the manufacture and supply of Iron Lungs. It was a very wet day but once in the house we were able to understand something of the character of the man and his love of engineering. A cosy retreat was found in the little cafe. A full report from Trina can be found in this newsletter.

In mid May seven cars boarded the ferry at Portsmouth to make the 24 hour sailing down to Bilbao in Northern Spain. Andy and Jenny had already spent two weeks with a relative down in Southern Spain and had driven back up to meet us at our first hotel on the northern coast. It was a successful trip giving us the opportunity to drive on some exciting mountain roads, see some amazing scenery and enjoy town and country hotels. Trina has written a full report in this newsletter and Andy and Jenny have written an account of their own experiences in Southern Spain. Mike and Carol . Bob and Carolyn had opted to stay on for a few days but unfortunately their ferry home was cancelled. Mike and Carol were found a place on another ferry three days later but Bob and Carolyn had to drive up through France to St Malo to secure a ferry home.

Nine members displayed six cars at the Pangbourne College Classic Car show on Saturday. There was a grand line up of MGs from various clubs in our area and they were treated to a central place in the display area. This show is organised by our member Tom who is a senior member of staff at the college. He had gathered a wide range of cars and motorcycles of different models and ages. It was the first outing of our new gazebo which proved to be shady picnic place for our members on a sunny day. Dave Newell did not have good end to the day and later in this newsletter is a report from Tom it is suffice to say that the AA were involved

WEB NEWS

Andy has posted the events below on the website as permanently available information until they are out of date. I have also presented some of them in this newsletter as appropriate.

He has also created a new page for the promotion of Merchandise . It shows the range of clothing available which can be embroidered with our logo.

Hell Fire caves. . 25 th Anniversary Barbecue (details in this Newsletter) WBCVC Classic Car Show (change of Venue)

Andy is now ready to receive photographs of you and your cars for the Members Section. Especially now as you are out and about in your MGs. Reminders details in this newsletter We have speaker on Clubnight . His Talk wiil start at 8.00pm.

Barry and Penny would like to hear from you if you are joining the Hell Fire Cave Trip with your menu choices.

Janet needs to know if you coming to the BBQ and if you are able to provide food items. Donations to the Charity Raffle will be welcome on the day Newsletter sponsored by ~ Manor Garage – Wantage 01235-767751. Newbury Rocks ~ MG’s Roll Page 7 of 15 Lunch Bunch Walk No 146, 23rd. May 2019

A select band of 11 members gathered at The Bell in Aldworth for this lovely walk (many others were apparently off enjoying their tapas). Two further members joined us for lunch.

It was a gloriously bright, often sunny, morning, but not too hot. The walk throughout was gentle, along narrow roads and trackways out of the village onto the Berkshire Downs. At one point there was a beautiful expanse of wild flower meadow, clearly carefully created and tended by the

occupants of the house nearby.

Once at the walk’s furthest point, there were magnificent views north across the Oxford vale, including the Harwell Campus, Wittenham Clumps, the margins of Wallingford … and, inevitably, that now defunct power station in, whisper it quietly, Didcot (the old names of Duddas Cote or Dudcote sounded much better!). It was a stunning vista, with extensive rolling fields of young crops in the foreground and the line of in the middle distance.

The return leg of the walk overlooked some classic examples of chalkland dry valleys, thought to have been caused by small streams flowing over the permanently frozen sub-soil ( permafrost ) during the several ice ages which have occurred over the past million or so years.

There were also numerous large flint nodules on the ground surface. Flints (comprising silica) are formed by little understood chemical processes at the base of the chalk rock over long periods of time. They are commonly found on the surface, however, either combined with clay (clay-with-flints, often found capping the neighbouring ), or solitary. They migrate to the surface by a process known as cryoturbation , the movement of solid material upwards by successive freezing and thawing of water contained in the finer soil layer which surrounds them.

Here endeth the physical geography lesson … promise!

After all that, it is worth making more than a passing mention of the pub, its food and its ale. As someone who is still stuck in the vinyl and cassette era (the same as many classic MGs, of course), The Bell’s cash only policy was a revelation and delight, as were its ale and bar food. It was good to see the fizzy beers consigned to bottles under the counter, and the bargain basement rolls were simple but delicious; a cheese roll was simply a roll with a huge hunk of cheese.

