Old Newsletters
Below are the old newsletters, due to the limitations of the website you'll need to scroll down to find the month you want
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Welcome to the December Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
2019 is now behind us and I’m sure everyone is looking forward to the
(hopefully) good weather of 2020, so we can get out and about in our cars.
The 7th December saw a good turnout of section members for our Christmas
party at De Rougemont Manor. This is an excellent and interesting venue, the
food was good and excellent company and a few drinks ensured a good time was
had by all.
Looks like someones having a good time
Our first run of the year is planned for January 12th and will start at
Blackmore Village Hall and wend its way to the Purfleet Heritage Centre. This
is an interesting building built in 1759 and was used to store gunpowder.
It’s run by volunteers with a good number of displays relating to the local
area, and the first and second world wars. The building backs onto the river
and is very pleasant on a warm summers day, I’ll be happy if it’s not
snowing on the day. Lisa has organised a lunch at Sir Henry’s afterwards,
which’ll give us all a chance to catchup.
Thanks
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the November Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Sunday the 20th October saw 4 couples taking part in the MGOC Autumn Gold Run. The run started as usual from the Over Community Centre, where the hot drinks and bacon rolls were a welcome start to the day. The run documentation was excellent and our party only made 1 wrong turning, it was a classic rookie mistake of thinking the person in front knew where they were going. It took us a while to get back on track but after that everything was plain sailing. We stopped halfway for refreshments and a comfort break and the final destination at Stotfold Mill was very interesting. The mill is now fully refurbished after being burnt nearly to the ground and is manned by enthusiastic volunteers who demonstrate the milling machinery. The weather was kind to us, allowing a top down run, with only a slight bit of rain after we’d parked up. We finished the day with a very enjoyable bar meal at the local pub followed by an uneventful trip home. All in all a good day out.
Friday 1st November was quiz night, with 20 people taking part. We decided to have the food at the start of the quiz so people wouldn’t be eating too late, the food was supplied by The Only Way is Fish and I think everyone agreed it was more than acceptable with nice touches like homemade tartar sauce and lemon supplied with the fish orders. This was followed by 4 rounds of questions, some easy and some hard. The winning table captained by Barry manged to pull ahead in the last round to win a well deserved bottle of wine for each member of the team. The non winners (we’re not allowed to use the term losers nowadays) each won a consolation bar of chocolate.
Don’t forget this Wednesday the 6th is club night, hopefully we’ll see lots of you there.
Regards
Bob and the committee
Regards
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the October Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
The 29th September saw a small contingent attend Pistons in the Park at Thremhall Park, I think there would have been more people if the forecast hadn’t been for rain, as it was, we only had a few light showers. This was followed by an excellent pub lunch at the Duke Head Hatfield Broad Oak.
Several cars are booked on the MGOC Autumn Gold Run on the 20th October, a number of people are staying the night before in the Dolphin Hotel, St Ives, this was available for £59 B&B with Groupon
Lisa is organising a firework night in Southend on the 9th November with a something to eat afterwards, if you wish to join this contact Lisa.
1st December is a visit to the Christmas market in Rochester with a meal at the Wharf, Dartford on the way back. This was a pleasant day out when we last did it 2 years ago
Hopefully we’ll see lots of you on Wednesday 2nd at the club night.
Thanks
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the September Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Sunday 1st September saw 22 members at Blackmore SSC for the club BBQ, the weather was kind with only a few spots of rain, the rest of the afternoon was a mixture of overcast with sunny periods.
Dave and Trevor were doing sterling work on the barbeque churning out burgers and sausages as fast as people could eat them.
Ann did an excellent job with the rest of the food, including various salads and more. The highlight was the desert, with fruit trifle complete with mini star sprinkles and MG themed Malteser cheesecake.
Gina, Dean, Andrew, Hazel, Joe and Tracey attended the South Downs run and by all accounts had a fabulous weekend having stayed overnight in a B+B in Penfold.
Our next club outing is Pistons in the Park at Thremhall Park on 29th September followed by a pub lunch, speak to Lisa for details
The club BBQ in full swing
Ready for the off Abandoned in a field?
A nice day to be at the seaside Dinner not breakfast, I hope An interloper
Regards
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the August Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
We took the opportunity to celebrate the 40th year of the Epping Area section with Trevor and assistants providing bacon rolls on arrival and a couple of excellent cakes supplied by Debbie which went down well in the afternoon accompanied by a glass of something fizzy (non alcoholic of course). Tracy and Lisa did an excellent job of decorating the cars with balloons and banners.
After taking a vote of members preferences we’ve decided to return to Blackmore Sports and Social Club for our monthly meetings. Having used this venue in the past we were familiar with what it had to offer and it’s a reasonable compromise, distance wise, considering where our members come from.
To make use of the facilities in Blackmore, we’re planning to have BBQ on Sunday 1st September. This will be a casual affair with a selection of BBQ type food, it’s proposed to charge a small fee to cover the cost of the food and everyone is welcome. For those that don’t know the Blackmore Club, it’s got plenty of parking and a pleasant patio looking out over the sports fields.
