On the domestic front for the Centre, I am really pleased to be able to announce that we have a newly appointed Awards Secretary for Thames Valley. This is quite a demanding position since we have quite a diverse set of trophies. Hence, it gives me great pleasure to let you know that Carol Rose has accepted the role. Thank you Carol; I look forward to working with you on this important aspect of the Centre.
To recap we have seven trophies as follows:
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F. H. Douglass Trophy: for the owner who has driven the most distance in their Morgan during the year;
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Richard Thorne Charity Trophy: for a member’s contribution to raising money for charity associated with the use of their Morgan;
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Thames Valley Trophy (35th anniversary car badge number 001 mounted on an ash plinth): to celebrate its sponsored charity journey along the River Thames and awarded to a member who has attended the most noggins in their Morgan over the year;
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SGT Trophy: awarded to the member who has exhibited the best traditions of Morgan ownership and its furtherance in true club spirit;
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The late Glenn Davies Trophy: awarded to the member who wins the annual boules competition held somewhere in the world usually on a nice beach.
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Marcos versus Morgan Trophy: awarded at the annual beer and skittles match held at the Jack of Newbury pub in Binfield. Always a hotly contested evening.
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Silver salver Trophy: awarded to a Centre member that has been most inspirational in the spirit of competition during the year.
These trophies are very important to us representing as they do the emphasis and ethos of the Centre: comradeship in owning a Morgan, the use of a Morgan while helping others and in remembering those friends we have sadly lost while also showing our competitive side. We are a sports car club after all. I hope this philosophy exhibited by the Centre will continue for a long time to come.
Carol, as you would imagine, has hit the ground running and is already thinking about the awards for this year. With this in mind, would all holders of our trophies return them to Carol please. A good place to return your trophy is at the Bird In Hand noggin in November. Carol can be contacted on her email:
Also, Carol has requested nominations for the SGT Trophy in the best spirit of morganeering to be sent to her. Carol, will tot up the responses and at the end of the year the winner will be announced and awarded at our Christmas dinner at the Bird In Hand.
For last year’s winners: the F. H. Douglass trophy was won by Ian Morgan who covered over 20,000 miles in his Morgan in year – well done Ian; the Richard Thorne Charity Trophy was awarded to Ian Young for his involvement in the Bracknell Charity Classic Car show in aid of the children’s charity Sebastian’s Action Trust – good for you Ian; the Thames Valley Trophy for attending seventy five percent of noggins in his Morgan goes to Christopher Nickless – quite an achievement Christopher; the SGT Trophy was won by our courageous feature writer for our monthly newsletter Thames Valley Centre Today Steve Bridge – well deserved Steve; and the late Glenn Davies Trophy was won by the other Mike Smith (aka the plumber) in 2011-12 - whereas, for 2012-13 this trophy was won by David Neary. This one is different as it is won mid-year in an exotic location on a sun kissed beach. Congratulations to all our winners it was an honour to award the trophies and I hope you were equally thrilled to receive them. We are now towards the end of 2012 so please don’t forget to keep turning up to our noggins in your Morgan sports cars and get some more miles on them and keep competing for our trophies. I wish you all the best for what is left of 2012.
On a sad note, it appears the original FH Douglass trophy has been lost. After great efforts taken to find it, the Centre committee has decided to create a new version of the trophy in a sympathetic manner. Also, Richard Thorne Classic Cars have offered to produce a new trophy based on a beautiful silver salver. These trophies are currently under construction and as soon as we have some photographs we will show them to the Centre.
For the silver salver it has been decided that as a new trophy it will be awarded to the member of the Centre that has demonstrated the best ‘spirit’ in competition, during the year with a sense of fair play of course. The best of British, as you would expect from a Morgan Sports Car owner. Carol would also like nominations for this award as well - please write to the same email address mentioned above. Carol is looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Please note that on Saturday 24th November from 19:00 we shall be holding the beer and skittle match for the annual Marcos versus Morgan competition for the eponymous trophy at the Jack of Newbury pub in Binfield. We won the trophy in 2011 so we shall be aiming to repeat this feat – Thames Valley expects all owners to do their duty. Please contact me if you would like to join us for this exciting evening. Best wishes to all.
Carol will announce the awards just before Christmas at the Bird In Hand Christmas Dinner. So I hope you can come. Please contact Mike Aldrich, details listed below, if you would like to book a place. It should be a very special night. Once again, thank you Carol.
With the year passing quickly, next month we have the Veteran Car Run meeting at Staplefield, with Brighton Centre, to watch them pass us by. At the time of writing, late September, our normal route coming from the south, to arrive at the Jolly Tanners in an attempt to minimise our mixing it with the veterans, is disrupted by local road improvements. Therefore, I recommend you check the Brighton Centre report for the best way to arrive at the pub this year. I hope to see you there.
Finally, please don’t forget that we are taking bookings for our two Christmas Dinners: please contact Andy Doughty and Mike Aldrich, for the Harte and Magpie and Bird In Hand respectively. These celebrations are always popular so please make contact as soon as you can – bookings are being taken on a first come first served basis. I hope you can make it.