VMR Summer Rally 2011

[Ian Grace]

Planning is off and running! The venue will be the Cotswolds in general and Prescott in particular - with the running of the first 'Pre-War Prescott' on Saturday, our usual Navigation Rally and Scenic Tour on Sunday plus all the now-traditional evening socials. The date - Friday 15th to Sunday 17th July.

2011 marks the 50th Anniversary of the MG Car Club's MMM Register, and so MG will be the keynote theme of Pre-War Prescott in its inaugural year, so there will be a big push to gather as many M Types as possible. We have already received very enthusiastic backing from the MMM Register, the MG D Group, the SVW Register and the Vintage Register, plus acceptance of invites from various MG traders. Should be quite a gathering.

The local Bishops Cleeve Air Training Corps has offered to help with car parking, etc. at Prescott and about thirty companies have been approached with a view to sponsoring the appearance of Peter Vacher (owner of the Hundred Pound Minor in Beaulieu) in his ex-Battle of Britain Hurricane to close the day. We are also working closely with the RAF Charitable Trust who will be the beneficiary of the day. And since IAT Fairford is the same weekend and just down the road from Prescott, the RAF CT air ops staff are looking into the possibility of a number of fly-by's over the hill during the day as aircraft transit in and out of Fairford. There may also be a group balloon launch from the Paddock in the evening - weather conditions permitting. My old RAF friend Peter Balding, who many of you will have met at past VMR summer rallies, is co-ordinating all the air aspects of the day, and he is well qualified, being an ex-Air Traffic Control Sqn Ldr and in retirement he was the Safety Officer for IAT for many years.

As for Saturday evening, the social event will either take the form of the usual BBQ on the hill or it might take place in the Clubhouse and be themed as a forties/swing band night. Beer will be provided by the recently-launched Prescott Brewery (http://www.prescottales.co.uk). The VMR Summer Rally and Pre-War Prescott websites will go live shortly and for the first time, online entries and payments will be possible.

[Ian Grace]

A massive amount of work is underway to organize the VMR Summer Rally and the sister event - Pre-War Prescott. The VMR Summer Rally web page was launched today and the Entry Form can be downloaded from it. Since Pre-War Prescott is going to be a major event, it has been possible to offer VMR members a ten pound discount on the entry. The band is being assembled for the Saturday night and is expected to include Mike Dowley once again - should be a great night. Air activities are still in the planning stage so have not yet been mentioned on the rally web page, but we are hoping for some interesting action overhead.

Hereford Auctions has generously offered to award a trophy for the best performance in a non-Minor/M Type in the Sunday Navigation Rally. Plenty more new stuff is in the pipeline, and the web page will be updated as plans a firm up. But in the meantime, dip your finger in oil and scribble the date on your garage wall - 16th/17th July.

[ColinWLee]

Will it be possible to camp again this year

[Ian Grace]

I'm pretty sure. The BOC have an event on the Sunday at Prescott, so I'll double check.

Ian

[Ian Grace]

The Pre-War Prescott 2011 website is now live at http://www.prewarprescott.com, complete with full online entry capability, which I hope to use in future for VMR rally entries and subs payments on the VMR website.

Entries for VMR 2011 Summer Rally are starting to arrive - the website is at http://www.vintageminor.co.uk/summerral ... _2011.html.

This is going to be a GREAT weekend.

[Ian Grace]

So I posted an invite to Pre-War Prescott/VMR Summer Rally on the VSCC Forum last night, as I always do with VMR Prescott.

Here's the incredible reply I received from their Sec:

"Ian,

I wonder if you knew that this clashed with VSCC Loton Park when you posted this long opening post or is this a thread that you have designed specifically to draw VSCC members away from Loton.

Either way we will both lose out. The VSCC Loton Park date was set fairly recently and so it is possible that you did not realise the clash.

If that is so I would encourage you to delete the thread from the VSCC Forum and/or change the date, and/or concentrate on inviting appropriate one-make clubs.

The please {sic} made so far are from VSCC members who help us to run Loton. I'm sure they are pretty fed-up about this.

Clearly, if you choose to forge ahead with this then we shall have to launch a countering publicity campaign in order to ensure that we hang on to our spectators. I doubt that you would draw any competitors away from us.

Please give this matter your due consideration."

The date for PWP was set with the BOC last July. Draw your own conclusions.

[Ian Grace]

Well, here's a thing. The VSCC has removed the thread entirely! I have already sent an invite to their newsletter secretary, which has been accepted, to have included in the VSCC newsletter. I always do this with VMR Prescotts and they are always happy to print. Any bets on whether this year's invite will get to the printers?

But seriously, I'm not sure it is good form on the part of the VSCC to actively censor invites to events which clash with theirs. They print pages of invites from other clubs every month in their newsletter, and I bet I can find plenty that clash with VSCC events through the year.

