July 24

2CVGB NEWS

Specialist insurance for 2CVGB club members

Additional

Published monthly since 1978, 2CVGB News is the official magazine of the Deux Chevaux Club of Great Britain, Sarona, Beacon Road West, Crowborough, E Sussex TN6 1QL © The Deux Chevaux Club of Great Britain Ltd

MAGAZINE TEAM

Editor: James Duffell editor@2cvgb.com Design: Yellow Dog Design Advertising: small.ads@2cvgb.com

Membership of 2CVGB is by annual subscription: UK £34, Europe £80 (£34 with E-magazine), Worldwide £100 (£34 with E-magazine). You can join or renew online at www.2cvgb.co.uk where you can also download the membership application form. If you do not have access to the internet please forward membership enquiries to the membership secretary (contact details on p60).

BONJOURÀTOUS

I was in England when Registers Day took place, so dusted off my AK250 and set off for the 500 mile round trip (everywhere is a long way from Norfolk). I spent a couple of days walking along the south coast with Samuel Fieldhouse beforehand, so we arrived at Martha’s Down in a convoy of two vans - his AK350 and my AK250.

The weekend was a great success, although we did get a bit worried when the rain came down heavily, as we were camped at the bottom of the hill.

As most of you will know, at the end of June, Citroën closed the doors of its Conservatoire - a 300-vehicle collection of prototypes, rarities and examples of production vehicles. It is not known if, when or where the collection will ever be open to visitors again. Citroën says it plans to find a new home for the collection within the next three or four years. 2CVGB owns one of the vehicles in the Conservatoire - the “petition 2CV”. Perhaps the club should ask for it back until then?

See you in a field somewhere.

• that the Technical Information can be freely exploited in all or any parts of the world; and/or • that the Technical Information will not infringe the intellectual property or other

the Club does not give any warranty, representation or undertaking:

• as to the efficacy, usefulness, safety or commercial or technical viability of the technical information (“Technical Information”) and/or any products made or processes carried out using the Technical Information; • as to the volumes or quality of the products which may be manufactured through the use of the Technical Information;

• that any of the Technical Information is or will be valid;

JULY

4TH AIRE COOLED ALLEY CATS CELEBRATION BBQ AT JIM AND LIZ’S HOME. Fire, salads and buns provided. Please bring something to incinerate. All welcome. Phone 07939162960 for more information

5-7TH CHESHIRE DRAGONS 9TH CARROG CAMP at Carrog near Corwen, North Wales. This coincides with the Llangollen Transport Festival incorporating the Glyndyfrdwy car show 2 miles from Carrog. There will also be a drive to Pontcysllte Aqueduct through the beautiful North Wales countryside for lunch

12-14TH CITRÖEN FESTIVAL 2024. Abbots Ripton Village Hall, The Green, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, PE28 2PF. For more details please refer their websitehttps://citroencarclub.org.uk/

25-29TH NORTHERN IRELAND TIN SNAILS BALLYCASTLE CAMP 2024 at Glenmore Campsite, 94 Whitepark Road, Ballycastle, BT54 6LR, Northern Ireland. Booking is through the site on 02820763584 if you want to stay in the B&B or a site with electric otherwise just turn up for camping. There'll be a run out on Saturday as usual with the destination to be confirmed. Booking is through Glenmore if you want to stay in the b and b or require a site with electric otherwise you just turn up if camping

26-28TH SOUWESCARGOTS DARTMOOR CAMP at Martins Park, Whiddon Down, EX20 2QL. There will be a Devon flag outside. Camping available from Thursday to Monday. To book please contact either Justin on 07891274547, justinjamesrowe@aol.com or Ant on 07890 950290, awallis@email.com. Further details can be found on our website 31-4TH DET2024. 10th German International in Gedern. For more information, please refer to https://www.det-2024.de/texte/seite.php?id=660591&lang=en

AUGUST

4TH CHESHIRE DRAGONS TRIP TO CROSBY BEACH to see Antony Gormley’s Another Place followed by lunch at the Bus Yard pop up bar. For more information, please refer to the Cheshire Dragons Facebook page 14-18TH ICCCR TORUN, POLAND. For full details https://icccr2024.pl/en/ 15-18TH BRITISH MOTOR SHOW Come and display your A series on the 2CVGB stand which will be part of the award winning Citroën Village created in conjunction with CCC and TOC where we will be celebrating 90 Years of Citroën Front Wheel Drive. All models and conditions welcomed! For more details contact Jim Gibson on 07594 232602 22-27TH NORTH SOMERSET TIN SNAILS NSTS CAMP on a site near Wells with views across the levels to Glastonbury Tor. The campsite has toilets and showers and is within walking distance of three pubs, village shop & cafe. Scenic drive on Saturday and a camp tea party on the Sunday. Email Liz at nsts2cv@gmail.com for details and booking form. For those wishing to stay longer and travel direct to the National extra nights can be booked at the site’s normal rate

23-25TH 2CV RACING Snetterton (Norfolk). Round 7 of the 2024 2CVParts.com Championship, the legendary 2CV 24 hour race. Come along and experience this amazing round the clock event, as 2CVs battle it out with the equally impressive Mini Grands. The 24 hour race begins on Saturday 24th

30-1ST 2CVGB NATIONAL The Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. Please note pre-booking only

SEPTEMBER

1ST CHESHIRE DRAGONS NORTH WALES CASTLE TRIP AND LUNCH. Further details to follow

5-8TH LANCASTER BOMBERS SILLOTH CAMP (No beer festival). To book camping (tent/caravan/motorhome) go to cove.co.uk/Solway or phone 01697 331236 (no need to mention the 2cv camp). Mourn the end of the beer festival!

13-15TH SOUTH DOWNS ESCARGOTS HAT CAMP King Harry’s Field (almost opposite Oakendene Industrial Estate), east of Cowfold, West Sussex. For more information please refer to http://www.southdownsescargots.org.uk/ diary.htm or contact Maurice on 07985 091633 or at mauricedilley@hotmail.com

20-22ND POMPEY PUDDLEDUCKS “CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY” CAMP.Wicks Farm Holiday Park, Redlands Lane, West Wittering, Chichester. PO20 8QE. Full details can be found on our Facebook page. Booking highly recommended. Contact Sean at scullen.sc4@gmail.com or 07906 077139

OCTOBER

3RD AIRE COOLED ALLEY CATS – FISH AND CHIP NIGHT. Venue TBA 12TH CHESHIRE DRAGONS VISIT TO OULTON PARK. For more information, please refer to the Cheshire Dragons Facebook page

12TH 2CV RACING OULTON PARK (CHESHIRE). Rounds 8 and 9 of the 2024 2CVParts.com Championship. Two 15 minute sprint races. Other racing series will also be present over the weekend

25-28TH MANCHESTER DUCKS CONCRETE CAMPING at the Cairndale Hotel Dumfries over 2 or 3 nights. For full details please refer to the 2CVGB Official FB page. All bookings to be made directly with Fiona Martin at the hotel on 01387 240287 or at fionam@cairndalehotel.co.uk). Please quote Citroen Car Group for discount. For any further information contact Tony Kehoe on 07565 347048 or at tonykehoe@outlook.com

27TH HUDDERSFIELD TWIN POTS BI-MONTHLY BREAKFAST & BANTER at The Oil Can Café at The Carding Shed, Washpit Mills, Green Lane, Holmfirth HD9 2RD. See Facebook group for additional events. Contact Tim Jones on 07926 272437 (trwjones500@gmail.com)

NOVEMBER

3RD CHESHIRE DRAGONS LUNCH AT THE DRUID INN, Llanferres, North Wales

DECEMBER

7TH

CHESHIRE DRAGONS BAR SKITTLES AND CHRISTMAS DINNER at the Bickerton Poacher, near Malpas, Cheshire. The skittles alley is booked for 5.30pm and the Carvery dinner for 7.15pm 29TH HUDDERSFIELD TWIN POTS BI-MONTHLY BREAKFAST & BANTER at The Oil Can Café.

JANUARY 2025

1ST AIRE COOLED ALLEY CATS – CURRY NIGHT. Venue TBA PLEASE SEND ALL YOUR EVENTS INFO TO: events@2cvgb.com BEFORE THE DEADLINE OF THE 5TH OF THE MONTH

BBC2CV MONTHLY CURRY NIGHT

In the West Midlands, BBC2CV now holds a monthly Curry Night. All Midland 2CVers are welcome!

Over the years, the West Midlands has had a variety of 2CV groups, some going back to the earliest days of 2CVGB. The Double Barrels, the Mixed Doubles, the Out & About Club for Boyz & Girls (!) and 2CV Pays Noir.

In recent years, our incarnation has been BBC2CV (that’s “Birmingham & Black Country 2CV”, by the way, not a television channel). BBC2CV has had a nomadic existence, meeting at varying pubs across the area.

But in recent times we’ve found most success in having – instead of a monthly pub meet – a monthly curry night. This is, after all, the West Midlands, home of the Balti and where the tendency to informal dining dovetails perfectly into the ethos of 2CV ownership.

