Club News!!
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Official Club Nights
During
January the Club will be meeting on the following nights
7th North
Star
14th The
Ace Cafe
21st North
Star
28th The
Ace Cafe
December 2014 Report
Our Christmas meal was on
the 17th at the North Star, around twenty people attended the
meal. They catered for a range of different palates, but I was very much
traditional going for soup, Turkey and Christmas pudding in a Brandy
sauce. It was good to see Bill Crosby our Honorary President in
attendance.
The revised West Middlesex
web page is now up and running and it’s good to see it is being used. If
you have not yet logged in, please do so as the more it’s used the more
informative it becomes.
Our AGM although still a
while away, we will be looking to hold the AGM sometime in March. We
will advise as soon as we have confirmed the date.
Summing up 2014, has seen
us out and about at various Rallies throughout the year, and we have
attended quite a few run-outs to various locations. As a club we have
alternated with the 1st, 3rd and (5th
if a long month) Wednesdays down the North Star, and the 2nd
and 4th Wednesdays at the ACE café.
Bill
November 2014 No report this Month
October 2014 Report
A quiet month again, with the guys out and about on their
own. With our club web page we had been having big problems with our
forum page, however member Mike a computer programmer of exceptional
skill has modified and improved our forum page. Anyone wishing to use
the forum must re-apply for access, which will then be granted once
checked. Keith is talking about a run out to Hayling Island; please keep
an eye on the forum for details. As a club we will attending remembrance
Sunday which will be held at the ACE café, we are looking to make our
own way up, but being there for 10:30hrs. On display will be a military
vehicle display.
A final reminder for anyone wishing to attend out
Christmas evening meal at the North Star on the 17th Dec can
they please let Keith know before the 10th Dec so we can firm
up on the numbers.
The weather is still holding out for runs out on the
bike, with the clocks going back is a downside with us loosing that
important hour of daylight, still Spring is not that far away.
Bill
September 2014 Report
Although the sun has been blazing down, as a club we have not done much,
but we have all been out and about individually on our bikes enjoying
the summer sun. The big event of the month was the Bristol TOMCC
Concorde Rally. Eight of us attended the event, all arriving over the
course of Friday. Marc couldn’t make it as he is still recovering from a
hand injury and “H” had to come in his car from the West Country as his
Trike has blown the gearbox and being repaired. Myself and Liz arrived
after the food had finished for the night, Liz was not happy with a
couple of bags of crisps and a bag of maltessers and winged late into
the night, much to the amusement of everyone else. Saturday dawned clear
and sunny and we decided to go on the runout, which was a 50 mile run
around the rolling Gloucester/Dorset countryside, stopping of at a lake
complex for refreshments before heading on to Wooden Basset to lay a
wreath to remember the fallen in military conflicts. In the evening
there was a live band, the guitarists and drummer were faultless the
girl on vocals could have been better, but the choice of music was
great. We won a few of the raffle prizes. It was good to catch up again
with the boys from the Glasgow branch, there was four of them down from
the mountains. This gave us a chance to air our views on the Union of
Great Britain amongst other things. A good rally and faultless weather,
roll on next year.
If you are passing the London Motorcycle Museum in Greenford West London
it is well worth a visit to see the range of Triumph motorcycles
manufactured over the years. Gary was telling me they now have on
display what is thought to be the first ever BSA motorcycle, a 1911,
250cc single cylinder.
On a final note we are having a Christmas meal in the North Star on the
17th Dec, it would be nice if you could pop down on a club
night to say you are attending or alternatively if you could let a
committee member know as we need to advise on numbers attending at least
a week beforehand.
Bill
August 2014 Report
The month started
off with Mick, Charlotte, Liz and myself attending the Meriden Rally,
got most of the way dry before the rain started. Saturday was grim with
rain most of the day, rather than doing 90 odd miles in rain we did
about six and went to the National Motorcycle Museum. There is a
fantastic collection and some absolute works of art, gave me a few ideas
for my bikes. Sat night was good with a good rock band, met up with a
couple of friends, won a couple of raffle prizes, all in all a good
weekend.
