For the latest information concerning MGCC Midland Centre events, such as changes to event dates and/or times, please check for details below.

MG enthusiasts of all ages are welcomed to the Centre and its Natters, including members of other clubs such as the MG Octagon Car Club and the MG Owners Club, irrespective of the model of MG owned. Please visit our 'Natter Venues' page for details of a group in your area.

For more information about the Midland Centre and our events, please click on the links shown in the Menu on the left of the screen.

 

 

Midland Centre AGM - 20 February 2012

Our AGM is scheduled for Monday, 20 February, starting at 8.00pm. It will be held, as it has for the past couple of years, at Somer Sports & Social Club, Grange Hill, Halesowen B62 0JH. All MGCC Midland Centre members are welcome to attend. Even if the idea of sitting through an AGM doesn't appeal to you, you could at least come along and sample the amazing array of 'real ales' on tap. Bring a chauffeur, though!

 

Midland Centre Spring Trial - 25 March 2012

We are pleased to announce that the Entry Form, Regulations and Indemnity are now available for our Spring Trial at Lintridge Farm, near Ledbury, on Sunday, March 25th. To view and download the three documents (in 'Word' format), please go to our Calendar of Events page and scroll down to the relevant date.

Entry forms for our Spring Sprint on April 1st will be available shortly.

 

 

 

 

 

New Natter in Notts!

If you'll forgive the alliteration, the Midland Centre is delighted to announce the opening of a new Natter in Nottinghamshire. This is particularly welcome as the Centre has not had a Natter in this county for a number of years. The Natter is located at The Cross Keys pub, Main Street, Upton, Newark-on-Trent NG23 5SY, and the Natter leader is Peter Harley. There will be an inaugural meeting at the pub on Wednesday, 15 February, with regular monthly meetings thereafter on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Peter sent us the following info -

"The new Midland Centre Natter at The Cross Keys, Upton, would like to extend a warm welcome to all members. I aim for it to be a friendly, informal event, for enthusiasts to be warmed by the open log fires of the country village pub during the winter months, and by hot engines in the car park during the summer. The pub is in private ownership and the new enthusiastic landlord offers good food at reasonable prices. The location is ideal for summer runs and small events through the neighbouring villages in the summer. It is hoped to have the occasional outing and treasure hunt as well as a 'concours' or pride of ownership. The focus intends to be on a relaxed, friendly, informal gathering of enthusiasts."

Anyone interested in joining Pete at his new Natter can contact him by phone on 01636 918360 or by email on - peter.c.harley@talktalk.net

The Midland Centre Committee wishes Peter every good fortune with this venture, and looks forward to attending one of the Natter nights in the coming months.

 

Young MG Drivers Wanted

That is, young drivers of MGs, not young MGs!

'MG Enthusiast' magazine editor Simon Goldsworthy would like to hear from any young MG drivers, with a view to possibly running features on them in future editions. The plan is to use these articles to try and attract young (i.e. teenage) drivers to the potential benefits of running a pre-73 MG, with no road tax, ease of maintenance, and possibly lower insurance premiums over the more usual fayre of a 'hot hatch'.

Along with most classic car clubs, the MGCC needs to attract younger MG drivers in the hope that they will join the club and help to supplement those older members who, for various reasons, can no longer maintain their membership of the club or continue to enjoy driving their MGs.

If you know of any young person who drives their own MG, or perhaps even takes the wheel of a parents' MG, then please ask them to get in touch with Simon at 'MG Enthusiast' and share their experiences. Simon can be contacted by email on - mg.ed@kelseypb.co.uk

 

 

V8 Register Curry Night - 18 February 2012

The V8 Register Curry Night will be held on 18 February 2012 at 'Palash Bari', an Indian Restaurant at Fosters Booth, which is a village between Towcester and Weedon on the A5 in Northamptonshire. We will dine in a private room and choose from a banquet menu on the night. Vegetarian dishes are on the menu. The cost will be £21/head. Pay cash on the night for all drinks. Meet in the bar at 18:30 for 19:00 prompt.


Palash Bari is in Watling Street in the village of Fosters Booth just north of Towcester in Northamptonshire. For satnavs the postcode is: NN12 8LB. See location map.