POSTS FOR ELECTION UPDATE

So, each month (the date varies, check our Facebook account or e-mail for latest details) we now congregate at “Spice Menu” at 88 Weoley Castle Rd, Birmingham B29 5PT. There’s parking virtually outside and it’s in a busy suburb not far from the A38, A456 and M5. And the restaurant’s “Khas Special” provides a (very tasty) monthly surprise for a lot of us! (Other dishes are available.)

Sometimes, we even discuss 2CVs!

For details of the next meet and to tell us you’re coming (we like to warn the restaurant!) drop Sarah Teverson a line at s.m.teverson@gmail.com . We’d love to see more of you there.

To date, I have received no nominations for any of the poststhat will become vacant on 30th September, nor any to contest posts with those re-standing. Unfortunately, I have to report that Julian Kettleborough has now decided that he will not be standing for the Communications post so this will also become vacant after 30.9.24 along with the posts of Secretary and DVLA Liaison, Valuations & Dating. If these posts are not filled then this will affect the range of services that can be offered to Club members. The official date for close of nominations was 30th June but, under the circumstances, any received by the time that the August magazine goes to print (approx 12th August) will be accepted and included on the 2024 voting form.

Hello all, meeting season is well underway and I’ve just had an email from the organisers of the German National so over to them:

“10th International Germany Meeting of the Friends of the 2CV 31.07. to 04.08.2024 in Gedern. Let's celebrate 75 years of production of the Citroën 2CV, 56 years of Citroën Méhari - a Méhari group is actually coming, and the 20th anniversary of the German meeting of the Friends of the 2CV After twenty years, we return to D-63688 Gedern in the federal state of Hessen and bring you the International German Meeting of 2cv Friends. Located in the centre of Germany and in the middle of the charmingly hilly Hessian Mountains, only 60 km north-east of Frankfurt (Main), close to the extinct volcano Vogelsberg, lies our meeting place: Lake Gedern.

meeting, we will be offering visitors a fine programme of 2CV-related events and live music in the evening. There will be an excursion to the Celtic Museum, a model railway station, an orientation drive, a ‘dolly parade’ and a 2CV duck on the water, which will be auctioned off on Saturday evening for a good cause in the town of Gedern. French wine, beer from the region, snacks and more will cater for our well-being.

We are guests at the camping park on Lake Gedern, which is equipped with everything you need, including clean showers and toilets, and we are expecting more than 500 vehicles at the meeting. Over the four days of the

Admission to the meeting is moderate, all information is also available in English at: www.det-2024.de We look forward to every online registration.”

Another meeting I should mention is the 17th International Citroën Car Clubs Rally in Toruń, Poland. I believe the site is the same as that one used for the 2cv World meeting 2015. Dates are 14 –18th August so if you plan a bit you could do both in one trip. More information on this meeting can be found at iccr.2024.pl/en/

That’s it for this month, Drive on the right

Firstly, a huge well done to Gary and his Bath Tub Club Team for a brilliant Registers Weekend – even though there was a distinct lack of vino. However, I made sure I was never without from my own stocks. It just shows that it doesn’t have to be all singing and dancing for a Registers weekend, all that is needed is a great venue, plenty of volunteers and plenty of members in attendance. The venue Martha`s Down was near to a really pretty village with two great pubs and a well stocked local shop which will get you a newspaper if you pre-order and the weather was very kind to us until the last evening. A food van would have made it perfect, but otherwise a brilliantly organised event and thanks guys once again. It has been discussed recently how important it is for local clubs to come forward to offer to hold either Registers or the National, nowhere in the country is out of bounds, I read one club wanted to offer a meet in the Highlands but thought it would be too far, I for one would be up for that which could be turned into a wonderful holiday. We have lots of new members joining the club all the time, see the huge lists I type each month, with a lot of younger members joining which is great. If you have (as a local group) thought about it in the past, don’t just think, have a look at venues in your area and put something forward. It really isn’t rocket science to hold the events, just a bit of good organisation and a great venue.

That’s it for now, have fun and take care out there

2CVGB NATIONAL REGISTERS WEEKEND

We are disappointed to learn that we will not be able to just turn up and buy a ticket on the gate: page 9 May 2024 issue of our magazine refers.

At 90 and 79 years, we really do not want to camp; also we are never really certain from day to day if we want to leave our homeobviously a special place for us.

Just wondering if this decision is final, or whether exemptions can be made for the elderly?!

With our best wishes at all times

Hi Anne and John

You can certainly just attend for the day but because of the secure nature of the site you will need to purchase a day ticket in advance. Unfortunately this is out of our hands as the college needs to programme the lanyards etc in advance of people arriving.

We have tried to cater for people who no longer wish to camp by offering en-suite bedrooms for the first time. These come with towels and toiletries and tea and coffee making facilities.

Please do come along for either a day or the weekend, it promises to be a really great weekend - but you will need to book a ticket in advance.

Hi everyone, I would like to say a big "Thanks" to Gary and the team of volunteers, for such a great Registers weekend.

Living in Dorset, it was lovely, that we did not have to travel too far, but I was amazed at the distances, some people had covered to attend.

There was obviously a lot of time and effort put into making the event such a smooth operation and the site itself was spotless and well maintained.

I would also like to say "Thank you very much" for awarding me a trophy for my H Van KAS 92. I’m sorry that I was not there for the presentation, but it is very much appreciated. I can’t believe that it is twenty two years since I restored it, but in that time, my wife Ruth and I have had lovely holidays with it and attended various rallies both 2cv related and steam type events. During that time (touch wood) there have been no major issues with it, just the enjoyment of plodding along at 45mph The sight of modern vehicles in the mirror never fails to amuse me!

Best wishes,

GLOBETROTTING 2CV

Some pictures and a little story of a brave globetrotting 2CV! It was spotted in Vancouver, Canada by my sister in law and husband who currently live there.

Poppy at the pumps, Colyford, East Devon

Best wishes, This image has also been used as our front cover for this issue

My daughter recently returned from a holiday in Vietnam where she encountered this 2CV-based flower display at the French Village in Ban Na Hills Amusement Park. As you can see it could well be described as a 'faux Charleston'... but, lacking an engine and gearboxhaving got flower containers where the mechanical components would normally be - it is not going to be going anywhere anytime soon!

Regards ,

Photo credit: Anna Ware

POPPY ON THE COVER

CHARLESTON IN VIETNAM

Why is the National an experiment this year?

No volunteers coming forward has allowed the Committee to rethink this year’s National. We found a solution by partnering with the Fire Service College in Moreton in Marsh in the beautiful Cotswolds. The College offers us a site where all the administration and security for the site is taken care of, so that we can put on an event without having our own team available to do it. For the first time ever, we can offer both camping and hotel style accommodation all on one site.

How do I book?

You can book through our website. Please go to 2cvgb.com

What activities are on offer?

We have put together a packed programme of entertainment, including a drive along Britain’s only private motorway (the M96), a drive-in cinema experience, a drive out to the Classic Car Hub, as well as live music and a silent disco. The film has not been chosen yet, so we are open to suggestions. The College has agreed to let us have use of

their swimming pool at certain times for a small entrance fee at the pool.

Which traders will be attending?

At time of publication this is not known, but we can update you on our website in the fullness of time. It is intended that there will be a flea market as part of the programme.

Can I bring a motorhome?

Yes, and we will be using some of the carparks as hardstanding. Please note there are no electric hook-ups and no chemical waste disposal, so bear that in mind when planning your trip.

Are dogs allowed?

Can I turn up on the day?

No, all participants must book in advance, both overnight and day visitors. Booking will end two weeks before the event.

What food and drink is available?

The college has a restaurant and will run a bar for us. All meals must be pre-booked. The bar will be open until 11pm and we will negotiate with the college on which beverages will be available. You are allowed to bring your own food and drink (including alcohol) if you are camping. The hotel rooms have their own tea and coffee making facilities. Moreton in Marsh is a mile up the road and has a plethora of coffee shops and restaurants.

Yes, but on the condition they are registered before the event and you bring proof of worming. The dog form is available for download when you book your tickets. Dogs will be restricted to the areas they can access and there will be a special area for exercising and disposing of their waste.

Somewhere under the Rainbow: Registers Day

The Bath Tub Club thanks everyone who came along to Martha’s Down for this year’s (international) Registers Day. We had a great turnout of vehicles, and everyone seemed to have a jolly good time, despite the scattered showers on Sunday.

We had over 130 day visitors, plus 269 campers over the four-day weekend, including some international 2cv friends

from De Heistse Bokkerijders club in Belgium – some of whom got passports just for the occasion! It was delightful to see some foreign cars on display. Three of them won trophies; one of them scooped three trophies!

On Saturday, 61 cars joined our bimble through the beautiful countryside to Alfred’s Tower. Evenings were spent chilling in the beer tent, enjoying local

beer and cider, an impromptu live music session, or the Dyane and Acadianepowered discos.

Despite the rain trying to ruin it, the raffle, hosted by Wal, in his own particular idiom, raised £549. We’ve added the £6 profit from the event to this and will be presenting £555 on behalf of 2CVGB to Weldmar Hospice Care in memory of Carol Mellor, late of The Bath Tub Club.

REGISTERSDAY

2024 is the 50th anniversary of Citroën reintroducing the 2cv to the UK market, and we were delighted to have two 1974 RHD 2cvs in attendance.

