Tales from the Riverbank January 2018

d e r d n u h e n o s e l i m d n a s thou

party on

t h g i n b u l c o b m i cr January 2018

Ed Quarters Welcome to 2018. I hope that you all enjoyed the festivities and traditions of the gorging season. I know that a number of you may now be trying to get back on track for the year and shed a few pounds here and there. You may have noticed that this issue of the magazine is a slim line version of its usual self. There is usually a natural quietening down of activities time of the year before the winter is shaken off and the new flurry of rides, etc. takes off.

The January meeting sees the new Thames Valley Chapter committee announced. There are an amazing number of things that go on behind the scenes to bring you the Chapter as you know it. I am really looking forward to working with all of the committee members, new and old, to help make this Chapter the fantastic club that it is. If you are not part of the committee, this however doesn’t excuse you. No really…. There is no escape. The Chapter is all about the people and you are those people. This year, as in the last, I need you to send me those photos, articles, etc. so I can chronicle them within the pages of our magazine.

During the course of this year, my aim is to get the magazine in a match fit state to enable our next editor (whoever they may be) to take a flying leap into the reins. As a result, we will be making tweaks and changes, here and there to get the publication into a position fit for purpose in 2018. If you have any suggestions (nothing too rude please) that you think should be considered then please send them along to me at the usual email address.

By the time we get to February’s meeting, we would have had the Winter Ball. I’m really looking forward to being there for a great evening out and an excuse to party those winter blues away. As I write this there are still tickets available but time is running out. For more information see Nick’s article or grab Malc at Clubnight.

And finally, … If you had been really good, did Santa bring you Valley Rally tickets? If not, don’t dismay. Show that red cloaked judgemental joker that you are worth it and grab some tickets for yourself. Christmas is behind us and January’s pay cheque is on its way. Be part of this fantastic to: ons rg.uk i event and join the rest of the Thames Valley Massive for the s mi s g.o uk sub lleyho mag. rally of the year. ur g Ride safe and have fun!

Andy

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Inside this issue

Front cover

January / February Birthdays Watching the LOH choir at the Dealership

Page 2

Ed Quarters

Page 4 - 6

Westie Writes

Page 6

The Winter Ball

Page 7

100,000 Miles

Page 8

TV Times

Page 9

The Valley Rally

Page 10 -11

Christmas Party Tme

Page 12 - 14

Crimbo Clubnight

Page 15

Poker Nights - The Results

January Sue Knight 18th Sue Murtle 21st Bernie Dodds 24th Ron Jackson 29th

February Priscila Peck 3rd Jane Osborne 6th Adrian Lightfoot 7th Chris Smith 11th Dave Evetts 11th Clubnight 15th!

Happy Birthday to you all.

The birthdays shown are between Club Nights. If I've missed you or got something

Back cover

Meet the Committee

wrong, drop the Editor a quick note.

New Members.

We would like to offer a warm welcome to our new member.

Please make yourself at home.

Sarah Jones

Huge thanks to all who have sent copy in for this month's magazine: Chris S, Sue M, Nick W, & Linda F :-)

Hi all, I hope that you have all had a great Christmas break and have taken some time to be with family and friends as is the tradition at this time of year.

At the time of writing this update, I am working with your primary officers to determine the shape of the Committee for the coming year. We already know that Colin Wilkins will be stepping down as a very long-standing Treasurer. I would like to personally thank Colin for his service to the club over the years and I know that you will joining me in celebrating a successful time as a dedicated and committed officer.

At the January Clubnight we will confirm the committee line-up for 2018 and at the moment we are STILL looking for help with Merchandising. It is too late to submit a nomination but as the position has no applicants we are able to co-opt someone. This year could be a very interesting year for any new merchandising officer as we will be doing some new things around the rally, we are already considering some new products with some new designs.

You will NOT have to attend regular meetings but you may be asked to attend the occasional review. If you think that you have what it takes and you would like to help please let any member of the committee know. We will be happy to hear from you.

All of the other committee positions have at least ONE nominee and some have several nominees in what looks like a record year for applications. This does mean that some nominees may be unsuccessful this year but please don’t be discouraged. We will be doing our best to include anyone who wants to help throughout the year and believe me when I say that there will be ample opportunity for you to help in our preparation and delivery of the return of our very own Valley Rally.

Our Roadcrew numbers are looking extremely healthy for the coming year with only a few existing members standing down and a whole rake of new people showing interest and joining our training program.

This month, our Committee will start to promote our very own rally to neighbouring Chapters. In initial conversations with our closest neighbours, there is a high level of interest and we are confident that tickets will be moving VERY

fast. We obviously would like to have as many of our members at the rally as possible and so please check your calendars and get your tickets as soon as you can. Make the commitment NOW and support your chapter at this Rally. It is going to be great.

If you are not camping, rooms can be booked at the nearby IBIS now. We have reserved a limited number of rooms at £55 per night and you MUST call the hotel direct - option 3 Reception (not the IBIS national booking line) to make your reservation at this rate. Make sure that you ask for Kishor and quote the “Thames Valley HOG Rally” to get the rate. I recommend you to book early as when we start pushing this rally at the other clubs, the tickets and rooms could go very fast.

Our December Clubnight at the Dealership was truly awesome. there was a really great vibe. A huge thanks to Mike and his team at the dealership who gave up their time to support the evening and especially to Jo, who worked all night, helping members to get their last minute prezzies. It was great to see Izzy there again.

Our ladies, again this year, sang an alternative “Harley” version of Last Christmas (the 1980's Wham hit). What a hoot! Well done Ladies! The Poker Run results were announced and our Christmas Hamper was won by Sue Poulter. The 2017 Chapter Challenge Mileage winners will be announced at the January Clubnight.