Bob and the Committee
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Welcome to the July Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Sunday 30th June saw a small contingent take part in the London to Southend run organised by SEVCVC. The run started from Fairlop Water and ended on Southend sea front opposite the Kursall. The weather was kind to them and it looks like they all enjoyed themselves.
Looks like Trev's got a new friend
Next Sunday the 7th, is the Maldon Classic Car Show, we have a stand for up to 15 cars and we’re planning to use this day to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of Epping Area MGOC so hopefully the weather will be kind to us and we’ll have a good turnout.
Regards
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the May Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
The 14th of April saw 7 cars attend Brookland MG Era day. The weather was reasonably kind to us if a bit cool. Yours truly had an interesting start to the day when I stopped a mile from home to get some petrol. No problem filling up the TF but when I went to get in the alarm went off and no amount of pressing the key fob would deactivate it. Disconnecting the battery for a short while made no difference, I didn’t have the EKA so that wasn’t an option. I tried calling daughter, who was still in bed when we left, but couldn’t get a response. I was just about to start jogging back home when she answered the phone, within 5 minutes she was there with the spare key. Alarm now deactivated I went to start the car only to find the battery had decided it didn’t want to play. Fortunately, my super-sized jump leads made short work of that. Now on our way but running late we phoned ahead to tell the rest not wait. We made up a bit of time but pasted the rendezvous point about 10 minutes after the rest should have left so didn’t stop. It turned out they were late leaving and we got there about 20 minutes ahead of the rest
The 28th saw a number of cars take part in Drive it Day, unfortunately I couldn’t take part due to other commitments
The weather has turned a bit cool but that won’t deter us, just put the flying jacket on and turn the heater up (if you have one).
Hopefully we’ll see you on 6th Feb at the Travellers Friend.
Thanks
Bob and the Committee
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Welcome to the March Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
This time of year can be a challenge when it comes to days out, we may have had some unseasonably warm weather over the last couple of weeks but this time last year we had snow courtesy of the Beast from the east.
The 15th to 17th saw a couple of members attend the Classic Car show at Excel. I made the mistake of driving there, only to get stuck in traffic at the bottom of the A406 due to a couple of HGV’s having an accident. Once there, it was a reasonable show but the emphasis seemed to be on expensive exotic cars with less stands than I would have hoped for. The were some interesting cars and the live displays and talks by well known people was interesting.
The 16th saw a small group of cars join Cambridge & District’s Snowdrop Run. This was apparently a good run through the Cambridgeshire countryside ending at Chippenham Park Gardens, where they have some excellent gardens and a pleasant Tea room.
On Wednesdays club night (6Th March) Lisa is planning to discuss and gauge people’s opinions on upcoming events, I’ve updated the Up Coming Events page on the website so if you get a chance to look at this before Wednesday you can give Lisa your opinion.
Regards
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the February Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
First apologies for the lack of a January Newsletter, Christmas and New Year (now a dim and distant memory) where a busy and hectic time and a lack of things to report seemed to make it redundant.
The New Year is now well and truly with us, the days are starting to get longer and I’m sure we’re all looking forward to lots of days out.
Lisa and Tracy have come up with a list of potential days out which I’ve added to the Up Coming Events page on the website. If you could take a look at these and give us your thoughts about them and if you have any other suggestions let me know and I’ll add them to the list.
Our Last Club Night saw us having our Christmas dinner which I’m sure everyone enjoyed.
January 6th saw a reasonable number of cars take part in a post New Year run to Bushey Museum. This is a small but interesting museum in the middle of Bushey. The run started fromTheTravellers Friend carpark at a reasonable 11:00 and wound its way cross country to Bushey. On arrival most people took coffee and a comfort break at a pleasant café on the High St followed by a short walk to the museum. The museum has an interesting mix of art and local interest with the staff being very friendly giving short talks on the exhibits if required. This was followed by a short drive to the Sibthorpe Arms in North Mimms where everyone (a few more than we’d booked for) had a pleasant meal and a good catch up natter.
Hopefully we’ll see you on 6th Feb at the Travellers Friend.
Thanks
Bob and the Committee
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Apologies but there wasn't a January Newsletter
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Welcome to the December Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Saturday the 3rd November saw a number of members meeting at The Travellers Friend, with several people partaking of what looked to be an excellent cooked breakfast prior to a little trip out. The idea was that the lads would visit the De Havilland Aircraft Museum while the ladies had a bit of retail therapy in St Albans. I can’t answer for the ladies, but I know the lads had an interesting walk around what is an important site for aviation history, being the site where the Mosquito was designed and the first prototypes built. They have an interesting array of aircraft and associated items, one of my favourites being a Horsa glider, this is a bit like a flying garden shed and only increases my admiration for the people that flew in these.
The 10th November saw Andrew, Paul, Trevor and Dave at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC, lots of stands apparently but not that many dedicated to MG’s but I’m sure they had a good day out.
Saturday 1st December saw a good number of members attending our Christmas evening out at Hunters Meet, I’m sure everyone had a good time. An excellent meal was followed by some tasty desserts after which those able burned off a few calories on the dance floor. The music had a bit too much bass for my liking, but then I don’t listen to much music so what do I know. Dean celebrated a significant birthday and after we’d sung Happy Birthday, the staff presented him with a cake. Overall, I think it was a good evening at a good venue.
