UPDATE 8th OCTOBER 2007
Just to remind you all, the next meet of the Upper Thames Branch of the MR2 Mark
1 Club is this Wednesday, 10th October, from around 7.30 p.m. The
venue is, as usual, The Tally Ho public house, at the cross-roads in the middle
of Hungerford Newtown. For those that haven’t made any of our previous meetings
there, it’s a doddle to get to, being less than a mile off J14 of the M4. That’s
the Wantage / Hungerford turn-off – turn south, towards Hungerford on the A338,
and carry on until the 50 mph limit becomes a 40 mph one, and the Tally Ho is on
the left at the bottom of the dip. My mobile is 07775 631 044 should you need to
get in touch for any reason. I hope to see you there on Wednesday.
Rgds
Peter
I have been asked to emphasise the following two up-coming events to Upper
Thames Branch members:
AGM UPDATE 19th JULY 2007
WROUGHTON CLASSIC CARS SHOW, AUG 4th and 5th 2007 UPDATE 2nd JULY 2007
Hello UTB members and others. (I've done a reply all to one of Peter
Scatchard's emails so I've hope I've got everyone). Just trying to gauge how
many people want to come on the Wroughton stand?
Jo, the Wroughton organiser (now there's a coincidence) is trying to get
numbers of participants and campers sorted out. So please, if you've
decided let me know. Personally I think it'll be worth it just to get a look
round the museum. This is the overflow for the London science museum where the
exhibits they don't have room for end up. It's not often open to the public.
Have a quick peek here: http://www.petergoodearl.co.uk/laceygreen/days/wroughton/hangerd4/index.htm
Area organisers please spread the word.
Ta,
Karl
From their website:
Following the remarkable success of our first Wroughton
Classic, join us for what promises to be an truly amazing second show! We
are again proud to bring together an amazing collection of cars, bikes,
autojumble and trade stands for the enjoyment of visitors and exhibitors alike.
**NEW** for this year will be our very own 'SILENT
GRAND PRIX' (Adult Pedal Car Races by Krazee Karts in aid of the British Heart Foundation), SLOT
CAR RACING, a specialist CRAFT
VILLAGE, PUNK
SCIENCE by 'INSPIRE' and CLASSIC
CAR AUCTION
Entrance to the show and the museum will be FREE but there will
be a £5 parking fee 3rd JULY - Peter wrote:
Hi, Karl – good to hear from you. I assume I’ll be seeing you and Louise next
Wednesday from around 7.30 p.m. at the Upper Thames Branch (UTB) meeting, at
which I hope (weather permitting!) we will have an absolutely iconic mid-engined
2 seater to compare with our mounts, a replica Ford GT40 – let’s all keep our
fingers crossed for no rain that day, though it will mark one hell of a change
over what we’ve all been experiencing most of this so-called summer.
I note that Wroughton doesn’t show Toyota MR2s in it’s listing of the various
cars booked into the Classic Show – are we not registered as yet?
I am certainly intending to go, though whether on Saturday or Sunday (or even
both days, perhaps!) I’m not yet sure. I fully intend to camp over Saturday
night to take advantage of the BBQ, beer tent etc, without risk to licence. So,
I’m quite happy to 100% commit to one or other day, and am equally happy for you
to tell me which day you’d prefer me there, perhaps in the light of others’
preferences. And I will be there overnight, so even if I exhibit on Saturday,
I’m willing to help out Sunday morning if needed, before departing.
J.i.c. anyone else reading this doesn’t know where UTB meets, and wants to
cone along to eyeball ‘our’ GT40 or just have a chinwag on MR2s, it’s the Tally
Ho pub at Hungerford Newtown (NOT Hungerford!!!) on the A338, less than a mile
south of the A338/M4 Junction, J14 (Wantage/Hungerford) M4. It’s initially a 50
mph limit, that then becomes 40 mph through H Newtown – the Tally Ho is on the
left at the bottom of the dip, immediately past the cross-roads.
Hope to see lots of people there in 8 days time.
Peter
Yup, I’ve managed to blag a guy I met at Castle Combe into bringing his
immaculate Ford GT40 replica along to the July meeting, provided the roads are
dry!!
It’ll be a great opportunity for everyone to have a really good look over one
of THE iconic cars of all time, perhaps the other end of the mid-engined
two-seater concept than the one our much-loved wee machines occupy.
Be there or be square!!
The summer Upper Thames Branch meeting will be held at The Tally Ho pub,
Hungerford Newtown (NOT Hungerford!!) on the A338, less than a mile south of
J14, M4, from around 19.30 on Wednesday 11 July – be there or be square!!!!
Wives, girlfriends, husbands, boyfriends, buddies - all very welcome.
Rgds
Peter
UPDATE 26th MARCH 2007
Here’s an Early Warning of our next meeting, Wednesday week, 11th April.
As usual, we start at 7.30 pm. at The Tally Ho pub, on the A318 less than a
mile south of J14, M4, on the Hungerford road at Hungerford Newtown. Come off
the M4, or continue south over the M4 if coming from Wantage, on the A318 (50
mph). You'll come into the 40 mph at Hungerford Newtown in less than a minute,
and The Tally Ho is on the cross-roads in the bottom of the dip, on the left.
Hope to see many of you there and then. Hopefully, Darren Trewin, one of our
earliest members, will be able to get along if his shift allows him, and maybe
he’ll regale us of his tales of derring-do on his over year-long round-the-world
trip he’s recently back from.
Rgds
Peter
Gavin Pressler, one of Upper Thames Branch’s keenest members, is pedalling
his heavily tweaked SC at an all-day track-day at Keevil, an airfield circuit
close to Chippenham, Wilts, near J17 M4 on Monday 5th March, and has asked me to
pass the info on to others who might be interested in joining him there.
