AUTUMN 2013 The Mid-Derbyshire MC event at Twyford was cancelled due to lack of entries, and Eastwood & DMC have moved the Harold Palin Memorial Rally to Fulbeck. Is this another venue lost to rallying? After the AGM your committee will have a lot of new faces. (Some might say that will be for the better, but I couldn’t possibly comment.) If you have any ideas of what you would like to see in this publication, please contact the EDITOR. The club website is updated regularly; check it out for further information and news.
Club Nights - King William IV, Scawby Brook. Map Ref 112/984066 from 8:30 pm. Website www.bordermotorclub.co.uk
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CHAIRMAN’S CHAT What time of year is it? Lots of dry weather, blue sky and sunshine would suggest it’s still summertime, but on the other hand, go into some shops or garden centres, (not my favourite activity at the best of times but sometimes you don’t have a choice in these matters), and Christmas is just around the corner: (how can you sell Christmas food with a sell-by date of the end of October 2013 for goodness sake?). The movement of the sun tells the truth. It’s dark in the mornings when I get up, and the evenings are getting shorter. Autumn is with us again. In motorsport and rallying terms, this is normally good news. It’s still OK weather for marshalling or spectating, and there are plenty of good events about. In olden days, when road rallying was king, the longer nights used to herald the return of some major events; Bolton Midnight in September, Tour of Mull in October. Then everything else would stop in November for the Lombard RAC, followed by the Hall Trophy in December, which nowadays is a minor stage event at Blyton, but used to be a major Championship round in the Yorkshire and Lancashire Dales in December, when the scenery was often very white (ask Tony Cope if you don’t believe me!) Some of these events still exist, of course. The Tour of Mull still continues (thank goodness!) as the Mull Rally. The Lombard has shrunk to some small event in Wales, but the spirit is kept alive by the R.A.C, running this year in early November. Some of our members had a good time on this event last year, and I there are plans to organise a Border contingent to go marshalling again this year. Also in the Newsletter, there should be something to say I will be stepping down from Committee at the AGM, and my posts as Chairman and Treasurer. The pressures of a new job and regular commuting, (not helped by getting older), all mean that I don’t have enough time and energy to do either jobs as well as I would like. When I mentioned this at the last Committee meeting, no-one could actually remember how long I had been Chairman for; a sure sign I have been there too long, and it’s time for someone else to have a go! So come to the AGM on 6th November and you can choose a new Chairman, and give him your full support. This also means that this will be my last Chairman’s Chat. Many thanks to you all for allowing me to have a regular mutter (and occasional rant) about things, without ever complaining. I still think Border is the best and friendliest motor club in the area. The joy and thrill of being involved in motor sport has been with me for many years, and a large part has been enjoyed with my friends in Border, who may have changed from time to time, but have always been there. Bit like the seasons really.