MG saloon day - 19th July 2009

[steve smith]

it did look a very good turn out shame i couldnt make it with my e reg monty really

[Jonathan]

Jonathan winning best MG maestro was a fix!!

Being the only MG Maestro probably helped.

Joking aside though, no need for anyone to be disheartened. I thought the venue was OK apart from the long grass issue. It's more a case of the earlier events being such a hard act to follow, together with the fact we're experiencing declining interest in the cars generally. I was going to say you'd get a similar trend if you looked at the activity stats for this forum over the years, but they peaked again earlier this year.

[Jumturbo]

I'm sorry I did not make it, but going in the ZTT would not have been the same. I did it last year and it obviously wasn't as much fun as all the past events going in the monty. This is only the second MGM day I've missed since 97' and as well as JUM not being ready, the forcast played a big part, although it seems to have been reasonable down there, but it wasn't up here! Let's all make the effort for next year. I'll definitely be going in JUM no matter what the weather! This will be the first time this car will have been to any event! For some reason I always took my white conversion H11RBO. I know car numbers have dwindled over the years, but the rarer they become, I think the more people will be encouraged to turn out. Sorry again, but we'll see next year.

[Guest]

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...

Bumpy? You should have seen the field that they use for their festival
As there was only 2 MG Montegos this year, mine being 1 and not eligible to enter, the other won.

Patrick

[Beaker]

I won't make my feelings made about the venue as it has been covered. I will be crawling underneath my car to inspect it and pull the grass out however.

The dwindling numbers was VERY noticeable this year - it has got to the point where the Rovers, Modern MGs are in the majority and the MG Maestros, Montegos, Metros are in the minority.

Perhaps it is about time to have a major rethink and rebranding. A Maestro, Montego and Metro Day (appealing to all Rover, Austin and MG) with BOTH clubs working together to put on an event? Or even combine it with a club whose 21st is next year and wants to put on a show It doesn't help when Jason and Anji aren't on the internet/forums so have no idea what is happening in the wider community.

One change over the past couple of years which does wind me up is you go to the trouble of booking a club stand, letting people know approximate numbers and when you arrive you get pointed to a generic Rover section rather than a set space. There isn't any point in booking a stand if that is the case. Can we change this for next year please Patrick.

[Guest]

It was nice to chat to Bob who gave me loads of mechanical tips.

It was Paul the other half you spoke to as i was sheltering in the car

The day was good although the lack for food and field made it a bit more difficult to enjoy - especialy if you wore flip flops and kept tripping yourself up when wandering about.

Not complaining about the organisers but for the venue to say they are used often im quite suprised as i have seen less bumpy building sites with shorter grass! Im glad we didnt bring one of our better cars like the 6k maestro as i would probably have refused to take it on the field.

I wonder if it would be easier in the future to use a boot fair field which may hopefully be cheaper, flatter and have lots of standing arrangements with food people? They may even know people who may have something for the kiddies to do like they had at longbridge.

Can someone fix the quote thing pls

[matthewsemple]

I would say that you can play with the numbers in all sorts of ways. Yes, there were more MG Zeds and Rovers (including Rover Metros and 100s) than MG Metros, Maestros and Montegos. But I suspect there were also more Montegos, Maestros and Metros (including Rover 100s, Austins, etc) than MG Zeds. MG Magnettes outnumbered MGBs by 4 to 1. MG badged cars would have outnumbered Rover badged cars, etc, etc.

A Maestro, Montego and Metro Day is an interesting idea but I doubt it would bring out many more Maestros, Montegos and Metros and it could alienate the people that attend in the Y, ZA, ZB, ZR, ZS, ZT and ZTT models. At best it would result in a zero-sum gain but more likely there would be less through the gate.

Jointly running the show between two clubs sounds like fun but brings an untold potential for friction and disagreement. One show that I used to enjoy attending was Totally MG which was run by the MG Owners Club, MG Car Club and the MG Octagon Club. Despite not being invloved in the orgainisation in any way, the friction and bad feeling between these three clubs was most evident the last time I went and I learnt soon after that they all decided that it wasn't worth the hassle and the event has never run since.

It goes without saying that there is no easy answer to this. The perfect show for our cars will always be a bit of an enigma as for every Dan and Lindsey who without fail, roll up their sleeves and muck in there are many more who could volunteer to help and get a lot more out of the event.

[The Express Valeter]

I would like to think that Shakerton Railway would re-imberse the MGM club for their total failure in the hospitality department as the power of the internet could destroy their reputation very quickly I would think!!

My first visit to Saloon Day was at Coombe Abbey in 2004 with my ZT260SE. That was a very good venue as was the following year in Lutterworth. There were Timelines at these events but not this year & at previous shows there were a lot of the 1960's/70's Austin 1100/1300 + the MG variants, Magnettes & allsorts. Where have they all gone?
The last visit to Lamport Railway I lost count of the MG Maestro's & Maestro Turbo's there & allthough I currently only own an MG Zed I would dearly love to see a field (short grass) of MMM's once again.

[matthewsemple]

It was nice to chat to Bob who gave me loads of mechanical tips.

Can someone fix the quote thing pls

You are missing the / in the [/QUOTE] command to make it work.

[Russ]

It was a really good day,but as as been said above the lack of food spoiled it. I think he Shackerstone railway or Battlefield line (what ever their name is at today) should refund the organisors as they were clearly not interested especialy in the catering department in sorting things out. I know that a lot of staff on presered lines are volunteers but you cant have shirty staff in front line serving the public and getting on their little high horses when times become buzy. The fact that they had let us down by no transport and a poor field was made worse by the catering woman refusing to serve anymore meals ,if it was three o'clock or something you could understand but one o'clock NOT ON.
I hope some of the board of this railway fine these comments via a search engine and realise what has happened and act.
Anyone who didnt attend and is new to saloon day dont be put off next year as normally everything is fine (which it would have been yesterday if the oraganisors had not been shafted by the railway) and turn up for a great day.

In regards to Z's if we were the MG 1100/magette club (not that it existed of course) in the late 80s /early 90s there would have been a lot of resentment towards MMMs I was at the 10th birthday bash for the maestro in 93 and the maestro was newer then than Z's are today but it seemed to be recognised then that MMMs were part of the MG history and were encouraged.The year previous I was at the 20th of the MGB and there were a few MMMs there then ,my 2/12 year old turbo was part of it and I got no bad reports

[philippope]

Here are some of my pictures of the day - biased towards the MG Maestro and Turbo, I'm afraid . Thanks to all who organised the day, nice to chat with old and new faces. Comments about the field and completely overwhelmed catering seconded - obviously a venue to avoid at all costs in future! Judging by the Battlefield line/Shackerstone Railway website about MG Saloon Day they were proud and fanfaring our attendance - shame they seemed to do nothing to actually facilitate the show properly.
Phil

[philippope]