Happy birthday Dean
Hopefully we’ll see a good number of you on Wednesday
Regards
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the November Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
The end of last month saw 7 cars attend Battlesbridge for an excellent day out but since then things have been quiet on the MG front until Saturday 27th which saw 7 couples at a Halloween night on the MV Columbus. This was a 1 night cruise (albeit still tied up) on the Costal del Thames just off the exotic port of Tilbury. On arrival, having tried to get in via the container port entrance, the parking and check in was handled by a very efficient staff. Once on board we went to our cabin to drop our bags and then to the bar, where we found we were the late comers with Eddy, Anita, Pete, Ann, Mick and Sue having been there for ages which I’m sure had nothing to do with the freely available free drinks. From there we went to the restaurant where we were joined by Bernie, Cheryl, John and Jackie whose fancy dress put everyone else to shame.
After an excellent meal we decamped to the Palladium Theatre where we were treated to an excellent show by the song and dance crew. This was followed by a trip to the Dome dance area where once again Richard showed us all up. From there people went their various ways, either staying until the wee hours, going to one of the bars or in my case a walk around the ship followed by bed.
The following morning needed an early start as we had to vacate the cabins by 7:00!! But an excellent buffet breakfast made up for this followed by an uneventful trip home.
Saturday 3rd November saw a group meeting up at the Travellers Friend for a latish breakfast after which the boys went to the de Havilland Museum and the girls went for a bit of retail therapy. The museum is a relatively small place but has some interesting exhibits and is historically very interesting.
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Welcome to the Octobeer Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
****** Next club meeting 3rd October at the Travellers Friend ******
September has been a good month weather wise and the club took the opportunity on the 16th to have an excellent day out in Cambridge, visiting the Orchard Tea Rooms followed by a walk along the river. The trip was well attended with 10 cars taking part and everyone had a good time in the sunshine.
The 30th saw 7 cars attend Battlesbridge for the 32nd Grand Motorbilia Day, an excellent day was had by all. The day started sunny but cool and was really pleasant until about 2 O’clock when the clouds came over but fortunately the rain held off. The event was very well attended with two packed fields of cars and bikes, the autojumble always makes the day interesting and to cap it all Dave won a trophy for Best Club Car.
Regards
Bob and the committee
If you’re not easily frightened scroll down ↓
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Welcome to the September Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
August has been a quiet month for car related events for the Epping section but a number of members did visit Much Hadham open gardens event, this included classic cars, teas, plants and the chance to see what others do with their gardens.
Enjoying an afternoon chat in Much Hadham
A good selection of cars
The days are starting to get noticeably shorter now but there are still a couple of months left that we can enjoy our cars in reasonable weather.
I've had a couple of people remark that we need to be organising more car related days out. Andrew and the previous committee left some fairly large boots to fill and it’s true that we don’t seem to have attended as many car related events since he stepped down. Gina and Dean did an excellent job of organising Much Hadham and if anyone feels able to assist with either organising a day out or just helping with the logistics, their assistance would be much appreciated.
Regards Bob and the committee.
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Welcome to the August Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
July started with a visit by a number of members to the Maldon Classic Car show. There was a bit of a queue to get in but once there an enjoyable day was had by all. There was plenty of interest for everyone, lots of cars, a reasonable number of stalls and a walk down by the river to cool down.
The 7th saw us at the Blackmore Music festival, this is a two-yearly event alternating with the village fayre. We managed to set up a gazebo which gave us some respite from the sun and a place to enjoy the refreshments, food and of course the music. The event was extremely well attended due to the good weather and the 2 bars were doing their best to cope with demand. There was slight concern later in the day as stocks started to run low but I think everyone got what they wanted. The music was excellent from some talented people on a very professional stage. There was a bit of excitement at about 10:00 when the stage went dark, it would appear someone had forgotten to fill the generator, this was quickly resolved, and the show went on. A minor disappointment was the fireworks had to be cancelled on safety grounds due to the dry grass and fields.
The day out to Frinton had to be cancelled due to a number of members unfortunately dropping out at short notice, Ann was advised not to travel for 24hrs due to having anaesthetic the previous day, this was a shame as a good time was had by all the last time we went there.
There are several events in August of which we’re currently planning to visit Much Hadham, we can discuss other possible days out on Wednesday.
After weeks of glorious sunshine, the weather has now changed, it’s gone from almost being too hot put the top down to being too wet. That’s English weather for you but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Hopefully we’ll see you on Wednesday at the Travellers Friend.
Thanks
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the July Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Quex Park on the 10th June was a resounding success, there were some interesting cars and the (very) big screen film showing of the Italian Job and The Love Bug made for an interesting day. A walk around the house and museum was also good, the dioramas of African wildlife were interesting and although done with the right intensions for their time (over a hundred years ago) were a bit spooky by today’s standards. The trip there and back was uneventful except for the Dartford tunnel being the usual pain, the only bit of excitement was pulling out of the park, it’s a blind exit but there are 2 mirrors to help you, the warning “Objects in the mirror may be closer than you think” took on a new meaning.
