March 2019 Newsletter
This is the first newsletter of the 2019 season and as I sit here in North Wales writing it in glorious unseasonal sunshine it makes me keen to get the TR out again. I know not all those winter jobs have been finished yet! But what's the point of finishing them all, if we did we'd have nothing to talk about would we?
A warm welcome to our new member Phillip Arnold from Deeping St. Nicholas, we hope to see you out and about soon as the season unfolds.
Bye for now!
Adrian - Group Leader
2019 AGM
Our AGM was held on February 10th at the Town Hall, Wragby. You will have already received the update that I sent out soon after the meeting but if you haven't read it yet here are the highlights.
The officers for 2019 were elected/re-elected as follows.
Jane was formerly elected at our February 18th group meeting as she was not present at the AGM and was nominated following the AGM.
TR Lincs Annual Dinner 2019
Our annual dinner was held once again at Washingborough Hall, Washingborough on the 16th of February.
The evening proved to be a great hit once again with some excellent food and drink accompanied of course by excellent company. A special mention must be given to Chris and Oenone Stoodley for turning up in their splendid TR2 and putting us all to shame. We even waved them off after breakfast the following day with the top down and the sun on their faces. Well done. To see more pictures of the evening then click on this LINK to see what you missed!
TR Lincs Events for 2019
There are already a number of events planned for the 2019 season as as you know all these are publicised on the Lincolnshire page of the TR Register website which you can access by clicking HERE or if you prefer a hard copy version then our summary one can be found by clicking HERE. You will no doubt notice that we do have some gaps in the calendar this year where our own locally arranged TR Lincs runs should be. Please volunteer to organise a run. For those who have done one before you know how straightforward it is. We only need a start point and a finish and then we are sorted. If you have never thought about arranging one then this is the time to start. Let me know if you intend to organise one and I'll make sure it is on the events list so we can all get the chance to enjoy it.
GasTRonaughts 2019
The GasTRonaughts evenings/luncheons have once again been launched this year by Andy Kutarski. The first one is to be held on the evening of Wednesday 20th March in the Squadron Bar at the Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa, at 7.30pm. Andy has already sent an invitation out but in case you haven't recieved it then please contact him directly via his email address andy_kutarski@yahoo.co.uk . As the weather improves this is another chance to give the cars a run and maybe even get some top down evening sunshine!
Monthly Meeting Venue
We have struggled during 2018 and early 2019 for a suitable venue for our monthly meetings. It is almost impossible to find a venue that suits us all given the size of the county and the spread of members. The map above plots the location of TR Lincs members and as you can see the spread is vast. Having said that the nucleus of the membership is centred somewhere around the north east of Lincoln. The criteria for a suitable location, given as we currently meet on a Monday night is, (i) the pub is open, (ii) there is a decent off road carpark, (ii) relatively private/quiet space for us to sit and have discussion and finally (iv) doesn't charge. Now you might think that that is a straight forward task, no it's not and it is getting increasingly difficult to find somewhere. Currently we meet at the Black Horse, Ingham. Not an ideal location for some I know. Over the last couple of weeks we have reviewed a couple of venues including the Homestead at Bracebridge Heath and the Bottle and Glass in Normanby-by-Spittal. Both locations have merit but whilst they satisfy one or two of the criteria they don't satisfy them all. Perhaps nowhere can? Other TR groups choose not to meet formerly on a monthly basis and use the car runs as a means of catching up, others use evenings out to achieve the same. Some choose not to meet at all in the winter months and others have split venues to capture the geography. There is no easy solution to this. So in order to help shape the direction of travel look out for a survey that I will send out in the next couple of weeks to gauge your views and opinions on what you want. In the meantime, if anyone has a suggestion for a location that meets the criteria listed and is within reach of the majority of the membership then please drop me an email. For the time being at least we still have the Black Horse in which to meet.
Keeping Up To Date
In this age of regular switching of internet service providers (ISP) it is easy to forget to let everyone know that you may have changed your email address. So that you don't miss out on future newsletters then please remember to let me and the office at Didcot know of any email changes. If you haven't provided an email then please let me have it so that you can be included on the email distribution list. All information is held in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and your email will not be used for purposes other than communication from the TR Register.
Ever Wondered What To Do With That Spare Engine?
I came across a great way of using up all those old spare engine blocks that you have kicking about in the garage while sitting in the bar of the hotel where we were staying at Cemaes Bay. The hotel, owned by the proprietor of the local Ford garage, has a distinct classic car theme going on. A selection of coffee tables fashioned out of Jaguar V12 and Rover V8 engine blocks. Lounge seating mimicking the rear bench seats of old Austin and Rover cars. Murals of a 1930's Monte Carlo Grand Prix in the restaurant as well as display cabinets holding Masserrati and Jaguar memorabilia. But for me the "piece de resistance" was a must have item in any well respected TR5 or TR6 owners home, the six cylinder wine rack. So what's stopping you - get that block set up in the lounge and admire a thing of beauty with a purpose - or maybe that is the TR!
