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Coupe des Alpes 1958


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Whilst looking for pictures of a 3 with a hard top I came across this, linked from another page:

 

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WVmHt9mBc4&feature=related

 

Part2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH-wvh3HGBQ&feature=related

 

I love the fact the ladies are driving in shorts or full skirts but I wouldn't fancy driving some of those roads at speed, specially if they were still open to the public !

Edited by Andy B
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Thanks Andy. Great stuff. No shoulder barriers on the roads, sheer cliffs, no roll-bars, few helmets, no fuel cells, no fire suits, no speed limits. And in 1958 I would have jumped at the chance to drive. I guess that shows that I did grow up, at least to some extent, in spite of what my wife says. Tom

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  • 1 year later...

" hardly anybody ever bothered to borrow it !"

 

Hardly surprising Bill, the Register Archives were and are a mystery to most people . . . . . I can't imagine many folks realised there was a video lending facility, I for one thought the loan facility extended to Local Groups only and not to individuals.

 

To the best of my recollection, there hasn't exactly been a great deal of publicity given to the archives over the years. Most members know of their existence, or have heard mention, but that's about as far as it goes.

 

It makes a pleasant change to read a bit more about the archives in TR Action this issue, but I don't think there was any indication of how the average member might access the archives in any shape or form ?

 

Cheers

 

Alec

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Sorry, not true Alec...look back over 20 years Tractions at my reports and occasional archive promotion pieces...also all group leaders were regularly circulated on occasions in the 90's with lists of what was available for club nights etc...very few took this up, and most of those that did did not return the videos...I can recall having a well previously publicised Saturday morning when I specially attended the Didcot archive and opened it for all members to visit and see what was there....not one single person turned up...hardly encouraging, was it? Not surprisingly, I didn't waste my time again....maybe there's more interest now, but then , I'm no longer archivist....I can tell you all that in the 1990's and into the 2000's there was VERY little interest shown in what the archive contained...indeed, the Committee even considered selling the whole lot once as there was so little interest....Bill P.

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....maybe there's more interest now....Bill P.

 

 

 

Hi Bill,

 

Given the success of sites like Youtube, might it be an idea for the club to open a "TR Register" Channel, and upload the archive online for universal access? Just a thought.

 

Cheers, Deggers

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Given the success of sites like Youtube, might it be an idea for the club to open a "TR Register" Channel, and upload the archive online for universal access? Just a thought.

 

 

Deggers

 

We already have a Youtube channel.

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/trownersclub?feature=results_main

 

It could be used a lot more productively than it has been...

 

Regards

 

Peter

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Deggers

 

We already have a Youtube channel.

 

http://www.youtube.c...re=results_main

 

It could be used a lot more productively than it has been...

 

Regards

 

Peter

 

 

Peter: gee, what a pleasant surprise! Who's been keeping this a secret. :)

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Peter: gee, what a pleasant surprise! Who's been keeping this a secret. :)

 

It has to be said - communication, promotion and publicity are not the TRR's greatest strengths these days.

We've talked about this at Group Leaders Meetings, but very little seems to happen thereafter.

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"very few took this up, and most of those that did did not return the videos"

 

It does rather beggar belief that archive media of any sort can be made available on loan without, apparently, an effective management system of monitoring its whereabouts and ensuring its return.

 

Of course I used ro read your articles in TR Action Bill, shared anorak tendencies and all that, but a paper archive stored in Didcot and available in office hours isn't exactly easily accessible to the average member. Which is why the digitalisation principle could and should have been under way before the millennium, completed and made available in one easily accessible form or another (Online, DVD, whatever) years ago.

 

Better late than never.

 

As for the YouTube channel, it's all well and good kicking off an initiative, but again without effective ongoing management and monitoring it's unlikely to take off, and more likely to trickle into touch.

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

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Yes Alec. maybe you are right...the Ctte DID discuss the digitisation of the archive at least 10 years ago but there were/are major copyright issues and more importantly, NOBODY would take it on....did you offer? You were on the Ctte for part of that time I seem to recall....

As to the loans that never came back.....they were only made to group leaders, not individuals.....The paid assistant at didcot at the time was a lady called Gill something...she oversaw the scheme, not very effectively sadly....it HAD to be administered by HQ staff as the archivist, not being a paid member of staff, was not present on a day to day basis to deal with loan requests or chase up non returners.....very easy to be wise after the event, but the fact remains, there was, speaking generally, little interest shown in the archive for years and being archivist was a moderately disheartening activity....what would your conclusion be if you had travelled 100 miles to be at Didcot for a Saturday, pre publicised the fact in TRaction and sat there to have NO-ONE turn up !?

