East

Below you can find all the East Social Scene reports submitted for the most recent TR Action, in full. If you have any problems with the content then please contact the office. Should you wish to find your nearest group then please use our postcode search facility or visit 'We're Only Hear for the Beer' for listings of all group details. Please use the links below to find your report:

• Abbott & Stour
• East Saxons
• Essex
• Lea Valley
• Wensum

Abbott & Stour

Hazel Humphries

For our November club night Brian Page and his partner Angie came along to give us a talk about the 1940s re-enactments they go to. They brought along a large number of wartime items such as ration books, medals, kit and uniforms, and a photoboard of various aircraft, London during the Blitz, the Land Girls, etc. Brian gave the first part of his talk dressed as a civilian member of the Home Guard before they started wearing uniforms, but his boots were still polished to perfection (20 hours of work, he said).

In the middle of the talk Richard ‘volunteered’ with a bit of arm twisting, to be taught the rudiments of standing to attention and at ease, and saluting, which he managed reasonably well, albeit with a smile on his face! Angie then showed the ladies amongst us the sort of outfits the women in the 1940s would have been wearing, and how they managed to make themselves smart by various means, everything being on ration (apart from hats). They would never have gone out without a hat, handbag and gloves and it was interesting looking at some of the 1940s clothing catalogues and patterns. Angie looked very smart in a two piece suit and hat she’d made herself and her ‘Mary Jane’ shoes. The evening concluded with a sing-along of wartime songs. A most enjoyable and informative evening; thankyou Brian & Angie.

We are now looking forward to our Xmas dinner at the Manger on 16th December, but more about that in January! The Abbott & Stour group would like to wish all TR club members a very happy Christmas and New Year and we will look forward to 2012 for more fun in our TRs.

East Saxons

Allan Jezzard

‘Tis the season for planned inactivity – TR wise anyway. By the time this edition slithers over your thresholds, East Saxons will have enjoyed seasonal nibbles at the Three Compasses, and their Dinner and Dance at Rochford. Not much in the way of organised driving though.

Chris Russell is currently wearing an inane grin, it’s not wind though. I mentioned in the last report that his car was in for “preventative surgery” – well it is back and his licence looks to be in peril judging by his apparent enjoyment of the TR’s “mid –range” pull! Another car currently receiving attention from a local specialist is the TR4A of Leda Legg. She is carrying on with the schedule of work planned before Allan sadly passed away and, I think, thoroughly enjoying the process and anticipating driving the car as it must have been when they bought it many years ago.

Having “broken the ice” a while back when attending our Sunday lunch, new member Gordon Welch chose the coldest evening in a long while to bring his TR3 out to one of our meetings after twenty odd years of inactivity. The car has only one seat and Gordon currently drives it on aero screens with no carpets, hood or side-screens. Myself, I would have chosen a slightly shorter first trial than Bishops Stortford to West Hanningfield but hey, I’ve only owned a TR for twenty years. He must have returned home o.k. as I’ve had an e-mail from him since.

More recently, 27th November to be precise, myself, Veronica, Denis Parsons and Ian Freeman from East Saxons along with Peter Dadson from Abbott and Stour, attended the TRR AGM at Gaydon with representatives from many other groups. Attendance, I think, was slightly down on last year despite the unseasonably kind weather conditions. There seems an underlying criticism though, from some quarters, of those who do not utilise TRs for the journey, but using one vehicle to bring five attendees on a two and a half hour journey is, I think, sensible. Business matters were despatched with some efficiency, the only real surprise being the resignation of Steve Redway, our editor, which leaves the committee with the unenviable task of finding a replacement capable of maintaining Steve’s high standards.

Of specific interest to East Saxons is our upcoming AGM being held on Thursday 5th March at the Farmhouse Inn, Monk Street, Thaxted. I should like to invite all members, particularly new ones, along for what is usually a very pleasant evening giving you the opportunity to have a say in how the Group is being run. To see what is being planned for 2012, have a look at our website (www.eastsaxons.com) and finally, I would like to wish all Register members including those at Didcot a very special new year.

Essex

Mike Boling

It’s that time of year when indoor events are at a premium and Local Group Leaders scratch their heads trying to devise suitable diversions to while away the winter monthly meetings. I am pleased to report that the Essex Group have had no shortage of events to keep the Membership engaged!

Our regular Shepherd & Dog club night at the end of October was of particular interest to those of us who are becoming increasingly concerned over the security of our TRs. Stan Ratcliffe of RBS Ltd delivered a very interesting presentation on their inexpensive (£99!) “Stockade” GPS Tracker. This device overcomes the high cost of annual maintenance contracts associated with conventional vehicle tracker devices and, as a direct result of the presentation, quite a few Essex Group members have now decided to invest in the “Stockade” units.

This year’s Classic Restoration Show at Stoneleigh (23rd Oct) was unusually poorly attended by Essex Group enthusiasts. There were noticeably less stands than in previous years with many of the “major” specialists not attending and although there were plenty of visitors, the event was nowhere near as crowded as usual. Bernie Steeples did very well in procuring a genuine Lockheed master cylinder repair kit (for his TR2) for the princely sum of £5! These usually go at around £20 – well done, Bernie!

