Past events

Last updated 15th April 2008

Elise Talk at"The Queens Head"

Monday 14th April 2008

Club Lotus Welsh Weekend

Friday 25th - Monday 28th August 2006

Wales, near England

Contact Elaine at HQ for details - 0151 638 6305

Carole Nash Knebworth Annual Classic Motor Show

Sunday 27th & Monday 28th August 2006

Stevenage, Hertfordshire

The 500 year old Knebworth House was transformed 150 years ago by the romantic Victorian novelist, Edward Bullwer-Lytton into a spectacular high Gothic fantasy.  The House, dominating the 250 acres of parkland creates the ideal backdrop for this renowned event.  Visit the large adventure playground and formal gardens at no extra charge, reduced admission to the house.  The venue has a long standing history of classic motor events.  Knebworth Classic Motor Show has been running for 16 years.  With over 2000 classics in 2005, Knebworth remains a firm favourite for enthusiasts form all over the country.

For more information about the location, please click to visit Knebworth House's website.

More show info available here: http://www.classicmotorshow.com/knebworth-classic-motor-show.htm

The Show:

The House: (cool or what!)

A dinosaur (rraaaaarrrrghhhhhh!):

Littlewick Green Show

Monday 28th August 2006

Littlewick Green, near Maidenhead

A nice show with a village atmosphere.  Also, Sir Christopher Wren lived in Littlewick Green apparently.

Classics on the Green

Wednesday 2nd August 2006

Croxley Green, Near Watford

It's the 5th year of this very popular event.  A good mix of vehicles, from sports cars, classic bikes and cars, steam engines and everything you could possibly want.  Recommended.

More info is available here:

http://www.watfordclassics.co.uk/Croxleys.htm

Classics on the Common

Wednesday 26th July 2006

Harpenden, Hertfordshire

A car show by a castle.  Also run by the Rotary people (they spin round and round you know).

An award winning classic car meeting and recently saved by a petition backed by Classic Car magazine after a single resident complained.

For more info, see their website here: http://www.classicsonthecommon.com

Uxbridge Autoshow

Sunday 16th July 2006

Middlesex Showground, Park Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex

It was indeed THE show of the year, and did have a genuine BBOA presence.  The weather was imported straight from The Middle East and the free food was excellent.  Thanks to all involved for that (i.e. all the committee members except me).

Here are some photos, kindly supplied by Mark Blanchard:

http://www.uxbridge-autoshow.com

Classic Car Show and Country Fayre at Kimbolton Castle

Sunday 16th July 2006

Kimbolton School/Castle, Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire

A car show by a castle.  Also run by the Rotary people (they spin round and round you know).  If you're stuck over in this neck of the woods then go for it - it's for charity after all and the castle looks nice.  It's where Katherine of Aragon spent the last few weeks of her life, so let that be a lesson to you ladies -  don't marry fat overbearing monarchs unless you want to die young imprisoned in a big house with no TV or anything!

Classic Le Mans

Friday 7th - Sunday 9th July

Le Mans, France

I really can't add any more than they say on their excellent website, which can be found at:

http://www.lemansclassic.com/uk/index.html

Brooklands Sports Car Day

Sunday 9th July

Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey

"A gathering of great example of the British Sportscar" is how they describe it on their website (grammatical error and all).  I've been and it's a good show, loads of cars and a great atmosphere.  Entry to the show includes access to the museum, which is packed with all kind of motor racing and aviation stuff including a Formula 1 display and even Concorde - yes an actual Concorde!

Warner enjoyed himself, here's what he had to say:

After our Concours event at Merritts of Amersham the Excel was in good shape to attend this show so we set off early even though the weather was not very promising.

We were the first Lotus there although several Caterham Sevens had established their club area.

Having set out our windscreen display advertising our Club Lotus area website we wondered off to see the Concorde and other “Museum Pieces”.

By mid morning it was apparent that attendance was well down on previous years, probably because of the clash with Goodwood Festival of Speed, World cup Football and Wimbledon tennis.