This year, we decided to mix it up a bit, both with the voting process and the awards up for grabs. The voting forms comprised tear-off strips and Registerspecific ballot boxes. This worked well and

the vote count took just 40 minutes (is that a record?!).

There were more awards in the individual Registers categories, recognising the Ami variants, and we also awarded trophies for Furthest Travelled, Farmer’s Choice (Rob Beale, the site owner, used to have an A-series so we let him pick his favourite), and Best in Show, adjudicated by the registrars from amongst the individual winners in the Registers popular votes.

HALLOFFAME

✪ Dyane, Farmer’s Choice and Best in Show:

Géne Goyvaerts’ black Dyane (1-FJS-105)

✪ ’49-’60s: Carl Heser (502 XVN)

✪ ’60s 2cv: Lucy Cutler (CSK 987)

✪ 2cv Drum Brake: John and Brigitte Barrett (VJO 278T)

✪ 2cv Disc Brake: David Farmer (B437 RLC)

✪ 2cv Van: Mie Lesko (D-ADV-081)

✪ Acadiane: Simon Sobey (RHT 144Y)

✪ Ami 6: John Sobey (BHY 296H)

✪ Ami 8: David Bellekens (1-F11-260)

✪ Méhari: Richard ‘Coops’ Cooper (JBB 150K)

✪ ModCon: Mike John’s Dagonet replica (OWT 109B)

Dyane, Farmer’s choice and Best in Show

The Bokkerijders

‘49 - ‘60s

Van

Drum brake

Acadiane

Disc reg line-up

Scenic drive

✪ H-van: Chris Hughes (KAS 922)

✪ Furthest Travelled: Ian Roche, who clocked up an impressive 545 miles from Aberdeen in his Palm Green E-reg 2cv. (Honourable mention to Bert Wigman from Inverness who, technically, came furthest at 566 miles… just not in his Aseries.) Sadly, no Ami Supers (Ragnar, you were missed!) or Bijou this year.

BRINGONNEXTYEAR!

Get polishing now, folks – the Belgians have threatened to return with their ‘good ones’!

ENDCREDITS

We had so many enthusiastic volunteers that, inevitably, some people will be overlooked (sincere apologies – you were greatly appreciated), but here goes: Gary Dicks and The Bath Tub Club for organising the event; the Maxfield family, Graham Colwill, Geoff Harvey, and Vanessa and Richard Harrison for manning the gate; ‘Coops’ Cooper for sterling logistics support; Gemma Morse and Esther (loved your costumes!), Andy and Nic Hughes, Amanda Reed, John

Thompson, and Jonathan Hardie for minding the bar; Matt Damper for the live music (12 points from the Belgian jury!); Simon Sobey and Géne Goyvaerts’ for providing the bangin’ tunes, and Erik Branders for DJing; Wal, for his comedy gold doing the raffle – and everyone who donated prizes; Sam Fieldhouse for the sound system; Mark Dunmore for the Registers displays; the 2CVGB Registrars (and Emily Mackett, standing-in for Old Goat); Michael Warwick, Liz and Phemie Gray for helping count the votes, and finally, to everyone who came along. Thank you. “Cow Down!”

available. It is published by Herman-Josef Gardemann and runs to 10 sides of A4.

The topic that seems to have everyone up in arms at this time was customisation after Street Machine magazine suggested that 2CVGB News may be a good source of useful donors for the custom car brigade. Those that like originality were horrified whereas other members felt that any A-series on the road was better than none at all.

2CVGB CLUB INSURANCE

JULY UPDATE

We are now 2 months since the launch of 2CVGB Insurance in early April and it’s fair to say we’ve been inundated with calls and are delighted that so many of you have contacted us for a quote for your classic car insurance, we’re truly over the moon with the level of member’s support!

by Dave Youngs, PartnershipsDirector, PeterJamesInsurance

In this series of articles for the Club we want to share some top tips on insurance and explain why the club insurance scheme offers much more than what you might find on the open market, or online. We look at insurance as being as much about protecting and preserving your beloved Citroen and safeguarding your investment, as it is about fulfilling obligations.

encouraging the next generation through our young driver cover and accompanied driver cover. If you want to get that keen son, daughter, or grandchild into the driving seat then we can help! At Peter James we want to do what we can through 2CVGB Insurance to invest in the next generation of enthusiasts to ensure that both the marque and the club are healthy for generations to come – of course, it is in our best interests as well to have a healthy classic car scene for the future.

Another quick reminder of the key benefits that 2CVGB Insurance offers you:

The big news in the July 1994 edition of 2CVGB News is the launch of SPOG. Members were asked for a donation to get SPOG off the ground in exchange for a percentage level of discount on future parts. The formation of SPOG was anything but guaranteed and relied on a large number of people subscribing to the scheme. We owe a huge debt of thanks to all those who subscribed, as 30 years later SPOG is still sourcing and manufacturing parts to keep our cars on the road. Phil, the new overseas co-ordinator has let members know that a monthly updated list of overseas 2CV events is

The 2CVGB National (called an International back then) was to take place in Henley on Thames and offered tethered hot air balloon flights, bar bungee, a beer swilling assault course, Dongola racing and 2CV rafting among other less energetic activities!

It seems that mad activities were the core of events back in 1994. The Middle East Nomads camp offered 2CV water skiing and 2CV jousting whilst at the Kursaal Flyers camp you could go gliding and microlighting.Don’t you love pre- risk assessment times!

My pick of the small ads this month is a 1958 AZL described as a solid car with next to no rust and yours for just £400.

The Club insurance scheme offers many additional benefits and a prime example of this is member-to-member cover, an offering on our scheme exclusive to our partner clubs which allows any member of 2CVGB to drive any other member’s classic car with fully comprehensive cover.

There is no need to call us to inform us of the car share and there is no fee to pay. What we hope this does is enable more club activities to take place without the hassle of arranging insurance. This could be helping a friend in your local group to diagnose that knocking noise or problem, sharing the drive on road runs or long trips to shows or indeed helping a new member try out cars within the club to help ascertain whether a classic Citroen might be right for them.

It’s all about enablement and building benefits of being a member of 2CVGB which of course also extends to

● Member-to-member cover – fully comprehensive cover to drive another member’s classic car at no additional charge.

● Free salvage retention – in the event of a total loss claim you will receive the full agreed value of the vehicle PLUS you can choose to retain the salvage free of charge.

● UK & European breakdown cover included. Legal expenses cover included.

● Cover for tools, spare parts, and accessories.

● Self-repair – the option to receive an equivalent cash settlement.

● A variety of insurance solutions for younger enthusiasts and family members.

We’d love to hear from you. To speak to a member of our friendly team and to request a quote, please call our club’s dedicated insurance line on 0121 506 6034

FEDERATION OF BRITISH HISTORIC VEHICLE CLUBS

Hi all, its been a while since I put finger to keyboard for the 2CVGB News but something important has come up which could affect all our enjoyment of Citroëns (and other historic vehicles) that we might own and want to use on the road, so please take a moment and have a read through the following and please if you can take part in the consultation do as the more people who respond the better. For several years now I've been lucky enough to stand on the committee of 2CVGB as the Valuation, Dating and FBHVC Liaison and many members have asked me, what's it all about this Federation thing, so please kick off those corduroy hats, take the weight off, grab a brew and read on.

“At the time of writing, the FBHVC represents over 500 clubs with a huge number of enthusiasts participating. They have also been joined as members by transport museums, with individual and trade representatives who are connected to

the world of classic vehicles”

number of enthusiasts participating. They have also been joined as members by transport museums, with individual and trade representatives who are connected to the world of classic vehicles.

Safe exercise of the right of historic vehicles to be used on the road was addressed early in the existence of the Federation by the Guide for Users of Historic Vehicles produced by the FBHVC in conjunction with the international body FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens).

as one car club 2CVGB isn't heard, but a body representing 500 car clubs, several million people, businesses and an industry giving an economic benefit to the UK of £7.2Bn is hard to ignore.

So this is what FBHVC does, it gives us a voice. If registering an imported Acadiane becomes a bureaucratic nightmare worthy of Kafka its with the help of the FBHVC working with the DVLA that will get it sorted out.

IDON'TNORMALLYHEARFROMYOU INTHEMAG,YOU'RELIKETHEMARCEL MARCEAUOFTHECOMMITTEE, SILENTBUTOCCASIONALLYSTUCK INAGLASSBOX.WHAT'SGOTYOU ALLFIREDUPTHEN?

behalf but they need your feedback on their responses to ensure they we are in agreement with them and to help shape their formal response to the consultation.

The consultation offers all of us (even Dyane owners) the opportunity to shape the creation and evolution of policies to preserve our ability to restore, register, and use historic vehicles efficiently and fairly for tomorrow’s roads.

So take a look at the proposed consultation responses at the link below and give your feedback - it’s your voice that important.

https://evidence.fbhvc.co.uk/

FBHVC?WHAT'STHAT WHYISITIMPORTANTTOME?

Those of you new to classic cars might wonder what the FBHVC is all about. Well at its inception, its primary objective was to uphold the freedom to use historic vehicles on the road. Although FBHVC has over the years expanded its activities to encompass general support for historic vehicles and that aim has remained at the core of Federation.