Quex Park lineup
Maldon was a fantastic day out, the entire park was filled with cars, there were a good number of stalls and plenty to walk around and see. The weather was wall to wall sunshine and very hot, there was a pleasant breeze down by the water and the trees provided a welcome relief from the sun. Our gazebo was a bit shaky but it held together until the afternoon. Trevor and myself went to look at the shelter in the Jaguar area and we both agreed that’s the sort of thing we could do with.
For those of you wondering about the mystery picture in this month Enjoying MG newsletter, it needs to be turned 90 degrees anticlockwise with the caption “Good job the sun’s now here as Josh can’t handle the white stuff” something went wrong between upload and publication.
Regards Bob and the committee.
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Welcome to the June Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
****** Next club meeting 6th June at the Travellers Friend, Annual AGM ******
Battlesbridge on the 13th May was an enjoyable day but the number of cars was down by half on previous years, no doubt because of the torrential rain the day before and predicted rain on the day. Paul and Andrew seemed to be doing well on their autojumble stall with Tracey doing an excellent job with the bacon rolls and tea. Quex Park on the 10th June is the next club day out, it’s the first time going to this event.
Other events we’re looking to do as a club are:-
Sunday 1st July The Maldon Classic Car Show
Sunday 22nd July Picnic on the beach at Frinton
Sunday 12th August - Cranleigh Classic Car Show & Autojumble
Although not specifically a club event some people have expressed interest in the Blackmore Music Festival on Saturday 7th July. The event is free and very well attended, food is available and drinks can be got from the Sports and Social club. The event runs from 12:00 to 23:30 and is like the Picnic in the Park festival.
We’re looking to possibly order a batch of Epping Area T shirts, anyone interested in one could you please let Tracey or Lisa know or drop me an email. We need to see if there’s sufficient interest to make up an order.
It’s that time of year again when I have to ask you to put your hands in pockets as subs are due. We’ve decided the rate for this year will be £10 per person. There’ll be a breakdown of the club finances at the AGM
The Christmas party is planned to be early December and at Hunters Meet. It was felt this was a popular venue and offered good value for money. Pre-Christmas was chosen to make a change from previous years and hopefully get people in the spirit of things before Christmas as opposed to post Christmas wind down.
The observant amongst you will noticed the address of our monthly meetings was correct in this month’s magazine. There was a technical problem whereby every time I changed the address although it confirmed it had accepted the change as soon as I logged out it reverted back to the old address.
Hope to see you on Wednesday
Regards
Bob and the committee
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Welcome to the May Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
A number of people have pointed out that the meeting place in the magazine isn’t correct, I believed I’d changed it last month so it would be correct this month, it would appear I hadn’t ticked the, less than obvious box, to indicate it had been amended, this has now been done.
I’ve made a few changes to the Upcoming Coming Events page on our website, see link below, to make it clearer which events we plan to attend as a club. I’ve included other events for info in case people wish to attend these.
If you have the opportunity to review the Upcoming Coming Events prior to the next club night we can have a better informed discussion on which events people would like to attend as a club. If you’re not planning to attend the meeting you can email me your thoughts.
If you know of an event that people may like to attend let me know and I’ll add it to the list.
http://www.eppingmgers.co.uk/up-coming-events.html
I’ve also changed the layout of the Links page on our website, I’m trying to build up a page of links that may be useful to members. If you know of a website or web page that you think may be useful to others, send me a link (copy the text in the address bar and paste it into an email) and I’ll add it to the page. You can also use the same method to let me know about events that I can then add to the website.
http://www.eppingmgers.co.uk/links-page.html
National Drive it Day on Sunday 22nd saw a number of section members attend the CCVC event starting at Sutton Hall, Rochford with a pleasant drive of approximately 45 miles (dependant on how accurate your speedo is) to Stow Maries aerodrome. This is an interesting site being the only remaining airfield still operating that was operational during WW1. Approximately 250 vehicles took part with cars as old as 1914 to the present day with a very varied range of manufacturers. It was made all the better by the weather which couldn’t have been kinder.
Regards
Bob Davis and the committee
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Welcome to the April Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
The weather is starting to pick up now and hopefully some real sunshine is not too far off, we can wake our cars from hibernation and get out and about.
The club bowling night went well, if a bit loud for my old ears, everyone had a good time and the food was reasonable too. The only bad bit of the evening was on the way home, it had been snowing a bit and some of the roads were very slippery, Josh was unfortunate enough to put his Midget on its side. Fortunately, a local farmer helped him push it back onto its wheels and he left it on someone’s drive overnight. Dave and Paul helped recover it next morning and the damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been, the drivers mirror was sheared of and the soft top was damaged, with only a few minor dents.
That parking space was a bit narrow but I knew I could get it in Batman or is it Robin to the rescue
We’re looking forward to Drive it Day which will hopefully see plenty of classics on the road.
Hopefully we'll see you on Wednesday at the Travellers Rest.
Bob and the Committee
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Welcome to the March Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Firstly, apologies for the lateness of this newsletter, February has been a busy time for me and the short month caught me out.
