Even though I am writing this at the end October it should be December by the time to come to read it so may I wish you all a very merry Christmas and I hope Santa brings you everything you hope for.

A warm welcome to Carol and Rob Parsons from Brixham who have bought Ann and Pete's roadster. They joined us at our October meeting which was well attended and Mo produced one of her infamous games which involved matching pop stars of various eras with their chart topping tunes. I think Dee managed to match hers first, was that luck or knowledge of ancient pop trivia?

Our monthly run was organised by Chris and Helen Robbins and started from Stover Park a little late due to all the lemmings flocking to Trago Mills on a wet Sunday (sad people).

Our route took us via Newton Abbot to Totnes for a coffee stop on the banks of the River Dart where Roger L finally caught up with us (V8s won't start when they get hot - starter motor too near to the exhaust manifold). All twelve cars left together however to follow the route via Bow Bridge and some very narrow country lanes to The Watermans Arms where the landlord had sensibly put us in a separate room at the back of the restaurant. Inclement weather meant no afternoon football, much to Ric's disappointment, so a quiet stroll along the river was taken instead before we all headed home.

Many thanks to Chris and Helen for a good day out. This month will be a bit quiet MG wise as there will be no club meeting in December but we will be having our Christmas party on Saturday 14th December at Exeter University Reed Hall. If you haven't already booked I am pretty sure it is too late but give Andy a ring on 01392 210098 just in case.

Our first event of 1997 will be our New Years Day Treasure Hunt, organised by Roger and Pat, and will start from The Stowey Arms at the very civilised time of 11am, hangovers permitting. Nothing too strenuous is threatened and we will finish back at The Stowey for more refreshments.
Looking even further ahead our AGM will be held at The Stowey on Tuesday 21st January 1997, this is your chance to have your say about how The Exeter Area MGOC is run and your opportunity to stand for election on the committee.
All the prestigious jobs, including Area Secretary, are up for grabs!!!

STOP PRESS:-
Congratulations and our best wishes to Kevin and Judy Western on the birth of their daughter, Kate Elizabeth, who weighed in at 7lb 4oz. on 28th October.

Ten brave people set out on the spooky ghost walk around Exeter on October 31st and were taken via the Cathedral, Palace Gate, South Street and into Southernhay. Sustenance was required following the walk and everyone crept into a creperie had a crepe and crept out again (no cats in sight though).

November 2nd was a somewhat damp evening but this did not deter those who turned up for our bonfire evening at Four Elms Fruit Farm in Newton Poppleford. The fireworks and food were excellent and typically it stopped raining as the evening was drawing to a close. Many thanks to Philip Richardson for once again arranging things on our behalf and to everyone else who brought fireworks along or helped with the food.

We celebrated our 17th birthday in November with a well attended party full of Moe's devious games including blue drinks, dry crackers and brain taxing word association. Many thanks to everyone who bought along a prize for the raffle and a warm welcome to new member Robin Roberts who joined us for the evening.

Inclement weather once again greeted the 10 cars that turned up for our November Teddy Bear run in aid of Children in Need. A run along the coast and then back via Chudleigh to the Passage House Inn for a well deserved lunch with an amazing array of teddies taking pride of place.
A sizeable cheque has been sent off to Children in Need, thanks to you all. Don't forget our treasure hunt on New Years Day and our AGM on the 21st at the Stowey - your opportunity to have your say about how the Exeter Area is run.

We will be having a skittles evening at the Coaver Club in Exeter on Friday 21st February - details to follow and on Wednesday 23rd April I have organised a trip to the MGF production line at Longbridge and to a local motor museum, we are strictly limited to 30 places so contact me to get your name on the list.

It's been reasonably quiet on the MG front lately but we did have our AGM in January which was very well attended. 1996 was a good year for Exeter MGOC with lots of new members, numerous well attended events, our highly successful River Dart Rally and a bank balance firmly in the black. Most of the committee were re-elected except for Mo who decided to stand down having been on the committee for the last 14 years in one capacity or another!!!! Thanks for all your time and effort in the past Mo, enjoy the rest. There was a frantic scrum to take over the coveted position of social secretary and after a close run thing Jeff Lee was elected to the post. Welcome aboard Jeff, we look forward to some 22 carat gold events!!.

Our next event is the skittles evening at the Coaver Club, rear of County Hall Exeter on Friday 21st February. Start from about 7.30pm and this promises to be as much fun as last years event. Ring me for more details.
Andy and Carol have organised our March run and we will be meeting at the Stover Country Park near to Trago Mills on Sunday 23rd March at 11 am.
Don't forget that we have a trip on Wednesday 23rd April to the MGF production line at Longbridge and to a local motor museum, there are still a few places left so contact me quickly to get your name on the list.
Some dates for your diary are listed below but if there is any other sort of event or visit that you would like the committee to put on ring me, or Jeff on 01803 617276.

