NEWS
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3rd Annual Suffolk Run - April 22nd 2007 >>PICTURE GALLERY
It’s over for another year and everyone enjoyed the day out in the excellent weather (who ever heard of catching the sun on an April Sunday!) We had 55 minis on the run this year, only a few who didn’t turn up but had paid and six turning up on the day, probably because the weather was good (nice to see you Dan!). The burger van and press were there and a few people who had turned up just to watch the cars arrive and leave. Dave had done a grand job getting about £450 worth of draw prizes from all our sponsors and we thank all concerned, including those who sold a record number of tickets this year for their enthusiasm. We managed to park them all up at Aldeburgh where more people were just waiting on the sea wall for the spectacle. They were not disappointed as about 40 arrived at once and were queued on the sea front, engines revving and stereos blasting. The run had taken them through the Suffolk countryside on a 53 mile journey that took most people just under two hours. The idea was to hold an observation test this year to slow a few down but a lot of the drivers failed in that they did not even observe the sheet telling them of the observation test! The route book asks everybody to be sure and read the instructions before they start, obviously some did not. It seems filling in sheets is a bit of a problem for some mini drivers as there were only 25 sheets for the best on show forms handed back. Our own Dan Warnack’s excellently turned out mini was third, a 1973 Mini Cooper owned by Andy and Trish Bromley from the Peterborough Club was second and a 1970 White mini pick up owned by George Gardner (no club but associated with the American Mini Rydes mob from RAF Lakenheath) won the first prize and a trophy provided by Days Sports of Bury St Edmunds. There was obviously a mini for everybody there as 36 out of the 55 minis on show got a vote from somebody and we must congratulate everybody who took part on a really excellent turn out. The observation test asked passengers to note down the names of pubs that had a bird, animal or mammal name in them, which in itself caused a bit of confusion as to whether humans are mammals (hence “do we include the Queen’s Head in our answers?”). In addition to this, as previously noted, some had failed the first observation test so had missed the first pub, the One Bull, barely a quarter of a mile into the journey. Although the draw had 87 excellent prizes and Mark White was lucky to have the barbecue left when his ticket was drawn out, it took over an hour and a few did not make their way back to Stonham Barns where the competition forms had to be handed in. There were about 30 minis at Stonham and 15 forms were handed in. After explaining that although a human being is a member of the mammal group, but that was not the idea and anyway, the organiser’s decision is final (always a good way out!), there were 5 people who noted 11 out of the 12 that we wanted. Nobody noticed passing the Bull at Pettaugh the second time round. We had our own celebrity writer Jeff Ruggles pick a winner and, would you believe it, it was George Gardner again. He had left the car park so I called him later and asked him for six numbers for the next lottery! I offered to send a cheque in the post but he asked that the £25 be donated to the charity so this will be done and thanks to George for that. Thanks to all the organizers and helpers, to Mark and Julie for marshaling (hope your mini is back on the road soon), to the Norfolk MOC for the engraved whisky glass (used by your chairman for that purpose later in the evening), and all the participants for their support. The figures for the run appear on the next page and, as you know, we presented £270 worth of portable DVD players to the Rainbow Ward last year and will present something to them and the Aldeburgh charities from this year’s £515.48 profit.
We await, as always, an indication of what they want and we will let you know in due course. Thanks to all once again.
Richard
Jamie's Run - April 9th 2007
Held on Easter Monday, this was the second year of Jamie’s run, organised by the East Coast Mini Club in memory of one of their members. The route takes the minis from Gt. Yarmouth to Felixstowe with a lunch-time stop on the way, through some interesting roads and lanes. This year there were about 57 minis on the run, with the majority being classic minis, not the case last year when the majority were BMW minis. Whatever your preference, the ECMC did a grand job on the day with minis having a printed route and map extracts to guide them on their way, although most wanted to get into a convoy and follow the lead car. There were too many cars to keep in a convoy, so, on leaving Gt Yarmouth at half past ten on a hot and busy Bank Holiday Monday morning, there were a few who got separated early on. Your chairman, Jeff Ruggles and Laura Jarrold were there from the BMC and Laura was one in a small group who became separated soon after they left the sanctuary of the McDonalds car park. We who know that part of the world were not put off by the only mistake in the printed route, the third instruction of which asked drivers to take the A142 towards Beccles. The A143 is the road to Beccles but Laura and a few others we never saw again took the wrong road, and that was their run over. Laura tells us she ended up at Orford and had a nice day there anyway! If you want to see a few of the minis driving through the ford at Grundisburgh, or some others taken by ECMC members hanging out of their cars, take a look on their web site. Some in their gleaming BMW’s decided to give the ford crossing a miss, some in their classic minis wish they had! It was a long drive (96 miles if you didn’t go wrong!) and a long day but well worth the trip and there was lots of waving to spectators along the way.Well done to Nicci, Brett and other helpers and nice to see Nicci and some other ECMC members on the Suffolk Run.
Richard
London to Brighton - May 2006