Social Scene 315
Thames Valley Group – Social Scene Traction 315
Neil Pinto writes:It's now the middle of June, and I'm still waiting for the glorious summer weather we were promised by some of the tabloids earlier in the year, giving us all the opportunity to make full use of our TRs with hoods down and wind whistling through our hair. Despite the inclement weather, however, TVG activities are ongoing.Two cars from TVG (Tony and Ruth Netherton, David and Janet Goswell) were invited to join the Cornwall group, led by Pete Rugg, attending the 31st annual gathering of Triumph Club of France in St Malo.
Peter Johnston and Pierre, from the French club, did a fabulous job in accommodating the Brits, which also included some cars from Yorkshire.
A major Gala dinner was held on the Friday night, with over 200 attendees coming from France, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and the UK.On Saturday over 100 cars toured the area, including a visit to a unique chateau, followed by the traditional 3 course seafood lunch, no doubt washed down by some acceptable wines! The planning that went into the route, visits and information was outstanding, with a 38-page book produced.
Unfortunately, technical problems plagued many of the cars (well, it would not be a TR trip if there were not some "challenges"), with two cars being repatriated to Plymouth, one needing an ignition switch and David Goswell's TR6 having a Sytec fuel pump failure. Luckily David had a spare Bosch pump, which after some change in plumbing, is working well some 1,000 miles later.
TVG and a couple of other cars went off to visit Mont St Michel, just off the Normandy coast.
The visit ended with the Cornwall group arranging a BBQ on the beach lead by Rob on cooking duties.Dave subsequently went on to participate in the 9th TVG annual tour, this time to Northumberland (scheduled to avoid travel complications which might have resulted from Brexit).
We are fast approaching the season of fetes and rallies in the TVG area and beyond.Those which TVG members have supported include the Festival of Speed at Goodwood (4th to 7th July) at Goodwood, the Brooklands Classic Car Show (21st July), the Cranleigh Classic Car Show (11th August), the Capel Car Show (17th August), and CarFest South at Laverstoke Park Farm, Hampshire (23 – 25 August).
Our regular meetings are: The Abinger Hatch (RH5 6HZ) on the second Wednesday of each month from 20:00, with the main meeting from 12:00 at The Surrey Oaks (RH5 5DZ) on the last Sunday of the month.This seems to be attracting more people (particularly if it's warm and dry) and we've got a reserved area at the back of the pub car park for our TRs.We're a friendly bunch and new members are always welcome – do come along whether you've got a TR or not!Please see the TR Register website for more information: www.tr-register.co.uk/thamesvalley.