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The first thing I would like to say is a BIG thank you, to all the members that could make it to the 2009 Christmas Dinner on the 3rd December. It was a very good night and very enjoyable too, and the food was good. All you need to have a great time, good company, good food and a lot of good fun. And we had it all on that night. After a drink in the bar, it was time to go into the dining room, and I could not hear a thing with all the chatter going on! It was not long before we were all sat down, it got a lot quieter when the food came out. Wendy Swinburne was doing her usual job selling a lot of raffle tickets, and she collected £90 for the club, so well done Wendy again. It was not too long and the fun started with some very noisy balloons flying all over the room. Inside some of the crackers there was a water pistol, bad idea. Alison and Wendy (Wilson) had a lot of fun with them and at the end of the night had a duel. But John was the referee and we all could see that he was going to get wet. The Stuart Greaves “Memorial Cup” was shared by two members this year, it was Mo and Clive for all the work on the club People & Places Run back in June. The Enthusiast of the Year shield was not given out as the winner was not at the dinner, so I will have to give it to the winner at the January meeting. (assuming their attendance!) The raffle was run by Wendy and Keith and I think everyone won something so that was good. The main prize was won by John & Paddie, I would like to thank Alan Colville and his guest for doing up the hamper. A big thank you to everyone who brought along prizes, there were lots of nice things and I even have one left over that I forgot to put in. We can have another draw later. Keith was pressured into telling members some of the puzzle answers. The photos proved tricky and very few were guessed correctly. The mystery objects were a challenge, quite surprising as some had already been seen by those who went to the Isle of Man!! All good fun, hope we get more photos for next year, start hunting them out now. The planning and the booking is not too hard to do as we have done this a few times now, but the people there make it a night to remember, so thanks to you all for an entertaining evening. Thanks for all the emails saying what a good time you had. It’s great that non-members enjoy these things as much as we do. It will not be too long and we will be doing it all again! Thanks very much for the flowers, a nice gesture much appreciated. Hilary & Keith Even the discovery of a puncture, which now seems to be a tradition this year, did not prevent Paddie, the Duchess and me enjoying one of the last glorious day of this benighted summer. The Plym Valley Railway in partnership with City Bus decided to have an open day at the end of September. In addition, the Devon Vintage Car Club and the AC Cobra owners club provided an impromptu classic car show in the adjacent car park. Not surprisingly we arrived in Plympton a little late, to discover a very wide range of antique cars from a 1919 Model T Ford to a 1934 Alvis with a dashboard display to rival that of Concorde. There was an amazing ‘grunt’ of Cobras too, about 10 in all, a rare sight in these inflated petrol-price times (they do about 11 mpg on a good day!). There was one lonely red MGB in the 40 odd car line-up. Yes, you’ve guessed it; Terry and Julia Harding had beaten us again! In addition to cars there was quite an interesting group of ‘classic’ double-decker buses giving free rides into the city and back. One particularly brought back memories for me of the ‘60s’ a superb Atlantian, a quiet, rear- engined monster that could be found cruising in most UK cities during that era. However, I was reminded that we were here to support the PVR. So off the four of us went to find the station. In reality this was a couple of old portakabins painted in GWR colours. The engine was a delightful ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ type gently steaming away in the capable hands of a very short, sooty, septuagenarian lady driver! Whilst we waited for the next departure we ‘did’ the stalls and fairground amusements set up in aid of our volunteer hosts. The time came for our departure up the line. In a flourish of flags, whistles, and much belching of smoke, the little train was off on its 2-mile journey. I have to confess as a passenger I really did think that the two old heavy coaches were too much for the little engine as there was a great deal of jerking and spinning of wheels. Mercifully the return journey was a little more controlled as the staff had coupled an equally ancient diesel shunter to the other end and we were back where we started in no time. However, our adventure down memory lane was not quite over. After the obligatory hanging about on the platform bit, we noticed the diesel ‘tug’ go off and fetch a rather splendid restaurant car, whilst ‘Thomas’ went and had a lie down. The ‘Pullman’ had been recently restored by one of the volunteer staff and members of the Vintage Car Club and us were invited aboard for the ubiquitous cream tea, which was excellent. It was a good way to finish the ‘classic’ season. A pity a few more of our membership could not have been there. It really was a simple, untroubled, Sunday afternoon outing, hot enough to wear my silly straw hat! John & Paddie Hunt ************************************************************************************** So it was that on a lovely sunny Sunday, Bridget and I arranged to meet Terry & Julia plus their friends Robin & Janet at the Dartmoor Diner. The classic car show held on the 13th September this year at Morwellham Quay is an annual event open to all clubs and adds to the interest of this very historic site. We had no idea at the time that this could be our last visit there , but more about this later. On our way to the Dartmoor diner we were joined by Ron Corry. After a brief discussion about what route to take Terry led the way. Upon arrival we were shepherded into a paved area behind the shop which was great as it was reasonably private. Alan Short then arrived making a total of five cars. This year the Tavistock Food and Drink Fair was being held there over the weekend, which was a bonus. The £2 entrance fee seemed excessive until we discovered this was going to the Rotary Club. Inside the Marquee various local food & drink producers were on hand to discuss their products with plenty of tastings available to delight the taste buds. Bridget and I could not resist a Langage Farm ice cream. This went down a treat. After a look around the site, the Hardings plus their friends the Sherwoods and Bridget went on the train down the mine. I decided to stay with the cars and rest my gouty foot. Upon their return we all succumbed to hunger pains so a picnic lunch was had by all. The weather was being very kind to us with wall to wall sunshine. A bit different to last year which was cancelled due to the bad weather. One or two changes have taken place since our last visit. Most notable is the ongoing restoration of the overshot water wheel. This is being undertaken by a local craftsman and is already looking in good shape. We all decided to leave reasonably early to avoid the crowds. So around 4pm we were on our way home having enjoyed an excellent day out with good company and fantastic weather. This is what all club events should be like. You may have heard on the news that Morwellham Quay is in danger of closing. This is due to the withdrawal of funding by Devon County Council. They have been running at a loss and will be unable to continue without outside assistance of some kind. The latest news is that the Trustees are hopeful they will be able to secure funding, let's hope they succeed as it would be a tragedy if such an important historical site was allowed to vanish. On a positive note it appears that Sunday 13th September was Morwellham's most successful day ever with over 3,000 people attending and the shop taking record sales despite the presence of the Food & Drink Fair. Let's hope this spurs the Trustees on in their efforts to secure new funding. **************************************************************************************** | |
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