At the time of writing, the FBHVC represents over 500 clubs with a huge

The Federation was a major contributor to its successor, the Guide to Responsible Use of Vehicles on Today’s Roads published in 2019 and gradually rolled out across the world in several languages. OK so I know you might be thinking well how does that benefit me and my 2CV? Well it’s simple. As nothing stays the same in this world and often your rights to enjoy owning and running a classic vehicle get...well...missed in the melée. Governments make legislation changes and more often than not completely forget or choose to ignore that you might have an interest in old vehicles. Rules change and processes get automated and nobody expected to find a stubborn Dyane owner (it's always a Dyane owner) asking why they can't buy E5 fuel for their car any more or drive it to attend an event. Alone, one person isn't heard, even

Well, as a member of the Federation of FBHVC our 2CVGB has been asked to bring to the attention of its members a call to action requiring feedback on the government announcement of a wide-ranging consultation about the registration of historic vehicles from the DVLA and department for Transport DfT, it covers:

• Historic/classic vehicles registration

• Rebuilt and restored vehicles

• Kit-built vehicles

• Vehicles converted to electric propulsion

• Q registration numbers

• The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

THELINKTOTHISCONSULTATION ISSHOWNBELOW

https://www.fbhvc.co.uk/news/ article/ dft-and-dvla-launch- call-for-evidencearound- registering-historic-classic- andrebuilt-vehicles

The FBHVC is responding to this government consultation on our

So with that it's goodnight from him and don't let your tea go cold...I'm off to walk into a really strong imaginary wind wearing plimsolls.

THE WEDDING

It had been a good weekend in Chartres watching 2cv Cross but time was getting tight to catch the ferry home that would allow us some sleep before getting up to open the 2cv garage at 7.30 next morning.

Foot hard down, roof open our 2cv sped down the roads with amazing speed seemingly sensitive to the situation but with the petrol gauge falling as the kilometres were disappearing it was clearly a balancing act not helped by a lack of petrol stations on the country roads. Our steely determination kept us going until Chez Nicole. Mutual decision made we U turned to go back down the short gravely drive passed rows of gladioli to be outshone by Madame who ran across to meet us. I explained our rush as we were going to be lucky to get the last ferry and no booking.

empty road to complete the final stretch to the ferry terminal, the petrol gauge now not moving.

We roared up the empty lane to the terminal office only to be told it was too late as the woman pointed to the front end of the ferry closing down. Suddenly she knocked on our window.

“Déviation! Road closed!

In France this means no follow up and you are on your own.”

Vite

Vite!

We looked up to see the ferry reopening! We drove on to be received by the captain who congratulated us on getting married and took us up to the bridge for a glass of champagne! All that confetti showered in the 2cv was enough for the French to become very human. Vive la 2cv.

OTFORD VILLAGE FETE

Following an advertisement in the May edition of the 2CVGB magazine for French cars to be displayed at the Otford Village Fete in Kent, C.A.R.S. (based in North West Kent) answered the call. The organisers planned a French themed event as the village of Otford is twinned with Neufchatel Hardelot near Calais.

Entering the spirit of the occasion we decided it only proper to arrive in French attire – berets and stripey tops being the order of the day.

Brilliant meal but the pressure was on now. Possible for sure, but only just.

Foot hard down, the petrol gauge still had some movement then Déviation! Road closed! In France this means no follow up and you are on your own.

Hell, no choice, let’s go straight ahead and hope. What could stop a 2cv?

As we approached the village drunken crowds blocked the road. We stopped. Come and join us they shouted as they showered confetti and rose petals into the car. I explained our need to get going so they made way for us through the cheering crowds until clear onto an

We had five 2CVs and a Dyane fromC.A.R.S and two more 2CVs joined us from Godalming and Lamberhurst and also a very nice Traction. The organisers made us very welcome. Lots to see and a variety of live music made the day most enjoyable – in spite of the rain showers.

A Series cars lined up beside runway

TROY BREIGHTON RIVERSIDE CAMP

TROY had its usual early summer camp at the Breighton Ferry Campsite in May. We were very lucky as the camping field had been regularly flooded since Christmas. I am indebted to my TROY camp co-host Richard Sugden (he of TROY camp adverts fame) who living nearby, repeatedly visited this site with a view to cancellation because of the flood water. Indeed the weekend before, some of the camping area was still sopping wet. Time to worry. But at the beginning of the week for our camp, the sun came out and everywhere dried up. Phew! However the grass was still rather soggy, therefore caravans and motorhomes were told to stay on the top road beside the camping field for fear of getting stuck.

Just as an aside, the public house The Breighton Ferry sits beside the River Derwent and the whole area is designated flood plain thereby suffering from all the consequences of the abundant rainfall lately.

Saturday of the camping weekend, we all left "nose to tail" in our wonderful little cars visiting the nearby Breighton Aerodrome. This was initially built as a second world war heavy bomber base. However in the early 1960s there were positioned here three armed intermediate

range nuclear missiles ready on "standby" during the Cuban crisis. Remember that JF Kennedy, President of the USA and his counterpart in Russia, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev nearly "came to blows" in October 1962 over the citing of nuclear weapons in Cuba. I recollect as a wee boy going to school in Cambridge sitting upstairs on a red double-decker bus and seeing hand-painted on a fence "No War Over Cuba". I had no idea what this graffiti slogan meant although I do now.

At that time Breighton Airfield (RAF 240 Squadron's base) was set primed for such an altercation. Fortunately nuclear war was avoided and this RAF base closed down in 1964 and became derelict.

Breighton Aerodrome then became the home of The Real Aeroplane Company in 1989, a private company wherecollectors and enthusiasts could fly their planes in and out or store them in the hangars nearby. A Series owners were most fortunate to be invited along to this airfield to park up "in line" beside the main runway. We could then view from behind the safety fence aircraft landing and taking off, plus we were given a visit inside the hangars to view these magnificent collectors items. Many thanks to all the Brieghton Aerodrome staff for

being so welcoming. Thanks also to the cafe's proprietors. Lovely food ! What aircraft did we see amongst the collection? Firstly standing outside ready for take off and repainted in its original livery was a 1939 Tiger Moth pilot training plane. During WW 2 one was given six weeks learning how to fly (sitting in the forward seat) followed by the appropriate examination. Pass that and then consequently one was eligible to pilot Spitfires. You can have have your own Tiger Moth if you have roughly £80k to spare. In the photo "Up, up and away" you can view clumps on trees on the opposite side of the runway. This is where the nuclear missiles stood. And finally in one hangar suspended from the roof was a "Flying Flea". A kit built aircraft from the 1960s powered by a 2cv 602cc engine. This machine sadly doesn't fly anymore and could be yours for £5 - 10k. Of note was this engine's cylinder heads duly adapted to take two spark plugs each.

During our stay we all visited Jeeves' Kitchen on-site to avail ourselves of "tea and buns" or a full breakfast if one felt the need. It's here I must thank my dear friend Richard. Because of my personal ill health at the moment, Richard kindly visited the campsite many times beforehand, practically ran the TROY camp plus organised the trip to Breighton Aerodrome and the café. He also regularly composes a newsletter "The Wooden Horse" sent out to the local friends of TROY by email.

A true dear friend in my time of need. Thanks mate.

Flying Flea aircraft with 2cv engine

1939 Tiger Moth Aircraft

Up, up, and away

Tea and buns at Jeeves' café

ROAD RALLYING A LOMAX IN WALES

The Lomax kit car was available from the mid-eighties until about 2000. In three-wheeler form, an extended rear swing arm was turned inward to centralise the single back wheel. I bought mine in 1997 as an abandoned but more or less complete project; as I knew little about Lomaxes or 2CVs, the learning curve was pretty steep, but with a little help from various friends, it eventually became a useable fun car.

Three wheelers are eligible for many motorbike events, and my pal Martin and I have entered the Welsh National Motorcycle Road Rally several times. The bikers are always very welcoming, finding us amusing and taking a great interest in

the car and our progress. The WNMRR is a scatter rally, in which entrants create their own route, visiting a number of checkpoints to meet their chosen level of challenge.

In our case that meant a relatively relaxed 240 mile run.

Prior to the day, I'd spent several hours with online and paper maps to prepare a navigation sheet for each section. The checkpoints are often in obscure locations, so precision is needed to avoid wasted time searching for the point. Our start was at a hotel in Montgomery at 9am. We tapped an app to prove that we'd been there, then set out for Churchstoke with Martin driving. After that it was Clun,

then Knighton. It was perfect open-top weather, and I was enjoying being in the passenger seat, shouting instructions.

Then it was on to Newtown and Machynlleth, all on wonderful roads with stunning views. Martin was happy to continue driving, so he took us to Dolgellau and a very busy Barmouth. We backtracked a little and headed for Maentwrog via a hilarious 'service station' at Trawsfynydd, then on to Criccieth where the check in was at a car park with beautiful sea views, and onto Pwhheli. Another backtrack, and we were heading through Snowdonia to Capel Curig. On this leg, every available parking spot was occupied, with the lakes covered in paddle boarders, and the mountain tracks full of fell runners.