I have probably missed a couple of events,
the other one I know off was a run out by a few club members to the
Shoreham Air Show, by all accounts this was something to be seen with
WW1 dog fights, Vulcan bombers etc, not to mention that the Suzuki
owners club turned up.
Club nights are well attended and with the
warm summer evenings its nice sitting out the front of the pub having a
drink and the bikes all gleaming around us.
Bill
July 2014 Report
Having missed last month’s report for Nacelle, this month is a summary
of the last two months, which has been actioned packed. The events that
we have attended are:- Triumph day at the ACE café, Triton day at the
ACE café, Shiny bike night at Cadsden Bucks, Cassington bike night
Oxford. Then moving on to last month was The AJS & Matchless owner’s
bike night at Taplow. Mick and Charlotte attended the Rabbit, bumping
into Chris North and Andy who are regulars on the rally scene. Also
“Tiny” an ex West Middlesex member from a bygone era, he’s still as loud
and boisterous, but good company. Keith had a run out to Brooklands for
“Ton up day”
The big event of the month was the Uxbridge Auto show where we had a
stand alongside the London Motorcycle museum giving us a good selection
of Triumph’s from the early year’s right up to the Hinckley’s of today.
The weather was good and the day a success, with a special thanks to
Keith for all his efforts in ensuring it was a success, the BBQ was a
nice touch and very much appreciated by everyone. Finally the month was
rounded off by us attending the Berkshire TOMCC bike show, where once
again we won best club turnout. Mick missed a good day out as he was
project managing the replacement of his garden fence.
Club attendance is very good with regulars attending both the North Star
and the ACE café on alternate Wednesdays. On the 3rd Wed of
the month a Hot Rod- custom car club share the North Star with us, which
is good as they have a BBQ, music and an interesting array of cars. The
North Star is holding a Charity Summer Party on the 16th Aug
with a live band and entertainment for all the family from 2pm onwards,
if you can make it, will be a good day and for a good cause.
Bill
June 2014 Report
With
Summer well under way, there has been a hive of activity within the
branch, attendances at our meeting nights have been good with over
sixteen bikes at the last meeting for the month, even John Greenwood
pulled his old Triumph out of the garage, fired it up and drove it down
the club (were talking years not months since his bike was last out, but
he has been spoiled with speed, power and comfort of his Harley). The
month started with Triumph day at the ACE café, where we had a stand to
promote the club and our branch, with a lot of interest being shown by
the attendees. The following week was Triton day at the ACE and once
again a good show. A bit later on was Shiny bike night at the Plough in
Cadsden (High Wycombe area) which is a British Classic Bike Club, they
had a good show with some real nice exhibits of bikes, there must have
been at least six of us attend this event. Keith attended the Goodwood
festival of speed, haven’t been there myself for over ten years but
another good event with all sorts of motorized vehicles and exhibits.
The final event attended this month was Cassington Bike night, Steve,
Bob, Mike and myself attended this show, it’s good that the village
opens its doors to bikers and the whole village is awash with bikes (all
proceeds from the event go to the village school). I reckon there must
have been upwards of 3000 bikes there. There’s always a nice atmosphere
and you can take some real good whindy roads or stick to the fast roads
to get there. There is more events next month with the Monday coming the
AJS & Matchless owners BBQ at Burnham. It’s also worth mentioning that
on the 3rd Wed of the month the custom car club share an
evening with us at The North Star, there’s plenty of room for both clubs
but it adds a bit more atmosphere and it’s great to watch them do burn
ups down the road as they leave, each driver trying to outdo each other.
Bill
May 2014 Report
Apologies for missing last Month’s report.
Our numbers attending club nights remains
consistent, but it’s always refreshing when old faces turn up to say
hello. Over the last few weeks we have seen Kenny, Patrick and Roger
drop by, to name a few.
The West Wales TOMCC International Rally at St
David’s was attended by Mick and Charlotte.Micks comment was “that the
location is not as good as previous years but the ride out was fantastic
with great weather”
Mick and myself went to the Kempton Southern
Classic bike show and auto jumble the standard of the machines on
display was high, with my favourite being a featherbed fame where a chap
had welded two Reliant Robin engines into a V configuration and shoe
horned it into the frame, complete with modern floating disc brakes etc.