I went to great lenghts in the forum invite to point out the benefits of PWP to the VSCC. The date (as with all previous VMR Prescotts) was set to be three weeks before VSCC Prescott, so that VSCC competitors could come and practice, others could test the waters to see if they would like to enter competitive speed hill climb events, and as a consolation for those many VSCC members who cannot get an entry at VSCC Prescott because of oversubscription. Indeed, sevweral current VSCC hill climb competitors started out at a VMR Prescott - so the system does work in the VSCC's favour as designed.

I suppose the good news is that if the VSCC are rattled by PWP, then they must be expecting a good crowd to turn up at Prescott!

This might be the last straw that decides me to cancel my VSCC membership after 35 years which, incidentally, cost me about 85 quid this year.

[Ian Grace]

It gets more interesting - it looks like the thread hasn't been deleted - it has been moved to the General Chat thread and some interesting banter is taking place...

To show good will, I have made a positive offer that if anyone can show me a spectator's ticket for Loton on Sunday, I'll knock a fiver off their Pre-War Prescott entry on Saturday!

[Ian Grace]

Nice e-mail from David Howe who entered VMR Prescott last year with his s/c TT Ulster.

"Did VSCC Prescott later but this year will not enter, its all becoming a victim of its own success - too many people, too much harum scarum. It will be first time I've missed it in 10 years. But will do your event!! Part of the pleasure was having space to move!"

I think the best comment I've heard about VMR Prescott was that "it is like VSCC Prescott was 30 years ago". Everything possible is being done to preseve that relaxed atmosphere, and everyone who has ever marshaled at VMR Prescott deserves high praise for helping do just that.

[ColinWLee]

I just posted a quip on the VSCC website thread.
I believe there will always be people with arrogant views.
However, as they said a couple of times, the Loton event has stuggled even before the PWP, but i am sure there will be some sour grapes and perhaps a little jealousy that PWP is so tempting to VSCC members.
Hang on a minute though. They set their date AFTER we set ours. Shouldn't the VSCC change the date for Loton

[Ian Grace]

If more quips were needed - perhaps I should suggest that James is only entering Loton because he can't get an entry in PWP - the BOC don't allow single-seaters at the garden parties...

I was contacted this week by Ian Patton at Prescott who invited me to confirm the third Saturday in July for 2012, and so it shall be - not quite sure when Loton 2012 will be, but if the VSCC wants anyone there, they would be well advised to pick another date.

[ColinWLee]

I have put next years' in my diary already.
I might order a bigger tent

[Hillclimber]

This might be the last straw that decides me to cancel my VSCC membership after 35 years which, incidentally, cost me about 85 quid this year.

The sooner the better, but do ask youself is the £85 worth it for the free advertising you get from the VSCC. Having read all the above I am utterly disgusted with your approach. Me me me me me me. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You are only interested in YOUR club, and can't see it from the point of view of the VSCC, which I think is very narrow minded indeed.

Colin, I don't think you've been a member long (not in the 04 members list). You could cancel yours too maybe?

[Ian Grace]

James, everyone can - and will - freely choose what they do or where they go on July 16th. As a VSCC member, I am free to post event info on the VSCC forum - just like other VSCC members do, and just as anyone can on the VMR forum – except that, unlike the VSCC forum, they don’t even have to be VMR members – like you aren’t.

And, incidentally, the VMR is perfectly free to set dates for its rallies - we don't have to wait until the VSCC has completed their calendar of events before we can start assembling ours. As it happens, we had to set the date for our rally last July, because, as I am sure you know, Prescott has limited days available each year because of noise constraints and if we waited, then all dates would be taken for this popular venue. This is why I have already confirmed for the third Saturday in July for our 2012 rally, which I was asked to do by Ian Patton this week. I suggest that, if the VSCC is worried that this might detract significantly from any of their events, then they should try to avoid this date - as I always try to avoid dates that are set BEFORE ours are.

If I were breaking any rules at all, then it would be different – but I’m not. I put invites to VSCC members to join in our summer rallies in the VSCC Newsletter every year, and the Old Post Office is perfectly happy to print them – as they do with dozens of other invites they receive each season. I have also posted the invites on the VSCC forum – as others do - similarly without the slightest problem. And in turn I always strenuously promote VSCC events – particularly LCES events - within the VMR. There are currently no less than 33 references to the VSCC on our home page alone - all positive, enthusiastic and in the very best vintage spirit.

Nobody has ever complained in the least about any of this - except that this year, the event happens to clash with Loton – the date for which was set very late and many months after our rally. If you think that the VSCC should review their policy regarding the publishing of invites to events that clash with theirs - either in the Newsletter and/or on the forum - then perhaps you should raise the matter with the VSCC Committee. It is their call - not yours.

[halbe]

Hillclimber,

Which part of "MOVE ON " didn't you understand.