december 2019 newsletter4 at witney lakes resort, main function dining room. meeting starts at...
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** WINNER: MG Owners Club Newsletter of the Year 2017 **
December 2019 Newsletter
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Click here to find us on Facebook Click here for our Webpage
Oxfordshire MG Owners Club Proud supporters of :-
0812 - Oxfordshire MG Owners Club Committee
Area Secretary - Pete McHugh
Email – [email protected]
Membership Secretary – Diane Braggs Email – [email protected]
Events Secretaries – Peter & Pauline Mapson Email – [email protected]
Newsletter Editors – Tony & Linda Cotter
Email – [email protected]
Webmaster – Steven Braggs Email – [email protected]
Treasurer – Sue Mulford
Next Meeting at 7.30pm
Wednesday 4 December 2019
Witney Lakes Resort Downs Road, Witney,
Oxfordshire, OX29 0SY
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Area Secretary’s update by Pete McHugh Trepidation, huge anticipation, relief, delight, glee, joy and great satsifaction…….that just about sums up my emotions on November Club Night leading upto and during our opening night at Witney Lakes. Sure I was neverous, a lot rided on the evening going well, as this wasn’t just a new venue for us. It took us a bit further north and west and I knew that our eastern members would have a longer drive…but I didn’t need to worry, 51 of your turned up and I already had a few “apologies” from those of you who couldn’t make it due to prior commitments. Several of you remarked about how “POSH” Witney Lakes Resort was, so I had to remind you that the stuff on
the floor was called “a carpet” and to leave the cutlery draw alone 😉. Seriously though, Witney offers us a new level, not just luxury but resource. In the summer months, we shall be meeting downstairs from our winter home of The Sports Bar. For our special evenings, such as birthdays or the AGM, we shall be in the main function room enjoying a well-priced meal and entertainment, and hey, just for good measure there’s a dance floor for a bit of fun and a stage for our Andy to do his stuff. Witney Lakes is part of a much larger group, so no concerns about an owner chucking his toys out of his golf cart and walking off with his balls. So we hope that our new domicile will be ours to call home for the long-term. I certainly get the feeling of professionalism from Lauren Beck, the Events Manager, with whom all my dealings have been conducted in a very positive and fresh look at doing everything she can do to make life simple and easy for us, even by putting up a welcome sign outside the dedicated entrance to The Sports Bar, even if a few of you missed it and made your way through the main lobby at the front of the club, but this would have given you an even grander impression of what the resort (not a mere golf club) can offer.
Sue’s great birthday cake
Now it won’t have escaped your notice that we had a certain 22nd birthday to mark on November Club Night, and although we had one of Sue’s marvellous cakes (I had three slices, but don’t tell Mrs McHugh!), we didn’t mark our birthday with one of those OMGOC special meals. We simply didn’t have the time to set it up with you, our members. So to make up for it, we shall have a BELATED BIRTHDAY BASH on our first meeting of 2020, our February gathering on Wednesday 5 February………more details within this newsletter.
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As this is our last newsletter until February and our last meeting until then, it remains for me to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year. You are the lifeblood of our club and without you, we would be lost and the world around us would be a sadder place.
Drive safely and with a smile on your face, you’re in an MG 😉
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At Witney Lakes Resort, Main Function Dining Room. Meeting starts at 7.00pm, with the meal served at 7.30pm. Entertainment provided by Club Member, Andrew Francis from around 8pm. To order your meal of breaded cod, chips, tartare sauce and mushy peas, at £10.00 per person, PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM AND RETURN IT BY 27 JANUARY 2020, with a cheque made payable to Oxfordshire MG Owners Club. Please email [email protected] for address contact details
Name(s) Please reserve meals
Payment enclosed (£10.00 per person)
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Membership Update by Diane Braggs
There are no new members to report this month. Thank you to members who have contacted me directly to renew their membership. If you have not renewed your annual subscription, it will now have lapsed and you will no longer receive updates about club runs etc and the newsletter via email. Please email [email protected] if you would like to join/re-join.
Member of the Month – Linda Cotter This feature is not available on the web version of our newsletter
What happened in 1969? By Steven Braggs
For the last newsletter of 2019 I thought it might be fun to look at what happened 50 years’ ago in 1969. Let’s look at the most important stuff first. MG news
1969 was the last year of the MGC. MG sold
some of the last cars to University Motors, a big
London MG dealer. University Motors sold them
as UM specials with performance tweaks. The
MGC was not replaced until 1973 when MG
launched the MGBGT V8
The MGB got a minor face lift with new
reclining seats, although it lost the coloured seat
piping beloved of enthusiasts today MGC GT
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What else happened?