Cost is £99 for the full day, operating on the open pit-lane principle until
5 p.m., so you can come and go as you please subject to a maximum number
on-track at any one time, rather than be restricted to time-tabled sessions. I
imagine there is the usual lunch-break to allow the marshals to scoff sarnies
etc, and the day starts with a compulsory driver-briefing at 9 a.m.
Please don’t ask me or Gavin to make your bookings – go on-line to
www.motorsport-events.com or use the booking hot-line, 08707 872 116.
I’ll not have my 4-pot brake set up sorted by then, so won’t be joining
Gavin, but am hoping to get an outing at Abingdon airfield later in the month /
early April; I’ll keep you posted of that too nearer the time, but you’ll find
details of that venue also on the same website.
Peter
UPDATE 5th FEBRUARY 2007
Wroughton Classics Show, Saturday Aug 4th and Sunday 5th 2007
The Upper Thames Branch is co-ordinating the MR2 Mk1 Club’s showing at the
2007 Wroughton Classics Show, at Wroughton Airdrome, only 5 minutes from J15 M4,
south of Swindon.
We’re looking for people prepared to commit to showing their Mk1 for one or
both days of the Show. Car’s must be on-pitch after 07.00 but by 09.30 both
days, latest, otherwise Health & Safety regulations will prevent access by
car to the show-areas of the grounds. For the same reason, cars can’t be removed
from the pitch until after the Show closes at 6.00 each day.
There’s overnight camping and entertainments available on Friday 3 and
Saturday 4 August, but participants must arrive between 3 and 9.00 p.m. latest,
after which the security gate is locked closed for the night, open again at 7
the following morning. We are expecting there will be a Club event on the
Saturday night.
If you’ve a MR2 Mk1 you’d like to include on the club’s pitch, or just want
more details, please contact Karl Thomas (karl.thomas@virgin.net) or Peter
Scatchard (pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk), and check the event’s website,
www.wroughtonclassic.org.uk
UPDATE 10th JANUARY 2007
Many thanks to all of you who showed up at last night’s meeting, and to those
that sent Apologies for Absence.
A meeting of 7 of us was a good minimum number, I felt – we had quite a lot
to talk about, and plenty of views and opinions. I kinda regard 6-8 as the
minimum people turning up for meetings that we need to make the branch viable,
so I was very pleased with last night’s turn-out – thanks to all of you who made
the effort, and from the chat, laughs and activity, it seems you all enjoyed the
evening as well, which has to be the main aim!!
I’m very keen to build on last night’s success, to put the Upper Thames
Branch’s longer-term existence beyond the sort of doubt that’s dogged it since
its inception about 4 years ago.
I feel there are a number of factors we can build on:
1 - The good turnout last night.
2 - The new venue at The Tally Ho – it’s so easy to get to, less than a
minute off J14 M4, and has many ideal features – it’s reasonably quiet mid-week
so there’s plenty of room for us, both inside and in the car-park. We get a
friendly welcome, the beer’s good, the food’s reasonable pub-grub at sensible
prices, and the table we’ve adopted gives us a sort of semi-private place to
meet without being completely cut-off from the pub itself.
3 - Welcome Karl Thomas!! As a real keen MR2 Club member and leading light in
the undoubted success of the SE Branch, his enforced emigration from Kent to
Swindon is SE Branch’s loss and our gain!! Karl has already started muttering
about getting more events together for us, and I’m sure that will help keep
interest up, and almost certainly lead to more recruits. Hopefully, Karl can
help me form a small committee so we can spread the load, and end up planning
and doing more for us all to enjoy participating in.
4 - We spoke about taking in an all-day track day at somewhere like Abingdon
or Hullavington, and maybe swapping cars so people can get the feel of modified
suspension, upgraded brakes, maybe even Water-Injected (NOx?!!!???) SCs (hint,
Gavin!)
5 - We’re past the depths of winter, and heading for the spring, summer,
autumn meetings of the branch.
6 - I’ve now got a list of members in the OX, SN, RG, GL, SL and BA post-code
areas, and will get out a mail-shot about a month before our spring meeting
(11th April is the date for the diaries, folk!)
I’m sure if we build on these foundations, and can attract more members to
attend, and have more events for people to look forward to and participate in,
we’ll build a head of steam. I’d like to think we could then increase the
frequency of our meetings, towards monthly ones, which will in turn build
camaraderie, and attract more members, I’m sure.
I am happy to carry on as sort of branch secretary, keeping people informed
of what’s going on, sending out reminders of our meetings, organising meeting
places if our current one falls through for any reason, or we decide to move
elsewhere, and sending in the quarterly reports to the MR2 Club management and
the magazine etc. However, I do not have the time to instigate and organise much
more than the Castle Combe trackdays that I handle for the whole club, so it
needs someone or several others to take up that mantle – I’m very happy to help,
handle the communication and perhaps publicity for these, and help with specific
jobs within the overall work required, both in planning and arranging the events
and on the day, but I am simply not able to initiate and manage the whole show.
I’ll certainly be in touch again to remind you all of the next meeting nearer
the time (that’s 11th April, once again, chaps!!), to deal with the upcoming
Castle Combe trackdays season (first is April 21st, just to remind you) , and
hopefully to offer some other all-day track-days elsewhere in the March
timeframe.
Rgds, and see you all on April 11th if not before!
Peter
UPDATE 18th DECEMBER 2006
Hi, everyone – yeah, I know, you’re all up to your eyes in preparation for
the Christmas / New Year holiday break, but please note our 2007 Upper Thames
Branch meeting dates in your new diaries:
Winter Jan 10th So, I hope to see many of you at the January meeting, Tally Ho pub on the
A338 less than a mile south of J14, M4, from about 7.30 on.