Hopefully we’re now past all the snow and we can start getting our cars ready for the, hopefully, sunny summer ahead
With the newsletter being late it does give me the chance to mention how many people turned up for the last club meeting. The entire conservatory area was filled, with members overflowing onto other tables. We had a new member come along and I hope we’ll see more of you Geoff.
The next night out is the bowling night on the 17th March.
I look forward to seeing you all at the next club night on the 4th April.
*** Don’t forget if you want to take part in the Drive It day run to Stow Maries you need to send of an entry form, see the Up Coming Events page ****
Bob
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Welcome to the February Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Hopefully everyone had a great Christmas, I think we all had a good time at the Christmas party, Richard put some of us (well me anyway) to shame on the dance floor and John, when Pete tells you not to look at the mirror take his advice.
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Welcome to the January Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas with Father Christmas bringing you lots of presents. At the time of writing this we’re looking forward to New Years eve so I’m doing it while I’ve still got a clear head. The days are now starting to get longer, albeit the mornings are darker, and we can all start looking forward to those long hot summer days out in our cars but I suspect we’ve got some colder months to come before then.
Our first club meeting of the year will be on Wednesday 3rd of January and we’ll be holding it at the Travellers Friend Epping CM16 6PU. A number of members are already familiar with this venue and others can see what’s on offer and give their opinion. The food is good (in my experience) and the prices are reasonable, click here for the menu.
Upcoming Events
Club Christmas party.
Saturday 13th January Christmas party night with Wham Tribute act. Arrival is from 7.30 for Pre-Dinner Reception Drinks with the Evening meal being served at approximately 8 o’clock with wines beers & soft drinks throughout the meal. The house bar will then open at 10.30 and the night ends at midnight.
If you’ve booked to stay the night you check in between 1 and 4 o’clock
Three Rivers Golf Club
Stow Road
Cold Norton
Purleigh near Chelmsford
CM3 6 RR
Sunday 11th February - MG day at Stoneleigh Park Warwickshire tickets when ordered in advance cost £10.65. If you wish to go Lisa will collect cash on Wednesday evening.
Motors by the Moat at Leeds Castle 13th May, cost per car £10. We can book a club stand.
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Welcome to the December Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Firstly apologies for the lack of a newsletter last month, I had a few technical difficulties and was very busy, by the time I resolved them we’d had our monthly meeting.
November has been a quiet month from a car events point of view but we’ve taken the opportunity to have a few social events. We had a nice trip to Southend to see the fireworks followed by a good, if a bit slow, meal at the Park Inn Radisson. The 26th saw a good day out in Rochester at the Christmas Market followed by a carvery lunch at the Wharf in Dartford. This is a nice location on the side of a lake with lots of wildlife.
Six couples visited Thursford 1st and 2nd Dec for a Christmas themed show at the Thursford Collection. This is a spectacular setting with amazing Christmas light displays in the tress outside and impressive animated Christmas characters inside as well a huge array of colourful lights and decoration. On the first evening we went to an Indian restaurant that not only served good food but had the added benefit of only being about 30 yards to walk from our accommodation. The Saturday night saw us at the Mustard Pot in Yaxley, the size of the meals were impressive and nobody left hungry. Anita did an excellent job of organising both the event and accommodation and I’m sure we’d all like to thank her.
Ann being amazed by the lights in Thursford
Wednesday night (the 6th) is not only out normal club night but also our pre Christmas Christmas meal, Lisa has asked if you can be there no later than 7:30 to be seated for 7:45.
Instead of our normal raffle we’ve decided to try something different. To raise a little extra for our charity as it’s Christmas we’ve decided on a different format. For those that wish to take part it’s a single ticket costing £5:00 (I’m sure if you really wanted to double your chances they wouldn’t stop you buying 2) I’m told there will be some spectacular prizes.
In an attempt to be a bit more eco friendly we’ve decide to have a single Christmas card that will be available for all to sign on Wednesday night, this doesn’t mean you can’t bring your own cards, we’re just trying to help all those time poor members and do a little bit to save the planet (says he driving his global warming generating classic car).
Although there’s nothing definite planned currently we’ll be looking to organise a Christmas/New Year run to blow the cobwebs out. If you have any preferences or suggestions please let one of the committee know.
Not long now before Santa brings us lots of MG related Christmas presents (hopefully).
See you Wednesday
Bob
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Due to technical issues there was no Novemebr newsletter
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Welcome to the October Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
A view from the bar at the Hoilday Inn Southend Airport
Since the last newsletter we've had a couple of events, the first being the International Autumn Weekender event organised by the Essex MGF/TF Register of the MG Car Club. This was held over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of September and 6 cars from Epping Area attended the event.
This was an extremely well organised event attended by approximately 90 vehicles, it started at British Legends garage near Southend Airport and entailed driving all over Essex over 2 days. To avoid lots of vehicles following one another there were 7 different routes which all visited all the locations but in a different order. The real genius though, was instead of using traditional tulip maps, for each location there was a set of grid coordinates. All you needed to do was enter the coordinates on a satnav, set it to take the shortest route and follow the directions. This not only took you down some interesting small roads, not necessarily the same roads as other drivers, to exactly the correct location but it also took care of any missed junctions by re-routing you. It also meant the co-driver was able to enjoy the scenery rather than having their heads buried in a map.