Newsletter sponsored by ~ Manor Garage – Wantage 01235-767751. Newbury Rocks ~ MG’s Roll Page 8 of 15 Given the retro/austerity feel of the pub, rotting window frames and olde-worlde gents included, the writer simply could not resist ordering a corned beef ploughman’s. This comprised two large doorsteps of corned beef plus a delicious, ginormous mixed salad, containing more pomegranate seeds than he had eaten in all his quite long life so far. The salad was a meal in itself and would easily constitute double an individual’s five-a-day veggie matter.

A super walk ending up in most convivial surroundings, complete with friendly owners, with whom the writer discussed the merits of that other retro food item, evaporated milk. Fran and I enjoyed it all, including the company, as we are sure did everyone else. We’ll certainly be paying The Bell in Aldworth a visit in the future. Thank you Jenny and Richard.

Graham

Footnote The Bell has just been awarded best pub by West Berks CAMRA. (ed)

Lunch Bunch Walk No 147, Thursday 27th June 2019

June’s walk is centred on the village of Ewelme. The walk is about five miles (8 Km) in length, through the village and across rolling open downland at the foot of the Chiltern escarpment. There are no (repeat, zero ) stiles. There are two kissing gates, however, for the passionate amongst us. There are also two moderate climbs: the first near the walk’s start, short but quite rough; the second, a longer one but across an open meadow, in the last mile of the walk as we return to the village. Be aware that the downlands are open to all elements, especially the hot June sun or wind-swept horizontal rain, and there will be muddy patches if the month has been wet. No forecasts here!

Assemble at the Shepherd’s Hut pub (grid reference SU639919, OS 1:25,000 sheet 171, OS 1:50,000 sheet 175; post code, OX10 6HQ) at 10.00h., to depart on the walk, 10.30h. We hope to return to the pub for lunch by 13.00h., but there are numerous distractions on the way….

Please, if you can, take a look at the pub’s menu online (see below) and let Graham know your choice (again, see below) by the Friday evening before the walk (the 21st.). The pub has asked me to provide them with a rough idea of demand in good time before the walk. Don’t worry if you wish to come at the last minute. You can still let Graham know just before the walk and I can phone the extra orders through. Similarly, vice-versa; let Graham know if, having given me your order, you cannot come on the day. I’ll let the pub know.

There is a great selection of real ale…

Graham and Fran

Notes (i) As the pub only opens at midday, with staff not normally arriving until 11.00, we cannot guarantee use of their ‘facilities’ prior to the walk. The nearest public loos are in Wallingford, near the riverside car park, where we met up for the boat trip last year (just across the river from the town in Crowmarsh Gifford.

(i) The pub’s menu is at http://www.shepherdshutewelme.co.uk/assets/shepherds-hut-lunch-menu-april- 2019.pdf

Graham

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Your club has organised an entertaining talk by a former Beefeater or to be exact a Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London. A candidate must have at least 22 years service in the Armed Forces. Why are they called 'Beefeaters', no one knows for sure but it may have arisen from the fact that they were allowed to eat as much beef as they liked from the Kings table.

Our speaker is an ex Beefeater and his name is Tony Stafford. He will be in his full uniform. His talk is titled 'The Ladies of the Tower of London' which I am told is not what first comes to mind ! No doubt he will answer questions that we may have.

This is an evening not to be missed. We will be in the conference room at Deanewood. Peter D.

Newbury MG Club Visit to “Hell-fire Caves” Thursday 20 th June

We have now checked out the arrangements for the above, with a visit. We will meet at the National Trust (free) car park at the foot of the hill at 10.30am. There is ample space, toilets are available at the Caves entrance, a 10min walk away. The car park is on a side road next to the A40, a left turn coming from Stokenchurch, follow NT signs for caves car park. Post code HP14 3AP.

Leaving the caves at about 12.30, we walk for 5 mins through the old village to the George and Dragon, a 16 th Century coaching inn. We have provisionally booked for 12, but this can be increased. We are asked to pre-order our food, the menu is attached. (return choices to B and P) (we found on our visit the food was excellent a cut above the usual pub menu with prices perhaps a pound or two higher)

We will plan to leave he pub at 2.15pm and walk a further 5mins to the entrance of West Wycombe House Park. The house is only open 4 days a week in summer and groups are given timed tours. It has been necessary to book for us with NT, parties are 12/15, we can add further numbers with enough notice. Entry is free for NT members, £10.00 for non-members. Dogs are allowed on West Wycombe Hill above the caves, but not in the Park. The House listed in the NT guide book as “an exquisite Palladian Mansion” referring to fine collections and still owned and occupied by the Dashwood family.