The effect of the latter was several men pushing pushchairs with no partners about. Several gave the back seats of the Excel a good look after seeing the Two Esprit parked next to it!

After lunch Test Hill was opened for those who had attended a morning safety briefing. About ten cars participated including three Caterhams, an AC Cobra, an Austin Healy 3000 and a Land Rover 2-seater special. Two Caterhams and the Cobra were most spectacular although an AC 3000 ME breaking a driveshaft was very noticeable.

Although numbers attending were disappointing, the weather was fine and a good time was had by all. We even got home in time to watch the football World cup final.

http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com
 

Branch Concours

Monday 3rd July, 7.30pm for 8.00pm

http://parscom.org/merritts/where.html

Again, MERRITTS of Amersham have kindly agreed hosted the festivities. MANY prizes were presented for LOADS of categories of car, well done to all who participated!

Anglesey Track Day

Recently, Stokenchurch.

Sunday meeting

Recently, Stokenchurch.

Your committee decided to recommence these social gatherings in November on the last Sunday of the month.

The venue selected was the Flur de Lys by the green in Stokenchurch on the Wycombe Road.

As it was easier to find than expected, being a few minutes from J5 of the M40, we arrived half an hour early so we waited in the car park watching half a dozen Red Kites wheeling overhead.

It was encouraging to see a queue of regulars forming outside the pub before opening time. We were greeted by friendly bar staff and a huge log fire which was very welcome after our wait outside.

Having chosen a table close to the fire we awaited the serving of our Sunday roast. My beef and Margaret’s pork were both piled high, with vegetables served on separate plates. All was delicious and good value. Child portions were also available.

As we were finishing we noted other club members had arrived so we joined them for a chat.

The next Sunday Meetings are January 29th and February 26th. Hope to see you there!
 

Classics on the Green

3rd August, Watford.

Before the show, we said.....

A very popular show, even though its mid week. The show has been running for three years now and has been a huge success.  See http://www.watfordclassics.co.uk/Croxleys.htm for more info.  Things kick off at 3pm in the afternoon and it all finishes when it's to dark to look at cars any more.  A massive selection of cars turn up, including Ferrari, Bugatti, Lotus and all the other usual suspects.  No entry fee, but donations to charity are gratefully accepted - Watford & District Car Club have a different (worthy) cause each year that they give the money to.

Classic and Country show

Bank Holiday Monday, 29th August, Littlewick Green, Maidenhead.

Before the show, we said.....

Club Treasurer Nigel has been attending this show for years and reckons it is well worth a visit.  Lots of attractions for families as well as car nuts - Funfair, flower show, Show Jumping, crafts and would you believe....Ferret Racing (bring your own bicycle clips), there are also a few cars knocking about and an autojumble if that kind of thing interest you.  Great location alongside the M4, easy access from junction 8/9

Uxbridge Autoshow

17th July, Middlesex Showground, Uxbridge, off the A40 western Avenue.

Before the show, we said.....

The biggest show the club officially attends.  The official blurb states… “On July 17th 2005 the Rotary Club of Uxbridge will present its 22nd annual Uxbridge Autoshow.  Its purpose is to raise funds for charity by organising a show where enthusiasts and their families can display their veteran, vintage and club vehicles in a congenial atmosphere and meet their friends and others who share their interest; and to give the public an opportunity to see something of the world of historic and classic vehicles.”

That translates as loads of cars, other vehicles, car clubs, autojumble, food, beer and a whole load of stuff like wot you won’t believe.

Visit the official website for more info.... www.uxbridge-autoshow.com

The BBOA will have an official stand there, with bunting, a tent thing and a free block of cheese* for every punter.

* Cheese may not be available

Loads of us went to the event, I took some photos and Clive has done us proud with a write up!

In summary.....

Well what a corking day last Sunday!  Brilliant weather, loads of cars (and a great mix of old and new too), good atmosphere and to cap it all a thoroughly interesting chat with Peter and Allison Coates - the brave couple who successfully completed the London-Dakar rally in an Elan!  They came second in their class too!

