Meet third Wednesdays at the Three Horseshoes, 102 Norton Road, Norton, Letchworth, SG6 1AG
Contact: Steve Bradford-Best, 32 Chiltern Road, Hitchin SG4 9PJ
Tel: 07799 060558
Email: s.bradford-best@ntlworld.com
May 2024 REPORT
Our first road run, the March Meander, was a great success despite the chilly weather. There were 16 of us in nine Austins, plus one modern, who made the journey through pretty villages and the dappled sunshine of wooded areas to our destination at Moggerhanger Park where we enjoyed a welcome coffee; some stayed for lunch. All cars behaved well – and most of the passengers! I will report on our second road run, the Spring Spree, next month.
We had a few stalwarts at our Pub Night in March at the Three Horseshoes, but we had to transfer to the Millstream in Hitchin for our Pub Lunch last month due to the kitchen of our usual haunt being closed at short notice.
In addition to two upcoming main club events, the local static rally season is now well under way with several to choose from in the next couple of months. We have chosen to have a club presence at the Baldock Classic Car Show this month. We hope to see you there.
FUTURE EVENTS
Wednesday 15th May: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Sunday 19th May: Baldock Classic Car Show. We will have a club presence at this event which takes place in Baldock High Street.(SG7 6BJ). There are many other attractions, including food stalls and nearby cafés and bars. Space for display vehicles is limited, so if you would like to join our group with your car, you must contact Steve to reserve a place.
Sunday 2nd June: The Austin Rally. The club’s major rally at Stonehurst Farm, Mountsorrel in the East Midlands (LE12 7AA). See elsewhere in the magazine or the website for more details. Pre-booking is essential.
Tuesday 4th June: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Saturday 8th June: Transport Picnic held at Fairclough Hall Farm, Hall’s Green, Weston (SG4 7DP) organised by the Letchworth GCCVC Club. We do NOT have a club presence at this event, but members may wish to attend. No pre-booking – £5 donation on arrival.
Wednesday 19th June: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Sunday 29th June: 61st National Austin Seven Rally. The club’s biggest international rally held at Beaulieu in the New Forest (SO42 7ZN). See elsewhere in the magazine or the website for more details. Early booking is recommended.
APRIL 2024 REPORT
So much rain recently, but the sun is getting warmer and the days longer. Our first road run took place last month (report next month) and the next is due later this month. There will soon be some static rallies for you to attend and there is always our two regular monthly meetings – the Pub Lunch (a new venue next month) and Pub Night.
FUTURE EVENTS
Tuesday 2nd April: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 17th April: AGM & Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. An opportunity for you to air your views. Food available.
Sunday 21st April: “Spring Spree”. Our second road run on Drive-It-Day also starts from Baldock Services at 10.00 am and takes a rural route through the north of Hertfordshire and over the border into the south of Cambridgeshire where we will rendezvous with our friends from the Cambridge Austin Seven Club at Bury Lane Farm Shop. We will send you an email with more details closer to the date.
Tuesday 7th May: Pub Lunch to be held at the Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, just off the A1 near Biggleswade (SG18 9DT). You can enter via the main entrance off Hill Lane or the new entrance off the B658 and Alder Drive. No charge to park or enter the café.
Wednesday 15th May: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Sunday 19th May: Baldock Classic Car Show. We will have a club presence at this event which takes place in Baldock High Street.(SG7 6BJ). There are many other attractions, including food stalls and nearby cafés and bars. Space for display vehicles is limited, so if you would like to join our group with your car, you must contact Janet to reserve a place.
All change (after the deadline for last month’s magazine)! Instead of a Pub Night, we again accepted the kind invitation of the North Herts Branch of ROSPA to join them for their talk – the subject: the British Land Speed Record; the speaker, David Tremayne, prominent F1 reporter and author who has a passion for speed: and the venue: the Cromwell Hotel in Stevenage. David’s inspiration was Donald Campbell and those men who had attempted and broken water and land speed records. He told us the fascinating story of his relentless attempts to be the fastest man on land in the UK – the current record is 301mph set in 2007. During his last attempt, in 2017, his jetcar reached 275mph in one direction, but on his second run it overturned after reaching 296mph, and he was fortunate to survive!