We had several short stops during the day, and longer break for a pub lunch, so we were well rested. I kept asking Martin if he wanted a break from driving, but he

was having a fine time at the wheel, and as I was still enjoying navigating, he carried on. From Capel Curig it was to Bala on yet more incredible roads, then to our final point at Corwen Cricket Club at about 7pm. Martin had driven the whole route, but we still had about fifty miles to the camp site, so we finally changed seats.

I'd serviced and checked the Lomax before the event, and I didn't bother to open the bonnet over the weekend. Doing the calculations and having another look over the car a few days later, I found that we had managed over 50mpg and used almost no oil, despite Martin's enthusiastic approach to steep hills. We will be back next year - maybe I'll do some of the driving....

Lucy Cutler 59 Roundle Ave, Felpham, West Sussex PO22 8LJ 07787511877 49-60register@2cvgb.com

POSITION VACANT

Please contact registrarscoordinator @2cvgb.com for information

Will Waldron 31 Chequer Street, Fenstanton, Cambs PE28 9JQ drumbrake@2cvgb.com

Simon Mackett 19 Railway Road, Wisbech, Cambs PE13 2QA discbrake@2cvgb.com

Mark Dunmore

The Moorings, Cross Keys Lane, Coningsby, Lincs, LN4 4RT 01526 342246 dyane@2cvgb.com

Moss Foster 59 Haysman Close, Letchworth SG6 1UD 07914155917 ami@2cvgb.com

Mike Good

37 Rupert Avenue, High Wycombe, Bucks HP12 3NG 07375 852546 vans@2cvgb.com

Paul Brice

Lower Barn, Rockfield, Monmouth NP25 5QD 01600 715810 and 07887 845810 mehari@2cvgb.com

Andrew Teverson

19 Prestwood Road, Weoley Castle, Birmingham B29 5EB 07899 076018 modcon@2cvgb.com

Alan Lloyd

The Willows, Horsham Road, Dorking, Surrey RH5 5LF hvan@2cvgb.com

Garry Whelan

Killiney House, 108 Sandy Lane, Hucknall, Nottingham NG15 7GP 01159 536716 or 07814321556 bijou@2cvgb.com

1953 Type A

RIPPLE RAMBLINGS

Hi Gang! We’ll dive in straight away to what is easily the most important meeting in the 2cv calendar. For me at any rate. The French National. Held this year near Dijon in the heart of Burgundy, the meeting attracted around 2800 assorted 2cvs and about 6000 people, according to the local newspapers. Getting into the site was quite straightforward once you’d got your head around the fact that you had to make a round trip of 8km to the next town and back in order to check-in! Once on site however, initial euphoria turned to medium level panic for some, on finding that

the recent heavy rains had left some parts of the camping areas under water and with other parts being very boggy. Unable to use their designated plots cars were soon scouring the fields for alternative places to pitch their tents. Eventually though, things settled down and ultimately everybody seemed to find a home somewhere or other. Having got ourselves set up on what was fortunately a dry bit of land, the next item on the list was drinking water. My usual trick of just following my nose and asking other campers didn’t help, so I headed down to 1952 Type A

the activities area and asked some of the volunteers where the water points were. A couple of them didn’t know, and a third seemed genuinely surprised that I needed drinking water at all. “Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.” Now I knew what Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ancient mariner felt like! Finally, I was directed to the main toilet/shower blocks where I found the only, yes only, drinking water tap for the entire site. Plouay this wasn’t! Not a great start, but hey, we’re 2cvers. We can hack this, and indeed we all did. The sun shone, the fields dried, the beer flowed, and the party got under

way. Ripples there were aplenty. Too many to count or describe here, but particularly nice were these two Type As dating from 1952 and 1953, on display at the temporary museum in the town. Also in the town, and just a short step away from the museum in a very pretty walled park, was the flea market. I didn’t see much in the way of very early stuff, but was delighted to find everything that I had on my shopping list for Françoise, my ’61 AZLP.

We had only just got back from France, and then it was time to head off to Wiltshire for the Registers camp. The Bath Tub Club and others, headed by Gary Dicks did a fantastic job of hosting the meeting. A lovely site, with a friendly and obliging farmer/owner. Luxury showers and toilets, a coffee van, and a bar as well. We had a convoy on the Saturday, with an amazing total of 60+ 2cvs and other assorted A series vehicles. Great weather (with a couple of showers on Sunday admittedly). What more

could you want? Well, the odd food van would have been useful, but in fairness we were warned about that in advance. A brilliant weekend Gary. Many thanks for stepping up to the plate and organising it.

Registers day itself produced only one genuine ripple, which I’m ever so slightly embarrassed to say wasn’t even mine. It’s now too dangerous to drive a 375cc car/ van on a journey like that, and if I bring one on a trailer I get moaned at, so I drove the 425cc Françoise to the camp instead. Carl Heser from Surrey was the owner of the lone ripple, a very nice looking, if not strictly original, 1958 AZ (Serial № 466493) sprayed in AC 511 Vert Embrun. Equipped with a 602cc M28 engine/disc braked gearbox on a galvanised chassis with later type suspension and 380 wheels, Carl was initially a little concerned that his car would not qualify as a ‘proper’ ripple, but as I’ve explained at length before, the car was built as a genuine ripple so a ripple it is! Carl’s AZ went on to win the trophy for the best ’49 – ’60 car, which although it was the only car in the category, was well deserved, I think. Many thanks for bringing it along to the meeting Carl.

A little follow up to finish off the column, as we now have further information on the job lot of two Sloughs which Jake Ricketts spotted for sale on the Aussie Frogs Website last

Aussie Slough SAZ 8551095

month. With help from Jake and some detective work on the register on my part, I’m pretty sure that I’ve now managed to correctly identify both of the cars. The almost completed grey one is indeed an SAZ built in 1955 (chassis № 8551095), whereas the blue bodyshell one with the collection of parts, is in fact a 1953 SA (chassis № 8530006), which makes it only the sixth Slough 2cv off the production line. Hmm, how much does it cost to bring back a car from Australia I wonder?

That’s it for now guys. See you next month and don’t forget to buy your tickets online for the 2cvGB National. There is no pay on the gate entry, so if you don’t pre-book you won’t get in!!

Aussie Slough SA 8530006

Carl Heser’s 1958 AZ

DISC-USSIONS

Hello everyone. As you know, I didn’t make it to Register’s Day. It sounds like I missed a good one. My daughter Emily stood in for me, took lots of pictures and has written the event up. A quick look through her photos revealed that neither the winner or third place car in the Discbrake lineup are on the register, which I find a bit disappointing.

I take it you are all aware of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) who fight for our right to use our cars? 2CVGB and just about every classic car club in the country are affiliated to this important and powerful organisation. Without them we would have been legislated off the road long ago. Anyhow, as you probably have heard, they have been in a long consultation with the Department for Transport (DfT)and DVLA who need to know our views on the FBHVC’s existing policies. This has resulted in a detailed survey we all need to fill in and anywhere where you disagree with the Federation’s stance, you can put your opinions forward. In short, the more of us among the classic car community who fill this in the better. This might be our best and last chance to get our point of view across. I have just spent a long evening filling my one in. I found I disagreed with the Federation on several points and welcomed the chance to air my feelings on them. In this age of simple, multiple-choice questionnaires, where none of the options are even slightly relevant, this made a pleasant change. You can find their questionnaire here: https://evidence.fbhvc.co.uk/

NEWREGISTRATIONS

James Jesson has added C631 FYA, the 1986 green and white Dolly he bought in May, which is making her second appearance on the register. Paul Biggs of Swadlincote first added “Dotty” in 2018 (above) and put a lot of love and money into getting her into decent condition, including having Alan Rogers at Citwins in Bradford rebuild her lower bodyshell. I have a feeling Paul didn’t use her very much after that, so James should have got himself a very desirable 2cv with this purchase, although she probably needs a good ‘Italian tune-up’ to get her back to her best. A sound Condition B he thinks.

Our next addition is an important car in 2cv history, and as such has been owned by quite a few 2cvGB members and this will be its fifth appearance on the register. H966 GHP is one of the last batch of RHD red & white Dollys built in Portugal and her RP number gives a build date of 25/07/1990, just two days before production finished on the 27th July. She is now owned by John Bacon, her seventh keeper, who bought her in

March 2021 and has recently had a new chassis fitted. He judges her to be in Condition A, which is good to hear. Time to visit the paper files for the history of this one, I think. Owned from new by Kevin Poultney, his was a very early addition to the register, and there is only a tiny handwritten note. According to (I think the fourth owner), David Laugharne of Wythall, who put in a form in 2007, it was owned for about 12 years by a family in Solihull before he bought it from them, he didn’t think they were club members. Norman Gill and Olivia Jackson in Oswestry bought the car from David just over a year later in 2008 and rated it Condition B. Then Richard Emery of Shrewsbury bought it in 2011 and following the practice of almost everyone before him, put next to nothing on his form either, but noted it was still on its original chassis and he was getting the upholstery redone by an unnamed specialist. John bought it from Richard ten years later. I know from his form that John knew of Norman and Richard, although made no mention of any other past owners and if you want to email me, John, I’ll give you a bit more detail and scan the old photos I have of this car for you. For us to know of five of the six previous keepers of a car is quite unusual; if only they had written a bit more about it on their forms… However, thanks to David Laugharne we do know its RP(ORGA) number and therefore its build date, a bit of info so often lost during restoration or a repaint.

