MG EVENTS

2003

Totally MG

Cotswolds Run

MGCCSE Autumn Naviscat

Another change of venue for Totally MG in its tour of Surrey Racecourses. This year we were on the Downs at Epsom on a grey and overcast day with early morning mist rolling across the gallops. MG parking this year was closer to the show site being in the adjacent enclosure leaving just a short walk to the Grandstands. It was easier to wander around the car parks and admire the MG's . Unfortunately as it was right on the main road it was also easier for the thief who stole a yellow MGBGT V8 from near Gate 15. 

We got to the Competition area in front of the Grandstand without too much trouble and parked on the slight slope facing the Downs themselves. With the skies still grey the judging began early which was handy as it gave us longer to look around and chat to fellow enthusiasts. 

The main stalls were underneath the main Grandstand stretched along the exhibition area. Most of the usual MG dealers were present as were stands by all three MG clubs. It's the one event where you can see all clubs in action together. on The MGOC you could get technical advice whilst the Octagon club were selling a wide variety of old books and manuals. The MG Car Club had a large selection of models for sale as well as the usual regalia.

You could just about get most bits for your MG from carpets to toggle switches at one or more of the stalls. Brown & Gamons were present catering for the MGF enthusiast and on one stall you could get old toy cars to add to your collection of rare models. I picked up a kit MGF by New Ray. The re build will be featured on this site soon !.

Cars to look out for around the site were a V8 Extreme prototype in Brooklands Green looking like a muscle car with huge bonnet and flared arches (unfortunately it had proved a little too powerful for someone and the front valance was cracked !). The modified Z power ZR by Moto Build was next to an X Power ZT. A lovely "Tigress" from the 30's was pride of place in the display area with gleaming chromework. A chromaflair paint job on an MGF in the competition area provoked interest as people tried to work out what colour it really was. The Innocenti Midget in Primrose yellow has been up for sale for most of the summer and was still here at Epsom. I'm sure the price has gone up  - it's now for sale at £8995. Scalet Fever blagged a Traders Pass to gain entry and parked up with the MG World crew by their stand. Not every car was in spectacular condition and there were some sorry looking midgets for sale which seemed only good for the Scrapyard. There were plenty of MG bits in the autojumble outside including a skip full of rusty metal at only £1 per item.

Not a bad show but it's not a full day out with most people getting there early for a rummage and then leaving by lunchtime.

So how did we get on in the Concours......click HERE to find out !

Here we are at the tail end of the season for the last F register run of the year and the weather is still fine , if a little brisk. The sun was out and the skies were blue when, after driving around in some small circles, we pulled on to the lawns in front of Walton Hall in Warwickshire. The F register had arranged the parking in a large crescent with the new banner fluttering away at one end. It was good to see over 50 F's stretching from the lake to the driveway (plus a couple of interlopers in the form of a few B's and a midget !). 

The traditional start of warming coffee and custard creams was followed by a short briefing and the raffle draw. Despite needing some new car mats I didn't win them and my raffle ticket did not have cause to leave my pocket. We headed for the cars and set off in convoy across the estate bridge and into the small lanes heading for the Cotswolds. Unfortunately we all snaked past  an early casualty as the crew of a Green F were busily putting their spare tyre on after an early puncture.

The lines of F's crowded the narrow hedge rowed lanes and cruised past tiny pale stoned villages . An hour or so later and we were all ready feeling peckish so an obvious stop was the town of Stow on The Wold.  Our convoy of about ten F's pulled up in the small car park at the entrance to the town and promptly double parked in the coach bays as there was only one coach there. A Z3 later joined us as did at least two coaches who were no doubt cursing those pesky sports car owners as we enjoyed our lunch in The Bell pub just across the way. Incidentally The Bell turned out to have been John Entwistle's old local and when he died he left some Who memorabilia which now adorn the walls.

Suitably refreshed we set off for the second stop at Snowshill Lavender Farm where we had our after dinner coffee whilst the ladies were attracted by the magnet of the shop selling all kinds of lavender based products - you could even get Lavender Scones which we didn't dare try.

Having bid farewell to "Thelma and Louise" in their silver TF pointing them in the direction of Oxford we were slightly surprised some twenty minutes later to see them driving back up the lane to Snowshill their sense of direction having failed them ! The rest of set off for the final stop at Broadway Tower with it's fine views over the Cotswolds and towards the Welsh Mountains. At least Dave Morris could feel at home ! Just prior to the Tower there is a fine set of sweeping uphill bends on the A44 and most F's took full advantage of their cars power to climb them (and some took a little too much advantage !). By this time it was getting chillier as the afternoon drew to a close but there was another chance of a warming cup of tea and more custard creams in the cafe just below the tower.

Not all the F's seem to make it to the finish , whether they got distracted by other Cotswold lures or are still driving around the lanes trying to decipher their tulip diagrams we just do not know.

The end of season Autumn Naviscat for teh MG Car Club South East was set this year by Phillip Bayne-Powell who had the (mis)fortune to win last years event. Consequently we were in Phillip's home territory of west Surrey and heading for a start point of the Villagers Pub in Blackheath just outside of Shalford. Already at a tiny village we were soon plotting all 46 OS points on the map and working out our route. First stop for most people was just up the road from the pub and trying to work out what on earth " 4 with 6" was meant to refer to. With most of the competitors wandering about scratching their heads with puzzled expressions looking first at the ground and then the sky in search of inspiration we spotted a stackpole with four bolts and six "crown" points - that must be it. That was fine and feeling good we set off after more points - what could HCB -- V mean - a car registration perhaps - er well no actually it was the number on a Thames Water drain cover ! By the time we got to "Who was Foolish ?" we were beginning to wonder if it was us for taking part in this tricky event - the answer of course was Lord Inchcape who built a folly in 1935 !

We wend our way further south towards the Sussex border and soon realised that we were running rapidly out of time as we counted how many triangles on an iron gate. With the threat of points being deducted if we were as little as one minute late we made a dash for the pub arriving with not quite enough time to find out who Died at the aged of 80 (on a bench near the finish ) we dashed in to the Noah's Ark pub at Lurgashal paired up with a fellow competitor in front of us. As she laid her answer sheet down and Phillip wrote 2.30 on the top I quickly put mine on top relieved to the see the same time in ball point pen scribbled on the top of my paper. Just in the nick of time  - phew.

After a pint and a pub lunch Phillip announced the winners and we held our breath - we had won class C with 27 points and no one was getting higher marks than us - it was looking ominously like we would have to organise next years event only to be saved at the last minute by the announcement that another couple, who had also got 27 points, had just pipped us on handing the answer sheet  in just before me -  and by only a matter of seconds.

Then a run through of the answers before bidding farewell but did we get that first clue right - of course not - the answer should have been  four hexagonal nuts on a gatepost !.