At each location there was either a clue to find or a simple game/quiz to play. Saturday night was spent in the Holiday Inn at Southend Airport which the organisers had arranged a good deal with the hotel. This all made for an enjoyable but not too tiring weekend that I would highly recommend if they do it again.
Battlesbridge on the 24th saw 6 members’ vehicles attending and was an enjoyable event with good weather. I (stupidly) had double booked the day and attended Duxford with a group of Air Cadets, it was a good day but I think I’d rather have been at Battlesbridge.
For those of a technical mind Michael Beswick has written another good article in the club magazine, this give hints and tips and tuning procedures for SU carburettors. Probably not one for the ladies but the lads should enjoy it (oops was that sexist?) :-)
Lisa is organising lots of things, these include:-
A fireworks night in Southend on the 28th October, it had been thought that we could have fish and chip on the seafront afterwards but Lisa has found a possible alternative at the Park Inn Radisson Palace opposite the pier (click here for the menu) We can discuss this on Wednesday to finalise the plan.
The possibility of a Xmas dinner at the Woodman for the December meeting, it would be about £14 a head. Please let Lisa know if you’re interested on Wednesday.
Xmas market at Rochester Nov 26th. There’s normally a Park & Ride running from Chatham Dockyard as yet details to be finalized. For a possible meal on the way back I’ve spoken to the manager of The Wharf in Dartford. This is just before the Dartford Crossing, it’s easy to get to and sits on the side of a lake (albeit it’ll be dark)
Xmas party Jan 13th, all accommodation has booked and the balance of £29.50 will be due in November at club meeting, cash or cheque. 29 people are going
Upcoming events
Saturday 28th October Firework night Southend
Sunday 26th November Xmas market at Rochester
Wednesday 6th December (Club night) possible Xmas dinner at the Woodman
Saturday 13th January Xmas party
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Welcome to the September Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
Since the last newsletter we’ve had our first meeting at the new venue, the Woodman Pub. We also had a very enjoyable day out at Frinton.
The day out at Frinton started at the usual Little Chief on the A12, the weather was fine and it was a pleasant, uneventful drive to Frinton. On arrival the cars were parked on the main road above the beach and everyone made their way down to the tiny beach area, fortunately the tide had just passed its highest point so as the day progressed the beach area got larger. By mid afternoon there was enough beach to hold a “friendly” rounders competition. My reporter tells me everyone had a good time but some people weren’t playing quite as fairly as they should have, your cards have been marked.
Malcolm and myself tried our hands at kite flying, I think the most accurate description of our efforts would be, very poor, could do better. In our defence I think it was the wind that was at fault rather than our abilities (but then I would say that).
Click on the picture below for a 360 degree view
While at Frinton the committee took the opportunity to canvas peoples thoughts and feelings on the new club night venue. This was in the form of a short survey that 13 couples took the time to complete.
The results were as follows:-
Did you like The Woodman as a venue? 5 YES 6 NO
Did you prefer it to Blackmore Sports and Social Club? 6 YES 5 NO
Did you feel it was a suitable venue? 3 YES 8 NO
If you ate there did you feel the menu was suitable? Of the people that ate there they all liked the menu
2 couples hadn’t attended the Woodman and so couldn’t comment.
Regarding the question about which charity to support, we hadn’t realised that the previous committee had already spoken to Helen Rollason, we therefore plan to support this one this year and carry peoples suggestions and comment forward to next year.
Upcoming events
Sunday 3rd September
Frankie's Classic Car & Bike Fest with Vintage Market (by the time you read this the event will past)
Sunday 17th September
Colchester Classic Vehicle show
Sunday 24th September
Battlesbridge 31st Grand Motorbilia Day £10 per car,
****** The next club night is Wednesday 6th September at the Woodman Pub and subs are now due.*******
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Welcome to the August Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Don’t forget , this month’s club night on 2nd August will be held at the Woodman Pub NOT Blackmore Social Club.
*********************************************************************************************************************************
At the last club night it was decided on the new venue, hopefully this will work out well and as the old saying goes, “a change is as good as rest”.
Recent events
Click on the image above ↑↑ when the new page opens use your mouse to move around or click on the buttons in the bottm left corner, iPad and iPhone users can use the touch screen.
let me know if you think this is a useful feature and I'll try to include more of them.
It’s been a relatively quiet month for days out, the 16th of July saw 6 cars at Damyns Hall Aerodrome for an enjoyable day out that had something for everyone. This was in aid of Mind, a local mental health charity. It was well attended by the public and was an easy to get to event only being in Upminster. 5 cars went in at the start of the event with one turning up at lunch time, trouble getting out of bed? You know who you are.
John and Jackie and Dave and Sandra completed the North Coast 500, this involves starting at Inverness going up the east coast of Scotland to John o’ Groats, across the very top, down the west coast and back to where you started from. I’ve been told this was a very enjoyable trip and having done a JOGLE myself I can thoroughly recommend the roads in Scotland as some of the nicest I’ve driven in this country.