As an inducement to attend, I’m bringing the FRA (Fast Road Autos) Willwood
4-pot calliper brakes upgrade kit I’ve just acquired for you to have a shufty
at, and am hoping to persuade Gavin Pressler to bring his Celica GT4 brake-kit
for a ‘taste-and-compare’ session.
Have a great Xmas and New Year, and I look forward to seeing you on 10th
January.
Rgds
Peter
UPDATE 3rd OCTOBER 2006
Okay, folks, a quick reminder that we’re delaying the October (Autumn) meet
by a week – it will now be on Wednesday 18th October at the Tally Ho pub, on the
A338 about a mile south of J14, M4, Hungerford Newtown (NOT Hungerford, but
about 2 miles before the town), from 7.30 in the evening.
DO NOT expect a meet on Wednesday 11th October, which WAS our scheduled
date!!!
Hope to see many of you at the second meeting at our new and very
easy-to-get-to home on 18th October.
Peter Scatchard
UPDATE 18th SEPTEMBER 2006
Hi everyone.
The autumn get-together of the Thames Valley branch is scheduled for
Wednesday 11 October – however, as I will be in Malta that week, crawling over
the largest and most complete Neolithic temple complexes in Europe, I’m
wondering if there would be any major objection to putting the date back a week,
to 18th October.
Please let me know if this will work for you all – another alternative would
be to bring it forward a week to 4 October, so let me know how you’d feel about
that as well.
Just to consider, our revered Secretary, Ken Salmon, sent me a note from a
Swindon ex-member, telling him why he was not renewing his membership. His beef
was that the MR2 Mk1 Club was not active in his area, quoting no club presence
at some event at Wroughton etc. Given that for 2 years we’d been holding
quarterly meets within less than 10 miles of where he lived when we were based
at The Plough, Little Coxwell, I though this was a little rich as we never saw
him at any of our meetings, but on the other hand, he perhaps has a point.
Nevertheless, I still thought it was a bit “Ask not what your Club does for you,
rather what can you can do for your Club”!!
Whilst we only meet one a quarter, and have only the core 6 or so of us
turning up, we’re not likely to be able to organise a lot. I, for one, only
stuck my head above the parapet to start up a local branch once I had agreed to
take over the job of co-ordinating our Castle Combe track-days anyway. I always
made very clear that all I was prepared to do was to arrange a meeting place,
times and dates, and mount an initial push to see what interest existed – I
simply don’t have the time to do more for the Club than this, I’m afraid. My
hope was that we’d end up with a coterie of keen members who’d start organising
events etc, with whom I’d be happy to work promoting these via communication
with other branches and the rest of the Club via the website, magazine etc, but
that’s not really happened.
So, I’d like to hear from anyone out there:
Who wants to come along and join we few who meet regularly, if comparatively
infrequently.
Those who DON’T want to join us – let me know why not, please.
Ideas about what we can do to take the Thames Valley branch forward, coz
otherwise I doubt the value of continuing the way we are at present.
Don’t forget to let me know a.s.a.p. about changing the date of the autumn
meet, so I’ve maximum time to inform the rest of the Club. If you don’t get to
hear back from me for any reason, please assume that the usual date, 2nd
Wednesday of October, will still apply, i.e. 11 October, but if none of you have
any objection, I’ll hopefully be confirming a change to Wednesday 18th October.
Don’t know how many of you will have heard about this, but the MR2 Mk1 Club
is getting all democratic in its old age – yes, there’s an AGM about to be held,
and no, it’s not within 2 miles of Loughborough!! Date is Sunday 15 October (I’m
back from Malta the day before, so expect to be there), at the Heritage Motor
Museum (used to be dear ol’ Rover Car’s place), Gaydon, between Banbury and
Warwick off the M40, starting at 11 a.m. - there’s a free Entry Pass to the
museum, which is quite a good ‘un in my humop, worth £8 for all attendees. I’m
not sure about lunch options, and with little or no mention of the event on the
Club’s website, I’ve not been able tg discover anything there either!!
Webmasters note - when someone informs me I will post it on the website
immediately
So, maybe see some of you at Gaydon for the AGM, then the following Wednesday
at our new venue, The Tally Ho, Hungerford Newtown, 1 mile south of J14 / M4, on
the A338, but I will confirm his change of date late, assuming it doesn’t
inconvenience too many of you.
B.t.w, can anyone help me source a poly-bush suspension kit for my 1987 MR2
MK1B T-Bar? Also a set of Koni Adjusts-a-Rides?
Rgds
Peter
Peter Scatchard UPDATE 4th JULY 2006
Hi, folks – as threatened in the latest club mag, and forewarned in my last
missive to you all, the Upper Thames Valley Branch of the MR2 Mk1 Club has a new
home, certainly for the next meeting on Wednesday of next week, July 12th, and
hopefully for some time to come.
Given the preponderance of members attending our meetings using the M4 to get
to us, or at least crossing it to get there, we decided to look for
somewhere closer to the M4 for our future meets. Peter
Upper Thames Branch report 16th MAY 2006
I must confess, I had expected out Spring meet, the second Wednesday in April
(we meet 2nd Weds in Jan – winter - , April – spring - , July – summer - , and
Oct – autumn) to be our last. Attendance at our last get-together was down to 3,
which hardly seemed to be worth getting out of bed for, but this time, we saw no
less than 4 Mk1s, plus a Caterham 7, and 8 of us having a convivial chat about
things at our temporary home, The Eagle in Little Coxwell. Thanks are due to our
stalwarts, Gavin and his father Dave Pressler, up on their approx one-hour run
from Melksham, who I think have not missed a single meeting, but also to Richard
Lambot, Stuart and father John Watson – all up from Surrey, for goodness sake!