We would expect to end our visit at about 4.00pm, the car park is opposite the House entrance across the A40 so cars can be parked and left for the duration of the visits. We hope as many members as possible will be able to come, but we will need final numbers for house and pub menu choices by the 1 st June.We currently have 12 firm bookings for the visit, but would other members let us know as soon as possible.Visits to the House may have to be on a first come first served basis if we cannot get a second tour with NT guide there are lovely walks around the Park.

Notes on travel . We travelled up from Andover via Thatcham, Theale, M4, A 404M, and A4010 road out of High Wycombe. It took us about 1hr 20mins 57 miles. Traffic was heavy on the M4 due to road works, through High Wycombe down to the A40 was OK.

Barry and Penny

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CELEBRATE OUR 25 TH ANNIVERSARY AT OUR BARBEQUE. Saturday 29 th June Also supporting CANCER RESEARCH.

Bob and Carolyn have kindly offered to host our BBQ and 25th Celebrations in their beautiful garden at Mortimer starting at 12.30 pm. It will be a great way to celebrate our 25 years of fun . (travel directions attached) We plan to have the first famous Ludgershall Sausages and Burgers ready to eat at 1 pm.

As in other years we are asking if you can contribute different types of salads and desserts. Janet will be co-ordinating all of this and recording the numbers attending. Trina will be looking after sauces and pickles. Special dietary requirements are best left to you to look after and can be accommodated by Roger H the chef of the day.

West Berkshire Brewery beer from Steve will be on tap and you are welcome to bring your favourite tipple of wine or soft drinks. A celebration wine will be provided to drink a toast to our 25 years of fun. Glasses will also be provided for this toast but bring glasses for your own drinks.

Some plastic cups and cutlery will be available but we thought that it would be better for you to bring your own picnic plates, cutlery and cups. You are also asked to bring your own picnic chairs etc.

We will be holding a raffle in support of CANCER RESEARCH . We have £200.00 in the kitty for the charity so far and it would be good if we can swell the coffers. Donations of bottles, biscuits, sweets etc. will be most welcome and will help a great deal. Please bring on the day. Tony

PLEASE LET JANET KNOW IN GOOD TIME IF YOU ARE COMING ALONG AND IF YOU ARE ABLE TO BRING SALADS ETC.

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______

Sunday 7th July Gazeebo Get together.

Our club is participating again at this quintessential village car show at Broughton near Stockbridge. We are entering as a club with our gazebo and flag being very prominent. Besides the car display there are many other attractions to interest us all. Lets hope the weather will be as good as last year when we all sought vital shade ! Final details will be published once I am aware of them. Broughton near Stockbridge . Post Code SO20 8AB

See you there

Liz and Peter

Please let Liz and Peter know if you are joining this event.

Newbury Went to Nuffield

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Despite the forecast for rain a few MGs slipped out of their snug, warm nests and made their way to Nuffield Place to park proudly in front of the house that for 30 years had belonged to the man that made them great – along with a few modern counterparts. We gathered, then retreated to the Café for coffee, and to get out of the rain, and to await an introductory talk about the man - William Morris Lord Nuffield - and the

house.

This took place in the Garage, as it was raining again, where Lady Nuffield’s Wolseley Eight is housed – a car which is still fully functioning and still driven and its twin, Lord Nuffield’s car, is housed at Gaydon – both had a ‘BUD’ registration. We were told about the man who was truly a self-made man. He started from very humble beginnings as an apprentice to a bicycle maker at 14, but not taking well to instruction and claiming that his “so called apprentice ship was a complete myth. I was never taught anything” he started out on his own at 16, with a capital of £4.0s.0d. repairing and building bicycles in his parent’s shed. He never looked back. He just kept on going expanding and developing his businesses until he eventually started making automobiles, simple and basic and for a third of the price of others at the time. He made a very great deal of money and he gave away a very great deal of money. He was a philanthropist that never sought undue recognition as one obituary headline read “Millionaire who never sought the limelight”.

He also was involved in the medical world – he had wanted to be a surgeon, but that was never to be. However, following a painful tooth extraction he endeavoured to create an interest in anaesthetics by endowing a Chair in Anaesthetics at Oxford. He also developed an interest in the Iron Lung when he discovered in the 1930s that there were only 5 in the country. He ordered 5,000 to be made in his Cowley factory for distribution around the country and the Empire. There is an Iron Lung on display in the house. It now a rather scary looking piece of equipment but then was a life saver.