 Please book in advance by downloading and completing the booking form which is available on the V8 Register website. Cheques to be made payable to MG Car Club V8 Register and sent with the booking form to Tony Lake, 7, Belvedere Close, Northampton NN5 7DW.
Download a booking form
 Email
Tel: 01604 589104 and Mob: 07821 165575

 

Midland Centre 2012 Calendar

Our Events Calendar for 2012 is now available to view on the 'Calendar of Events' page - see button in main Menu. Some dates and events have not yet been confirmed by the relevant organisers, and these will be added once details are known. Please have a look through the calendar for events that may be of interest. We stress that the information shown is offered in good faith, is correct at time of publishing on this website and, like everything else in life, things can change. Members are advised to check with organisers before setting out, and the Midland Centre Committee cannot accept any liability for wasted journeys.

We will hope to see some of our members at Midland Centre events during 2012.

 

Solihull Natter Closes

Sadly, we have to report that the Natter that had been held at The Navigation pub in Lapworth, just south of Solihull, West Midlands, has closed. No replacement has yet been found. This group was primarily composed of T-Type owners, but if anyone in the Solihull area fancies starting a new Natter for all types of MGs, please get in touch with the Centre Committee via details on this website.

 

 

 

 

The Chequers Inn, Stanton-by-Dale

We regret that we have been informed of the death of one of our Natter Leaders, in this case Barry Hetherington who was Leader at The Chequers Inn pub in Stanton-by-Dale, near Ilkeston. Unfortunately, his family could not tell us if anyone else had taken on the Leader’s role at the pub, nor if the Natter was still up and running. The Centre Committee would therefore like to locate anyone who might have been, or still is, a member of the MG group at The Chequers Inn so that we can amend our contact details and confirm whether or not the Natter is still operating. If you are, or were, one of Barry’s colleagues at The Chequers Inn, or know anyone who is/was, it will be greatly appreciated if you could contact the Midland Centre Committee via the email address below:-

ajcarobson@blueyonder.co.uk

 

Other Natter Changes ...

WARWICKSHIRE – The Beehive, Curdworth.

The Natter group previously meeting at the Dog & Doublet pub has now returned to its former haunt, The Beehive. Contact details remain as before.

STAFFORDSHIRE – The Park Inn, Dudley.

This Natter has a new principal contact, replacing Keith Hill. The new contact is now Stuart Dunn, phone number 01384 825143.

LEICESTERSHIRE - The Anchor Inn, Hathern.

The North Leicestershire MG group has moved from its previous pub, The Prior Inn at Nanpanton, to the Anchor Inn at Hathern. Contact as before.

Please see our 'Natter Venues' page for more information about all our Natter groups.

 

Opportunity for New Natter

We have been contacted by Richard O'Kane, the landlord of The Swan Inn at Fradley Junction, near Lichfield, offering his services to any MG owners who might be interested in starting a new Natter group there. As Richard informs us:

"I and my partner have The Swan pub at Fradley Junction, on the canal network, 3 miles from Lichfield just off the A38. We have a regular classic car evening on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, and a bike gathering every Wednesday. Our pub is a popular destination for classic car owners, and the odd steam engine. Very scenic and the pub is old world and full of charm. I would welcome a "natter" group at The Swan. I am busy with the pub and never have time to get away. We have a cellar which seats upto 40 people. We could allocate this for the natter. There is ample parking, except on Wednesday nights during bike season."

It's not always easy to find accommodating landlords like Richard, so if any of our Midland Centre members fancy starting a new Natter there, please let us know and we'll do our best to help.

Richard, who is an MGCC member, can be contacted on 01283 790330 or via email at - info@theswanatfradley.co.uk

 

New Midland Centre Regalia Supplier

The Midland Centre is delighted to announce that it has appointed a new regalia supplier. In conjunction with several other Centres, Registers and Kimber House, our new supplier is TopSigns, based in Hexham, Northumberland. We are still finalising some details, but Centre members will shortly be able to order various items of clothing, embroidered with the Midland Centre logo, through a microsite which is currently being set up by TopSigns. All sales administration will be handled by them on our behalf.