-, and Dan Fletcher and buddy in the Caterham from deepest, darkest Hampshire
(well, Whitchurch, actually!!), there were 8 of us there to chew the fat.
Given the closure of our old venue, The Plough on the A420 between Swindon
and Oxford, the preponderance of our membership now having to cross the M4 to
get to club-nights, we’ve decided to re-locate southwards. The Pelican on the A4
between Hungerford and Marlborough has been mooted, and I’m off down there
before our next meet on Wednesday 12th July to confirm it’s suitability, and
that we’d be welcome to meet there – they apparently host other car-club
evenings, so provide we’re not clashing with another club-night, we’ll hopefully
have a new home, offering easier access to the bulk of our supporters; whether
we can still call ourselves the Upper Thames branch operating from the A4 so far
west, well out of the Thames Valley, is a debatable point!!
Please check the Club website, or with me, pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk /
01235 751 751, before 12th July, but a new home will perhaps encourage a few
other people to come and join us on July 12th.
Peter Scatchard UPDATE 10th APRIL 2006
Hope to see some of you this Wednesday, 12th April at The Eagle, Little
Coxwell, about half a mile off the A420 Oxford – Swindon road, turning south
just west of the Faringdon roundabout.
Peter
Folks, With but very limited feedback on my request for suggestions on where
to meet, I’ve decided to keep things as they are, and we’ll meet within a mile
of where we used to meet, The Plough on the A420 at Little Coxwell.
We’ll now meet at The Eagle in Little Coxwell village itself, at 7.30 p.m. on
Wednesday 12 April.
From the east (Swindon direction): take the A420 main Oxford road for approx
8 miles. After the Watchfield roundabout, you’ll enter the 50 mph limited area
once more. Pass The Plough pub on your right, and take the next right turn,
signed for Little Coxwell, Fernham and the Uffington White Horse.
From the east (Oxford direction): take the A420 Swindon main road for approx
18 miles. About a mile after the Faringdon roundabout with the A417, take the
first turning left signed for Little Coxwell, Fernham and the Uffington White
Horse.
After about 500 yards, turn right into Little Coxwell village and the pub is
facing you at the end of the main village street.
Rgds I’m only too well aware that we’re only a couple of weeks away from our next
scheduled season’s meeting on the second Wednesday of the months in January
(winter), April (Spring), July (summer) and October (autumn), April 12th.
And we’re still without a new home, since The Plough at Little Coxwell closed
down at Christmas!!
Do any of you have any bright ideas of where we should meet? With so few of
you supporting the branch, it would be helpful to hear your opinions if this
would make it more likely you’d attend our mere 4 times a year meetings.
If I don’t hear anything from any of you, I will be looking for a venue in
the triangle formed by the M4 motorway east of Swindon (between Junctions 15 and
16) and the A420 Swindon – Oxford road, between Swindon and Faringdon.
Keep tuned-in to your Mails as the day approaches for the meet on 12th April
(or bell me at the last minute), and I’ll let you know the new venue we pick
upon – meeting will be at the usual time, 19.30 / 7.30 p.m.
PETER SCATCHARD
UPDATE 21st DECEMBER 2005
Happy Xmas and New Year to you all.
Hope some of you will make a New Year’s resolution to support your local
branch of the MR2 MK1 Club.
Our until now usual venue, The Plough at Little Coxwell on the A420 between
Swindon and Oxford, has suddenly closed for business. With no news of its
planned re-opening, we’re now forced to look for a new venue, so here’s a chance
for you all to put your ideas forward.
If I don’t get any useful suggestions, I look for another place for us to
meet in the same general area, on the basis that suits those of us who can be
bothered to attend the quarterly meetings, but I would really like to hear from
others. What is it that precludes your support of your local branch? Please let
me know what YOU would want to see, that would persuade you to come along 4
evenings a year to make more of your club membership. BREAKING NEWS!! 19th NOVEMBER 2005
Having written my Branch Report, I’ve just now been told that our Upper
Thames meeting place, The Plough at Little Coxwell, has closed. Its fate is as
yet unclear, but I will be making enquiries as to whether it will be re-opened
in time for our next meeting on January 11th, or whether we’ll have to find a
new home. Those on my eMail list will be informed in good time for the meet, but
if you’re not and are planning to come along, please check with me first.
UPDATE 16th NOVEMBER 2005
We managed our usual modest turnout of 5 at the Autumn meet in October, the
usual suspects, but this will now fall, as stalwart Darren Trewin has departed
for a year or so-long Round-the-World jaunt with his better half; I’ve given him
a couple of buddies in New Zealand to call up, and as a keen biker, he might
even get a ride on one of Bill’s collection of MV Agustas!!
My pleas for more members to make a bit of an effort and support our
meetings, or to contact me to tell me what would encourage them to come along
fell on deaf ears, as all too often in our Club, but at the risk of repeating
myself, we’d love to see some new blood, male or female, young or old, all would
be welcome.
Our next meeting, the winter one, is on the second Wednesday of January,
12th, 2006, from 7.30 p.m. at the usual place, The Plough pub, Little
Coxwell, right on the A420 main Oxford – Swindon road, between the Faringdon and
Watchfield roundabouts. The long-range forecast is for a hard winter, but as
this is a major highway, it’ll take extremely bad conditions for the 420 to be
closed, so that’s unlikely to be a good enough excuse.
The closing of 2005 sees the opening of 2006, of course, and regardless of
what happens with the Upper Thames branch, I will still be continuing to
organise the Club’s Castle Combe track-days. With my own racing activities
scaling down (see elsewhere), I expect to attend more than but the one event
there I managed this year, so hope to meet some of you at Combe, if not at
Little Coxwell.