Anyway, if you didn't go, you missed a treat, but below are some of the cars (and people) on the Club Lotus BBOA stand - enjoy!  As always, click the thumbnails to see a larger picture.  However, if you want an even bigger full size picture for your own collection, just email me (john.hardy@clublotusbboa.co.uk) and I'll send it on.

The Official write up....

We thought by arriving at 8.30am to start putting up the bunting and Lotus banners that we would be the first there but were met by the sight of Ian Hancock's Blue GT3.  As we started setting up the stand several other members arrived early to help put up the famous BBOA Gazebo.

The Lotus stand looked magnificent with the gazebo, bunting, banners and flags complementing the 20 Lotus that adorned the area.

The Lotus tally was as follows:

4 Esprits
2 Exige
2 Europa
4 Elans
2 Plus 2s ( 1 a Zetec conversion)
3 Elises
2 M100 Elans
1 Excel

We had a few welcome new faces attending including Dominic and Toni a young couple who both drive a Lotus. Dominic owns a S2 Exige and Toni a beautiful S1 Elise which is her pride and joy and used as an everyday car. You can recognise Toni's Elise by the writing on the back window stating "HETHEL HATH NO FURY LIKE A WOMAN OWNER SCORNED".

The other Exige on the stand was Nicks 300 bhp Honda powered monster newly converted by Maidstone Sports cars www.maidstonesportscars.co.uk.

The stars of the stand had to be Allison & Peter Cotes who drove over from Norfolk in their famous Elan which completed the London to Dakar Rally just recently.  Allison & Peter brought along all their photos and gave a talk about their adventures on the rally totalling 5500 miles including driving in the desert.  The thing that amazed everyone was that apart from a roll cage and sump guard the Elan was fairly standard with only minor modifications, mainly to give it extra ground clearance. Even the chassis was standard with no extra reinforcement. Allison and Peter spent most of the day stood in the sweltering heat talking to people about the car which drew crowds all day long. They even bumped into one of their old friends who was on the Dakar rally as service crew (see below for a photo of this).

Throughout the day there were displays going on in the main arena, although most people seemed to head for the beer and ice cream tents after attempting to walk around the large autojumble and various other stalls in the blistering heat.

Once again a very impressive and enjoyable event organised by the Rotary Club with all proceeds going to various charities.  We will be booking a stand for next year.

Clive

I also saw this Lotus on another club stand.  Not sure what it is, but somewhat bizarrely I bumped into it a further 3 times that day... once at Brooklands, once in a petrol station a mile or so from Brooklands and again on the A3 heading south (and we weren't just following it either!)

Branch Concours

7pm, 4th July 2005, Merritts, Amersham

Before the show, we said.....

The BIG news is that the next event in our calendar is the annual concours.  This year, MERRITTS of Amersham have kindly agreed to host the festivities and we and pushing hard to make "BBOA Concours 2005" the biggest and best concours yet.  There will be MANY prizes for LOADS of categories of car, so everyone will have a chance of winning a world famous BBOA engineer-built trophy!  So, for all you regulars AND infrequent visitors, please make the effort to come along, it will be well worth it and we'd LOVE to see you all!

BBOA Concours 2005 will include many of the following features:

A raptuous welcome

Loads of shiny Lotus motors (both cutting edge and classics are more than welcome)

Free food

Free Exige for everyone who comes*

Free drink

Babes in bikinis**

Guaranteed glorious sunshine

A thoroughly good evening

Small print

* This is a lie - bring your own Exige if you have one

** The presence of attractive ladies in revealing swimming attire is not 100% guaranteed and is based on the theory that it is possible that someone in a bikini might walk past the event if we are very lucky.

For general directions to Merritts in Amersham, please follow this LINK and for more detailed directions follow this LINK .

Hope to see you there!

