NEW FOREST REGION

A Word From the Chairman

NEW FOREST REGION
“END OF SEASON RUN-SUNDAY 18TH NOVEMBER 2007”

Many thanks to all of you who turned out on such an abysmal day. I was more than a little surprised to see so many come out in the howling wind and torrential rain. Our hosts at the “Beaulieu Road Inn” looked after us very well,as they usually do.

Driving conditions through the forest could not have been worse, in fact I thought there was more water on the roads than in the Solent.

 

You will all be aware that we encountered a bit of a problem on our return via Brockenhurst on the B3055,where “Arry” turned his S-Type into a submarine in the flood below the old railway bridge. I have of course heard of dipping your headlights, but that was taking it to the extreme. I am sure that “Arry” would like to thank each and everyone of you who promptly removed their shoes and socks, rolled up their trousers and waded in to get him out of the water.

A tip for anyone else that is going to attempt this kind of crossing on a regular basis, is to abandon “Underseal” and replace it with a good brand of yacht “Anti-Fouling”, which is readily available from all Chandlers along the South Coast.

A point worth considering for events of this nature,is to cancel all “AA” and “RAC” recovery schemes and to sign up with the RNLI.

A large thank you goes to Chris Smith for assisting with the route through the Forest and compiling the questionnaire.
Thank you all again for supporting your region,on what was probably one of the worst days that we could have picked to hold the event.

Look out for details of our next run,which should be around April 2008.

Keep em spluttering
Best regards
Rick

BASINGSTOKE CANAL CRUISE
SUNDAY 13TH MAY 2007

Well what a terrible day to go boating! I do apologise, but I did request that the Met Office give us a reasonable amount of sunshine. It must have fallen upon deaf ears.

However, many thanks to all of you that bothered to turn out under such poor conditions, and I hope that you all enjoyed yourselves. The bar aboard the “John Pinkerton” was well attended right from the moment the skipper gave the order to “Cast Off”. Any profits made from the sale of beverages and souvenirs goes back into the upkeep of the vessel and the restoration of the canal.

A very worthy cause,and thank you all very much for supporting it.

Kind regards
Rick

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SPRING RUN SUNDAY 15TH APRIL 2007

Many thanks to all of you who turned out on such a beautiful Sunday morning for our run through the forest. It was indeed a pleasure to see not only the regular faces but also those that we had not seen for some considerable time.

Congratulations to Rob and Jane for walking away with the champagne. We must be making the questionnaire too simple,this is the second time that they have been “Top of the Class”,well done again.

It had come to my notice that during the marking of the questionnaires, that some new species had been unknowingly to me, introduced to the New Forest. I have lived in the New Forest all of my life and have yet to spot an Armadillo or an Ostrich?

You all must have had your “Thinking Caps” on, as the scores were exceptionally high, and only a few points separated the top five.

We shall prepare another run towards the end of the season,before the Cats go into hibernation.

Thank you all again and see you for our Basingstoke Canal Cruise on Sunday 13th May. If you have not booked yet I suggest that you contact me with some “URGENCY” as spaces are going very quickly.

Kind regards
Rick

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CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 2006

Well, where on earth did 2006 go? They say that time flies when you are having fun. I do recall having a great deal of fun during the past year, but as you will all appreciate, this was mixed in with an enormous proportion of hard work. Having said that, the fun by far outweighed the effort put into our 2006 events.

In 2006 all of our members efforts certainly paid dividends for the Region, kicking off with Brendan Walker winning "The Car of the Show" award at the Salisbury Show back in July.
This was not to be the only achievement for 2006, in August the sun shone on the Region, gaining two top awards at major events. The Lymington Rotary Club main event saw the Region being awarded the first prize for the "Best Club Stand". This was promptly followed by yet another success at the "Hampshire Pageant of Motoring". The Regional Display was judged "Second Best Club Stand" and received another prestigious trophy for their efforts. Thanks to Wilf Hatch for receiving the award on the Region's behalf.

Now, if that wasn't enough, Paul Weeks took away some very nice Glassware from the "Southern Day" event at Littlecote. These awards are a great endorsement for the Region's activities, and long may it continue.

A preliminary list of events for 2007 is taking shape and details are available from our Website. A full printed list will be circulated as and when we receive the relevant information.

Would all members be aware that the "Salisbury Show" is again, our main event for 2007, and we shall require vehicles of all descriptions to further enhance the display. So if any of you know of anyone who would be interested in bringing along a motorcycle, a bus, a lorry, a tractor, a fire engine or absolutely anything that can get there under it's own power, please contact a committee member or visit our website for an application form. Let's make this one a show to remember.

Membership of the Region has grown steadily throughout the year but I am unsure of the exact figures. Our monthly meetings and events have been very well attended, although a lot of these are already members from other regions. This is very encouraging indeed, but I must stress that we are in no way attempting to poach members from other areas. A brief scan around other regional websites has revealed that some are very inactive. Members from other regions are more than welcome to attend any of our events and I am sure that you all will make them feel at home. To avoid any further confusion as to "Who Is" and "Who Is Not" a member of the New Forest Region, we have compiled a Regional Membership Register. A form will be available for you all to complete shortly. This form will not only give us a true and accurate record of our membership numbers but also enable us to access proper contact details.

The Regional Annual General Meeting will be on Sunday 4th February at 12 noon. All of the Committee Members from 2006 have "Stood Down", subject to re-election, in line with the Club Constitution. Should there be no new nominations for committee service for the coming year by 1400 hours, it will be deemed that the outgoing committee be re-elected En-Bloc (subject to resignations) for a further term. Two fully paid up members will be required to be present at 1400 hours. One to propose the re-election and one to second the proposal.

A detailed Financial Report for the Region for the year ended will be available from our Honorable Secretary, Brian Sellers.

Many thanks to all of you who have assisted in building and dismantling our display at events throughout 2006. A large thank you to Richard Harris (Arry) for keeping our Regional Website up to date and please give yourselves a pat on the back for making the Region what it is today.

It is now some 23 years since I was "Press Ganged" into forming the Region with just five local enthusiasts, meeting on a weekday evening at my parents home and eventually at a local hostelry. We have been through the trauma of moving venue 7 times over the years but I now feel we are settled at the Beaulieu Road Inn, after all it is in the New Forest and is ideally situated for the start and finish of some of our activities. I am sure that you will all agree that Jackie and Dominic have done more than their fair share to make us welcome. Anyway enough of the history lesson, those of you who have been involved with the Region from the early days will probably be able to tell me more than I care to remember. Let us all pull together and have a Region to be proud of.

That just leaves me to thank each and every one of you for your continued support and enthusiasm, and to wish you all another year of trouble free BIG CAT motoring.


Keep em purring


Rick

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