Coming up
20th August:- Battlesbridge Custom Culture Show
20th August:- Club picnic at Frinton
3rd September:- Frankie's Classic Car & Bike Fest with Vintage Market
17th September:- Colchester Classic Vehicle show
24th September:- Battlesbridge
For more details on these events see the Up Coming Events page.
Other News
For those of you that haven’t read the latest copy of Enjoying MG (shame on you) one of our members, Michael Beswick, has written an interesting article about his supercharged B. This gives an interesting insight in the trials and tribulations of getting his B running the way it should. If you’re out on a run and a blue streak comes past you at what seems an improbable speed, it’ll probably be Michael.
On other matters, the new committee is starting to find its feet, it’ll take a while to get to Andrew’s level but as British Rail used to say, “we’re getting there”. I’ve made a few changes to the web site and I’ll be making some more over the next couple of weeks, any suggestions are welcome and if they’re feasible I’ll try to incorporate them. I’ve added a list of upcoming events, it’s a bit sparse at this time but if you know of a future event let me know and I’ll include it. I’ve moved the pages of previous events to a single button on the menu bar, this gives a drop down menu that you can then choose from. I’m planning to keep past newsletters, they’ll be under a single News Letter button with a drop down list. One suggestion has been to have entry forms downloadable, I think this is a good idea and I’ll look at the best way to implement this. Where possible I’ll be making points of interest clickable, this means if you see something that’s underlined you can click on it to take you directly to the web site.
****** Please note:- Subs are due this month ********
***********************************************************************************************
======================================================================================================
Welcome to the July Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
As I’m sure everyone is now aware Andrew has stepped down from the chairmanship of the club. Andrew has done an excellent job over the years leaving large boots to fill and although I believe he’ll still be helping out with various things, I’d like to thank him for all the hard work he’s put in over the years and I’m sure the rest of the club will join me in that thanks. Taking over from Andrew is no small task and it was felt that a single individual would struggle to do everything he’s done in the past so it’s been decided to share the responsibilities amongst a number of individuals but Andrew has kindly offered to handle any enquires from possible new members etc.
Because of the above and the combined new committee only having been in place a short while, this will be a brief newsletter with more details in the next one.
During a meeting of the new members, over an enjoyable fish and chip dinner at the Prince Albert pub, a number of ideas were put forward, these include:-
A club BBQ at a different location, it was felt that the Blackmore Club venue wasn’t ideal anymore and it would allow all members to enjoy themselves.
Lisa has organised a Christmas party at Three Rivers Golf Club for Saturday 13 January 2018. Cost £55 with a group booking discount of £5 per person therefore the cost will be £50 per person with the tribute band Wham. Deposit £10 per person. Accommodation is available for 8 rooms including breakfast at a cost of £825 for all the rooms. This was an excellent event last year which everyone enjoyed, help no doubt by the inclusive drinks all evening.
It was discussed and decided as a good idea, to get individuals (not committee members) to take ownership of organising an individual event. This would share the workload and inject new ideas into the event calendar.
It was decided to keep club subs as they are at present, £15pp and are due this month, and look into the possibility of an alternative venue for our monthly club nights.
I’m looking into the possibility of a club email account that could be used for all club communications including allowing people to submit suggestions for future events.
More details about new things will be in next month’s newsletter.
Recent events
Battlesbridge Classic car show
Once again this was an excellent show with lots of different cars on display, ranging from the more traditional cars such Morris Minors to a large number of American vehicles and everything in between. As usual there was a good auto jumble, lots of music (a bit too much given the location of the club stand) and some excellent food, my personal preference being Wok and Roll who serve some very tasty noodles.
Cressing Temple
This was only attended by 3 cars, Ann and Pete, Sue and Mick and Malcolm but was a good show having plenty of stalls including a small auto jumble and car boot sale in a nice setting, it wasn’t too far and a very reasonable £5 entry.
Bromley Pageant
4 cars attended (too hot to handle though, and all left early) - Good show, small auto jumble
Maldon
7 cars attended. Great weather and excellent show
Coming up
Walton on the Naze Car Show September 10th – We’re looking for a volunteer to organise this.
Paul & Tracy are looking at Battlesbridge for 24th September and will let everyone know once we have more info.
Angelia is looking into a Cream Tea boat trip at Broxbourne during October - TBC
Lisa and Tracy are thinking about a picnic on the beach/park in August (date to TBC)
If anyone has any ideas for events or days out please let us know and as mentioned above we’re looking for people to organise these events.
Bob
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Don’t forget , this month’s club night on 2nd August will be held at the Woodman Pub NOT Blackmore Social Club.
*********************************************************************************************************************************
At the last club night it was decided on the new venue, hopefully this will work out well and as the old saying goes, “a change is as good as rest”.
Recent events
Click on the image above ↑↑ when the new page opens use your mouse to move around or click on the buttons in the bottm left corner, iPad and iPhone users can use the touch screen.
let me know if you think this is a useful feature and I'll try to include more of them.