John

... and here's the write up

Arriving at 7.15pm there were already people and cars there. As promised Martin the Lotus manager for Merritts had bought the beer and food and the rain seemed to be holding off so the first joint Merritts and Club Lotus BBOA concours was looking good. The trophies lovingly made by Clive were glisstening in the display cabinet. Last year the trophies consisted of bend exhaust valves mounted on an engraved plinth, but as Clive had not destroyed any engines this year Spark plugs were substituted as according to Clive he has a shed load of them. As people arrived they were given a voting slip to choose the most deserving car in each category, but with a couple of special categories to give everyone a chance to win a trophy. We realised early on of a problem we had not foreseen. The thing with holding it at a Lotus dealership is that there are lots of Lotus to start off with and so as people arrive and park amongst them you lose count of how many Lotus turned up. We guessed that the Lotus with price tags in the window had not been driven there so estimate we had 50 people and approximately 30 Lotus.

As people mingled amongst the cars casting their votes Clive produced the noise meter he borrowed from work and the LOUDEST EXHAUST competition was held. Clive positioned himself 1 metre behind each car and complete with ear defenders and noise meter spent the evening getting blasted by each competitors exhaust in turn.

Clive tested about 12 Lotus exhausts with some surprising results. The quietest exhaust was a late esprit which "only" managed 98db. After that Richard Woodcocks Europa managed a respectable 107db which was louder than a tuned 300BHP Honda powered Exige borrowed from Maidstone Sportscars www.maidstonesportscars.co.uk which had a special "quiet" 105db exhaust for track days.

Nick brought this demonstrator along as his S1 Exige is with the garage having the conversion done. We had given out a general invite to all the other Lotus clubs and some of the SELOC members who turned up entered, one with a particularly smoky engine and Clive had to stand there in a cloud of smoke wiping the display trying to see the reading (although to be fair they did warn him). The winner turned out to be a S2 Elise with a straight through exhaust giving 120db. a very impressive and surprising second place went to a S1 Elise with supercharger and Janspeed exhaust at 118db (Their neighbours must love them).

Once the exhausts had been measured and all the voting slips counted it was time for presentation of the trophies. The pre '74 2-seater trophy went to a beautiful S4 Elan in Pistachio green which had been restored after standing in a barn for 16 years (nearly as long as Rick's Plus 2 restoration). The post '74 2-seater went to Ian Hancock's immaculate Blue Esprit GT3. We had two trophies for the 4-seater category but as only one 4-seater Lotus turned up, Nigel's Excel won the prize (no Plus 2s attended). This meant we had a spare trophy so for the Best Modified Lotus category we presented two prizes one to the 300bhp Exige and the other to Richard Woodcocks Europa.

An extra trophy was presented to Martin Cariven and Merritts as a thank you for hosting the event and for the support they give to the club. A big thank you to Martin and Merritts for hosting the event and thanks to Clive for the wonderful trophies.

 

Classic & Sportscar Action Day - Castle Combe

11th June 2005

Before the show, we said.....

Organisers have moved this event forward to June, with they say, "a few changes intended to improve it".  FREE Parade laps for clubs over lunchtime.  Track time - pls pre- book it yourself directly with the circuit.  This show has always been a great day out and we will have a club stand with members cars displayed.

Click on the link below for more information (as and when it appears).

The Official Castle Combe Circuit Web Site 

Rick Dymond went to the event and took some photos!

Click on the photos for a bigger image

Saint Saturnin Classic British Welcome

17th/18th June 2005, Saint Saturnin, Just this side of Le Mans, France, Abroad.

Rick Dymond was sent this e-mail by Patrick Crew of SELOC.  It talks about  the CBW and other related LeMans things.  Pretty exciting stuff I'm sure you'll agree.

"Rick, Please pass this onto the your members......

The Classic British Welcome is organised annually by John Curtis and his team over the Le Mans weekend, see details below.

http://www.classicbw.org/uk/index.php

SELOC are the organising club for the Lotus marque at this years CBW, Porsche Club UK having being this years organising club, who were successful in putting together 200 cars. We would obviously like to do better in terms of numbers and put on a display of as many different Lotus marques as possible.