At our Pub Lunch at the Rusty Gun last month, we were joined by Steve Elliott who came in his immaculate Chummy. Previously a long-term museum exhibit, he purchased his car last year with good bodywork and interior condition and has since totally rebuilt the engine and gearbox; it is now running well.
MARCH 2024 REPORT
Spring is coming and by the end of this month we will have put the clocks on by one hour resulting in lighter evenings giving even more reasons for us to get out and about in our iconic cars. This month we have our first road run with the second the following month, so no excuses for staying at home! We do hope that you will join us. At least, do come along to a Pub Lunch or Night. We would love to have your company and to hear about your car.
FUTURE EVENTS
Tuesday 5th March: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 20th March: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Saturday 23rd March: “March Meander”. Our first road run is to Moggerhanger House and Park, a grand residential property designed by Sir John Soane, more famous for the Bank of England and other public buildings, and starts as usual from Baldock Services at 10.00 am. We may have a guided tour if entrants wish. There is also parkland and woodland walks as well as a café for light meals. We will send you an email with more details closer to the date.
Tuesday 2nd April: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 17th April: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Sunday 21st April: “Spring Spree”. Our second road run on Drive-It-Day also starts from Baldock Services at 10.00 am and takes a rural route through the north of Hertfordshire and over the border into the south of Cambridgeshire where we will rendezvous with our friends from the Cambridge Austin Seven Club. We will send you an email with more details closer
to the date.
We had a late change to our programme last month. Instead of the usual Pub Night we accepted an invitation from the North Herts Branch of ROSPA to join them at their meeting held at the Cromwell Hotel in Stevenage, the subject “Bloodhound LSR.” I will report on this event next month.
FEBRUARY 2024 REPORT
A glorious sunny day in our area for those who joined a New Year’s Day gathering last month. I drove my RK saloon, known as “Bessie”, to the VSCC event at the British Queen in Meldreth, Cambridgeshire. The thirty plus group of cars included another Seven, a shiny Cambridge Special. Since then, we have had our regular Pub Lunch at the Rusty Gun and, by the time you receive this, our Pub Night at the Three Horseshoes. If you have not yet joined us at either of these, do please give one a try – they are easy to find, plenty of parking, good food – and good company! See you soon.
FUTURE EVENTS
Tuesday 6th February: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 21st February: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Tuesday 5th March: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 20th March: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Saturday 23rd March: “March Meander”. Our first road run, starting as usual from Baldock Services to Moggerhanger House and Park, a rare grand domestic property designed by Sir John Soane, more famous for the Bank of England and other public buildings. We may have a guided tour, if entrants wish. There is also parkland and woodland walks as well as a café for light meals. We will send you an email with more details closer to the date. We are starting to put more flesh on our 2024 programme which will include some old favourites, like the return of the Baldock Classic Car Show in May and the Pirton Classic Car Show in August. We also plan to make the Ken Cooke Picnic an annual event at the Shuttleworth Collection later in the year. A busy month is June with the club’s Austin Rally in Leicestershire and National Austin Seven Rally in the New Forest. And much more to come!
JANUARY 2024 REPORT
A Happy New Year to you all. Did a New Year’s Day gathering feature on your calendar? If so, I hope you enjoyed meeting fellow enthusiasts and possibly also their cars. We are still adding to our 2024 calendar but stand by for our first road run, the March Meander. Other runs and events will follow as well as our club’s presence at local historic vehicle shows throughout the year. And don’t forget to join us at our Pub Lunches and Nights.