PETER SCATCHARD
pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk
UPDATE 27th SEPTEMBER 2005 PLEASE NOTE:
After consultation with the regular attendees at the seasonal Upper Thames
meetings, it has been agreed to postpone our meeting by a week. The next meeting
will therefore take place at the Plough, Little Coxwell, near Faringdon, on the
Oxford / Wilts border on Wednesday 12th October 2005 and NOT on the
published date of 5 October 2005. Start time is, as usual, 7.30 p.m. The Plough
is on the Oxford – Swindon A420 mainroad, between the Faringdon and Watchfield
roundabouts
UPDATE 23rd AUGUST 2005
Our summer meeting in July saw the usual suspects assembled, all 5 of us, so
my pleas in the last issue for those of you in striking distance to put in a
brief starring appearance fell on deaf ears. I know there are at least 50
members within about 40 minutes drive, but that’s obviously too far in your old
MR2s – I don’t know why you have ‘em, really! Do you just spend your time
polishing them? Next meet is next Wednesday 6 July from 7.30 p.m., at The Plough, Little
Coxwell, on the A420 main road between Oxford and Swindon, between the Faringdon
and Watchfield roundabouts.
Please make an effort to attend, or the Branch will be in danger of closing.
Peter
UPDATE 13th APRIL 2005
We had a grand total of 5 people turn up at the Spring meeting of the MR2 Mk1
Club’s spring get-together last week. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLUB WILL NOT BE ATTENDING THE JAPFEST ON SATURDAY
21st MAY 2005
PETER SCATCHARD
UPDATE 29th MARCH 2005
It’s that time again, again!! Not only is it coming up to our quarterly Upper
Thames MR2 Mk1 Club meeting, on Wednesday next, 6th April, at the usual place,
The Plough, Little Coxwell on the main Oxford / Swindon A420 road, between the
Faringdon and Watchfield roundabouts, but it’s also SPRING once more!!
Clocks have gone forward so the evenings are now significantly lighter,
hopefully the weather is getting milder, and the daffodils are out and blowing
around in the breeze for your inspection, so it’s DEFINITELY time to roll that
nice little motor out of its winter cocoon and to blow away the cobwebs (yours
and its!!) with a run out to The Plough!!
I’ll have the up-to-date news on the Club’s own race-car project, plus of
Castle Combe track-days in April and September, and on the current status of
Japfest in May.
Hope you’ve all had a good Easter long-weekend, and to see you on Wednesday
6th April.
Peter
SPRING ACTIVITIES
Hi, folks UPPER THAMES AREA REPORT - JANUARY 2005
Our first meeting of 2005 proved to be disappointing, with only 5 of us in
attendance, including Neil Peters who’d driven up from Farnborough, Hants, to
collect a red/black velour seat to replace his somewhat worn-out original, in
exchange for my having cannibalised some bits for my B from his old, gently
rotting A model. No money changed hands, and the whole transaction was a nice
example of the advantages of belonging to a friendly, slightly
‘dirt-under-the-fingernails’ club like ours.
As ever, Gavin and dad Dave Pressler had made the-not-all-that distant but
usually painfully slow trog up from Melksham, and Darren Trewin from nearby
Highworth also continued his support – my thanks to all of you; let’s hope the
more clement weather of the spring drags a few more out to support out quarterly
meetings at The Plough, Little Coxwell, on the A420 main Oxford – Swindon road,
between the Faringdon and Watchfield roundabouts. The first Wednesdays in April
(6th), July (also 6th!) and October (5th) will complete the 2005 year for us.
What is it that prevents the many other local members from coming to join us?
Please contact me, pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk,
or on 01235 751 751 and let me know what it is you want to see in a local branch
of your club. Or if you’ve not yet come to a meeting, make a diary note and come
sniff us out on 6th April, from about 7.30 p.m. onwards.
Besides the usual blarney, we got an update on Gavin’s newly acquired
Supercharger’s on-going clutch problems, centred around the seeming
impossibility of getting the right clutch AND the right flywheel together at the
same time, and Darren’s progress on his engine re-build. I’m afraid my ’87 red
T-Bar is also suffering, and is awaiting an engine transplant, hopefully well in
time for the first track-days at Castle Combe (see elsewhere in the mag. for
provisional details), so Dave’s and Neal’s two little red-roosters were the only
cars there to properly represent us.
Gavin also gave us some details of a couple of (comparatively!!) low-cost
airfield track-days he indulged in during 2004. He’s promised me more details,
so watch the web-site for details as I get them.
In order to see if we can drum up some more support for the club and its
activities, I’ve produced the following flier to post under MR2s windscreen
wipers – I handed an example to all attendees to photocopy, then keep a couple
of copies with ‘em to hand out to owners or stick to unattended MR2s. If you’d
like a copy in Microsoft Word format to edit to suit your local branch etc,
please drop me an eMail entitled “Baldrick” (don’t ask why!!) at pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk
and I’ll send one for you to personalise to suit your local needs.