So… onto our most recent events and those coming up.

Our Breakfast Morning at the Stafferton Lodge in Maidenhead was well supported with some 20+ attendees. Eggs, bacon, sausages, and Yorkshire puddings (yes you read it right!) scared off the Christmas Blues and we all left the event with full bellies and smiling faces. Deb West only narrowly avoided setting the place ablaze with her antics at the toaster but the Staffy lives to serve another day.

Ten Pin Bowling in Maidenhead on Saturday 27th January. Venue is at St Clouds Way, Maidenhead SL6 8AW and it is £12.90 per person. Food and drink will be available at the venue (not included in the bowling price). Be at Tenpin no later than 7:30pm.

This month will be the last Clubnight where you can get tickets for the Winter Ball at the Reigate Manor Hotel in Sussex. We will have a live band and Rob Paston providing music. A two-course dinner and all for just £35. See Malc for tickets.

I have seen the photos and heard the reports from this year's Christmas Party at the Maidenhead Holiday Inn. I can see that the TV Massive were out in force and painting the town red. The more I hear about it the more disappointed I am that I could not join you. Some of you already know that Deb's parents had a party on the same date for their Diamond Wedding Annniversary which I could not miss. I was delighted to see that you had a great time and that you were able to get some great photos in to our Editor, so that we all know what a great night it was.

Malcolm is looking for a different venue next year, so if you have any suggestions please let us know.

On Friday 26th January, we have arranged a Christmas Dinner for our Ladies Of Harley. It will be at the Stafferton Lodge Toby Carvery, near Sportsable at 7:30pm.

Please let Shirley Churchill know if you want a place. No upfront payment, just pay on the night.

Here’s to a fab new year. It’s going to be a good one.

I still cannot believe that 2018 will be our first Chapter Rally for over 10 years!

Don’t leave it too late … book now.

Stay safe people … and have fun!

Nick

A Major achievement. 100,000 Miles!

Yes, you read that write. Paul Major has chalked up a hugely impressive 100,000 HOG registered miles! The Proclaimers could only manage to walk 1/200th of that and yet they sing songs about it.

That distance would take some of us fifty years to clock up.

Huge congratulations to Paul!

Thursday, 18 January Club Night (closed event) Thursday, 25 January Ace cafe Harley Night (open event) Saturday, 27 January Ten Pin Bowling

CLUB NIGHTS February 15th March 15th April 19th May 17th June 21th

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES

Tenpin Maidenhead, St Clouds Way, Maidenhead SL6 8AW, UK (map) Two games £12.90 pp Food & drink available from the Bar

Tuesday, 6 February Committee Night (closed event)

February 1st March 1st April 5th May 3rd June 7th

Contributions to the magazine.

Saturday, 10 February Winter Ball

There are many ways you can help the magazine.

Best Western Reigate Manor Hotel, Reigate

You can email your articles and photos to: editor@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

Hill, Reigate RH2 9PF HOG members and their guests Only.

2 Course Dinner, Live Band, Rob Paston Disco, Tickets £35

Thursday, 15 February Club Night The Valley Rally Beaconsfield Town FC 29th June - 1st July 2018 Please check the website for the latest on all rides.

You can upload your articles and photos direct to the magazine by visiting: www.tvhogmag.uk from your computer or mobile device.

You can upload your photos directly to the magazine from the Chapter's Team App. Members Only - Articles to the Magazine Editor.

Christmas Party Yet again the Holiday Inn did us proud. The venue was very festive, the food was excellent and the DJ was very loud. The on-site photographer took some beautiful photos. The ladies and gentlemen looked magnificent. At some point, a strange dancing ritual with ice buckets place upon your head, took place. Add a little snowing in and great Christmas get together was had.

"Last Clubnight, I gave you my heart..."

The Venue? Reading Harley Davidson Dealership.

The Entertainment? The brilliant Rev. Farriday.

A very busy evening with the Chapter gathering for yet another memorable night of entertainment. Always an amazing turn out. The LOH sang their Christmas song much to the amusement of all. Great lyrics.

The winners of the Christmas hamper were Sue & Malcolm Poulter.

Thank you to Mike Wilson for being a fantastic host and providing the food and drink.

Poker Nights - The Results If you have never been to a poker night, this coming April to October is your chance to have a lovely evening with friends in a pub, eating and chatting and perhaps after paying ÂŁ1 each month you could be one of the three lucky winners next December club night to take away the money.

Our lucky winners from 2017 are: In 3rd place is Tony Robson with 2 pairs, Aces and Tens.

In 2nd place is Sue Dodds with 3 of a kind.

In 1st place is John Green with an Ace flush.

2017 Officers & Committee

PRIMARY OFFICERS

Nick West Director

Lee White Colin Wilkins Assistant Director Treasurer

COMMITTEE & SUPPORTING OFFICERS CLUB VENUE Grenadier Guards Club Maidenhead Rd, Windsor, Berks, SL4 5EY

Louise White Ladies of Harley

Robin Sasson Webmaster

Malcolm Poulter Activities

Sue Moyler Secretary

Andy Tunley Editor

Ann Tunley Jones Merchandise

Don Wibberley Activities

Sue Knight Historian

Chris Smith Membership

Linda Friend Photographer

Mike Wilson Dealer Principal

Third Thursday of every month 7:30pm

Chris Earley Photographer

Adrian Lightfoot Dealer Rep

Email any committee member at (position held)@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk https://www.facebook.com/ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk