MG saloon day - 19th July 2009

[matthewsemple]

There were never 50 Maestro Turbos at a show - the record is 41 at the 10th Anniversary show in 1999. I think it is unrealistic to expect to see as many as there were back then as many of those cars are no longer on the road.

To exclude the Zeds in an attempt to get an exclusive gathering of just MG Metros, Maestros and Montegos would not tempt any more out and would simply reduce the event to a small gathering at another show rather than a show in itself.

I don't know what sort of Citroen show you were at but I am sure it would be possible to complain at the lack of Citroen GS models or Ami 8s and too many more modern cars - but somehow I can't imagine that anyone would have thought this would be a reason not to go to that event?

[TLC]

[QUOTE=matthewsemple

On the subject of missing once-regular cars, I think it is more likely that they fall into four categories:
[LIST=1][*]only go out in the dry as they are now second or even third cars[*]dismantled and being restored[*]passed on to non-enthusiast owners[*]actually no longer with us, as they looked good in a picture taken in 2001 but were riddled with hidden corrosion

Sorry mathew i couldnt find any of the above categories that fitted !!

[E_T_V]

I wish everyone would put as much energy and effort into making a difference to the show rather than moaning about it!

People moaned about the queues in previous years so I got up off of my hairy arse and helped out on the gate and in previous years badgered other people to do so too largely solving the problem.

Yes the field was a mess. I went over the afternoon before the show to help setup ( I wasn't asked to, I offered), and it was obvious there was a problem, so MGM tried to solve it and the grass was recut that evening. Then 3 people from MGM set up the entire field on their own in the late evening. I offered assistance from the 200 and 400 camping lot if they needed it (as we were camping close by), but they didn't need it.

The treatment of MGM by the railway was shocking and I certainly will never be visiting either the railway or a show held there again.


There are 2 root causes for the show not being as good as it could be
1. MGM aren't good/persistant enough at asking people to help out
2. People are too lazy to offer to help out.

If people want it to be better next year then they have to put some effort into making it better. You can't just expect it to magically happen. If it wasn't for the effort of a very few MGM members then the show wouldn't happen at all!

[MaestroTurbo]

There were never 50 Maestro Turbos at a show - the record is 41 at the 10th Anniversary show in 1999. I think it is unrealistic to expect to see as many as there were back then as many of those cars are no longer on the road.

To exclude the Zeds in an attempt to get an exclusive gathering of just MG Metros, Maestros and Montegos would not tempt any more out and would simply reduce the event to a small gathering at another show rather than a show in itself.

I don't know what sort of Citroen show you were at but I am sure it would be possible to complain at the lack of Citroen GS models or Ami 8s and too many more modern cars - but somehow I can't imagine that anyone would have thought this would be a reason not to go to that event?

Not exactly a big difference, 41 and 50? From what i have heard, even the combined number of MMM's didnt come close to 41.

At the National CCC, there were alot of CX's, BX's, XM's, Traction Avant's, and yes, even some GS's!

What was poorly represented was the more modern cars like the Saxo and Xsara, which is complete contrast to the MG Saloon day which has more Rover's and Zed's than its original core models.

Sure the club is aimed more at the older stuff, but there were still about 25 Xantia's there, mainly from the FCF.

It was good to see Keith Adams there too, a long time AR fan who chose to go to a Citroen Show and not MGSD? Strange


Maybe i am stuck in the past, wanting to see all the cars i love in one place but i know apart from the odd few cars good enough, its not going to happen anymore and i know that isnt actually the fault of the MGM Group, it is a sign of the times.

[Guest]

I decided not to go on the morning, peeing down, however having read above I'm sort of glad (although annoyed in some respects as I get little chance to attend these days).

Ok, I understand it's difficult to get lots of MMs but to have to put your pride and joy in what is basically no more than an overflow car park farmer's unkept field.
Luckily for those who went it was dry - imagine that same place 'if' you'd got the rain we had down here.
That's no fun, and even worse, when you have to pay for it!

Peeing with rain, parked up in proper tarmaced (or even cut grass) surroundings with other facilities and food on hand is a completely different matter to paying to park in a field 'away' from everything.

[MaestroTurbo]

I wish everyone would put as much energy and effort into making a difference to the show rather than moaning about it!

People moaned about the queues in previous years so I got up off of my hairy arse and helped out on the gate and in previous years badgered other people to do so too largely solving the problem.

Yes the field was a mess. I went over the afternoon before the show to help setup ( I wasn't asked to, I offered), and it was obvious there was a problem, so MGM tried to solve it and the grass was recut that evening. Then 3 people from MGM set up the entire field on their own in the late evening. I offered assistance from the 200 and 400 camping lot if they needed it (as we were camping close by), but they didn't need it.

The treatment of MGM by the railway was shocking and I certainly will never be visiting either the railway or a show held there again.


There are 2 root causes for the show not being as good as it could be
1. MGM aren't good/persistant enough at asking people to help out
2. People are too lazy to offer to help out.