PETER SCATCHARD
Second Upper Thames Meeting - Wednesday 5th May 2004
Well, we ended up with 8 of us at The Plough, Little Coxwell, last night, for
the 2nd of the 3-monthly meetings of the new branch. Five of us had attended the
first meeting (where were the rest of ya? - I had apologies from 2). First Upper Thames Meeting - Wednesday 4th February 2004
Last night saw a gathering of some dozen MR2 MK1 aficionados, coming from as
far a field as Wokingham, Basingstoke, and Cheltenham, as well as more "locally"
from Highworth, Swindon, Wantage and Caterton. Update 22 01 04
I wrote to many of you some while back about starting a branch of the MR2 MK1
Club in the Oxford / Swindon / Newbury area. With no responses from the Newbury
area, we've decided to hold our first meeting between Oxford and Swindon. Date
is Wednesday 4th February. Time is from 19.30 (7.30 p.m) Place is The Plough
pub, on the A420 near Great Coxwell. Location is on the left hand side of the
A420, approaching Shrivenham from Oxford direction. It's between the Faringdon
and Watchfield roundabouts on the A420 Oxford / Swindon highway. There's a map
below to guide you. Be pleased to see as many of you as can make it - hope to
have a Swindon member talk to us about his project, to cram a 400bhp Ford
Cosworth Turbo mill into an innocent AW11 MR2!! - Peter
Update 21 01 04
Folks, Just a reminder that our first get-together in the OX / SN postcode
area is scheduled for but 14 days time. I've yet to hear from many of you as to
whether you're coming, so please let me know a.s.a.p.
And a request for help!! Can anyone coming to the meeting possibly divert via
Childrey, 3 miles due west of Wantage, and give me a lift there and back?
Managed to dislocate my shoulder on Friday in an RTA on my motorcycle, and am
not allowed to drive for 6 weeks!! - Peter
First meeting arranged. I've been to The Plough on the A420, and they're
happy to host us on Wednesday 4th February 2004. Suggest we meet at 7.30 pm. The
Plough is on the southern side of the A420 between Faringdon and Shrivenham,
about one mile north-east (Oxford-wards) of the Shrivenham / Watchfield
roundabout. My mobile is 07775 631 044, home is 01235 751 751. The Plough's
number is 01367 240 583. Ross is the landlord's son, and a car-fan himself, and
it's him I talked to. A new branch, catering for members in the OX, RG and SN postcode areas is
being mooted. Initial plans are to meet on a 2 or even 3-monthly basis, probably
weekday evenings, for a pint and a chat. The venue is likely to be a pub
somewhere in or near Swindon, but this will be dependent on responses. There's
no reason why the meeting places should not vary from meet to meet, providing
attendees with varying drives throughout the year. To register an interest, or
to discuss matters further, please contract me, Peter Scatchard preferably by
Email at pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk
(note the hyphen separators) or if you don’t have access to Email, by phone on
01235 751 751. I live in Childrey, near Wantage in the Vale of the White Horse.
PETER SCATCHARD
CASTLE COMBE TRACKDAYS
With Andrew O'Brien announcing his standing-down from the role of the club's
organiser for the Castle Combe trackdays, I've offered my services as
replacement. I'm only about 45 minutes away from the circuit. I've participated
in a couple of Castle Combe days myself, and thoroughly enjoyed them, and am
keen for the Club to continue to support what are really cracking days out. As
an introduction to the joys of circuit driving, free from Gatsos, the Old Bill,
granny trying to knit whilst driving, and no-one coming t'other way, they offer
top v.f.m. (value for money!!). You'll be able to pick up any hard info on the
Club's web-site and in the magazine, of course. In the meantime, if you have any
queries regarding the 2005 season, or simply want to record your interest in
being informed of developments a.s.a.p., please Email or ring me.
UPDATE 14th SEPTEMBER 2007
When: September 30th, 11am
Where: Heritage Motor Museum,
Gaydon, Warwickshire, CV35 0BJ
Attendance then gets you free entry to the
museum exhibition.
This is a very interesting museum, with many
false-start prototypes etc from the British car industry’s not always so
illustrious past, and I can really recommend the event from my personal
experience, so it’s probably well worth attending the AGM to get a free
look-around. I hope to be there myself, dependent on recovery from some key-hole
surgery on my graunchy knee a few days before!!
Christmas
Party
When: December 8th
Where: The Quality Hotel nr
Loughborough.
Cost: £28 for the meal and entertainment and £28 for bed and
breakfast based on two people sharing a room (actually cheaper than last
year!!). A supplement of £10 is charged for a single person.
Next
Upper Thames Branch Autumn Meeting
Tally Ho pub, less than a mile
south of J14, M4 on the A338 at Hungerford Newtown, from 7.30 p.m., Wednesday 10
October – hope to see you all there, tho’ I think pushing a clutch pedal may
still be out-of-bounds, so I apologise in advance for the Audi slush-box I’ll
probably be coming in!!
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTENDING TO
ATTEND EITHER OF THE AGM OR XMAS PARTY EVENTS A.S.A.P. so I can inform the
club’s committee regarding numbers, and in any case by Sunday 23 Sept for the
AGM. Please do your best to support the club in these
events.
Rgds
Peter
We are still in need
of more cars to join the MR2 Mark 1 Club stand at the above event.
It’s
at the old RAF airfield just off J15 of the M4, so dead-easy to get
to.
Attractions, besides the rich variety of classic cars, bikes,
commercial vehicles etc already booked for it and the various events specially
planned are that the huge hangars, stuffed full of the over-flow exhibits of the
Science Museum (Kensington) will be open to the public.
There are BBQ
and beer facilities, including the evening of Saturday when exhibitors are
permitted to camp-over to indulge themselves without risk to
road-users.
Rules are on-stand by 09.30 a.m. latest (not 10 a.m. as
previously informed), then no vehicle movements are permitted until after 6 p.m.
both Saturday and Sunday - all in the interests of Health and Safety, we’re
told.
We’re looking for members willing to exhibit their MR2 Mk1s all day
Saturday, or all day Sunday, or even BOTH days. It’s by no means compulsory to
attend both days, neither is it compulsory to stay overnight if you DO want to
attend both days.