Richard Nixon became President of the United States, we know how that ended
Rupert Murdoch bought the News of the World, ditto
Led Zeppelin recorded their first album, imaginatively called ‘Led Zeppelin’
There was a pop festival in Woodstock, no not the one in Oxfordshire – read
more: https://www.retrowow.co.uk/60s/woodstock_festival_1969.php
The first episode of Scooby-Doo was shown on American TV
Monte Python’s Flying Circus debuted in the UK
The hit films of the year were ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’, ‘Midnight
Cowboy’ and ‘Easy Rider’
George Lazenby made his first, and only, appearance as 007 in ‘On Her
Majesty’s Secret Service’ and Michael Caine stared as Charlie Croker in ‘The
Italian Job’
A 1962 MGB appeared in ‘Vendetta for the Saint’ staring Roger Moore
Levi’s launched flared jeans in the US
The supersonic aged dawned when Concorde made its first test flight from
Toulouse, France
The Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet made its first flight. 747s went into service in the
following year
Back in Britain, British Leyland launched the Austin Maxi
‘La cafetière’ introduced the classic cafetière to the UK. A gold plated one sold
for £9 12s or £100 in today’s money. See
https://www.retrowow.co.uk/kitchenalia/coffee/cafetiere.html
It was goodbye to the ten shilling note (last one issued in October 1969) and the
halfpenny (no longer legal tender), but hello to the new 50 pence piece coin
Title: Woodstock Music Festival/1969
Author: dbking
Source: "https://www.flickr.com/photos/65193799@N00/234464601/"
License: "CC BY 2.5" -https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/
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Oh yes, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon
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MGs in the Park 2020 Make sure you put the date of Sunday 7 June in your new 2020 diaries and calendars for our annual event, MGs in the Park at the Cotswold Wildlife Park.
March the Month of September in aid of Prostate Cancer UK By Denny Wright
I have done 372,000 steps, which equates to approximately 250 miles at my rate. From OMGOC members’ donations and personal sponsorship, I have raised the sum of £140.11. My other sponsorships brought in more money and this raised a grand total of £715.56. Thanks to you all.
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The year always starts with Stoneleigh for many of us, and as in previous years, OMGOC will be taking up a stand in hall 3 to promote MGs in the Park (which for those that need reminding) is Sunday 7 June 2020. This has been a very useful exercise for the past two years. It gives us great exposure to a captive audience and to mix with other like-minded clubs in a central and convenient location. Please come along and say hi and perhaps fetch us a hot drink whilst we fend
off the crowds 😉.
Once again, this year, the Committee will be in full force with Pete, Peter, TC and Lin in attendance, hope to see you at Stoneleigh. Pete McHugh Area Secretary
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OMGOC Polo shirts
We still have some polo shirts in stock embroidered with the club logo, they are 50% Polyester and 50% Cotton, Uneek brand. Our current stock are all blue, but other colours can be obtained if you would like to order one. We currently have men’s sizes L and XL, and a ladies size L (14). Men’s polo shirts are available in 17 colours, and sizes XS 36-38, S 38-40, M 40-42, L 42-44, XL 44-46, 2XL 46-48, 3XL 50-52, 4XL 52-54, 5XL 54-56 and 6XL 58-60. Please note Size 5XL only available in Black, Navy, Royal, Heather Grey and White. Size 6XL only available in Black and Navy. Ladies polo shirts are available in 17 colours and sizes XS 8, S 10, M 12, L 14, XL 16, 2XL 18, 3XL 20 and 4XL 22.
Polo shirts cost £20.00 each, including VAT and logo embroidery. Other products are available with the Club logo, including T shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. Please ask one of the Committee if you would like information on any of these.
Picture of the month by Pete McHugh
Sometimes, just sometimes, you have to ignore the Sat Nav and use a bit of common sense!
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Future events – December 2019 – February 2020
December 2019
Every Saturday in December (7, 14, 21 and 28) the Classic Motor Hub is open between 10 am to 3 pm. Wednesday 4 December - Club Night featuring a talk from Brigadier Bruce Jackman entitled “Bravest of the Brave”. Now at our new home the Witney Lakes Resort, Downs Road, Witney, OX29 0SY. We are in the “Sports Bar”, which is accessed separately to the left of the main reception doors. Monday 2 to Monday 23 December - visit Santa at the Coventry Transport Museum, Millennium Place, Hales Street, Coventry, CV1 1JD. January 2020 Please note there is no Club Night in January 2020 Every Saturday in January (4, 11, 18 and 25) the Classic Motor Hub is open between 10 am to 3 pm. Wednesday 1 January - New Year’s Day meet at the Classic Motor Hub. Sunday 5 January - sees the first Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble. As is normal with these events they like you to apply for tickets beforehand as they do not have passes available on the date at the gates. February 2020 Every Saturday in February (1, 8, 15, 22 and 29) the Classic Motor Hub is open between 10 am to 3pm. Wednesday 5 February - Club Night at Witney Lakes Resort featuring our postponed special Birthday Night, where we shall enjoy being entertained in the Witney Lakes Banqueting Suite by our Club’s incomparable singer extraordinaire, Andrew! We shall also be served a breaded fish, chips and mushy peas supper for just £10 per head. Please note: Witney Lakes Resort have asked for payment beforehand, so please ensure that when you confirm you will be attending you also send your cheque in full payment to our Area Secretary, Pete McHugh (see booking form within this newsletter).
For general enquiries about events and booking forms contact: The Events Secretary - [email protected]
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Witney Lakes Resort - Bar Menu
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