Chairman’s Report – March/April 2018
By Steve Rowland – SEAMS Chairman
A very proud Rowan rallying for the first time with his very own Wolseley WD11, which was a Christmas present. Is this our youngest member with his own engine?
I doubt it’s been the same for everyone, but it seems like January has flown by for me. It started with a good turnout at the SEAMS New Year gas up, as usual held at Faygate Village Hall, this year on the 7th of January. This is an ideal venue for this event as it offers just enough outdoor space for a few members that make the sterling effort and bring a display out of its Winter hibernation. A special thanks to those who did just that. It was a bright day, but cold and the Hall gives us a place to warm up, grab a hot drink and refreshments and chat.
A couple of exciting things happened, we had a new member Sean and his partner turn up and join the line, let us hope we shall see more of them over the coming season. The second was Rowan (who must be our youngest member) showing his Christmas present off, a Wolseley WD2. His smile went from ear to ear, but it must of made Santa work a bit this year! This was great to see and I don’t think he will be short of advice with the knowledge that Phillip (Dad) and Ian (Grandad) have between them. Well done Rowan. We had the usual raffle and it was a great day, thanks to all that attended.
On the 18th January it was the next Winter meeting, again at Faygate. This is the third Thursday of each month, so please come and join us, if you can make it. For those Members that were lucky enough to attend the starting of the Shackleton Aircraft at Gatwick Aviation Museum the other year, we continued the theme with a talk from Neville Feist, who with Ian, is a volunteer at the museum. He gave us a talk on his career and his various positions and postings with the associated experiences that he has held and planes he has flown in. It gave us a real insight into some of the defence and tracking operations, showing aeroplane development along the way.
15th February saw us back at Faygate for a talk on the Argus newspaper by Paul Green. Rather than the usual slideshow, Paul preferred to talk us through the history of the paper from its start in the 1880’s to current days, using various objects, pictures and questions. He also brought along a wide selection of photos of Brighton through the ages and some big binders containing copies of the Argus. Thanks to the speakers and Ian for organising all this.
Lastly we have some sad news. In December, long standing member Cliff Noble passed away. Some of you will remember seeing his mighty ex Mc Alpines Gardner 13HF on the lorry trailer, always immaculately presented
and in 2007 he kindly gave us a talk about its restoration, also member Ian Robinson passed away in early February. Condolences to the respective families on their sad losses.
On a positive note, I look forward to seeing you all out on the Rally Fields soon!
A Polite Reminder. If you have not renewed your membership, this will be the last issue of the magazine you will receive and your insurance will no longer be valid.