It is quite possible to stay overnight after exhibiting
on Saturday, to leave before 09.30 a.m. Sunday if you don’t want to do both
days. Equally, if you want to arrive after 6 p.m. Saturday to join us overnight
and exhibit only on Sunday, that’s fine, but you’ll need to arrive before 9 p.m.
to be able to gain admittance. Or just turn up before 09.30 a.m. on the Sunday
to join us on the Club stand.
There is a certain contingent of MR2 Mk1
Club members planning on staying overnight on the Saturday to enjoy a few beers
etc, and chat petrol-head things. There will be overnight site-security, and the
site will be locked-up between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. the following morning between
which hours campers will be incarcerated on the airfield site (shades of The
Great Escape?). It will also be possible to camp on-site on the Friday night
(same restricted-hours access and lock-in); if you want to camp, you will need a
permit per tent, so contact the organisers – Greg or Jo Dunningham - at
wroughtonclassic@tiscali.co.uk or 07747 804 487
Please note that there
will be no shower facilities on-site at any time. There are, of course, toilet
facilities available 24 hours a day, and they will have hot and cold running
water and basins. Drinking water will be available throughout the
event.
If you can join us one or both days, whether you want to stay
overnight or not, please contact the Upper Thames Branch Event Officer (and
editor of the Club Magazine) Karl Thomas or his better half, Louise Cannon,
karl.thomas@virgin.net or louise.cannon@virgin.net, 01793 728 743, evenings.
You will need an exhibitors’ car sticker to get on the stand and to
avoid having to pay to attend, and these will come to you via Karl Thomas.
Otherwise, entry to the event is FREE (yes, including the Science Museum
stuff!!), but there’s a £5 per vehicle parking charge (regardless of number of
occupants) if you’re not exhibiting, so why not come along for part of the day
to enjoy the occasion even if you don’t want to / can’t exhibit your
MR2.
To check out what’s happening that weekend, log on to http://www.wroughtonchallengerclassic.org.uk/
Please
let Karl or Louise know you’re coming a.s.a.p. - it’s only 2 weeks away now!!!!
for ALL vehicles (regardless of number of occupants) not
displaying an official show pass.
UPDATE 18th JUNE 2007
UPDATE 12th FEBRUARY 2007
Spring
Apr 11th
Summer July 11th
Autumn
Oct 10th
Upper Thames Branch Secretary
Castle Combe TrackDay
Co-ordinator
MR2 Mk1 Club
Tel / Fax: 01235 751 751, Mobile: 07775
631 044
Yew Tree House, Childrey, Wantage, Oxon OX12
9UW
pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk
The Pelican at
Froxfield, between Hungerford and Marlborough, was suggested, but that’s now
under new management, and has headed Gastro Pub-wards, and no longer offers the
kind of welcome we need for our meetings.
However, I’ve found somewhere
much, much closer to the M4, a mere mile from J14 in fact, the Tally Ho at
Hungerford Newtown. Don’t be confused, Hungerford Newtown is NOT Hungerford, but
a small village about 3 miles north of the town, on the A338 less than a mile
due south from J14 of the M4.
To get there, come off the M4 at J14, and
turn south on the A338, signed towards Hungerford – you’re immediately into a 50
mph limit, which soon becomes a 40 in Hungerford Newtown. The Tally Ho is on the
junction at the bottom of the dip in the village, on the left coming from the
M4. It’s literally less than a mile from the M4, but it’s a proper pub, with a
reasonable car-park, big enough for our usual turn-outs anyway, and decent
Wadworths beer.
Our next meeting, on Wednesday 12 July, with therefore be
there, and I hope to see many of you on the night. Unfortunately, I’ll be
MR2-less, as CCZ 8962 is now off the road having its suspension and brakes
upgraded before a very low-mileage engine transplant and a tiny bit of bodywork
done, now I’ve finished my 1959 600cc twin-cylinder Norton rebuild (before and
after pix attached). I bought it in 1966, and have stored it since 1972, so
yesterday’s first fire-up was quite an occasion, as you can imagine!
Rgds
Upper Thames Branch Secretary
UPDATE 31st MARCH 2006
Peter
UPDATE 27th MARCH 2006
Peter Scatchard,
pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk, 01235 751 751
Peter Scatchard, pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk, 01235 751 751
Well, if you’ve a nice, shiny MR2 Mk1 to show off, how about
making it to our autumn meeting, on October 5th? It’ll be in the usual place,
The Plough pub at Little Coxwell, on the A420 main Oxford to Swindon road,
between the Faringdon and Watchfield roundabouts, from around 7.30 p.m. Having
grumbled about lack of attendance, I myself will be on a week’s holiday then,
and won’t be in attendance, but it would be good to receive reports of a great
turn-out. I’ll not be holding my breath, though!
If you’re anywhere in the
west Berkshire, west Oxfordshire, north Wiltshire or south Gloucestershire area,
please let me know what WOULD have you coming along to quarterly meeting of what
is after all YOUR club – bell me on 01235 751 751 or (preferably) eMail me at
pscatchard@yew-tree-house.co.uk
Peter
Okay, it’s not a lot of work, but at
this rate one has to question whether an Upper Thames branch is
viable.
Please respond to me, preferably by eMail, with your comments on what
would get YOU out and about, meeting other members of what is after all YOUR
club. Please let me know any thoughts or ideas, and perhaps what is preventing
you attending meetings, so we can see if we can address your issues.
If
you’re no longer a member of the MR2 MK1 Club, please let me know by return
eMail, just changing the title to “MR2 - No longer a member”, and I’ll remove
you from my records.
Please note that the summer meeting will be on Wednesday
July 6th from 7.30 p.m. at The Plough public-house, Little Coxwell, on the A420
main Oxford/Swindon road, west of the Faringdon roundabout and east of the
Watchfield one. Be there or be square!!!