If people want it to be better next year then they have to put some effort into making it better. You can't just expect it to magically happen. If it wasn't for the effort of a very few MGM members then the show wouldn't happen at all!

It may seem i am moaning, maybe you are right. People are inherently lazy, and i understand the amount of time and effort needed by the MGM Group and other small car clubs put in to even make the show happen at all. But its ten years since i first went to a 'real' car event and these days i really dont have the time or motivation to dedicate to cars like i used to before i had a house, OH and a little un.

People that do manage to combine all of this and have time to restore and show their cars, and get involved with the organisation really need applauding.

[matthewsemple]

It was good to see Keith Adams there too, a long time AR fan who chose to go to a Citroen Show and not MGSD? Strange

Not really... to my knowledge, Keith Adams has never been to MG Saloon Day and much of his site's recent activity seems to involve Rootes Group cars including an article on the Maestro's competitors that features the Citroen BX - so I think we all would have been more surprised if he had come to MGSD.

[G51 NAV]

I think we should recognise this and join Russ in aplauding those that give up considerable amounts of time for putting on an enjoyable and unique day.

Yes it was a shame that the hosts didn't seem to have done much to prepare for the onslaught of several hundred cars, yet presumably they have done this before, seeing that the venue came highly recommended. The fact that the caterers broke down is an entirely different matter and probably no-one could do anything about that.

[SkyBlueSam]

I thought it was a great day out. Thanks a load to Dan as always for taking the time to look at my poor running troubles and doing a running repair to a dodgy vacuum system. It was nice to chat to Bob who gave me loads of mechanical tips. Congrats to Jonathan for winning best MG Maestro and finally I must apologise to Simon for being in the way when he was reversing to negotiate the exit at the end of the show. I hope there isn't too much damage to your rear bumper

[E_T_V]

I thought it was a great day out. Thanks a load to Dan as always for taking the time to look at my poor running troubles and doing a running repair to a dodgy vacuum system.

Did it make any difference though? The vacuum system still wants a proper repair but hopefully it'll run a little bit better now.

[Guest]

Okay, where do I start, apart from Sorry about the venue.

We went up the previous weekend, checked that what we required was going to take place. Which the venue said would.

We got a call from the Loo people on Fri am, that the field hadn't been cut. We chased the venue that pm (even though they were closed). It was then topped Fri 6pm.

I got there Sat 12pm, and soon realised that it was unacceptable. I went and complained to the venue. Even discussing moving the location, but they had nothing large enough or in better conditions.

We then complained again later Sat pm, we even went to see if a local resident had a large mower, without much luck. The venue then came round at 6pm to recut the grass, and try and make the area larger. (They claimed they didn't know how many cars were coming).

I was still clearing cut grass at 10pm in the dark, and then again at 6:30am Sunday.

We chased up about the water a number of times during the day, with not much luck. The shuttle bus that was mentioned when we booked the venue, didn't materialise either.



Thank you Dan for helping on Saturday pm. Glad my rake was useful.

Caterers:
The caterer came Sat pm to check the venue. We then got a call at 08:30 Sun, to say that his van had blown its wheel baring. I checked again at noon to see if he was still able to make it in time.

Luckily, the ice-cream van came, as he found he was double booked.


About past venues:
Lamport Railway was too small.
Lamport Hall was great, but too expensive.
We find people like to go to different venues.
We try and find suitable venues in the Midlands area, but still try to move so that it is slightly more fair for people who live in different parts of the country.

About next time:
We are currently looking at finding a different venue, that is more organised.
We do have a venue in mind, but they currently have building works, so we will probably only go there once they have finished.
We are also looking at maybe doing a mini run over lunch-time. (venue depending)

Date:
We should be back to our usual 1st weekend in July for next year.
We had booked this year's event for 12th July, but due to MGCC MG Live finally being booked for the same weekend, we frantically changed it to the 19th.


We, the MG 'M' Group, will make sure that next year's event is back up to our usual standards.


If there is anything people wish to bring up, offline, please email me.


Patrick Roberts
Chairman
MG 'M' Group
mgmcargroup@yahoo.co.uk
www.mgmgroup.org.uk

[malpas820]

Well done patrick mate,theres no need to apologise,once there,and the moaning stopped ,i think most had a good day,due to the fact the weather had held off,thank god!!

It wasnt so much the uncut appalling grass,it was more the "bumpyness" if thats a word,but once parked,who cares.

I wanted A8 there,but banking on the weather being wet,i didnt fancy polishing it all day (but saying that jeff polished his gsi,and it didnt take long!! )

As for winning best mg montego,did someone say that white one did?? from what i saw,it looked scrap?? (or do i have the wrong car??)

Jonathan winning best MG maestro was a fix!! (only joking mate,she was the very best!!)

What about best "countryman" next year...

[malpas820]

this montego??



More nice examples....

[malpas820]

[G51 NAV]

Sounds like you got really shafted Patrick.

The only worry is that those who came for the first time and didn't like what they saw will not come again. That would be disasterous. However - and it's a very big however - truth is, the vast majority of people turned up for a nice day out with a group of like-minded enthusiasts, and enjoyed it.