Barry said "Let's have another "Open Day" on Drive it Day this time. And lets find somewhere better than last time please - just in case we get loads of cars". The Fox and Goose at Greywell has a field behind it and having been there for a meal, we knew both the food and beer were good. And then the Landlord actually said yes! "Nice venue, nice drive, pity about the locals! (I think he means us - ed). Great do it again please!" John Clark - Kent Barry designed the posters, and we started to send emails out to both the Hampshire Chapter, and all the regional reps. Advertising in Mascot was a must, but we also tried elsewhere. The goal was to beat the 24 cars we got two years ago.We had the hoped for break in the weather and arrived to set up our rather knackered gazebo early, then waited … "Smashing day, lets do it annually at least!" Jeremy Cogman Chris turned up with the regalia, which was put out, and the trickle started. Pictures are worth far more than I can write here (and probably take up less room!), so here goes: Afterwards we were all invited to see a collection of Bugatti's belonging to Julien, a friend of Hils and Pete. Thanks for including us all. "Great day. Good to meet you all" Andy & Tracy Thank you to everyone who came along, we all enjoyed it, and if the comments in the visitors book are anything to go by - we may even do it again next year! "Nice sunny day! - met lots of old friends. Well organised, and a great venue. Let us know when you do it again." Steve & Sue Clark By the way - the count was 36 cars and a Burrell traction engine (now, how many regions can boast their own steam section?). Thanks again. If we do do it again, we will have another target though! "A nice relaxing day in the sun, thanks" David & Linda Southcott Oh, and by the way - we've decided that we liked the pub so much - we're moving the monthly meeting there. (See Future Events) View Video View Gallery This was the first year we had a club stand at this show and Andy Brennan from Wiltshire and Duncan Hughes and his family from Andover joined the usual gang and we (or the cars) attracted a lot of interest. It was great to see some new faces and we are always happy to receive visitors to any of our events. When breakfast is a Walnut Whip and the instructions for lunch begin with; 1. Light fire in the 12 ton McLaren 8hp traction engine, you know you are in for an interesting weekend. Hampshire spent the weekend at the Bill Targett Steam Rally nr Winchester. Monday 4th May and we are off to Popham Airfield for the annual car and aero show. It was bright as we set off from home but the cloud thickened throughout the day and a cold wind got up. It didn't rain (hardly) and the gazebo didn't blow away (this time). Bank holiday Monday and the forecast is thunder storms (nothing new there then). We have been invited to join the Haslemere twinning celebrations, which included a 50 mile road run taking in a stop at Goodwood and the promise of a drive around the track. View Gallery The three Frogs and one Midget met at Slark Engineering, after a rather cool drive down for the two cars who don't like driving with the top up! As neither Mike nor Barry had had cars put on the rollers before, it was interesting watching the looks on their faces as the revs got higher. We could also read the computer screen readout of the speed, during the power runs. Neil Slark, who was doing the work, is obviously a complete petrol head and A series guru. Apart from the small niggles of where to anchor the Frogs, and where to watch the timing light, nothing was a problem! After coffee, Mike's Midget (Mk 3 1275) was the first on the rollers, and after a hiccup with a stray lead turning the fan belt over, and breaking the 'ear' bracket on the alternator, and a twiddle of the carburettor after a new needle, produced a very respectable 69.5HP. John's beautiful Frog (1098 with Imp pistons - 1133 ish) was next, but unfortunately blew a core plug on the first power run! After various thoughts of how to get over this small difficulty, the hole was plugged, more water put in, and the test continued. (At least the hot water on the floor cleaned off the oil from Mike's car!) A twiddle of both the distributor and carburettor, saw an eventual 70HP. Slark Race Engineering   I was beginning to worry for the other two cars … but needn't have, Barry (1098 standardish) was up next, and good apart from a couple of weak springs in the distributor. Have you checked yours recently? Would you even know what weak springs feel like? Well we have a calibrated Barry now! We even suspect that the whitewall tyres give an extra couple of HP. Following the instructions on rebuilding the carbs pays off too. A healthy 50.2HP at the flywheel. Terry was up next (948 plus .060"). As the 'oldest restoration',and the smallest engine, the engine had been on the rollers when it was built for another car in 1991, so questions were asked about it... The distributor and carburettor were both reset (!) and despite higher expectations (based on historical data) the reading was 55.7HP. Oh, and how often do you clean out your K & N filters? Every 20 years? Thanks to John for organising the morning, Neil for the expertise and to everybody for putting up with my daft comments. I think we can all say we learned a lot, (lots and lots of layers Chris!) and had a great morning.   See the video on YouTube   Harriet Langridge

We are a resourceful lot and even when the weather closes in we still manage to keep ourselves amused in a variety of ways. In November we all met up for Sunday Lunch. This was the club's third lunchtime visit to The Ship on the outskirts of Alresford. On the two previous occasions it had poured with rain so we were due for a bit of luck with the weather - it wasn't wall-to-wall sunshine but at least it was dry, so most people arrived in their Midgets and Sprites. True to form the hospitality and food were as good as ever and we were able to swap news with members whom we hadn't seen for a while. After a photo-call in the car park and an uneventful drive back through the Hampshire countryside we arrive home just in time to watch the Grand Prix on the telly - Nice One! Two New Arrivals - Pete heard of a MkI Midget for sale locally along with a Mklll. He mentioned it to Harriet and needless to say it was a 'done deal' Harriet now has the MkI, (renamed Smidge) which despite spending several months under a leaky tarpaulin, managed to pass its MOT without too much hassle and Pete is the proud owner of a MkIII body shell and a pile of assorted cardboard boxes - a little project for a rainy day!   In December three of our group took leave from their day jobs to carry out some very important research at an attractive thatched house near Abingdon. 'Why'? - you may ask. Well, a member of the Frontline business lives there; with a very average looking red MkIII Midget parked in his garage. We had gone to drive this Midget - but because it had one or two modifications - it wasn't really that average! The mod we were all interested in was the front suspension conversion - where the lever arms are binned, and purpose-designed AVO telescopic shock absorbers (and some other metalwork) are fitted. The other one of real significance was the engine - a K-series 1.8 litre, with or without VVC, I'm not sure, but claimed to deliver approx. 170bhp!!!! After we had put it through its paces Big John was so impressed he handed over the readies there and then - for the suspension conversion, I hasten to add. The engine and its power were awesome, but we all agreed a bit OTT for a fun little sports car!! On New Year's day we decided to organise a Treasure Hunt, so we met at Jenny & Barry's for coffee before setting of on a 30-mile tour around Berkshire, returning for a leisurely lunch and chat. Carol and Mark were the lucky (or unlucky) winners so have the task of planning the next route. Lining up for the start     Alf & Lyn in their Frogeye The 4th of January and four brave souls set off in sub-zero temperatures to take part in the London Bridges Run. We met up close to Tower Bridge with about 30 assorted Midgets, Sprites and Frogeyes to take part in a tour that took in numerous bridges over the Thames, ending up in Richmond. The organisers were very welcoming and everyone was friendly and in good spirits despite the cold. Whilst remaining cold, the sun shone for most of the route and we had a great day. To view the Bridges Video taken by Mark Marston CLICK HERE For Sunday the 18th January John organised a Sunday lunch at The Crown, a great little pub near Newbury. We were given a very nice function room all to ourselves, so we could chat as much as we wanted without disturbing the other diners - do you think our reputation had gone before us? Another photo for the album and then home in time for tea.

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