Area Reports
AREA REPORT - JAN 2005
LOST!
12 months, somewhere between the
dates of 1st January 2004 and 31st December 2004"
Where on Earth did 2004 go? Each year seems to pass by at an ever increasing and alarming rate! A perusal of the WSCC Thames Valley web pages for last year (new site about to be uploaded) shows only a small number of events being featured; mainly the ever popular, and rightfully so, Stoneleigh Kit Car Show and Hambleden Sports Car Day - memorable this year as each convoy was led by me in the embarrassing faded red and wheezing Honda Civic; which is luckily no more! My excuse for this relatively "quiet" year is that not only did we have the change of AO but also my own Westfield remains off the road due to continued lack of funds and employment. Other than that I simply can't remember how I used up the rest of the year!
Therefore, my only New Years resolution for 2005 (already given up on the one about less pies and beer) is to get my head down, secure some gainful employment and get the Westie back on the road; whereby once again I can "give it some" at airfield and trackday events - which have been sorely missed!
I also wish those in similar circumstances the best of luck. Maybe 2005 will be kinder as we hopefully move out of yet another "boom-bust" cycle in our economy.
Asda sprayed crimbo cake
XMAS LUNCH - 2004
Nineteen people in total, including wives\girlfriends, turned out for the Area's Christmas meal at The Bird In Hand. Well done to those brave (or foolish?) enough to turn up in their Westies; Dale, Sherry, Justin, Karen, Kevin and Emma all deserve special mention - especially Justin who was left behind in the car park at the end of the day while desperately trying to slacken off his 4-point harness for the homeward journey ;-)
All went superbly well, although my already lacking basic numeracy skills were put to the test when trying to add up the final bill and working out who owed what! Disaster, and personal financial ruin, was averted when spotting the unforeseen extra charges for coffee and mince pies! A kind word in the ear of "the management" soon saw our deficit eradicated.
For those that were too slow, I've included a picture of the iced cake that Asda "sprayed-up" for me with the Westfield Christmas scene, before it was cut up and devoured.
In all an excellent meal and service was provided by staff at The Bird in Hand. And since our visit they have sent details of special function evenings during 2005 such as a Mexican food and music evening, jazz and supper as well as a charity race night; which may need some investigation.
TO THE FUTURE.
NEW MEMBERS
Two new members joined us at the end of 2004 - Ross and Dan. I met up with them at the already fully-booked Christmas lunch for a quick pint and chin wag; sorry it wasn't an ideal and typical monthly meet in which to see other owners Westfields, also that the vacant seats at the table weren't identified in time for you to change your arrangements for the day.
Ross Kenyon is from Twickenham and he recently purchased a previous owner-built 1.8 Zetec. He plans carrying out some tidying up work as well as joining us on scenic runs and other events.
Dan Johnson's a bit closer, Maidenhead, and has just taken delivery of MegaBlade kit. He has plenty of previous mechanical experience as well as time spent at Santa Pod doing RWYB. He's looking at eventually doing some serious quarter mile times; which I'm sure some of our more competition minded members will be all to willing to help out with advise etc? Apologies to Dan for the evening he "popped" round to borrow a simple brake pipe bending tool; he arrived about 9:00pm and didn't get away till almost 1:00 in the morning after a session of chin-wagging, tea drinking and looking at the laid up Westie!
Looking forward to seeing both Ross and Dan at future meetings and events where I know they're very keen to see other cars.
LOST MEMBERS
At present I've only been made aware of us losing one person as a member and Westfield owner; that's Warren Smith. Sorry if there are others and I've missed mentioning them. Sadly Warren had to "sell-up" due to mortgage and baby commitments. However, when asked if he'd ever get another Westfield when circumstances allow he gave an encouraging "YOU BET...!!!" Best of luck to Warren and his family.
A MINI ADVENTURE
Working with Richard and Chris of the Northants area we're hoping to finalise a date for the tour of the BMW Mini assembly plant at Oxford - sometime during the last week of January (so no doubt the event would have passed by the time you read this). BMW only permit tours during the working week, which obviously doesn't work well with most people. However, I'll be looking at other such factory tours and identifying any with more favourable dates and times.
NEW TV AREA WEB PAGES
I've been working on creating a new look to the pages, as well as updating and adding to the content. Although 2/3rds completed I'm looking at uploading what I have as getting the events calendar out to everyone is becoming important. I'll post members once the pages are available, but keep an eye out at www.wscc.co.uk/area/thamesvalley/.
A couple of pages I will follow-up on are;
- Readers Drives: where I'll place brief details of each member and their car, including engine, BHP, colour, whether you built it yourself, other history as well as a picture of each driver and a few pics of each car so faces can be placed with cars. Also, give some consideration for a nickname for yourself; otherwise we reserve the right to make them up ;-) Any pics and details you have to help populate the page will help greatly.
- Newbies: this will be a page to help potential or new members visiting the site to understand what it's like to own or build a Westfield. Again, any input or experiences you have that will be useful for the page will be gratefully received. E-mail is always best and my address is provided below.
OTHER FORTHCOMING EVENTS
According to the events calendar I've created on the yet to be uploaded site (pulled in various event details from many sources) there doesn't appear to be much this time of the year in way of large organised events. An e-mail regarding the Historic Motorsport Show at Stoneleigh in February was met with very little response (is the event any good? Never been before) and the only other event is the Car Craft Show, Stafford, in March.
Once the events page is accessible I'll ask for ideas on which to progress, including our own events like treasure hunts, museum visits or an inter-area skittles challenge at a county pub etc.
Cheers for now and Happy New Year to you all,
Neil