Our skittles evening in February was a real hoot with various playing styles resulting in a variety of final scores. Unfortunately my team, The Allstars, were soundly beaten by Georgie's team, The Haz Beanz, mainly due to an unbelievable score from Mary. It should be pointed out however that a certain amount of skulduggery went on in the pin placement leading to a very high spare being scored. I got my own back however when we played "killer" and I beat Andy in the end to take the victory and the money. Thank you everyone for contributing to my skiing holiday this month. The usual hilarious game of "Drop'Em" followed where Ann showed she knew how to keep her knees together and ended with a near perfect score.

Our Mad March Run will be on Sunday the 23rd starting at 11 am from Stover Country Park, Carol and Andy will be in charge so expect something a little strenuous. The main event in April is a return of The South Devon Run which Jeff has once again organised. We will be starting off from The Stowey at 10.30am on Sunday 20th April and after a pleasant drive there will be a stop for lunch, driving tests and games. Another picturesque drive and some more games before the finish and of course a Devon cream tea.

Unfortunately all the remaining places remaining on the trip on Wednesday 23rd April to the MGF production line at Longbridge have been snapped up but if you did contact me your name is definitely on the list. We have lots of other things planned for you during the spring and summer and some dates for your diary are listed below. In addition to these we are going to have an evening Glider flying at the beginning of June, phone Roger on 01392 52836 if you would like a flight. Planning for The River Dart Rally forges ahead and any volunteers to help out prior to the event would be welcomed, phone Andy on 01392 210098 to offer your services.

Hi, it's been pretty hectic down this way recently and I'm afraid I've got behind with my notes. Attached are the May ones. Not long now till Silverstone - always a brilliant weekend, perhaps we will see you there.

A great turnout of 19 cars for our South Devon Run in April organised by Jeff and Hilly with help from Bumble, Georgie and yours truly. A big Exeter welcome to Phil and Tracy from Bideford who joined us for the day. The usual mixture of scenic drive, silly games, fine weather and plenty of food stops resulted in a great day out for everyone with Rod and June taking the top honours. Helen took the consolation prize for reasons best left unmentioned. Our trip to the MGF production line at Longbridge on 23rd April was a great success and hugely enjoyed by the 30 attendees including our 2 friends from Southampton who joined us for the day. A big thank you to John and Derek for looking after us at the factory.

For those of you going Glider flying a quick reminder - 6.30pm Wednesday 4th June at Dunkeswell. Our Mid Summer Treasure Hunt has been organised by Adrian and Sarah and we will be starting off from the Inn on the Quay, Quaywest, Goodrington, Paignton at 11am on Sunday 22nd June. David Shearman of Modern Motoring, Paignton has donated numerous prizes for this event so donÆt miss out. The Cricket St Thomas Classic Car show will be held on Sunday 29th June and apart from the usual attractions of a major classic car show the entry on the day includes free admission to the wildlife park and the house and grounds. A number of you are already on my list to attend but if you would like to be added to that list contact me as soon as possible. Meet at Granada Services top car park at 9am.

I assume that you have all booked your places at the River Dart Rally and if you are attending could you please bring a small prize to help swell our raffle table. In addition we have misplaced the name of the person who kindly lent us the PA system last year so if it was you or you have one we can borrow please contact Andy on 01392 210098 . July 12th and 13th is the Crash Box Club Rally at Powderham, Simon is in charge of our arrangements this year so contact him on 01395 279664 if you would like to join our stand. Brief details and forward notice of an Exeter Area MGOC weekend away on the 9th and 10th August. On the Saturday we will be taking a scenic drive through the Cotswolds including a visit to a brilliant little car museum at Bourton on the Water. We will be staying overnight at a B&B in the area before going to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust at Gaydon on the Sunday for their MG Marque Day. MGs and driver get free admission with a discount for the passenger. We are limited to 20 cars so contact me for more information or to book a place.

Our May meeting was very well attended with lots of new members so a warm Exeter Area welcome to Bill from Paignton, Katie from Sidmouth, Mike from Paignton, John and Linda from Bishopsteignton and Peter and Jane from Pinhoe. Nice to have some more MGFs to keep me company. Jeff came up with a fiendish quiz which involved identifying a number of Euroboxes from advert photos. They all looked the same to me but Roger L managed to get them all right and won a fantastic prize along with the honour of organising our next quiz.