To incentivise as many owners of the classic Lotus marque to take part in CBW at next year's Le Mans, the emphasis being on Lotus cars that can form the key cars at the heart of the CBW display, SELOC are pleased to provide the following through Motoring Adventures (www.motoringadventures.com). This is in addition to 12 or so Lotus cars that will be chosen to take part in the Parade des Pilotes in the Le Mans town centre on the Friday evening, an event watched on the road side by thousands and broadcast on both terrestrial and satellite TV.

The Parade des Pilotes has been decided and the following cars will be taking place:

XI series 1 1957
7 series 1 1958
Elite series 1 1959
23 1963
Élan Sprint 1965
Europa 1970
Élan 100 1993
Esprit S4S 1994
Exige S1 1999
Elise S2 (49) 2002
Esprit GT1 replica 1998

The star of the show will be the Lotus 9 that Colin Chapman raced at Le Mans in 1955 alongside the Elise GT1 in the classic Cavalcade and a genuine Le Mans Lotus XI

The above also feature at the exhibition of Lotus cars at the Classic British Welcome, alongside the Lotus XI's, Elites and Europas, all Club Lotus BBOA cars are welcome to be part of the external exhibition, special guest Johnny Herbert.

Clubs Parade through Motoring Adventures (MA)
We are able to offer the owners of classic Lotus marques the opportunity of participating in the Clubs Parade that gets underway first thing on the Saturday morning of the race, once the circuit has been handed over to the ACO and before the 24 hour race, cars go out for their final practice. The usual start time is 07.30 after drivers' briefing at 07.00 - rendezvous yet to be decided for 2005 (has been Mulsanne Village Hall in previous years).

The featured marque for Le Mans 2005 is Lagonda (celebrating the 70th anniversary of their win) and MA expect around 80 cars from this marque. A small contingent of Jaguars is also expected as they will be commemorating the first D-type win in 1955 (which was also the Levegh crash year, so no celebration will be held).

Through MA, SELOC can offer a minimum of 25 places to owners of classic Lotus models NOT modern cars, ideally the marques that have a Le Mans history as in the XI, the Elite and the Europa. So far the list for the clubs parade is as follows: 2 Lotus XI's, an Elite, a Europa and pristine 1980 Esprit Turbo.

Likely cost will be in the region of £400 per car (including driver and passenger) which will include a certificate commemorating the track drive and a Champagne Breakfast after the Parade in our Hospitality Centre in the circuit village (Access to the Hospitality Centre with Bar, private toilet facilities and cloaks/left luggage room will be available throughout the weekend). Clubs Parade is allocated a period of time on the circuit and usually manages 3 full laps plus the "on" and "off" sections.

We would also seek, with the owners’ permission, the opportunity to auction off a number passenger seats from cars taking part in the Clubs Parade as a means of raising money for CBW's local French charity.

Classic Cavalcade
The Cavalcade is the "living history" of Le Mans (now in its 24th year) and displays about 30 Le Mans cars from the 1920s to the late 1970s - static display at the Hospitality Centre and Parade laps at about mid-day on Saturday including an "ear of corn" display and commentary on the start finish straight. This is an invitation only event and again on behalf of MA, SELOC would like to hear of true Le Mans Lotus owners who might like to receive an invitation to take part - particularly the 1955 entrants!!!

Le Mans Legend Race
This support race to the main 24 Hours race is organised by Motor Racing Legends, sister company to MA. A grid of 61 Le Mans cars (or their sister cars) - 2005 is likely to see a qualifying period of late 1930s to the 1950s so again potential for Lotus entries here! Eligibility is decided by the ACO and as yet MA have not yet received confirmation of the period. If you would like to be considered please get in touch, and please note the potential qualifying period. We would like to those who would like to take part, in the Clubs Parade in particular, to register firm interest as soon as possible given the likely popularity of the opportunity available. Payment will be directly to MA, details to follow.

We would also be grateful for the inclusion of the above in your club magazine when the next issue comes out/website. (Done - Ed)

Please contact me if you require additional info.

Kind regards

 
Patrick Crew
SELOC Commercial Director
www.seloc.org
The Lotus Enthusiasts Club
e-mail: pat.crew@seloc.org"

Supercar Sunday at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon

19th June 2005

A quote from the official site......

http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/eventsclubs/eventsprogramme/06/20050619.htm

"All your dream cars will be here - Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis. Take a sponsored ride in a supercar, with proceeds to the Sporting Bears charity. An admission fee is payable to enter this event."