Awesome, also bumped into a couple of the West London Harley boys,
haven’t seen them around for a while.
There have been various other runs as the members
get out and about on their bikes, the weather is getting better and I
foe one is looking forward to the long hot summer nights
On the 3rd Wednesday of the Month see’s
the Custom/Hot-rod Club meet down at the North Star which makes for a
good night alongside our club, Their love of their cars is like our to
our bikes, as they talk with passion about what they get up to.
I’ll finish on a note saying it’s always good to
see Keith and Colin attend club nights on their bikes regardless of the
weather: people like Mick can be very selective, LoL
Bill
April 2014
No report this Month
March 2014 Report
Another quiet month down the club, Mick and myself had a run up “H’s”
café at Dorchester, weather was sunny and warm for the time of year,
quite a few people had the same idea as the café car park was full of
bikes and spilling over into other parking areas, we stood in a queue for
15mins just for a cup of tea, it was that busy.
Our
AGM is over for another year, membership remains stable at 80 members,
committee members were all re-elected into the same positions. We talked
through what’s in store for the year ahead, Triumph day at the ACE we
will be there, also the Uxbridge auto, there was talk about various
rallies, all I can say is keep an eye on our web page for forthcoming
events. Last year we were having issues with idiots corrupting our forum
page, we have reformatted the web page and put more security around what
people can put on the forum. It’s now working much better and Mikes
nimble fingers is keeping it all up to date, so please have a look in.
With
the weather changing for the better, the hedgerows turning green before
our eyes you cant help but get excited about tearing down the country
lanes and enjoying the warm air blowing across your face, looking
forward to Summer.
Bill
February 2014 No report this Month
January 2014 report
Goodbye
to 2013 as we look forward to what 2014 brings. The committee thanks
everyone for their involvement in making the club work, the year gone
has seen us out and about on runs, attending rallies, bike shows,
supporting other TOMCC events across the country. We still have a
consistent core of people turning up at the North Star, it would be nice
to see a few more faces, but we can’t complain.
The
Christmas meal was well attended with 18 people turning up, the new
Proprietor of the North Star did us proud with a delicious three course
meal and at a special rate.
Looking
forward, we are talking about attending a “Burns Night” on the 25th
Jan at the North Star, our Club AGM will be sometime in March, date to
be finalised. Also as a club we will look to support/attend the
following rallies throughout the year:- 9th-11th May-Somerset and Dorset
rally (Yeoville), 16th-18th May-West Wales rally (St Davids), 11th-13th
July-Rother's Rabbit rally (Hastings), 1st-3rd August-Beacons Offa’s
Dyke rally (Hay on Wye), and the 26th-28th
Sept-Bristol's Concord rally (Chippenham)
Wishing
one and all, a prosperous New Year.
Bill
December 2013 no report this month
November 2013 report
Firstly apologies for
not sending out the last report, juggling too many balls. As a Club we
had a good turnout at the Concorde Rally with in total circa 13 people
attend, not all TOMCC members, some partners, others and friends, but a very
good turnout.
I was surprised that we
did not get best club turnout which went to Meriden, I do think if there
was a prize for the loudest snorer we would have won hands down,Peter
whitesocks and Mark were competing to see who could break 100dba.One of
the nice things about the Concorde is the price of food and drinks: it
all helps to stretch your money out that bit further. Always good to see
"H" who drove up on his trike from Cornwall, bike was looking good and
this was enforced when he won best in show .On the Saturday as a group
we all split up and did our own thing ,some people went on the run,
others went for a stroll and a drink in the town and a group of us went
on a run to Tintern Abbey. Saturday night was lively with a good live
band, round our table we were joined by the West Wales contingency who
are good company. It was also good to see the Glasgow boys, their soft
dulcet tones are nice to hear it's almost like the homeland is calling
me back.
As a club we alternate
between the North Star and the Ace Cafe as a meeting point ,we still get
reasonable attendance at both even though the cold nights are drawing
in. The other day Mick, Mark and Peter went for a run on their bikes to
Newlands Corner, unfortunately Peter and Mark slipped on oil and dropped
their bikes. Pete's bike looks salvageable, Mark has bust his wrist and
his bike looks like a write off. Could happen to anyone regardless of
how experienced you are, we all hope to see you back on a bike soon.
