At the time of writing I had just completed the third Thames Tour as the wingman for Tim Jones which was quite an honour as you can imagine. Tim piloted us well round Windsor mixing it with what I believe was a recent Plus 4 Super-Sports. I got a photo and we did wave at each other. If the owner is reading this report, however, then please let us know if I identified you correctly. We ventured forth to the Windsor Castle Classic Car show, went on for nice lunch, followed by a visit to SGT. I don’t want to go into too much detail as I hope a full article will appear in Miscellany shorty, but I would like to thank Chris Wartho and his team at SGT in Taplow for making us feel so welcome. I’m sure you will be seeing more of us soon. Also, and on behalf of the Centre, I would like to thank Tim for all of his Thames Tours that he organised throughout the season. They were all very enjoyable days. I will look forward to the next one Tim.
While mentioning future events, for the 2017 season, John Buckmaster is planning a visit to the Normandy beaches and more. Please watch this space.
As we leave summer and find ourselves in autumn, I would like to remind you of our planned visit to the Sandham Memorial Chapel on Sunday December 11th meeting in the village car park at 11 am. This is a rare opportunity to see the Chapel, which will be open, and the honour it gives to the ‘forgotten’ dead of the First World War. I hope you will be able to join us.
I am pleased to report that David Cleveland has booked the Burghfield Sports Association venue for a skittles evening this month. The event will be held on Saturday 22nd October. The alley is just down the road from Richard Thorne Classic Cars. David Cleveland will be providing costs and menu choices in due course. This will be a special evening as the Thames Valley Management Committee has decided to hold the Skittles evening in memory of the late Glen Davies. The winner will be presented with the Glen Davies Trophy at the annual Centre dinner in January. I hope you will be able to join us on this memorable occasion.
While on the subject of the Centre dinner on Saturday 28th January, Mike Aldrich and David Williams have made contact with Aldon Ferguson and he has agreed to give a talk on the D Day landings, as this will complement the proposed tour by the Centre of the Normandy landing beaches next year. Tickets for the dinner are available now, so please book your place with Mike Aldrich now. Aldon has a background in Russia and the Former Soviet Union, and British Military Aviation History. All his lectures are fully illustrated with PowerPoint comprising both still and movie images. This should be a great evening – I hope you can join us.
In the New Year we will be re-launching our popular National Trust visits. For example, we hope to make a welcome return to Cliveden, and all it has to offer, in the spring. Looks like 2017 is shaping up nicely.
Looking further ahead into next year, I would like to share some good news with members of the Centre. We are delighted to announce that Steve Morris, Managing Director at the Morgan Motor Company, will be our honoured guest at our AGM on the evening of Thursday May 11th at the Bird In Hand, Knowl Hill. Please put this date in your diary. This will be a great opportunity for Centre members to meet Steve and to look to the future. I hope you can make it. On behalf of the Centre, I would like to thank Steve for taking his valuable time to join us.
Thames Valley Centre car badges available on eBay - beware
A Morgan owner from Australia has brought to our attention that Thames Valley Car badges are for sale on eBay. They appear to be our badges but we would like to point out that these sales are nothing to do with us. They are very highly priced and please remember we can supply Thames Valley car badges new at the nominal club price. If you see, therefore, any regalia out there and are interested please check with us first. I would like to thank our Austrian customer for letting us know about these items.
Thames Valley Centre pin badges
We are now taking orders for our new range of Thames Valley pin badges. These are available in five colour, similar to our car badges. Any order is taken on a first come first served basis, as always. Please contact David Mansfield as our new Regalia Officer for orders for pin badges and also our car badges. Orders can be made on his telephone (0118 37 69752) or via email at