No club stand, but lets pack the place with Loti anyway and remind them what a car with proper handling is all about.

Newton Longville Show:

29th May 2005, a couple of miles due South of Milton Keynes, nestled between the A421 to Buckingham and the A4146 to Leighton Buzzard.

Before the show, we said.....

Local member Dave Miller, who helped organise the first Newton Longville show in 2004, contacted us to say that the show is on again this year. Here is what he has to say:
 

“It is now another year and we will be holding the NLFT 05 this year as last but on May 29th.

The show this year will be bigger, and better (we had about 150 vehicles and 1500+ people last year). To date we have firm commitments to come from Merritts garage bringing new and used Lotus, Souls of Olney bringing new and used MG/Rover, Tyrell’s of Bicester bringing BMW/Audi /Jag Land Rover, the Jensen Factory from West Bromwich, Moore Racing (Local TVR racing team and prep group) and we are in negotiation with Aston Martin who are based a couple of miles up the road. For the motor bike people a Harley dealer from Towcester has promised to come.

Other than that we have Helicopter rides (Patriot Aviation), craft stands, the Army/Marines and Navy, some auto jumble stands, fairground rides, bouncy castle, and local scouts plant stall etc supported by a ‘clubhouse with full catering and bar facilities’.

All we need now are lots of classics and some fine weather and everybody should like last year have a great time.”

It is £2 to get in (or 50p if you can pass yourself off as a child or OAP).  A bit more if you are exhibiting.  Profits go to local charity.

Club Lotus Track Day  @ Castle Combe

28th May, Castle Combe, Near Chippenham, Wiltshire

Before the show, we said.....

Set in Castle Combe, a great little race track in the heart of Wiltshire, this is always a good event.  Contact the club to book laps round the track in your pride and joy (remember that Combe noise limits are strict though). 

Chiltern Hills Rally/Show
15th May 2005 - The Rugby Ground, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury.
 

Before the show, we said.....

There is an optional rally which starts from Aylesbury station car park and follows a route through the Chilterns, eventually ending at the rugby ground.  For pre-show entry forms contact Sally Cox on 01296 339502.

If you don't want to rally, just turn up at the Rugby ground.  It is a great show - last year 700+ vehicles turned up last year - vans, cars, trucks, steam, you name it.  There is also a jumble sale, kids attractions, a craft show etc.

No official BBOA presence at the show, but its a good one none the less.

The Thames Valley Sportscar Day - Hambledon

8th May 2005, Hambledon, Buckinghamshire

Before the show, we said.....

Put on by the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club in the picturesque village of Hambledon.  See our review of last years show for inspiration (hint: it's in the "past events" section).

This year we are organising a convoy to the show.  The plan is to meet at Merritts (the Lotus dealer in Amersham) at 10.30am and set off for the show at 11am.

Committee member Clive Baker really wanted us to meet up at 8.30am for the following reasons:

"You need about 30 minutes for each of the following tasks:

1) Drying the plugs off after firing her up. 

2) Identifying any new noises coming from various parts of the car. 

3) Trying to decide if the leak is a normal one or a new one. 

4) Letting the engine cool down so the needle on the gauge does not bend against the stop.

5) Investigating any under bonnet smoke

Then a one hour waiting for the breakdown truck and a 30 minute ride to the show.

Total: Four hours "perfect timing"

The other advantage being if you arrive on the back of a truck everyone thinks it must be an entry for the concours.

Clive"

Clive Baker went.... and has this to say about the show

The sun was out, the rain held off and the Élan fired up first time. Sunday was going to be a good day to drive to Hambleden. As we drove into Henley we saw the familiar sight of Warner and Margaret in their Excel and so we had a mini convoy of our own to Hambledens cricket field which became home for 200+ classic cars for the afternoon.