You should have received a copy of my notification of the
Spring quarterly meeting of the Upper Thames Branch of the MR2 Mk1 Club, and of
our agenda for the meeting. We’d be delighted if any of you or your
members would like to come along and join up with us.
Additionally, there’s
quite a lot going on down in our area throughout the year, what with Japfest
(subject to approval by our National Committee) in May, and two Castle Combe
track-days for which our cars are eligible, in April and September. Our Upper
Thames summer get-together will be on 6th July, and I think we’ll be having a
Treasure Hunt around the Vale of White Horse to enliven proceedings a
little.
So, if you and / or any of your members would like to come and join
us, please let ‘em have my contact details.
More on Castle Combe and Japfest
soon, as I receive the info.
Rgds
Peter
Phil
Bell made it all the way from beyond High Wycombe to be with us for the first
time, despite having lunched his MR2 at Combe the previous weekend.
Terry
and his father Rod Benson, having discovered us on the Internet, came to sniff
us out from nearby Highworth. Hopefully, they'll have liked what they saw, and
will be joining the Club and our branch. Be nice to have them along; they're
both very enthusiastic about their bargain sports-cars, and are already
muttering about track-days etc. And Terry is a welder! Not that our wee beasties
ever need the attention of such people, of course! Darren Trewin is also from
their village, so we're almost a Highworth branch!!
Despite a recent
mail-shot to all members in the GL postcode areas, only Dave Walker came to join
us, a fair schlep from his native Cheltenham. Be nice to see some more of you
from there. We might seem to be far-off from you, but it's a dead easy and rapid
trot down the A417/9, and we're then only 5 minutes off down the A420.
Gavin
Pressler and Dave made it up from Melksham, not so far in distance, but a slow
ol' nadgery drive. Gavin is a real track-day regular, and seemingly up for
almost anything MR2-wise!
Our next meeting is currently scheduled for
Wednesday August 4th. However, as that's slap in the middle of the holiday
period, there may be some sense in changing the date a little. Would Wednesday
28 July be any better for you folks? If I hear nothing from you, we'll stick
with August 4th, but you do have the chance to change it!!
Format of the
next meeting, whenever it is, will be a Treasure Hunt. Meet at The Plough at
19.00, and you'll be set off on an hour or so's drive around the Vale of White
Horse with a set of driving instructions and list of questions to be answered
before returning to The Plough for judging and a well-earned drink and chat.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what we should call ourselves? (polite
ones.........I said POLITE ones!!) Oxford / Swindon branch is too restrictive
given the range our attendees cover to get to us. Southern Central is a bit
vague perhaps. How about Upper Thames Branch? Given that starts at Goring near
Reading and extends through Berkshire and Oxfordshire into Gloucestershire, with
tributaries into the Swindon area that seems quite an appropriate title for us.
What do you think?
In case anyone has missed it, can I just reiterate that
we are NOT officially represented at Japfest, Castle Combe May 22 (nothing to
stop you attending privately, of course) but that the VAG Action (track) Day
there on 12th June IS open to us. I'm sending off our application as I write
this. If you require more details and / or did not receive my eMail of yesterday
"Castle Combe Japfest 22 May is OFF, Action Day 12 June is ON" please eMail me.
Regards to you all - hope to see more of you at our next meeting.
Peter
Scatchard
Sorry not to meet those
others of you that replied positively to the survey regarding a local branch
etc, but hopefully next time?
I informed everyone at the meeting regarding
the two track-days and Japfest at Castle Combe, and we discussed the new MC 750
Club unmodified MR2 racing class. Cliff Newman also brought his photo-album on
his Cosworth Turbo installation in an AW11. 400bhp is the target, geared for
about 150 mph.
Should scare a few Porkies and Ferraris!!
Talking of
which, last night we agreed to hold our next meeting at the same place and time,
i.e. The Plough on the A420 between Faringdon and Watchfield roundabouts, 7.30
pm in exactly 3 months time, first Wednesday of May, May 5th. This will
be a couple of weeks before the Japfest, so I hope to whip up some interest in
that event then. The May meeting will also discuss plans for an evening's
entertainment at the following meeting, provisionally scheduled for August.
Possibly a treasure-hunt, mini-rally etc. ending about 9 p.m. in a suitable
hostelry. So come along to the May meeting and be prepared to contribute your
idea on what we should organise for August.
The following meeting is
scheduled for the first Wednesday of August, August 4th - the hope is
that we'll have planned some sort of event.
If you come across any other MR2
owners, please pass on the above info to them - doesn't matter if they're not
members of the Mk1 Club, let's get 'em along and joining in with us, then
they'll hopefully see we're a club worth belonging to.
Don't forget:
Castle Combe Track-Day, Saturday April 24th
Japfest, Castle Combe,
Saturday May 22nd
Castle Combe Track-Day, Saturday June 12th
There will
be other days later in the year, and I'll get details to you all as I receive
them myself. Or please check the club's website at regular intervals.
Don't
forget the NW region's Isle of Man bash later this month - full details on the
website if you'd like to join 'em. If you've never been to the Island, here's a
great opportunity to get acquainted with a wonderful often overlooked corner of
the British Isles that's a real driver's delight, still with NO SPEED LIMITS on
much of the open road, including the famous Mountain section of the TT circuit,
free for anyone to drive.
Thanks for coming along last night, all those of
you that made it. Sorry not to meet those of you that replied positively to the
survey etc, but hopefully next time?
Hope to see some of you at Combe in
April, and the rest of you at The Plough on May 5th.
Peter Scatchard
Hope to see you all there!
Regards, and Season's
Greetings.
Peter Scatchard