The custom car club who
used to meet on the 3rd Wednesday of the Month have now moved it to the
3rd Sunday of the Month at lunchtime, the North Star also does lunches
so it's a nice venue on a Sunday if looking for something to do.
If anyone is interested
in joining us for Christmas Dinner we are having a Christmas meal in the
North Star on wed 11th December, if interested please let Keith know
before the end of November as we have to confirm numbers by then
Bill
October 2013 No report
this Month
September 2013 report
The good
weather continues, allowing people to get out and about on their bikes.
Our pub “The North Star” has changed hands, the new owners have spruced
the place up and it looks good. There is now a custom car club who meet
up at the North Star on the 3rd Wednesday of the month and it
makes for a good evening, as they leave they pull out, line up and do a
wheel burn down the road, which is good to watch, and it makes us look
quite sedate as we leave quietly in an orderly manner!
Keith and
Graham attended Popham bike and auto jumble show, which is always a good
event. Mick went up to see the Rocket Three meet at the Ace Café. There
has been various run out by different people to places like “H’s café”
near Dorchester, Newlands Corner etc. Mick also popped down to Cornwall
for a couple of days to visit “H” who is getting on fine and is
attending the Concorde Rally. Mick also dropped in on Heather and Simon
to see how they were.
The
Concorde Rally is the next big event, we are looking to get best turnout
with 15 of us booked in already, drop by and pick up your ticket from
Mick if you ordered one. This is another good, and well run event, hope
to see the Glasgow boys there.
Bill
August 2013 no report this Month
July 2013 Report
With the weather getting hotter, we now see life starting to appear within
the club, the long winter has seen some of the people and the bikes emerge
from what has been a long hibernation. A quick wash and polish breathes life
back into the machines and the activity in the club starts to happen.
The Uxbridge Auto Show on the 21st July, West Middlesex and the London
motorcycle Museum both had stands at the show ;we fitted ourselves onto one
pitch which gave an impressive array of Triumph motorcycles over the years.
Keith had his barbecue to feed the troops, so not only did we have a good
display of bikes; people's mouths were dribbling with saliva the smell of
Keith's Barbie. over the course of the day 5 members who don't regularly
attend the North Star dropped by to say hello, if you read this then it
would be good if you can drop down now and again to join in the banter.
That same weekend saw Mick,Charlotte,Liz and myself attend the Beacons Rally
at the Baskerville Hotel; this is a must do rally, the setting is great,
food and music on tap and they are a friendly bunch. both Mick and myself
won a trophy with our bikes and the icing on the cake was me winning a
raffle prize.
The following weekend was the Berkshire bike show, the numbers seemed down
on previous years but once again we did well winning best club turnout and
Paul winning best Triumph on his immaculate Hurricane.
Weds 31st was the fifth Wed of the Month was not an official club night but
Giles and Keith turned up and had a chat about bees, honey and Aston Martins
etc. As a club we had previously agreed to take a run up to the Busy Bee
club near St Albans on the 1st Aug.Seven of us went on the run and there was
already a good turn out when we arrived at about 20.30hrs.
Summing up, a good month and we have seen an increase of members turning up
for club nights, it would be nice if the members who caught up with us at
the Uxbridge show popped down now and again for a laugh and a beer . The
North Star has changed hands and had a lick of paint, also there is a custom
car club sharing our Wednesdays which makes for a lively evening and some
nice cars to have a look at.
June 2013 Report
With the weather improving week on week we have been out and about a bit
more.
4 members attended the Surrey BBQ & bike show, by all accounts weather
was good, food better and a good attendance. This was followed by our
club having a stand at the Triumph Day at the ACE Café, credit where its
due Keith did an excellent job of organising everything.
Next on the list was Cadsden bike night at the Plough Pub, 6 members
made the run, another clear night and another good event. Moving on to
Cassington, an event which has been around for over 20 years grows in
strength each year, there must have been in excess of 5000 people there
this year over the course of the night, the village opens its doors to
the biking community with all proceeds going to the village (a win win
situation all round)
Looking ahead there is the Berkshire TOMCC which is a quality event.
