January 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Christmas Party  January Party

Oh, who cares, it was a GREAT PARTY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members present

 

Andy & Jennie Holyoak

John & Margaret Martin

Martin & Jenny Ward, 2000 Estate

Phil Gunn, 2000 Estate

John & Chris Day

Colin & Ann Skinner

John Edwards

Andrew Burford

Linda Forey

Mick Forey - arrived later via 747 and taxi (flash so and so!)

Martin & Sue Faulkner

Ruth (& Invisible Anthony) Richards

Duncan Jolly

Roger Guy

Paul Bowler (Son)

Reg & Irene Bowler (Mum & Dad)

 

APOLOGIES:

Andy Moltu (on hospital duty)

Tim & Karen Sharp

 

 

PLEASE NOTE that February’s meeting is to be a Quiz Night.  Each of the following folks are bringing along five questions:

Martin W, Andy M, Jennie H, Irene, Ruth, John & Margaret.

 

 

Meeting notes

 

After a challenge with the Agricultural Society which nearly resulted in a duel at dawn, the LTRGers managed to hang on to their room booking.  Fortunately, the pub was quite clear - LTRG has the room booked for every 3rd Thursday of the month.  Well done them and phew!

 

Did explain the rather full car park and the decidedly naff parking!

 

Social Scene

Martin W thanked John Day for his last Social Scene article in TR Action - a great article so he went out on a high.  Good on you John.

 

David Guzzetta also wrote an article for TR Action - obviously getting some practice in as he’s to be the new Social Scene Scribe. 

 

Christmas socialising

Everyone who went to Andrew & Dawn Deacon’s for lunch on 30th December agreed the food and hospitality were second to none and that we all had a great time. 

 

Andrew sent a message that we were welcome every Christmas.  Splendid news!  I think nearly every hand went up when we did a count up of those who might be interested.  That should be around  40 then.  See you around 11 o’clock on 25th December then, Dawn & Andrew, and thanks again J

 

Congratulations

Kathryn and Tim got married on 23rd December and are now Tim and Kathryn Sharp.  Wonderful news.  Congratulations from us all.

 

Subs

Subs are now due please.  £15 per couple.  Please pay Rachael (via Phil).  If you’re paying by cheque, please make it payable to Leicestershire TR Group.

 

 

Non-Christmas Dinner

 

I don’t know how many folks went to the Dinner but the room was full to bursting and the atmosphere was great. 

 

Just the same as last year, Reg and Irene had done a fantastic job of setting the room out beautifully.  The colour scheme was lilac and Irene had done a fabulous lemon flower arrangement for each table to complement it.  As ever, she was brilliantly organised and put a little notice in each of the table decorations to remind everyone what they’d ordered. 

 

The party poppers were ever-present with some great cannons. 

 

The food was excellent and very hot.  Very well done indeed to the cook.  Yum.

 

The disco was great - once he’d got into the LTRG stride, that is - and most people had a good bop.  It was so obvious that the youngsters were mightily jealous of the olduns’ dancing skills.  Never mind, you’ll be as good as us in a few more years, just hang on in there!

 

Most of those who live north of Kibworth, took advantage of the bus Ruth organised, and arrived en masse.  Fantastic idea.  Pity there aren’t enough of us southwards so we could do the same.

 

The highlight of the evening was the prize giving, of course.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t hear terribly well at the back of the room but we think it went something like this:

 

Ø      Ruth got the pickled cabbage 

Ø      Phil got an oil filler cap

Ø      Someone got the Big Pants (but can’t recall who)

 

All this will be reported in full in next month’s TRipe - very important information to be filed away for LTRG’s historical records!

 

There were lots and lots of raffle prizes this year.  The funds were going to Marie Curie Cancer Care.  Paul Bowler is going off on a trek organised by Marie Curie Cancer Care to Machu Picchu.  He leaves on the anniversary of Malayne’s death.  It will be an excellent way to help him through a very traumatic time. 