For an early look at TopSigns website and the range of clothing available, please click on the 'Regalia' button in the left-hand Menu, and follow the link on that page.

 

 

 

MGB50 - 2012

As many of our members will already know, 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the MGB and the MGB Register, in conjunction with the MGCC & the MGOC, will be holding a variety of events throughout the year to celebrate the occasion. The main event takes place at Bleinheim Palace on September 23rd, but there will be other local meetings and events.

One of those will be at the Shropshire Festival of Transport, being held at the Agricultural Showground in Shrewsbury on August 5th, where special attention will be paid to the MGB through its various model changes. Anyone interested in participating or attending should contact Shropshire MG group leader Roy Crosier on 01691 831808.

 

In addition, don't forget the opening event, the 'Birthday Run' on April 15th. For further details of this, and other MGB50 celebrations as they are arranged, go to the main web page - www.mgb50.com - where you will also be able to download a 'flyer'. We will endeavour to post details of any other MGB50 events on this page.

 

MGBs at Shropshire Festival of Transport

Following the huge success of 2011 Shropshire Festival of Transport the organisers are already planning next year which will take place on Sunday 5th August 2012 with more entertainment and more vehicles.

MGs will be the headline marque for 2012 and in particular will showcase the 50th anniversary of the MGB in the Midlands as part of the national celebrations.

The MG clubs of Shropshire and Wrexham & Chester, on behalf of the S.F.O.T. are currently preparing for a major exhibition of MGBs together with club stands and a presentation of all types of MGs.

If you are interested in attending this celebration with an MGB please register your interest by contacting  mgsinshropshire@gmail.com

We are looking for all series of MGBs, both original and modified, and will send a more detailed fact sheet to complete so that the different MGB models can be grouped.

For all MGBs registering before the 1st April 2012, a keepsake  of MGB50 at Shropshire Festival of Transport will be distributed at the event. 

Other MG types and MG clubs can book by the Shropshire Festival of Transport Website at http://www.shropshirefestivaloftransport.org/

 

Members' Contact Details

Are your personal details correct at Kimber House?

It cannot have escaped most peoples notice that much more correspondence and general communication in business is being conducted via the medium of websites and electronic mail, and this will only increase in the future. Clearly, the use of email makes it easier, faster and (as importantly) cheaper for clubs like the MGCC to communicate with its members. However, this can only be successful if members' details at Kimber House are accurate and up-to-date. In the recent past, the Midland Centre Committee has undertaken its own checks on personal records, and has uncovered numerous inaccuracies, particularly with email addresses; for example, full-stops in the wrong place, spaces between characters where there should be none, hyphens instead of underscores, etc., etc. On that basis, the Committee would recommend that all Midland Centre members check their own personal details with Kimber House to ensure that their records are accurate, especially any email addresses. Just as importantly, please don't forget to notify Kimber House if any personal contact details change, for example if there is a change in internet service provider which entails a new email address. For further assistance, please contact Membership Secretary Liz Allsworth on 01235 849734  or via email - lizallsworth@mgcc.co.uk

 

Volunteer Marshals

As some of you may know, the MGCC Midland Centre organises four principal sporting events during the year – two Trials and two Sprints. The Spring Trial is held at Lintridge Farm, near Ledbury, and the Autumn Trial is held at Burton Dassett Country Park, near Gaydon, Warwicks. Both the Spring Sprint and the Summer Sprint are held at Curborough, near Lichfield. 

For all these events, we always need the help of volunteer marshals. Marshalling is not an onerous task (as long as the weather is good!), and many people who volunteer find that they enjoy the event(s) and return in the future. 

For those of you who are more local to the event locations, and have people in your groups who might be interested in assisting at any of these events, please ask them to contact the Midland Centre's new Chief Marshal, Simon Morris, on - spm1977@tiscali.co.uk

Without the help of volunteers, these and other similar events cannot take place, so please give it some thought.

 

Please see our 'Calendar of Events' and the 'General Information' pages for more information on the year's events or to read previous news items. Don't forget to let us have details of any MG-related events you would like to have displayed on this site.