Had an e-mail from an old member the other day (Dom) he is hoping to
drop by soon and say hello, he was always full off fun and mischief, it
will be good to see him again.
Bill
May 2013 report
I
think we are still waiting for Spring to start never mind the Summer,
with the weather being so bad we (I for one) haven’t been out on the
bike so much. Some of the more hardier members of the club still make it
down on the bike regardless of the weather.
Last month saw Mick, Steve and Keith make their way to the Cellar
reunion at the Blackhorse in Windsor, feedback was positive about the
event. Mick and Charlotte went to the West Wales annual Rally, another
good Rally and the weather was really good with only a few spots of rain
on the way there.
Last weekend saw Mick and myself take a run up to “H’s” cafe near
Dorchester, a sunny day again and quite a few bikes (and people) up the
cafe. We came back down through Watlington/Christmas Common and stopped
at Turville for a pint before heading home.
Things are picking up with Triumph day at the ACE cafe on the 9th
June, then Cadsden at the Plough Inn is the Bucks British & Classic MCC
annual BBQ, this tends to be a very friendly enjoyable evening and a
nice run out through the Chiltern Hills. Another day out is the North
weald Air Base open day on the 22nd June, we are looking to
see if anyone is interested in a run-out to this event, and finally
there is Cassington on the 24th June, another event which
grows in popularity year on year, last year saw circa 7000bikes turn up,
this was obviously boosted by attendance from West Middlesex TOMCC.
Bill
April 2013 report
Missed a couple of reports, so I now have
bit of catching up to do. We had our AGM on March the 20th,
the committee positions remain unchanged, Mick Bishop – Chairman, Gary
Crosby – Treasurer, John Greenwood – Membership secretary, Mike Bowerman
– Webmaster, Bill Dunn- Secretary. The only new position was Keith
Ferris taking on the role of Runs Co-ordinator.
We were talking through how long we had all
been members of the TOMCC, I first joined the Ilford branch back in
1975, but more impressively John Greenwood and Gary Crosby have both
held committee positions with West Middlesex TOMCC for over 30 years.
John rolled up last night on his Electra Glide, compared to his old
Triumph it’s like comparing a leather armchair to a footstool.
Keith has already been thinking of a few
runs and testing the water on people’s reactions, I’m sure things will
go well as Keith was a key player in making Triumph day at the ACE cafe
work, and will be again this year.
One of our more recent new members is Andy
from Portugal; he now lives in Maidenhead and runs a Hinckley Triumph
which looks nice.
Slagdyke was over from Majorca so we all met
up on the 24th April up the ACE cafe, good to see him again,
the sun is doing him good as he looks so well.
Weather has been abominable, I opened the
garage door the other day just to make sure it still opens, it’s been
months since I’ve had the bike out and now getting withdrawal symptoms,
so could be this weekend as the its now almost tropical and the sun has
been out for more than hour.
We have pencilled in what rallies as a club
we will be looking to attend, I would recommend looking at our web page
for details if interested, it would be nice to see a few more faces out
for a blast on their bike.
Bill
March 2013 report
No report this Month
February 2013 report
No report this month
January
2013 report
A quiet month and it’s not surprising, if it’s
not raining, it’s snowing and if it’s dry it’s blowing a gale.
The date for our AGM has now been set for
Wednesday 20th March, with a 20:30 turn up for a 21:00hrs
start, location is the North Star. Please make the effort to come along
and have your say on what you want from the club.
Other events we are looking to attend as a
club are:-
Somerset & Dorset TOMCC Rally 10-12th
May
Welsh International Rally, Pembrokeshire 17-19th
May
Surrey TOMCC BBQ & Bike show on the 1st
June
Beacons TOMCC Offers Dyke Rally 19-21st
July
Bristol
TOMCC Concorde Rally 27-29th September
There will be other events, that we will
attend but details are still awaited i.e. date for the Triumph Day at
the ACE café. There is still no details as to what is happening with the
North Star pub where we meet but until any decision is taken we will
still meet there.
Looking forward to a long hot summer, with
long hot days filled with blue skies and small white fluffy clouds
drifting slowly by.
Bill
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