 

He also has the opportunity of going on another trip directly after - before coming home.  He has the choice of the Galapagos Islands or a Trek in the High Andes.  From what I could hear, the room was fairly evenly split in what they would do in Paul’s place.  Either would be an amazing experience on top of the amazing Machu Picchu.  Something to savour for the rest of your life.

 

New Year’s Eve Party

 

Didn’t get a report on the NYE party.  Shame. 

 

Could we make a plea - it would be really great if someone did a report after every event to make TRipe more interesting than just minutes.  It doesn’t have to be long, it’s just interesting for those who didn’t go and a great trip down memory lane for those who did.

 

Pretty please J

 

Events for 2007

 

See calendar at the end - completed to end June for now.

 

Events to be agreed or under discussion:

Ø      Second stage of the Leicestershire Tour.  Andy H has the route - we only did stage one last year

Ø      Slot Car Challenge (LTRG v TSSC) - Andrew Burford on the case

Ø      Meal at the Terracotta in Leicester - Martin W on the case

Ø      LTRG v Coventry Skittles - Reg on the case

 

Phone lists

 

This will be sent out next month.  If anyone has any changes, please send them to Andy & Jennie asap (landlines, mobiles, addresses, emails) or let us have them at the January meeting.

 

 

New project!

 

Yes we bought another project, although not a TR.

 

This Dolomite 1300 had been dry stored for 20 years and needs a little TLC to get it back on the road. Corrine even steered it on the trailer.

However I have been busy over winter and it is nearing completion.

 

Hopefully I will be able to take it to the Triumph Day at Stoneleigh.

 

Andrew & Corrine Burford

 

Gaydon Photos

 




Christmas Photos (loads more next month)

 

 



Would you believe it?  Strange, but true. 

 

BY TIM COLLINS

 

 

Being a somewhat obsessive sports car restorer and having almost completed my MGA roadster [wash your mouth out with soap and water] I was looking for a few final pieces, one of which was a good soft top hood. Low and behold at Stoneleigh restoration show a “brand new” in the box original equipment ice blue hood for £150.  Well pleased with my bargain I later fitted it, drove the car for about 300 miles and then decided to reduce my collection in view of a possible house move. Advertised the MGA, gentleman rings, “I would like to buy it”.  Thinking he means the car, I give the full hard sell of what a wonderful car only to be corrected by the punter that he doesn’t want the whole car, just the new ice blue hood.

 

Now being late in the evening after a long day’s work I don’t really need some crackpot wanting to buy just a part of the car I am wanting to sell! A few well chosen words from me, together with the telephone number of the nearest psychiatric wing I put the phone down. Low and behold the following night the same conversation.  The same reply.  Surely the man must get the message that I want to sell the car not the hood?  Following a number of days with the same conversation the gentleman then makes the offer of £1000.  For the hood plus another £250 to pay for a replacement.

 

Now I know Christmas usually falls sometime in December and usually only once a year, so I’m thinking that it must be a leap year for Christmas I give the gentleman my address, not really believing that anybody would pay £1250 for a now “used hood”. How wrong you can be?!  He turns up the following day, looks at the hood, cash on the nail. Away he goes  beaming like a Cheshire cat with the hood cover in the boot of his decrepit Rover 620, me standing slightly bemused with a wad of £20 notes.

 

Now the dilemma for a side screen enthusiast.  Mr Holyoak phones and tells me of a TE3A on ebay currently standing at £1120 bid with eight hours to go.  Well, what is a man to do---?  Pop the bid to £1220 of course.  After all, it’s not every day you make £1100 selling a hood cover.

 

My luck holds, surprisingly and my bid was successful . A fully complete, basically solid and easily restorable, left hooker 1959 TR3A for, in effect, £150 - the price of the original hood at the auto jumble .

 

Perhaps I should start doing the lottery again?  Who knows what more good luck might arise?

 

Be lucky!

 

Tim Collins