UPDATES

I discovered an embarrassing admin failure in April while dealing with an enquiry from Alban Smith Brindle, who wanted to know if I could date his lovely first generation grey and cream Dolly, C632 DBW. I couldn’t find him on the spreadsheet that I use as an index, but happily a previous keeper had recorded the RP number so I could give him the exact day the car was built. I idly asked if he would like to register it in his name, after all if you want information from the register, it’s only fair that you are on it. When I finally dug out the paper files, I discovered he had added the car in 2005 and somehow it got missed. Then I forgot to put any of this in last month’s magazine. Whoops! The least I can do is include some pictures of this stunning looking and very rare 2cv. (above) Alban wrote: “I have owned the car since 2005 and it’s my every day car. Over the years I have had two shunts (no fault both times) and have had to have insurance carry out repairs. In about 2015 I spent quite a lot on some considerable amount of body work, and this last MOT also required a new floor pan. However, it is an incredibly

reliable car and I look after it so it has so far never let me down. I do regular runs down to Somerset to see my son and it has never had any issues.” (right) Thanks Alban and sorry again about all the daft questions I kept asking you.

Last month I mentioned that I had received pictures of D709 VTW, the newly restored 1987 Blueberries & Cream Dolly Loraine Jerrard had registered, but too late for that issue. Here she is just awaiting a

new grille and graphics (above) and looking a lot better than the last time I saw her.

I don’t know if you remember me writing about Robert Young’s nicely modified 115bhp BMW engined red Spécial in the July 2023 magazine? (right) There is a very enjoyable film on YouTube by Practical Performance Car called “Bike Engined B-Road Blaster” featuring Robert and his car, I think it is well worth a

look. At the time of writing, it had already picked up 248,000 views, which no doubt will bring Pete Sparrow some business. After all I’ve said and thought about the pointlessness of making a 2cv go fast, I am sorely tempted to go down the same route after watching this video. It might also encourage some younger owners to consider a 2cv as a cool car. Pete built the car to Robert’s specification and gets a glowing endorsement from the happy owner.

I am very grateful to Amanda Holloway, who updated her contact details, among other things, on her

entry for B926 PAA, (right) pictured here at Register’s Day and looking very smart. She has owned this 1984 Buttermilk Yellow Spécial since 2020.

I received a nice email from David Watt about his lovely red and white Dolly and a picture, he wrote:

“First outing of the year after a long, wet Spring - so I thought she deserved a thorough clean and polish. I’ve owned her since 1990 when she was, if memory serves correctly, 8 months old, the previous lady owner having bought her new before deciding that she wasn’t cut out for 2CV life. People are strange. The car replaced my previous 1984 red Special. So I’ve owned her for 34 years which doesn’t seem possible, somehow. Time flies. She did have 17 years off the road while I dithered about replacing her chassis with a galvanised one. This, plus a re-spray, was carried out in 2013. The lay-off probably accounts for her very low mileage of 34,000. Now it’s only high days and holidays, I’m afraid! Otherwise she is totally original. She is running beautifully. Items on the list for this year include replacing the seat foam, new bumpers (or painting the originals) and sorting out some rear door decals which are coming adrift. Otherwise, nothing to do but enjoy her! A long, sunny, dry summer to all members and happy motoring.” (right) Thank you David, and you are right, I am always very grateful when anyone writes something and sends

me a decent picture.

FLEETNEWS/ OTHERSTUFF

A while back we had a week where both Delilah and the Panda failed to start. Delilah was easy to get going on her starting handle and she easily jumpstarted the Fiat, once she’d had a run to Kings Lynn and back on the A47. However, despite a bit more use of both cars, I wasn’t surprised when I had to buy the Fiat a new battery, although quite shocked by how much they cost now. Mind you I don’t envy anyone with that start/stop garbage fitted to their car; over £200 for the cheapest battery, seemed a bit steep! The new battery she had fitted when we bought her was, unsurprisingly, the wrong one, don’t you love used car dealers? It would have suited a 2cv but not a four-cylinder diesel. I think it did quite well, considering. Feeling full of vim after managing to do something easily myself, I also changed a duff headlamp bulb on Delilah. A few days later I noticed the new

bulb had failed and Delilah’s battery had gone flat again. Back to Halfords for another wallet-bashing, although having a trade card helped soften that blow. Was glad to find they still stock the relatively unusual halogen bulbs I use and sell them singly and had a choice of four batteries for a 2cv. I went for the second from cheapest with the four-year warranty. The last one had lasted at least double its guarantee period of three years. You get what you pay for with ‘em. I had a play with both old batteries, the Panda’s will probably do as a spare (for a 2cv); Delilah’s is toast. It still holds a healthy voltage but has no power at all. It showed ‘charge

DYANOTES

This year’s Registers Day was part of a gloriously back-tobasics weekend featuring DIY discos, a Portalootowing Méhari, beautiful Wiltshire countryside and a Belgian invasion!

As you’ll see from the accompanying pictures, there was plenty of sunshine, although the on-off showers later in the day were an unwelcome addition, coming as they did just at the tail end of the trophy presentations, then just as suddenly ceasing long enough to allow the raffle to get going, when it started up again! The party tents nearby came in handy…

complete’ within 10 minutes of being connected to my six-amp battery charger and got warm, never a good sign. Oh, and before putting a new halogen bulb in your car, if it has been sitting in an opened packet for about five years, it will need a careful cleaning with meths first, even if you didn’t touch the glass!

And that is it for July, don’t forget to fill in the FBHVC questionnaire mentioned earlier, it is really important if you want your 2cv or any other classic you own to remain useable vehicles and not just expensive ornaments.

A decent number of Dyanes made it to the event; I counted 12, which I think matched the number of Amis present. As you’d expect, these were in a range of conditions from well-patinated to immaculate. It was nice to see a few

familiar faces, and chat with some of you. What you may all be asking now, especially if you didn’t manage to attend is: what were the results? Well… you remember that Belgian invasion I mentioned earlier? That’s right; one of our Belgian friends won! Géne Goyvaerts (whose name you have most likely just pronounced incorrectly) with his shiny black Dyane, registration number 1 FJS 105, won the Dyane category by a decent margin of votes from the members present, and took the Register trophy home. Congratulations Géne!

The runner-up was Laurence Taylor-

Reed with his lovely white early Dyane 4-light UBD 675G, followed very closely by Mike and Shelagh Egan’s Bleu Thasos example, and the Cuivre Indien Dyane NJH 834X owned by Dr Jeremy Pile. Thank you to all the Dyane owners who attended, and I look forward to seeing you again soon! Thanks also to the Bath Tub Club for organising the event.

FOURGONNE CONCLUSIONS

ATREGISTERSDAY

This was another great one with encouragingly large numbers attending. (above) Despite the unpromising weather forecast there was plenty of sunshine, the rain mainly saved itself for the world’s wettest raffle on Sunday which transformed raffle caller Wal into a noisy water feature. There were around twenty vans in the display line up and many more were scattered around the field including several that were for sale. Registers camp is a great place to buy a van. It gives you all weekend to examine a potential purchase,

picturesque 250 (above) or a van that started out as a car (bottom right)

there will be others to compare it with and there will be any number of people to give their opinions on it. There were vans for sale to suit every preference, a characterful Acadiane, (below) a

The AZU Series B being sold by Malcolm Wigmores would have been irresistible if I’d been after a van. Looking beyond the skis and its plastic ripple bonnet it’s a genuine right hand drive van thatdisplays its Belgian post office logos. It also still carries the signwriting for the Ring O’Bells, ‘the only pub in the village’. The pub owner was also in the music business and it’s (remotely) possible that this van has a seat once graced by Kylie’s bottom. What more could you ask for? It even has my granddaughter’s name ‘Bella’ painted on the side. Should really have bought it and put it away for her to have when she’s 17. She’s too young for a driving licence but has just got her first tooth so getting there.

For the first time there were separate awards for 2CV based vans and Acadianes and why not, after all, saloons have numerous categories? The 2CV Van trophy went to Eric Ceulemans for his very well finished 250. (top of next page) Eric and his Belgian friends had a successful

event taking home numerous trophies including the coveted ‘Farmer’s Choice’. Meanwhile the first ever winner of the Acadiane trophy was Tarquin Sobey. Something new to add to the Sobey family’s trophy cabinet which must be running out of space by now. Somehow I never got a picture of Tarq’s van but it was a worthy winner, please send a picture and it will have pride of place next time.

Another outstanding Acadiane was this beauty (right) the lack of bumper showing the really nicely shaped front end that’s usually hidden

away. Whatever state your van is in they all look good as vans just age really well. Whether lightly weathered (right) or looking like it’s been driven straight from the production line (middle and bottom right) they’re all a treat for the eyes. Mike Anderson’s DHN 582T spent its working life in the Dordogne and is like sunshine on wheels, its colour a tribute to its previous life as a France Telecom van. Vans were obviously meant to be

working vehicles and one use is represented by Bill & Gill’s AKS400 in French railway colours. (top left of next page) These vans were sometimes fitted with flanged wheels and run on the tracks.