Dartmoor Picnic
Back in May we had our Dartmoor Picnic and in spite of a not to hopeful weather forecast the sun shone on the righteous making the day a great success. Over 40 cars turned up at Dartmeet for a lazy day out with our friends from Cornwall and the Tamar Valley. A relaxing time was spent chatting, walking, some non-strenuous games (no-one brought a football fortunately) and of course plenty of eating and drinking.

Up, Up and Away
The weather was kind to us once again for our gliding evening on the 4th June. Fifteen brave souls turned up and very soon were up amongst the clouds. Some chose the drag line while others went for the more expensive but gentler and higher tow behind a light plane.
The take off from the drag line was amazing. The initial acceleration is on a par with the quickest sports car (including a VVC) and in no time at all the glider left the ground and climbed at the most phenomenal rate, virtually straight up. Once at maximum height the large bang as the tow line was released was a bit disconcerting but from then on the ride was nothing short of magical - no noise and the countryside of Devon spread below you.
Most people had a gentle incident free flight except Mike Western who told his pilot that so far he had not found anything that frightened him. During his flight however the pilot dipped the nose picked up speed from 40 knots to 100 knots and performed a complete loop the loop. Mike was a bit quieter and restrained after the flight than before he took off. Unfortunately I was changing batteries on the video at the time so the loop was not recorded for all time. Mike declined my request to go up and do it all again.
Everyones landing was a bit bumpy but nice and short except for Trevor who had the last fight of the day and to save time Ian, his pilot, decided to overfly our position and fly the glider back to the hanger. We were all treated to a fly past by Ian and Trevor as they passed us at 80 knots literally 2 feet from the ground for the whole length of the field with Trevor waving in a manner similar to H.R.H.
A brilliant evening and a big thank you to Mike at Sports Classics for arranging things, I am sure we will have a repeat performance.

Cricket St Thomas Classic Car Day
Don't forget our trip to Cricket St Thomas on Sunday 29th June. For those of you joining us for the day you should have received your pass by now and we will be meeting up at the top car park, Granada services at 9am. I still have a couple of passes spare so contact me straight away if you would like to come along.

River Dart Rally
I don't need to tell you anything you don't already know so just get yourselves along to the River Dart Country Park (with a raffle prize) on 4th 5th and 6th July, bring some good weather with you and enjoy the cars and the company.

Crash Box Meeting At Powderham
I haven't spoken to Simon recently but I'm sure he has everything under control and everyone knows what day they are attending (12th or 13th July) and other such details.
Give Simon a ring on 01395 279664 to confirm matters.

Branscombe Air Display and Classic Car Show
All our events used to revolve around food but this year flying seems to be the common theme. Sunday 27th July is the Branscombe Air Display and Classic Car Show which we have attended in the past and is always a relaxed but very interesting day out, especially with all the flying machines from bygone days. Entry for car, driver and passenger is only £3 to include a brass attendance plaque and I am co-ordinating the club entries which close on 30th June.
Contact me as soon as poss to join us on this family day out.

River Dart Rally
Our River Dart Rally was the best yet. Right on cue the weather changed and it was dry all weekend, if a little cold late at night for those of us who stayed up drinking under the stars. Andy, Alison and the rest of the event committee had everything planned down to the last detail and everyone who attended was full of praise for all the hard work and organisation that went on. Lots of people from far and wide arrived during the Friday afternoon including our friends from Bristol, South Staffs, Taunton and of course Fred and his crowd from East Sussex. The evening BBQ was a very relaxed affair with people getting reacquainted or meeting new friends. The weekend games started at this point as did the "horse racing". By the end of the evening a large crowd had gathered and the bookie (our club) was in profit, only the 11pm noise curfew bringing the proceedings to a close. Saturday morning saw all the cars gathered for the River Dart Run, sponsored by London Road Garage and set out this year by Ann and Pete. The route took the participants to some of the most scenic parts of Dartmoor with a coffee stop on the way, manned by Roger and Pat. The route included some fast bits as well as our Devon lanes and again everyone came back saying what a great day out it was. The evening BBQ had even more food than the Friday as well as plates and knives and forks (aren't we a civilised bunch?) and the chefs did a brilliant job all evening cooking up the steaks. More games followed plus a return by popular request of the horse racing. The high rollers were in attendance on this night and the stake (steak?) money kept increasing. Unfortunately the bookie was unable to lay some of this money off and some particularly large speculative bets towards the end of the evening led to complete bankruptcy. A large amount of Old Speckled Hen was also in evidence which some of us regretted the next morning and the bookie's vocal cords were also somewhat strained. An early start on the Sunday morning to greet more visitors as MG after MG rolled up. The games continued as did the driving tests which were on a bike this year and many contestants mentioned they hadn't been on a bike for years and by some of the riding styles this was obviously the case. All too quickly the day passed and it was time for Alison to present the trophies, once again provided by Sports, Classic and Performance Cars. Without exception everyone said as they left what a brilliant weekend it was and how well it had been organised. The majority of the credit must go Andy and Alison for all the hard work and time they put in but also to the whole committee and to the many people who helped out at short notice with the food, parking, judging etc. You are too numerous to mention by name but my personal thanks to everyone who contributed to making the weekend a success. I talk to a lot of other Area Secretaries and many of them bemoan the fact that they can never get their members to help out and it is always left to others to organise things. Not so in Exeter Area, thank you all again.