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Hi Bill,

 

yes I do sympathise about the lack of attendance, the archivist's post was ever a thankless chalice.

 

If old films are to be copied onto video or whatever for the benefit of the membership, then it's hardly the archivist's task to look after them - not to my way of thinking, anyway.. More an office administrative responsibility I'd have thought, and then down to local group coordinators to retrieve if necessary. Maybe I'm being simplistic. But it's a tad ungentlemanly to point fingers at individuals many years on.

 

My son Tom was banging on about digitalising archives back in 1998, when he started his occasional internet articles in TR Action. Those with more (professional) experience of IT patiently explained how it couldn't realistically be done. So we bought a flatbed scanner, a 35mm negative/slide scanner, and my two lads simply carried on and digitalised my own stuff regardless. At 11 and 14 they weren't impressed with Old Fart thinking. By 2000 younger son Colin was trading off his own website, reams of pages of archived data re collector's toys online, and making a tidy profit.

 

Yes I did, as it happens, offer to get involved with digitalising archive material. Bit of a hobby horse at the time, after my having spent out a modest amount previously to establish if it could be done. Remarks about horses and water spring to mind. Committee were more concerned with trivia like worrying about my telling clots like Clive and Wendy where to get off than about things that really mattered. Plus ça change etc etc . . . . why do you think I gave up ? Banging head against brick wall is even better when it stops. You know the feeling, I'm sure.

 

At least it's evidently being done now, a decade late is better than never.

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

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...the two lads simply carried on and digitalised my own stuff regardless. At 11 and 14 they weren't impressed with Old Fart thinking.

 

And that is without doubt the greatest problem to be resolved in the TRR and probably many other classic car clubs.

How do we get younger enthusiasts involved and keep them interested? It must be so frustrating being surrounded by negativity.

We need more fresh blood co-opted onto projects, if not directly onto the committee to reinvigorate the club before it fades away along with its ageing membership.

[Apologies for thread drift - maybe I'm just a frustrated Old Fart, but at least I recognise the need for change]

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Younger people are interested in younger cars and tend to operate via forums alone. I suppose because the interest is age related, enthusiasm for various models is more transitory and for the ownership of buildings etc, negligible. Dealers too, make more money out of "emerging" classics than established ones.

 

I wonder if the size of our type of car club will decrease over time and eventually become affiliated to one large post war equivalent of the VSCC.

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Younger people are interested in younger cars because we are all inclined to have a fondness for what we grew up with, and younger cars can be cheaper to purchase and to maintain than older classics.

 

Car enthusiasts tend to be interested in a wide variety of vehicles, but economic considerations are a major factor in determining ownership - if the values of particular cars and their parts become excessive, the potential market dwindles.

 

Many are the youngsters who'd love to run an old Triumph of one sort or another - but it's down to the current ownership to encourage, to enable, to nurture the next generation.

 

 

Lest we forget - it's what the TR Register was founded for - to preserve the marque TR.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

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'Younger' is a relative term - it doesn't necessarily mean teens-to-twenties. Compared to the average age of TRR members, there are new owners in their late 30s/40s who have the enthusiasm for the cars and also the skills and energy to help in (to some Old Farts) technologically-challenging projects. I know for a fact that some of these 'younger' members do not feel particularly welcome or valued. I wonder how many that have joined under the special introductory scheme become active or even remain members beyond a couple of years, even if they keep their TR.

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Absolutely spot on Brian.

 

The plague of most clubs and societies is ageing members who hang on to their official posts as a matter of perceived prestige or whatever, instead of having stepped back gracefully years ago in favour of newer and preferably younger volunteers.

 

Old Farts can perfectly well still utilise their accumulated experience and wisdom, but assist from the sidelines and behind the scenes, they don't need to hog all the limelight, they've been there done that and now it's someone else's turn.

 

Yes I know there's always the protest from the incumbents that "no one has volunteered to replace me or contest my position". Well no, surprise surprise, who the heck is going to push themselves forward and risk being accused of troublemaking or rocking the boat ? Which is why postholders should have a limited term of office, not sit there until G Reaper knocks them off their perch.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

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