Chairman's Article from MPH
Through the Chair - March 2010
Tim Kirker
This month I'm drumming up support for Bill Norton, on two fronts. Firstly, as one of the main movers and shakers behind the 2011 International Rally, he needs your entries now. Numbers already enrolled are enough for the event to be viable, and interest in the shipping container being organised from the UK is strong, but it's clear a number of Members are holding back, especially in North America. It's easy to think you can wait until nearer the event since you don't need to think about flights and shipping bikes etc. but everyone who delays getting that deposit in makes life harder for the organisers - so do it today. Secondly, Bill needs all our support for the amazing walk he's planning - see article on page 17. As if organising an International Rally was not enough!
Club Diary seems to get busier every year and most of us can manage to attend only a small fraction of what's on - especially those of us still working for a living! One of the newer entries, which gets better every year, is the Classic Motorcycle Show at Uttoxeter, over the first weekend in July. This year is only the fourth event, but it is already a fixture in the classic motorcycling calendar. VOC interest and support for the show has grown exponentially from day one and we're expecting an even bigger presence and turnout this year. Theme for the Club stand will be that Vincents/ H.R.D.s get ridden, and pride of place will go to Stuart Jenkinson's Vinny Longlegs - 750,000 not out. So, we're looking for some really well-used machinery, rather than concours machines, and we'd like photographs of machines in far away places - like the Dangerous Brothers in the Arctic, or Dan and Eileen Smith in Tierra del Fuego, or Jacqueline and H.R.D. in Outer Mongolia. Depending on what we get offered, we might make a feature of some of the common modifications developed over the years to keep our machines usable in modern traffic. If you think you can help, please contact me. Peter Appleton is organising the social side of the event and is hoping to arrange a buffet on the Saturday night. He'll be the contact for tickets when they become available in a few weeks time. So get it in your diary, and remember that pre-booking will be cheaper than paying on the gate, and will be required if you want to sample the buffet.
We were sorry to hear that John Bloor had passed away. Although he was a Member long before I joined the Club in 1975, we only got to know him in the last few years, when he became more active in the revitalised Lincolnshire Section, and we met at various events in the east and north of England. Our sympathies go to his family and friends.
On a happier note, it was good to talk to another renegade from the Black Country, Bob Butler, recovering in hospital in Adelaide after collapsing and being unconscious for two days. I'm pleased to say he sounded just like the Bob of old, and was having great fun with the nurses. Good on yer mate!