Norfolk

NA7ter

October 2019

Norfolk NA7ter

Norfolk Austin Seven Club

Officers and Committee

Chair man Dave Witton Tel: 07778 494504

email: david.witton@btinterne t.com

Secretary Paul Maulden Tel: 01986 872537

email: paul_liz@maulden21.plus.com

Treasurer Annie Alger Tel: 01502 574097

email: annie.alger@talktalk.net

Membership Rick Fryer Tel: 01362 696114

Secretary email: rf .na7c@tiscali.co.uk

Events Phil Sharpe Tel: 01603 744981

Co-or dinator email: p.r.sharpe@talktalk.net

Librarian John Haze ll Tel: 01953 488219

email: johndhaze ll2@gmail.com

Committee Dave Rix Tel: 01508 493419

Members email: rixna7c@waitrose.com

Mic hael Spinks Tel: 01603 737332

Editor/ Rick Fryer 38 Ne atherd Road, Dere ham,

Website Norfolk NR20 4AQ

Tel: 01362 696114

email: rf .na7c@tiscali.co.uk

Club Meetingsare held on the third Tuesday of each month

from 7.30 pm at

East Tuddenham Jubilee HallMattishall Road

East Tuddenham

Norfolk NR20 3LR

Club Website – www.na7c.co.uk

Copyright © 2019 Norfolk Austin Seven Club

The articles, photographs and views expressed and printed in the

“NORFOLK NA7TER” are for the sole use of NA7C members and

their readership and must not be printed or reproduced in any other

way without the express written permission of the NA7C appointed

representatives.

The views expressed in the articles appearing in the

'NORFOLK NA7TER' are those of the contributors and not

ne cessarily those of the club, committee or e ditor .

It maybe nec essary to condense or alter some of the articles

submitted for publica tion to suit the space available.

The Editor apologises in a dvance if this is unavoidable .

The NA 7C is a member of the Austin Se ven Clubs

Association and the Federation of British Historic Ve hicle Clubs

In This Edition of the

Norfolk NA7terPage

NewsEditorial 1

Chairman's Chatter 2

Skittles Tournament – 16 July 3

Speakers’ Corner 4

Barney’s Birthday 6

Chris tmas Dinner 7

The Trophy Cabinet 8

Garden Party – Macmillan Cancer Support10

Kevin Shortis Memorial Service 11

Runs & Rallies NICE Vintage Fayre – 30 June 1 2

North Norfolk Railway – 7 July 13

BBQ at the Buck – 17 July 15

Beighton House Garden Party – 28 July 16

Tricia's Trundle– 11 August 19

Picnic in the Paddock – 18 Augus t 21

Village at War 23

Harleston Fun Day – 26 August 25

Our Cars Spud in Print 27

A Trio of Trips With Ruby 28

FBHVC News Legislation 30

DVLA 30

Research 32

What’s On 34

Christmas Dinner Order Form 35

And Finally.. . Inside back cover

“Spud”, recent new member

Les Reilly’s 1929 Chummy.

Read more about them both on page 27

On The Cover

October 2019 1

Editorial

The days are shortening and this year’s

rallies and runs are almost all behind

us. The summer was generally warm

and few, if any, were spoiled by the

weather. We hope you enjoyed the

events that you attended. Once again

we are grateful to those members who

organised runs and provided hospital-

ity during the year and the thanks of the

committee and membership are due to

them.

Due to the number of events and other

news it has been impossible to include

everything in this edition of the

NA7ter, so we have had to carry some

reports over until January next year.

But rest assured, they will appear –

eventually, and may serve to remind us

of summer days in the depths of winter.

We look forward with anticipation to

2020.

Whilst on the subject of looking for-

ward, Christmas is coming and details

of the club’s Christmas Dinner are now

available. We are holding it at the same

venue as previous years – Wensum

Valley Hotel, Golf and Country Club,

Taverham – an, despite a slight

increase in price from the venue, the

price for members and guests remains

at £20.

We will again be providing entertain-

ment – in the shape of vocalist Kelly

Bayfield – so please try to be there on

time! Full details are on page 7 and a

booking form is on page 35.

We are also still looking for a member

to take over the duties of Treasurer

from Annie Alger. Details of the

requirements of the post were outlined

in April’s NA7ter. The job is not diffi-

cult and certainly accountancy knowl-

edge is not needed. If you are

interested and want to discuss in more

detail, please contact the Chairman or

any Committee Member – contact

detail inside front cover.