FUTURE EVENTS
Tuesday 2nd January: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 17th January: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Tuesday 6th February: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 21st February: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Our first Christmas Lunch (rather than a dinner) was a great success with twenty-five in our party. The weather was mild and mostly dry and daylight driving appealed to many of those attending. We were pleased to be joined by Sarah Chalk whose late husband, Paul, was a mainstay of the 750 Motor Club for many years and owned a Pearl cabriolet. We were also pleased to meet for the first time our new member, Ian Sommerschield, who owns a lovely blue Ruby. The Rusty Gun provided delicious food which was served with efficiency and a smile. Geoff Smith rose to the occasion to thank Janet Edroff for organising such an enjoyable gathering.
DECEMBER 2023 REPORT
We take the opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and to thank all our members for their support throughout the year.
A quieter period for exercising our cars until the spring, but please do keep in touch and let us know about possible events for us to include in our 2024 programme. The best way, during the winter months, is to attend our regular monthly Pub Lunches and Nights – tasty food and convivial company! We hope to see you there.
Fellow member Iain Mansell and I were walking past the Tourist Office in my hometown of Hitchin and decided to have a look at the paintings displayed by members of Hitchin Art Club. To our amazement, there before us was a watercolour of our cars with us seated behind them eating our lunch! We had to buy it (see photo). I subsequently contacted the artist who confirmed that the scene was at the Knebworth Classic Motor Show and was pleased to know that her painting had found a good home.
FUTURE EVENTS
Tuesday 5th December: Christmas Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. A 3-course lunch for £27 (all drinks extra). We might be able to squeeze you in if you contact Janet quickly.
Tuesday 2nd January: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 17th January: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Some of us went to the Classic Motor Show at the NEC last month and saw the impressive club stand. There are also many events coming up to mark the New Year, mostly on Monday 1st January 2024, like Barrington Green, next to the Royal Oak (CB22 7RZ); the VSCC gathering at the British Queen in Meldreth (SG8 6LB); and a little further afield, Vintage Stony (MK11 1BE). Give one a try! Oh, and remember to test the antifreeze in your old car!
NOVEMBER 2023 REPORT
In late September we were blessed with a warn sunny day for our road run through pretty East Hertfordshire countryside to the Henry Moore Studios, near Much Hadham. As well as Austin, we had a Salmson in our party. Thanks go to Stuart and Caroline Jenkins for devising such an attractive route – including a ford! The following month saw many different Austin Sevens amongst the wide variety of pre-war cars at Race Day held at the Shuttleworth Collection. Those other cars included Malcolm Campbell’s 350HP Sunbeam “Blue Bird” which was brought to the event by the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Some of the cars, including “Blue Bird,” did demonstration runs on the airfield. It was quite a spectacle, combined with an amazing air show!
Here are some events for the remainder of the year:
FUTURE EVENTS
Tuesday 7th November: Pub Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. Food available.
Wednesday 15th November: Pub Night to be held at the Three Horseshoes, Norton (SG6 1AG) from 6.30 pm. Food available.
Tuesday 5th December: Christmas Lunch to be held at The Rusty Gun, St Ippolyts (SG4 7PG) from 12.30 pm. A 3-course lunch for £27 (all drinks extra). Please let Janet know as soon as possible if you would like to come.
From speaking to members, many of you do not relish driving along country lanes on a dark winter’s night, especially if it is icy, and the alternative of a lunch in the daylight appealed. With the hope that anyone with daytime commitments – work or grandparenting duties – will have ample time to make appropriate arrangements, we have decided to celebrate Christmas this year with a lunch. We can vouch for the food at the Rusty Gun and, with a generous subsidy from NH Centre, it is exceptional value at £27 per person for a 3-course meal (all drinks extra). We really do hope to see you there.
Your committee are currently preparing the programme of events for 2024. If you have any ideas for destinations for road runs, or a group presence at a car show or other event, please let Janet know and we will explore the possibility of including them in next year’s programme. We really appreciate your participation in the planning of club activities.