It’s been a relatively quiet month for days out, the 16th of July saw 6 cars at Damyns Hall Aerodrome for an enjoyable day out that had something for everyone. This was in aid of Mind, a local mental health charity. It was well attended by the public and was an easy to get to event only being in Upminster. 5 cars went in at the start of the event with one turning up at lunch time, trouble getting out of bed? You know who you are.
John and Jackie and Dave and Sandra completed the North Coast 500, this involves starting at Inverness going up the east coast of Scotland to John o’ Groats, across the very top, down the west coast and back to where you started from. I’ve been told this was a very enjoyable trip and having done a JOGLE myself I can thoroughly recommend the roads in Scotland as some of the nicest I’ve driven in this country.
Coming up
20th August:- Battlesbridge Custom Culture Show
20th August:- Club picnic at Frinton
3rd September:- Frankie's Classic Car & Bike Fest with Vintage Market
17th September:- Colchester Classic Vehicle show
24th September:- Battlesbridge
For more details on these events see the Up Coming Events page.
Other News
For those of you that haven’t read the latest copy of Enjoying MG (shame on you) one of our members, Michael Beswick, has written an interesting article about his supercharged B. This gives an interesting insight in the trials and tribulations of getting his B running the way it should. If you’re out on a run and a blue streak comes past you at what seems an improbable speed, it’ll probably be Michael.
On other matters, the new committee is starting to find its feet, it’ll take a while to get to Andrew’s level but as British Rail used to say, “we’re getting there”. I’ve made a few changes to the web site and I’ll be making some more over the next couple of weeks, any suggestions are welcome and if they’re feasible I’ll try to incorporate them. I’ve added a list of upcoming events, it’s a bit sparse at this time but if you know of a future event let me know and I’ll include it. I’ve moved the pages of previous events to a single button on the menu bar, this gives a drop down menu that you can then choose from. I’m planning to keep past newsletters, they’ll be under a single News Letter button with a drop down list. One suggestion has been to have entry forms downloadable, I think this is a good idea and I’ll look at the best way to implement this. Where possible I’ll be making points of interest clickable, this means if you see something that’s underlined you can click on it to take you directly to the web site.
****** Please note:- Subs are due this month ********
***********************************************************************************************
Welcome to the July Edition of Epping Area MG Owners Club Newsletter
As I’m sure everyone is now aware Andrew has stepped down from the chairmanship of the club. Andrew has done an excellent job over the years leaving large boots to fill and although I believe he’ll still be helping out with various things, I’d like to thank him for all the hard work he’s put in over the years and I’m sure the rest of the club will join me in that thanks. Taking over from Andrew is no small task and it was felt that a single individual would struggle to do everything he’s done in the past so it’s been decided to share the responsibilities amongst a number of individuals but Andrew has kindly offered to handle any enquires from possible new members etc.
Because of the above and the combined new committee only having been in place a short while, this will be a brief newsletter with more details in the next one.
During a meeting of the new members, over an enjoyable fish and chip dinner at the Prince Albert pub, a number of ideas were put forward, these include:-
A club BBQ at a different location, it was felt that the Blackmore Club venue wasn’t ideal anymore and it would allow all members to enjoy themselves.
Lisa has organised a Christmas party at Three Rivers Golf Club for Saturday 13 January 2018. Cost £55 with a group booking discount of £5 per person therefore the cost will be £50 per person with the tribute band Wham. Deposit £10 per person. Accommodation is available for 8 rooms including breakfast at a cost of £825 for all the rooms. This was an excellent event last year which everyone enjoyed, help no doubt by the inclusive drinks all evening.
It was discussed and decided as a good idea, to get individuals (not committee members) to take ownership of organising an individual event. This would share the workload and inject new ideas into the event calendar.
It was decided to keep club subs as they are at present, £15pp and are due this month, and look into the possibility of an alternative venue for our monthly club nights.
I’m looking into the possibility of a club email account that could be used for all club communications including allowing people to submit suggestions for future events.
More details about new things will be in next month’s newsletter.
Recent events
Battlesbridge Classic car show
Once again this was an excellent show with lots of different cars on display, ranging from the more traditional cars such Morris Minors to a large number of American vehicles and everything in between. As usual there was a good auto jumble, lots of music (a bit too much given the location of the club stand) and some excellent food, my personal preference being Wok and Roll who serve some very tasty noodles.
Cressing Temple
This was only attended by 3 cars, Ann and Pete, Sue and Mick and Malcolm but was a good show having plenty of stalls including a small auto jumble and car boot sale in a nice setting, it wasn’t too far and a very reasonable £5 entry.
Bromley Pageant
4 cars attended (too hot to handle though, and all left early) - Good show, small auto jumble
Maldon
7 cars attended. Great weather and excellent show
Coming up
Walton on the Naze Car Show September 10th – We’re looking for a volunteer to organise this.
Paul & Tracy are looking at Battlesbridge for 24th September and will let everyone know once we have more info.
Angelia is looking into a Cream Tea boat trip at Broxbourne during October - TBC
Lisa and Tracy are thinking about a picnic on the beach/park in August (date to TBC)
If anyone has any ideas for events or days out please let us know and as mentioned above we’re looking for people to organise these events.
Bob