An actual retired worker was this right hand drive postal service van (top right of next page) with behind it a very attractive VW camper, but that’s another story. A van still working for a living is the Boxed Drinks coffee truck which was especially welcome being the only commercial catering on site. (middle of next page). There were many others not displayed including this carturned van (bottom of next page) flying an impressive line in van bunting. There’s always something new to discover and this time it was an Acadiane fitted with power steering. This is worth investigating as it could help older owners to keep driving their vans. The drive motor is fitted to the steering column and is lifted from a Corsa.

Finally a big thank you to Gary and the Bath Tub Club for all their hard work, to Mark for putting on the Register displays and Matt for his heroic renditions of classic songs reworked to reference 2CVs. Next stop Moreton in Marsh.

MÉHARIMISSIVE

Hello again. It’s July. I trust you’re all well and life is treating you kindly. . .

It always seems to be the 10th of the month when I write these Missives. Each time, I really do mean to get them done before the deadline, but it never, ever seems to happen. This time, I’m even later than usual, so let’s keep it brief.

in a future Missive.

You may know by now that my son, Tom, is now driving my old, 06 plate Mk. 7 Honda Accord Tourer. It’s done more than 180k miles and is still giving good service. It also has the tow bar. . .

That means that it’s the Méhari collection and delivery vehicle, because I haven’t yet got around to fitting a tow bar on my 12 plate Mk. 8 Tourer.

The upside of this, of course, is that we go on father and son journeys, which he seems to put up with, but I cherish. My dad died in 2016 and one of the things I miss most in my life is hanging out with him. I hope Tom enjoys sharing those special moments with me as much as I do with him and miss them with Jim. . .

When we go on the car collection and delivery jaunts, he tends to drive with an empty trailer and I drive with it full. I never tire of seeing a Méhari in the mirror and Tom can take photos while I’m driving.

I will tell you more about the new Méhari

REGISTERSDAY2024

I had been asking you all to take your Méharis along to Registers. I had been monitoring the weather and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day on the Saturday, so I was up with the lark and I drove Rufus the 80 miles to the venue, doortops off. It was a very enjoyable drive. I arrived to a lovely camp site, full of A Series cars and happy people. I met up with Paul Levine in ‘KTH’, Coops in ‘JBB’ and with Jerry Cox, in his El Cid, ‘SPD’ with its splendid new red canvas hood. It was lovely to see a lot of familiar faces. I chatted to lots of people, bought stuff from Daras, some bits and pieces from the flea market sellers and did Méhari Registrar

left: Julian Taylor’s ‘Cassie’, delivery run, right: My recent purchase, Méhari A822 VAE, collection run

Méhari A822 VAE, on the trailer, behind Tom’s trusty Honda

stuff. It was good to be out in a field again.

Later on, Dominic Aldington arrived, in ‘Avis’, the beige Méhari that he bought from me last year. It was lovely to see him and have a chat. Thanks for making the effort, Dominic. It was lovely to see you and Avis, looking so well.

I drove Rufus home on Saturday evening. The clouds were gathering and it seems that, for once, I stayed ahead of the heavy rain and got back, uneventfully, in the dry. Next day, Sunday, was Registers Day proper. There were thunderstorms forecast, so I decided not to drive Rufus. I did contemplate driving Xavier, my delightful, October 1969, 435cc, 6 volt, 6 light Dyane, but he had only done about three miles since his long, five year hibernation, so Mr Warwick kindly collected me in the AC 321 Jaune Primevere, RHD, 1972 Ami 8 Break. Mike collected me at just after 07h00. We set off. I had a bit of a headache, so I opened the wind down passenger

window. I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, him looking at me askance. As we’d reached the A40, I wound the window back up again and Mike looked relieved. He then told me that he’d

retrofitted a sliding window, 1969 door on his side, ‘because the winding windows in an Ami 8 are not that reliable’. When I’d wound my window down, he’d worried that it may not go up again. Off we drove. Then, absentmindedly, I rolled the window down again. There was a ‘clunk’ and it dropped, nearly disappearing into the door. That was it. The glass was now free form, no longer in its runners. . . I tried wedging it up with bits of cardboard, a rag, to no real avail. I then found that my forearm was ‘sticky’ enough to hold the glass up, so that sufficed for the duration of the M4 to Junction 18, where we turned South for Bath. With the slower road speeds, the partly down window was OK. The rest of the journey was uneventful, apart from a diversion to buy 54 toilet rolls from a bemused ‘One Stop Shop’ lady in Warminster. We’d had a call from Gary Dicks, asking us for ‘reinforcements’. Weirdly, a pack of six was £4.50

and a pack of 18 was £5.50. I wonder how many six packs they sell?

It was great to see more Méharis on site. The weather was good and it was lovely to chat to a load more people, buy good coffee from the 2CV van (He was as busy as a one armed paper hanger) and go about my Registrar duties once more.

In all, there were six Méharis there on the day: Joolz Smith was in his ‘Azur’ Series 3, B310 VLJ. (below)

Alan Minshall was in his yellow BTG 236T.

Chris James was in his trusty JFG 579N.

Paul Levine was in his Series 3, C54 KTH.

Jerry Cox was in his El Cid, SPD 745X.

Coops, ‘JBB’, Rufus, Dominic and ‘Avis’. In a field in the sunshine. I love it

Michael Warwick and his Ami 8 Break

‘Coops’ Cooper was in his BMW engined, JBB 150K.(below)

After the votes were counted, the result was close run. Paul Levine’s car received 34 votes, but ‘Coops’ car narrowly beat him with 38 votes. (see above)

Congratulations to Coops. His was the choice of those who voted for their favourite Méhari on the day.

May I express my sincere gratitude to those who took the trouble to get their Méharis there over the weekend. There were a total of eight. Thank you.

After the voting, there was rain. A lot of rain. Tune in next month, for the next, thrilling instalment of ‘Registers Weekend’. Episode 2; The Return. I bet you can’t wait.

ANDFINALLY

It’s not only Méharis, you know. As you know, I’ve recently got Xavier, my lovely, Dyane 4 back on the road.

This time, we took him to get a pizza from the ‘Little Dragon Pizza’ van, which was on the B4560, Bwlch to Beaufort road (check Facebook for times).

Xavier had 13 litres of Esso Synergy Supreme+ 99 E5 petrol on the way.

Because he’s a car, he didn’t fancy a pizza, so Tom and I shared a Pepperoni one. £10. Highly recommended.

We left Xavier in the car park and Kate, Tom and I went for a walk. . .

I’m looking forward to Wasps tonight.

See you next month.

Cheers, A bientôt. . .

MODCONS

There was a good turnout of ModCons at Martha's Down, both in the line-up and dotted around the field. On display were three Lomax threewheelers, a pick-up conversion, a van conversion, a Manx, a 2CV racer and a Dagonet recreation.

The racer proved once again that whenever a bonnet is opened, there will be a group of onlookers, and in this case there was plenty to see, with all the mods to get the most out of the 602cc engine. The van and pick-up were both superbly done, and most people would mistake them for

factory models. As for the Lomaxes, it was a chance to see how different builders take the same kit and produce cars with many differences - some subtle, some not so. The Manx is one of only about ten produced in the nineties; a mini supercar, the sheer quality of the product is evident from all angles. How this enterprise didn't take off in a big way is baffling.

The winning entry was unsurprisingly Mike John's stunning recreation of a Dagonet. The Dagonet was made in France in low numbers in the fifties, and Mike has gone to some trouble to reproduce as exactly as possible. As an example of his determination to get it right, he wanted the suicide doors, so had to start with an early 2CV donor, as it is against the rules to retro fit them. With a huge share of the votes, it was a popular and worthy winner.

The six Méharis present on Registers Day (two are hiding around the back) Xavier and a the Little Dragon Pizza van

HY THERE!

No news is good news.......except that it isn't, is it, because then I have nothing to write about! I know that an awful lot of the H vans in the UK are food vans, but surely we still have some H van owners who own them just because they love them, don't we?

Or am I alone?

My family certainly think that I am a bit strange. As I said last month, I was unable to attend Registers Day, but I hope that it all went well. If anyone has any H van pictures from the weekend,

attached a picture of the van which was doing good business as there were an awful lot of people at the event. Whether this was a van originally imported and supplied by my old company, I have no idea - I simply do not recognise which were ours as we sold rather a large number.

please send them to me for inclusion in this column. I hope to make a Citroën event very soon.

Last weekend I went to the Goodwood breakfast morning, and surprise surprise, there was an H catering van! I have

My own long wheel base diesel van, (bottom of previous page), which I imported earlier this year, is, at last, having its brakes piped up at the moment, and as it is now UK registered and running well, it should be on the road by the time that you read this. As I now have two long wheel base H vans, I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with this one! Perhaps some nice old faded French signwriting would look good on it?