The house, which was home to Lord & Lady Nuffield for 30 years, is not the huge mansion that he might have had. It is a very comfortable ‘home’ with lots of furnishings and items that were very familiar to us! He made some alterations and extensions and it finally comprised a large Billiard room, a Drawing Room, Dining Room, Sitting Room, comfortable bedrooms, dressing rooms and bathrooms. Lord Nuffield’s bedroom included his own ‘man cave’ filled with mechanical bits and pieces with which he occupied himself if he couldn’t sleep, plus a rather intriguing light over his bed with a definite ‘health & safety’ question mark! Probably his own creation. There was, of course, a kitchen, but this is now the Café Kitchen!

The gardens are fairly extensive and some hardy souls looked at the near gardens briefly in between heavy showers, but from what one could judge they would bear some further investigation. Apparently, Lord Nuffield invented some gates to his driveway with special hydraulic pads so the gates opened with the weight of the car. Of course, the local children took the greatest delight on ganging up to jump up and down on the pads just to see the gates open and shut. Sadly, today they are not operational, we had to open and shut the gate by hand!

I think this is one of the wettest outings we have had for quite some time. Trina.

Report from Roger - Occasional correspondent . Here is another report from the battered old shed! Newsletter sponsored by ~ Manor Garage – Wantage 01235-767751. Newbury Rocks ~ MG’s Roll Page 13 of 15 It was Ian who sent the invite for us all to go to the Jaguar Show at Hambleden on Sunday 19 th May. It was a good opportunity for us to get together while our friends were sunning themselves in Spain on the Club Trip. What a lovely village Hambleden is, set by the river close to Henley. It was a pleasant day when Nicky and I set off to drive via the back roads via Streatley and Wallingford. It was an interesting drive with all the countryside showing the colours of late spring. As we drove into the village of Hambleden looking for the signs to the show we heard a shout from a delightful café on the side of the road and there was Ian and Sue enjoying coffee, right outside was a parking space so we took advantage of the offer of coffee. We all sat in the sunshine for about three quarters of an hour putting the world to rights.

We moved into the field and joined the 100 odd classic cars lined up on display. We found a space right behind Ian and we set up our picnic. Before we started Barry and Penny pitched up and we nattered with them. They then set off to take a look at the cars and to wander around the village. It’s an interesting place and has featured in numerous films and TV dramas, as it is quintessential English. Following lunch we took a detailed look at all the cars and what a wonderful collection there was, ranging from E type Jaguars through to a wonderful 1930’s Armstrong Siddeley. The owner was so proud of it and was very keen to talk about it and had some interesting stories to relate. We then naturally had a cup of tea and a huge lump of cake with our names on! It was a good day out in a wonderful setting proving again what a wonderful hobby “old” cars are. Thanks Ian and Sue for organising a splendid day out for us.

Roger + Nicky.

Pangboune College Classic Car Show

Nine members displayed six MGs at the show as part of a long line up of MGs of all ages and models occupying a central position in the display area. A wide range of beautiful classic vehicles were on display from all eras. From Rolls Royce to the humble Citroen 2CV Moped to Panther Motor cycle and Sidecar outfit. The Pangbourne Silver band enttertained us with stirring famous film soundtracks among other themes and refreshments were on hand.

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Our red gazebo had its first outing and proved to be a good meeting place and an ideal spot for a picnic in the shade. It was a relaxing day with the bonus of both the fine and the interesting machinery to look at.

From Tom Thought you might like this for the next club newsletter.

Dave after waiting 5 hours and having had two AA vans come that couldn’t help him home had two recovery truck then turn up within 1 minute of each other! Typical like buses thought the attached photo could be used Dave knows I’m sending it to you.

The day did not end so well for Dave N. On arrival at the display sight in the morning Dave could see that the seals on the brake master cylinder of his MG had failed and that most of the brake fluid was on the tarmac. Knowing that he could not drive the car home he also knew that he could not be recovered until the cars on display around him had left the show. An AA patrol man arrived at 4.45 pm and tried to get towing wheels under the MG but could not manage it. He told Dave that he would need a flatbed recovery truck which was arranged for 6.00pm. At 7.00pm another patrol turned up to tell him that he would need a flatbed recovery truck. At 9.00pm two flatbed trucks turned up to take him home. Dave was very philosophical and said that he was in a safe place whereas the trucks had been employed on emergencies where there was danger. Tom (show organiser) kindly looked after Dave throughout his wait for assistance.

Tony

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