Our annual Quiz Night was held on the 19th November and the newly refurbished Childerditch Village Hall was crammed to bursting point with over 80 people attending this popular event. The winner this year was the team of eight classic Le Mans enthusiasts captained by Trevor Hughes and aptly named Maison Blanche – all eight carried away a bottle of the exclusive Essex Group table wine produced for us by New Hall Vineyards of Purleigh. Super job guys and enjoy the wine! Full pictorial coverage of this event may be found on this Group’s website.

The November S&D meet found the Group hosting a very informative presentation by Nina Benscher of the Essex Air Ambulance service. The EAA has been our charity of choice for the past few years and it was pleasing to learn how the money raised by the Group is a welcome contribution towards keeping this vital service in the air. Nina was presented with an Essex Group calendar (featuring the EAA helicopter) and a bottle of the excellent wine referred to above!

A small Essex Group contingent attended the Register’s AGM on the 27th November. It was a very congenial affair which will doubtless be covered in detail elsewhere in this issue but I should like to say how surprised (and disappointed) we were to learn of the unexpected resignation of Steve Redway who has done so much to make TR Action such an excellent magazine – often imitated but never equalled. I am sure all Essex Group members would wish to join me in thanking Steve for all his hard work over the years – it has been very much appreciated.

By the time this edition hits the streets, Christmas will have been and gone so you will have to wait for the next issue to find out about our Dinner Dance and Christmas Curry events. In the meantime you could always click on www.essex-tr.org and check out what we are up to!

Lea Valley

Brian Chidwick

It is hard to believe that this is the last Social Scene report I will be writing in 2011, although by the time you read it, the club and group AGMs, Christmas and New Year will already be a hazy memory. The year has flown by and I suspect that is due in part to the number of TR events that we have been involved in, either as a group or as individuals. I won’t bore you with a list here but if you are not yet a regular at group meetings and events, and are not yet on the email list for newsletters, then you can still see what we have been up to by reading copies of 2011’s TRunnions on our website.

We very much enjoyed the Nostalgia Forum Motor Sport Film Show with special guest Stuart Turner, motoring author, former BMC and Ford Competitions Manager and one-time Standard 10 and TR2/3 rally competitor (won the first British Rally Championship in 1958 as co-driver to Ron Goldbourn in a TR3A). Lynda and I were proud to display our TR3A as part of a special line-up of significant models used by Stuart during his competition career and fortunately the weather was excellent, so another topless day. The next film show is a double-bill ('Theme Lotus' with guest speaker Jackie Oliver and ‘The History of Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit’ with artist and Snetterton historian Andrew Kitson) on 28th January, so you should still have time to book.

Although for some members, the TR season is over and the car tucked away in the warm ready for spring, I TRust our TR3A will not be the only TR in the car park at monthly meetings. However, you don’t need to come in a TR – this time of year is an ideal chance to come along and help plan the forthcoming year’s calendar. Suggestions for different events and activities will be gratefully received, especially those which involve driving our TRs. For those who are rebuilding or newer members perhaps carrying out winter maintenance for the first time, there will always be plenty of advice and offers of help.

Finally, as a reminder of the summer, here is a photo taken by Magda of one of our newer members, now a regular, Julian Hensman reflecting on having the only TR6 at the Knebworth Classic Car Show this year.

Check on the website for alternative venues and further events which may be added. To keep in touch via TRunnion (or to contribute letters, articles or photos), email me at bjmole1-trlvg@yahoo.co.uk.

Wensum

Graham Carr

Snetterton Charity Race Day: After numerous changes to the original instructions, a cold dark Saturday morning found me alone in the middle of Snetterton Race Track wondering what hell I was doing there. Our fearless leader “King Soloman” had insisted that if we wanted to make sure of entering the event we must be at scrutineering at 7.00am.. Strangely enough nobody else appeared to have received this advice. In fairness Dave and Pete arrived very shortly after me. There followed two hours of madness ending with us ‘Registered’; ‘Holding Numerous Stamps and Badges’; ‘Decibel Tested’; ‘Wrist Banded’; ‘Briefed’ and ready for the public.

We were given virtually open use of the track, whilst keeping strict adherence to track and race rules, taking paying passengers as and when required. Much of the day was spent jumping in and out of a vast range of cars. Alan Wells, wearing his marshal’s jacket was kept busy. Dave Soloman likewise sporting a marshal’s jacket was ‘also there’.

It was a great pity that there was so much confusion in the pre-show notifications, because on the day a really great time was had by all. We had four TRs taking part and several members came along, I think we were the largest participating group, and all the members who were not able to join us missed out on a great day. Hopefully next year registration will be a lot clearer and we will have a full contingent, so watch this space.

Dave and Alan’s idea of volunteering for duty did in fact work very well as they finished the day in amongst the big boys cars and I understand had as many rides as they could shake a stick at.