As you may know, just three right hand drive H vans were built at Slough. One seems to have disappeared, one rotted out (in fact I bought a number of parts from this one from Simon Doe when he was closing down his business in Bridport) and the third is owned, and has been for quite a long time now, by Tim James. This van was originally owned by the long time Citroën dealers The Allen Brothers of Worthing. So, I was very sad to hear via Andrew Cox in his column in the 'Citroënian' that Tim's van has been badly damaged by fire on a recent

journey to have it MoT tested. The van appeared at the NEC Classic Car show in November 2021 looking very smart, and it is awful to realise how easily our old vehicles can be destroyed. The van had actually been re-shelled earlier in its life by the aforementioned Simon Doe when it was suffering badly from the rust bug, and I am very pleased to learn that it will live again. Well done to all those that helped Tim persuade the insurers not to write it off. I am reminded once again that a good fire extinguisher should always be carried and kept close to the driver for quick access in the unlikely, but possible, event of fire.

If you own an H van that you intended to rebuild but never quite got round to it, please may I ask that if you now realise that you actually never will get around to it, offer it for sale before it gets too late - I have been offered a number of H vans recently that have just been so rusty (above) that they are really only good for scrap, such a pity. Once rust really gets into an H van it just isn't worth rebuilding them, particularly as values have been falling recently. With the lack of contributions from you all, I have been looking for some period H van pictures and am pleased to show, in the final three pictures,

some lovely examples that I have found. I was very lucky to have been in France for summer holidays in the 1960s and 70s so for me these brilliantly bring back that more basic and relaxed time. What I love is that even when the vans were relatively new they bore plenty of battle scars!

Should anyone be looking for some later type (slightly more plush!) front seats for an H, I have some. They will need new covers, which are easily obtainable, and will need to be collected from Surrey as they are too big and heavy to send. Contact me if you are interested.

I am afraid that that is it for this month - please write in with your stories or this column is likely to disappear or become based upon my vehicles and stories only. Perhaps there are not that many H van owners in the club now?

BIJOU-ITIS

Hey up, I am still suffering from a bad case of “half-empty garage syndrome”.

937 FRX is taking forever to repair, we missed everything in 2023! Last year was

a traumatic time after the accident and hospitalisation but it was great to get back on track at Registers’ Day this year. I really appreciated being made so welcome by my fellow registrars. Registers’

weekend was a credit to all the people who worked so hard to make it a great event. It would be unfair to name anyone in particular.

Unfortunately no Bijous made it to the event but hopefully next year our car will be back on the road!

Also I do have news that a long drawn out restoration is almost complete. I have seen a photo and the car looks fantastic. I did help a little on this project, whilst our car was at home all bashed at the rear, the rear seats that are Bijou specific were removed and taken away for a few days to have some replica ones made. The restoration now has these re-manufactured correct seats in the rear. Full report and photos eagerly awaited (as promised).

Member of the public? is impressed by the Bijou display, thank you Mark.

At the time of writing, May is not long passed. The grannies in my childhood church Sunday school used to comment on whether we still had our coats on in May or not, citing that well known proverb about ne’re casting a clout, even though it is now disputed as to whether the aphorism is referring to the month or the hawthorn hedge. No matter, my point is that it is now June and I want to know where summer is! I walked into Reading town centre today with a coat and scarf on, and wished I was wearing a hat and some fleecy boots to complete the outfit. I am hoping that by the time this reaches you in July we might well have experienced some fine weather, because I could do with some vitamin D, if nothing else.

Before I get too annoyed though, I should be thankful that all my 2CV-

What’s Cooking?

related adventures in May were at least blessed with enough sunshine to make everything enjoyable, firstly, when we drove through France to attend the French National and, secondly, that our own Registers event was not a wash out, especially considering that both occasions involved spending several days under canvas.

Our trip to Dijon comprised driving an Acadiane which had not been taken on a short run for over thirty years, and there we were hoping it would cope with hundreds of kilometres all in one go. I am pleased to report that it exceeded all expectations and got us there and back without too many hiccups. We managed to get halfway across France before the starter motor packed up and we had to bump start the vehicle the rest of the way.

(I love that this method is such a nifty

trick for getting the wheels to start the engine rather than the other way around).

We rectified this by buying a ‘new’ part in the holding pen for registration, and fitting it straight away, which meant we could at least look for a camping pitch on site without worrying about not being able to get the engine going in haste. We enjoyed a couple of days roaming around the event and its environs, soaking up the atmosphere, with a one-day side trip on the train to Dijon centre, before making a mad dash home so that we were back in time for work. The Acadiane was certainly a great way to transport all the booty we had acquired at the flea market, along with any other purchases made in Dijon. There’s nothing like a van for chucking stuff in without having to be too strategic about your packing! Comes recommended.

SOCLEAN,YOUCOULD EATYOURDINNEROFFIT!

The Registers weekend, hosted by my local group, was well attended and the weather stayed mostly on our side and, when it didn’t, it still graced us with a beautiful rainbow. My

neighbour even came over to help us build the bar, which was a great way to introduce him to the club he has heard so much about over the years.

I can honestly say that I have never heard so much praise for the loos at any 2CV event ever! We were chuffed that so many of you felt the facilities were so clean, you had to come and tell us about it! Equally, the farmer couldn’t believe how the site was left after the event closed. He said he had never seen his site so clean and tidy following a large group gathering. Well done folks! Those of you who helped us to achieve this should give yourselves a pat on the back. It keeps our local group’s reputation intact and gives us an open invitation from the farmer to use the site again. Big thanks go to all those from the Bath Tub Club (members and honorary members alike) who gave up their time to run the event. Thanks also to our Belgian friends, Erikell, Nancy, Rambo, Mr Fizzy and the other Bokkerijders who made the effort to travel to Wiltshire to join us. We noted that you cleared us out of trophies!

Now we are into July, we are anticipating our National event. If you are intending to come along, please, please, please book this as soon as possible to make the event viable. This helps the college to know that they can safely acquire additional infrastructure in a timely manner.

THEFROGANDROSBIF

In all my years of bimbling about in France, I have never had the opportunity to eat frogs’ legs, in spite of munching my way through plates of snails, which I thought might be a broadly similar experience, with just as much garlic and seasoning. I was delighted that at my first experience of a French National I could finally get to taste this great delicacy and find out if it really did ‘taste like chicken’. In recent times, on LinkedIn to be precise, we are always being told to ‘eat that frog’, particularly at the beginning of the morning. This expression is an idiomatic way of telling us to get the hardest task off our desks as soon as possible when starting the working day. This phrase would have us believe that eating frogs is an unpleasant

thing to do, but on the contrary, I found them to be perfectly good to eat, although I am not sure I would want to eat them every day, since they were quite fiddly finger food. The mascot and branding of the trader selling the frog meal, street food style, put me in mind of similar branding from a pub in Paris that I used to patronise when I worked there in my twenties, enjoying a cheeky curry and pub quiz night to occasionally remind me of home. At the time we were encouraged to take the beer mats which doubled up as postcards, only I framed mine and it has been on every loo wall in every house I have lived in ever since. When I was in Châtelet-Les Halles a couple of years ago for work, I was surprised to find the pub was still going. I confessed to the staff that I still had a beer mat from 1997 on my loo wall at home (along with another from the sister pub, the Frog and Princess). They were impressed and promised me free beer in the future on receipt of photographic evidence. Amazing what a couple of snaffled beer mats can do for you if you wait a quarter of a century, almost better than investing in premium bonds!

IAATF!

CALLING 2CV OWNERS IN DEVON

There’s something so uplifting about a 2CVGB event. We’ve just returned from a brilliant Registers Day – a combination of great organisation (thanks Gary & team), good company, glorious (mostly) weather and a beautiful location and not forgetting the enthusiasm and passion that 2CV owners demonstrate when bringing so many fabulous cars to show for us to enjoy.

In an environment like that, inspiration can strike! You realise how much you enjoy and value the company of your 2CV friends and also the chance to make new friends who are as enthusiastic as you are about their car and what they stand for. With all those positives in mind, we realised that some of us in Devon, it being a huge county, were missing out. The Sou’Wescargots serve the wider Plymouth/ West areas of the county, with the Dorset Dipsticks a long way over the other border, so we wondered whether another Devon group had potential to thrive? We were hoping if any 2CVGB members from the Exeter/East Devon/West Dorset area would like to meet up and explore the possibility of forming a new local group. We would like to hear ideas from any interested members with a view to organising an informal inaugural get together and chat. Please get in touch - Angela on tel 0753 1543406 and Deborah at deborah. long@virgin.net

2024 NATIONAL and beyond

As you are probably aware, no local group volunteered to host and organise this year's National. Rather than not having an event this year the committee stepped in but because time and resources were limited we had to find a site with all the infrastructure in place already. This came at a cost and is therefore reflected in the ticket prices. There is nothing we can do about this.Thank you to all the people who have bought tickets already.

In order for the National to go ahead we have to reach a critical number of bookings before July 15th. If we don't have the required number of people attending by this date, we will have no option but to cancel the National this year.

SO, IF YOU WANT A NATIONAL THIS YEAR GO

TO THE WEBSITE AND BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

We are also looking for local groups to organise both the Registers event and the National for 2025 and 2026 so that we are not in the same position in the future.

If any local groups would like to put themselves forward please contact Vanessa (chairperson). Her details are on the Committee page of the magazine.

There is a wealth of knowledge and help available to organisers, so give her a call to talk through your ideas.

For more info on our National meeting 2024 please go to p14