Magnettes & Steam 2006
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Once again Alan Slack and the Register committee arranged an excellent venue
for Magnettes and Steam (15 April 2006), and were rewarded with a good turnout.
The event was at Wansford station on the Nene Valley railway, which used to be
part of the Northampton to Peterborough line but now just runs the seven or so
miles from Wansford to Peterborough. Its most unusual feature is a collection of
continental locomotives and rolling stock that has been built up since the line
was restored in the 1970s. They run on the same gauge track as UK railways but
are often wider and higher, therefore some care was required with bridges and
tunnels !
Magnettes and Steam seems to gain in popularity each year. The location probably
attracted a number of people from East Anglia who haven't been to previous
events, and it was great to have Lou Shorten there dispensing advice. My 120
mile journey from Surrey was nearly all motorway and not very interesting, but
at least it only took 2 hours. There were at least 26 Magnettes in total,
including 2 Farinas, plus other MGs. Alan was kept busy welcoming new arrivals,
and by late morning the allocated parking was full - a nice problem to have. As
a new feature, Alan had reserved a static coach for the day, so we would have
somewhere to gather in case of rain. In the event the weather stayed fine,
however it was still very useful as a meeting point, and conveniently placed
next to the station cafe. It also enabled David Johnson and Peter Martin to run
a Register regalia 'stall' which was doing good business. Several people were
interested in my rear seatbelt installation, and I had an enjoyable day
chatting, looking at other Magnettes, and taking a ride on the railway. Thanks
again to the organisers.
Stephen Tickell
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Whilst the day started foggy and chilly, it did warm up from mid morning
onwards and thankfully stayed dry for the whole event despite heavy rain for me
on the way home!. Our exclusive railway carriage hired for the day by the
register was a big success and very much appreciated by all those in attendance.
It made a great "base", somewhere to have your food and drink and of course
purchase all of that regalia that you cannot possibly do without!.
Whilst we had a number of people who were not in their Magnettes for a variety
of reasons; some arrived in other (mainly MG) classics, we had an excellent
turnout of Magnettes for the event with all models represented. For the record,
the final tally was 8 ZA's (including a "Tin top"), 4 ZB's(always in the
minority for Z Magnettes at every event - where do they all hide?), 13 ZBV's and
yes 2 Farina's!.
It was nice to see a few local cars attending which are not normal event
attendees together with a few very familar cars that were seen for the first
time in new ownership. Of these, we were pleased to welcome Reg Boulton with the
ex Chris Winlow ZBV, John Scott with the ex Bill Porley ZBV, Tim Shaw with the
ex Michael Corbett ZBV and John Taylor with the ex Norman Green Farina MK4. So
it's the varitones that seen to be changing hands at the greatest rate of notts
then!.
Most members enjoyed a trip on the steam train and the weather was quite kind to
us. We were also able to present the Magnetteer of the Year award 2005, to John
& Cynthia Harris for their work on the video, "Golden Magnettes, " and efforts
organising the trip to the "Muckleburgh Collection," a museum in Norfolk.
An excellent event with speacila thanks to register committee member steam
enthusiast Alan Slack for organising such a good event. He's so keen, that he
already has advanced plans for next years event!.
A good start to what promises to be a good season for the Magnette owner. See
you at the next event which is Kingston Lacey - another Alan Slack special!.
Peter Martin/David Johnson
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