West Lancashire MG Owners Club - Everything you need for MG's in the North West.

A REMINDER OF HOW IT ALL STARTED - WE HAD OUR LOCKDOWN A WEEK BEFORE THE GOVERNMENT ACTED - BELOW IS OUR MESSAGE TO MEMBERS SENT OUT ON 15TH MARCH 2020.

Hi All – With the current high profile of coronavirus in the news, a majority of the committee have reluctantly agreed that we ought to cancel this month’s meeting on Tuesday evening. I know that this may seem extreme to some of you and not in the "Wartime Spirit" of ‘Keep Calm and Carry on’ - but I feel that the risk of transmitting any incidence of the virus that may be present, on to vulnerable friends etc., although very small, the risk is not worth taking at this time.

I hope that this situation eases in the next few weeks so that we can all get back to normal and enjoy the spring and summer events in our MGs.

There are a number of items and events that you need to know about -

Noel is hoping that he will be able to continue with his arrangement of our first Sunday Social of the year – for Sunday April 5th at 2pm at The Sandpiper in Bickerstaff – contact Noel on 07748323766 if you would like to go

Steve is organising the tickets for the Tatton Classic Show on Saturday and Sunday 6/7th June – this is always a very popular show , so tickets need to be ordered well in advance. Steve will be sending off the booking form very shortly – so if you haven’t booked already, please contact him ASAP with your car reg., model and year on 07725 685353

Sandy is busy collecting subscriptions , so if you haven’t paid yours yet – please have it ready the next time you attend a club meeting – hopefully on Tuesday April 21st .

Our club’s Drive it Day, celebrating St. George’s Day is scheduled for Sunday 26th April – and since this is an outdoor event, it is unlikely that it will be cancelled. Full details will be available shortly by email and on our Facebook page and website so please book this date for your diary.

Many thanks for your understanding – and hope to see you all soon

Yours in Good Health ,

– cheers Cam

(Dated Sunday 15th March 2020)

Latest News.

Hi All, I hope you are all keeping well.

Steve Till our Events co-ordinator has been updating our events list - but it is changing all the time .

Here is the latest info . Cheers Cam

JULY

11th - Cheshire Steam fair - CANCELLED

19th - Capesthorne Hall - CANCELLED

AUGUST

9th - Stoneyhurst College,

book online (www.classicshows.org)

15th 16th - Tatton Park - now cancelled

30th - Capesthorne hall

30th - Ormskirk Motorfest - new format - see above

SEPTEMBER

6th - Hoghton Tower,

book online (markwoodwardclassicevents.com)

13th - Lytham Promenade show

20th - Cholmondeley Castle

Capesthorne and Cholmondeley are "turn up" and pay on the day –- The rest need to be booked individually online.

Hopefully we can have a club meeting in July , but if not the first deadline for booking is Stoneyhurst on about the 1st of August.

Fingers crossed we don’t get another spike of virus or this list may vanish.

We have just had an email from Morton shows –

Unfortunately the Tatton Show has been cancelled for this year -

So it looks like the late summer shows are going.

We'll let you know if any more go. Steve

Stay Safe

MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION

EXTENSION 2020-2021

The committee have decided , as special Easter present, to have a membership subscription extension due to the Covid19 situation.

There are 50 or so members who have paid their subs. so far , with 30 or so yet to officially become paid up members for 2020 - the extension will mean that those who have already paid for 2020 , will have their membership automatically extended to include 2021 as well.

Those yet to pay for 2020, will be able to pay when the club meetings recommence later this year - those subscriptions, at current 2020 price, will therefore extend through to include 2021.

Stay safe - stay home. All the best - Cam

MAY SOCIAL WEEKEND AT THE FAT LAMB

Steve, our events coordinator, has had to reorganise the May weekend social.

This was to have been at

The Fat Lamb Hotel ,

Crossbank , Ravenstonedale ,

Kirkby Stephen CA174LL.

It has now been re booked for Wednesday and Thursday

23rd/24th September.

Steve has got 5 rooms booked and the owner is organising a run route for us.

If anyone fancies going and hasn't booked with Steve yet - let him know as there are a couple of extra rooms still available.

JUNE EVENTS

Mid Summer Madness

Saturday 20th June

Southport Marine Drive

A gallery of photos from an excellent evening.

-Thanks to Dave G-W and Steve Kirton for the photos

After much deliberation we decided to go ahead with our Mid Summer Eve meet up. Restrictions on travel had been lifted but large groups were advised not to gather. But we were in a public place and it turned to be a dry evening. So by 8 pm there were 18 MGs parked up on the sea front car park and by 8.30 pm we had 20 MGs and several members in non- MGs - so there were probably 30 of us - and we were able to walk about in the fresh air and chat to each other whilst maintain the social distancing of 2 metres. It was quite cloudy , however, so there was no chnce of acually seeing the sunset , so by 9.30 pm everybody had made their way home - having at last met up with fellow members after a 3 month break.

A Message from our Chairman

Hi all - You won’t need me to remind you that at the moment we are going through uncertain and unsettling times. Who would have thought that after our February 2020 Club Meeting things would change so rapidly, after our Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Lockdown Speech on the 23rd March 2020 for all the members and friends in the Classic Car fraternity worldwide.

The freedom of all our activities and movements as a Car club have been suspended and at times feels like things will never be the same again .I feel the same, as I am sure many of you do , that I am missing the usual FIX of events, Club Activities and Social gatherings .

I feel sometimes disorientated that the usual milestones have temporarily gone, many events have had to be cancelled after months of planning and organising.

To add insult to injury that while only being allowed to use our cars for essential journeys, petrol in April was dropped to less than a .pound a litre ,the lowest price for 12 years. Petrol usage dropped by 75% and Diesel usage by 71% and the amount of used cars for sale rose dramatically. Auto Trader offered free advertising for cars to be sold, and their website had over 500,000 cars on it at one point.

The effects of the pandemic on the world as a whole will be enormous and probably beyond our comprehension. Whatever the coming months hold for us as a thriving MG Club, we may have to approach things in a different way, many for the better and some not so.

One thing for sure is that we as a Club will support each other ,communicate, work together ,to enjoy our forward looking Classic Car Club WLMGOC

Above all Stay Alert and Stay Safe.

Ralph Greenhalgh

ORMSKIRK MOTORFEST

The organisers are planning to go ahead with this show but in a totally different format.

It has just been announced as a tour of West Lancashire rather than a static display in the park. This has been suggested as covering Burscough and Skelmersdale as well as Ormskirk town centre.

Not many classic cars like to drive slowly in a parade or queue, at least mine doesn't, so this may have a limited support.

However, no details have been announced as yet , so watch this space for updates in the next few weeks.