LTRG annual dinner January 2023

Another brilliant evening at The Millers in Sibson, what a great location for an evening of food, wine, fun and games in excellent company. The evening was planned and organised by Jennie and Irene who make a great team, thank you ladies. Most people gathered in the bar mid to late afternoon for a swift drink or two before retiring to their rooms to put on their party gear; no dress code this year: so anything went from casual to DJs and posh frocks. Back to the bar for a pre-dinner G&T or a beer then we were lead into the sumptuously decorated restaurant for a warm welcome to proceedings from Brian. We had a number of guests from other groups including Lincolnshire and Camb Followers; they are always welcome. Where were Derbyshire Dales this year? They missed out, great shame, we missed you.

The staff served 4 excellent courses of freshly cooked food. (OK they did not cook the cheese!) However, they produced some lovely food washed down with copious quantities of wine judging by the rising noise levels during the evening. The laughter and hilarity continued as people got stuck into the table-top treasure hunt and finding the London tube stations from picture clues. Who snuck in the DLR stations? Prizes were awarded. Whilst all this was going we were persuaded to part with our hard earned cash to buy raffle tickets. The winning tickets were drawn amid much rivalry between tables with cries of "Fix" and "Cheating", all in good spirits as the winners chose their prizes kindly donated by local businesses and individuals, thank you. The angle grinder and 5L of oil were grabbed early as well as plenty of chocolates. The raffle raised £350 plus we were given a cheque for £500 by Howdens in Market Harborough making a total of £850 to be donated to the Air Ambulance. Brilliant, thank you.

Then came the annual awards ceremony with the first award: a bottle of fizz, given to Gary and Leanne Bates for getting to the event from Shetland via Aberdeen. That's what you call dedication. The most coveted award, a framed pair of Rachel's knickers, is given to the "Pratt of the Year". This year there were three nominations but all three were for Allan Westbury with his winning act being filling his TR4A with E85 petrol in Sweden at the European Meeting whilst travelling with 145 TRs from all over Europe. Well done that man. Next was the "Caught in the Act" award, which was given to Brian Hardy when a wheel fell off his TR4A due to a wire wheel adapter failure - it was photographed! Well and truly caught. Finally, the Wheelspinner was awarded to Andy and Jennie Holyoak for going above and beyond to further the spirit of the club and local group. Their efforts on behalf of all of us were much appreciated and the award well deserved. Congratulations.

The evening closed beyond midnight, when the stragglers were asked to leave the restaurant so the staff could clear up and get to bed. A few bleary eyes were seen over breakfast before fond farewells. Andy has made a provisional booking at The Millers for January 2024, we all look forward to it.

PS Everybody was having such a good time, nobody took any photos this year.