Crash Box Club
Due to a family wedding I was unable to attend the Crash Box Club meeting at Powderham but by all accounts it lived up to it's usual high standards both in the number and quality of the cars. Debbie had volunteered herself and Simon to arrange things including mowing the grass (can't let the Jag boys get away with everything) and with 22 cars on display including our friends from Bristol a fine time was had by all. Thanks to Simon and Debbie for all their hard work and to Trevor and Pat who stepped in to help with the transportation of the marquee, mower etc.

July Club Meeting
Another great turnout at our July Stowey meeting, no new members this month but a warm welcome to Martin from Chard who joined us for the evening to see how things are done. After lots of chat outside we retired upstairs for a general knowledge quiz devised by Roger L. Most people knew all about the Spice Girls but were a bit lacking when it came to geography and politics. Mo and Jane were joint top scorers with Jane taking the prize after getting the closest to the tie breaker question - how many different styles of steering wheel did the MGB have in it's lifetime? Do you know the correct answer?

Branscombe Air And Classic Car Day
Fifteen cars made up the club stand at Branscombe and apart from the other classic cars on show we were treated to some amazing flying displays. Highlights were the Red Arrows, the Lancaster, the Fairey Swordfish and the 2 Harrier Jump Jets. The low point of the day was the Stag Club winning best club stand but I don't think most people had realised our cars were set out in the shape of a fighter plane continuing the theme for the day. If they had we would have walked it. We welcomed lots of new members including Geoffrey and Brenda from Axminster with their MGF.

September Meeting
The nights are certainly drawing in now and the whole of our September meeting was held indoors. Welcome to new members Ian from Torquay and to Peter Swift who used to work at Abingdon in the 50s and 60s and he had many a tale about the old days when the built "proper" MGs. Peter is going to put some slides together and give us a talk at one of our winter evening meetings. Roger and Pat's feely bag game kept everyone guessing with only a few clever beggers getting the ammonite correct.

Wessex Classic Car Show
A sizeable convoy set off for the Wessex Classic Car Show at the Tank Museum at Bovington and we were greeted by an impressive array of classic cars numbering nearly 1000. We had our own display area sandwiched between our friends from Dorchester and Bristol with young Nigel and the 1020 crowd a short distance away. Gazebos, picket fences, banners and flags were much in evidence as each area tried to out do the next and overall the MGs put up a fine display with honours even I think. We went one up however, as Bumble took a class win with his immaculate MGC roadster.

MGF 2nd Birthday Party
A number of Exeter Area MGFs met at Exeter Rover for a non alcoholic Bucks Fizz breakfast before we made the journey to Gaydon for the MGF 2nd birthday party. A fantastic day out courtesy of Rover with free admission to the Heritage Centre, go karting, aerobatic displays, parachutists, clay pidgeon shooting, rides on the high speed test track and a presentation from Top Gear's Quentin Willson on MG record breakers (including 217 mph from the MGF EX-F). A superb event, well done Rover.

October Pub Run
Our October run is to the Weary Ploughman at Churston on Sunday 12th October. Exeter area people meet up at 11am Granada Services, Torquay area people meet at the pub. We are go karting afterwards, kids welcome to join in.

Control Room Visit
In the evening on Tuesday November 4th and Wednesday November 5th at 8pm I have organised trips round the Control Room at County Hall for those who would like to see the cameras, radar etc so give me a ring to add your name to the list.

November Pub Run
The next run has been organised by Keith and Esther and will be on Sunday t he 9th November starting at 11am from the top car park, Granada Services, Exeter and of course it's our birthday party at The Stowey on the 18th so do turn up for even more silly games and please bring a prize for the raffle.