Warner and I got there early and staked a claim to an area with flag, bunting and banners. We were not the first Lotus there as three of our local members had already arrived and settled in for the day with picnic table and drink already on the go. As the comedy double act of Warner and Clive set about tying a flag to a tree helped by our beloved wifes telling us we were doing it all wrong, a constant trickle of Lotus arrived to park in a long line down one side of the field.

We had an impressive 23 Lotus attend with a very good selection of models. The final tally was:

Élan Sprints: 3
Esprits: 5
Europas: 4
Elises: 5
Excel: 1
Élan Plus 2s: 2
M100 Élans: 2
And one beautiful Type 14 Elite which drew much admiration all day.

There was also a convoy of Lotus (three) that started from Merritts Lotus dealership in Amersham where Martin Cariven the Lotus sales guy made sure all the people had a cuppa before setting off.

It got to a point later in the afternoon where we were parking the Lotus two deep as we had run out of room.
The great thing about Hambleden it that it is held in a tiny picturesque village which for one day a year becomes invaded by a wonderful assortment of hundreds of classic cars including some rare ones that you would not normally get to see. We counted 11 Ferraris, 3 Ford GT40s, 7 Aston Martins, An Auburn Speedster, a massive Lincoln Continental as well as countless Jags from XK120s to modern saloons. There was also a split screen Moggie Minor complete with Fiat Abarth engine used for racing.

Lots of families were there having picnics amongst the cars as well as the pub next door putting on a BBQ in the garden.

The event is organised by the local Jaguar enthusiasts club with all donations going to charity. A very enjoyable day and we hope to be attending again next year.

Alan Morgan Seminar

11th April 2005, 8pm, The Spade Oak, Bourne End.

Alan Morgan gave a good talk and the future looks pretty rosy for the club. 

Historic Motorsport Show

25th, 26th and 27th February 2005

Did anybody go? If so, we'd love to hear abut it!

www.historicmotorsportshow.com

Branch AGM

10th January 2005, 8pm, The Spade Oak, Bourne End.
 

Before the event, we said.....

Attention you lot in Lotus cyberspace, it is that time again for you all to flood to the Spade Oak to tell us what a s****y job we are doing and how you can do it better!

We would love to see as many of you as possible and look forward to plenty of lively debate.

The Committee traditionally stand down and offer themselves for re-election.  This year is no different, but with the exception that, after 13 years of enthusiastic, sterling and knowledgeable service, Denis Milnes has decided not to stand for Area Leader.

If any member would like to put themselves forward for any of the positions on the committee, then please e-mail me with your name, the role you would like to take and the e-mail address of your proposer, by 31 December.

In the meantime, if any one has any questions on this, then please make contact.

See you on 10th January
Nigel Price (Secretary) r_nigelprice@hotmail.com

Now the dust has settled.....

Well, a right riveting time was had by all at the AGM I'm sure and to cut a long story short, Denis left <sob>, but Peter joined <huzzah> and we've elected John Chamberlain to lead us into infinity and beyond.

Lotus Seven talk by John Watson:

8th November, 8pm, The Spade Oak, Bourne End.

Before the event, we said.....

A fascinating insight into Colin Chapman's longest surviving production car (in one guise or another).  John Watson the Lotus Seven 'guru' is giving up his valuable time to share with us some of his knowledge.  Through its conception, production, road & racing car development.  This is probably Chapman's greatest achievement, with a production run longer than the Mini or VW Beetle.  Would he have believed that this basic sports car when conceived, would still be in production nearly 50 years on?

Come and enjoy John's presentation, learn about Sevens and how they provided the impetus for all following road cars, plus cross fertilisation between clubs is healthy, and ensures the continuation of the greater good.

L.O.T.U.S. - Lots of taste, unequivocally superior.
John Chamberlain

A lot of people went - perhaps one of you wants to do a write up?

John Chamberlain the organiser has this to say to thank JW for his time......

"Hi John, on behalf of BBOA a big 'thank you' for the excellent presentation last night. Fascinating insight into pre & Lotus 7's. No doubt you will do this again sometime, if someone else twists your arm !
Best regards John"