East – Jill Thornton – We have had great attendance at all this years evening social runs, 14 cars in July, many thanks to the members who organised them. We saw 4 new members arrive at the August Natter so a warm welcome to them. We hope to have some guest speakers later in the year and will also be running our annual Scalextric Challenge on the December Natter!! The Christmas run and lunch is booked for Sunday 4th December, check the calendar of events for further information. All Natters welcome.
North – Jeff Marsden – Our meeting this month was a talk by Andrew Fletcher on Treasure Hunting and metal detecting. After enlightening us on the necessities associated with the pastime he and his wife went on to tell us about their finds and the history of the artefacts. They brought along many examples for the members to handle and ask questions.
On the 14th August we held the NY Natter BBQ where members brought their own food and cooked it on our barbecues. The weather was warm and sunny and discussions went on until late evening. A most enjoyable Saturday afternoon and evening but unfortunately our Chairman and his wife could not attend because their nearly new Volvo broke down. We weren’t able to fix the car but we did retrieve their delicious strawberry dessert! They should have come in an MG, perhaps.
Tiger Natter – Pete Welbourne – Tiger Natter Tour to Cumbria.We were delighted when members, Richard and Jill Coates, offered to organise a short MG tour in Cumbria for natter members. We set off from East Yorkshire in good spirits and excellent weather, circumnavigating York and meeting more club members. Then we headed north via Tadcaster, Boston Spa, Harewood and Otley into the Dales. Our first stop was for lunch at The Stump Cross Caverns near Pateley Bridge. Some intrepid members went on a tour of the caverns whilst others elected to admire the stunning views over the Dales. Our route took us through Hebden Bridge, Grassington, Aysgarth and Hawes. Onward and upward revealing another fantastic view or quaint village. We arrived at The Fat Lamb Inn, our hotel, in plenty of time to settle in in time for dinner. Our host and hotelier Paul Bonsall is a keen car enthusiast and has filled all the reception rooms and bar with Automobilia on every wall. He also specialises in car groups, so was able to provide us with excellent route plans with clear tulip instructions for our tour around the lakes.The sun shone on us as we drove along “off the beaten track” to Coniston. Paul amazingly popped out at intervals to photograph our progress and these shots were screened for us during dinner later. Our host had also booked us on the beautiful old steam yacht “Gondola” and we had a leisurely cruise along the lake before lunch. Once again, another excellent route was provided around the lakes up the ‘Struggle’ to Kirkstone Pass, then north to Ambleside and meandering south crossing over or under the M6 seven times to get us home for dinner.All too soon our trip was coming to an end; the next day we followed Paul’s route back through the Dales to Mackenzie’s Smokehouse near Blubberhouses where we had a lovely lunch and a look around the farm shop before going our separate ways home.We all enjoyed the trip and each other’s company so much Richard is hoping to organise a similar trip next year. Hopefully he will rise to the challenge?
Vale of York – Rick Illingworth – The Vale of York natter again met on the third Thursday at noon at the Bay Horse, Goldsborough near Knaresborough. 22 members met and enjoyed a lunch from the varied menu. Plans are being developed for an informal afternoon post natter run in September.
West – David Copeman – Our MG’s seemed a little out of place at the finish venue for the Compass Run watching the other cars arriving at the Motorist a lot seemed to have failed suspension as they parked up the car bodies dropped to the floor. No prizes for the RV8 at the Patley Bridge show but Dave won a 1st & 2nd in the dog show. A brilliant display of cars from three natters at the Burley Show, with the Dales Run to complete on Sunday 28th August.
South – Mike Breedon – August was a busy month for South Natter members starting with the Compass Run for which Norrie and Karen McCredie provided a 45 mile route to follow. Everyone met early at the start of the run for tea/coffee and bacon Sandwich before following the prepared route to the finish point at The Motorist. There South met up with all the other MGCC Yorkshire Centre Natters entrants who had made the trip from all areas of Yorkshire before exploring what the Motorist had to offer.
16 SY Natter members had agreed to enter the Tyne Tees Golden Jubilee Run and extend the time away to a 3 night stay in two different hotels, first one for 2 nights in support of the Tyne Tees event and another just for the Sunday night in Beamish before heading home on the Monday. Friday night saw dinner arranged for the South Members where a nice meal and a social evening went very well. Saturday saw two different prepared routes carried out before a large group of all those entered came together for a formal dinner at the hotel which ensured that throughout the evening old friends and acquaintances were enjoyed with lots of different Natters members were in attendance. Sunday saw all the cars entered driven across to the Beamish Museum and assembled in a large show field for all the public to see. A great weekend enjoyed by the 16 SY Natter members who booked in for the event.
In addition, work carried on throughout August to prepare and finalise the route and complete all was associated tasks to make sure the Dales Run went ahead smoothly on 28th August. The route books and plaques were designed, completed and finally printed, thanks to Ted and Debrah Ferguson, on Tuesday 23rd August ready for the actual Dales Run on 28th. A full month of activities for the South Natter and a full report on the Dales Run will be submitted next month.