Finally, the user name and password to

access the on-line, full colour version

of this NA7ter are in printed version.

Rick

The next edition of the NA7ter will be published in January 2020 Please let the Editor have any contributions before 31 December

Contact details are on the inside front cover

www.na7c.co.uk

“Members Only” user name: **** Password: ****

2 Norfolk NA7ter

Chairman's ChatterI am trying to avoid repeating myself

as we approach the final days of Sep-

tember with rain beating against the

window. I always find it ever so

slightly depressing as summer closes

and winter is around the corner.

Karen and I attended the Henham

Steam Rally and the weather put it’s

stamp on the last show of the season.

The sun shone and the sky was clear

blue. Henham is a well organised show

in a beautiful setting with plenty of

space to make it feel uncrowded. With

the forecast set to look gloomy towards

the end of Sunday afternoon however,

we managed to exit the field without

difficulty at 3.30pm and it was just as

well, as the showers began as we

approached Diss. Rather than stop to

erect the hood, we maintained a steady

45 mph in Karen’s chummy so that

most of the rain could go over our

heads. Some hope!

As we approach the fettling season, I

shall start with fit ting a new double

arm shock absorber to Molly, the 4 seat

tourer to see if it improves handling.

There is a school of thought that also

advocates the removal of one of the

alloy links (except to use as a spacer) to

reduce lateral movement of the axle so

that will be carried out at the same

time. I will report on any improvement.

The passenger window on the RP has

always dropped to half mast which

suggested a broken or weak return

spring. New springs are available from

suppliers and these can be a bit of a

handful to remove and replace without

them flying off to the darkest corner of

the garage. Nevertheless, I managed to

do this unaided with only minor curs-

ing. Unfortunately, the old spring

wasn’t broken, and the new spring

made no difference whatsoever to the

sagging window! Unless the glass is

unusually heavy then I am stumped.

As we constantly strive to make our

Austins more driveable, the next mod I

will be undertaking on Karen’s

chummy will be fitting a Hardy Spicer

propshaft. I already have one on Molly

and it has transformed the car. No more

rattling and vibration from that 90 year

old pot joint at the rear. The Hardy

Spicer shaft is easy to fit and does not

require changing the axle flange. It

also dispenses with that floppy old fab-

ric coupling at the front. It may be nec-

essary to fit a spacer on the handbrake

linkage to clear the front joint of the

shaft but that is a simple job.

I am not sure how many members use

a satnav in their proper cars but we

have been using one for quite a while

now. There is normally no problem

running off 6 volts as the satnav power

supply steps it down to about 4 volts in

any case. Very occasionally however,

if the satnav battery is flat, there is

insufficient oomph with 6 volts to start

News

October 2019 3

the charge cycle with attendant inter-

ference or unreliability issues. With

that in mind, I purchased a solid state

“step up” unit from China via Amazon.

This is the size of a cigarette packet,

converts 6 volts to 12, and can easily be

concealed behind the dash somewhere

away. This ensures no reliability prob-

lems with satnavs and of course can

also be used as a mobile phone charger

or indeed anything else that runs off 12

volts.

Happy fettling, and safe and happy

motoring

Dave Witton

News

Skittles Tournament – 16 JulyThere was a good turnout of competi-

tors and spectators for this popular

annual event.

31 people competed over three rounds.

This resulted in two people (Mavis

Jenkins and John Lain) finishing on 16

and two (Christine Lain and Phil

Sharpe) on 17.

A “bowl off” was held to resolve the

final positions, which resulted in

Mavis being placed third and Christine

second with Phil Sharpe declared the

winner

News

4 Norfolk NA7ter

Speakers’ CornerMembers were entertained at the August and September Club Nights by

two contrasting guest speakers

20 August saw the welcome return of

Peter Cotes, with the story of his par-

ticipation in the 2015 Great Ama-zon Adventure.

This was a rally in South America,

travelling from Paramaribo, the capital

of Suriname on the north-east coast, to

Lima, the capital of Peru, on the west-

ern, Pacific coast – a distance of 6,500

kilometres.

Only six vehicles took part – a Mus-

tang, a Mercedes and Peter and Alison

in their Lotus, plus three 4WDs. Their

route took in Suriname, French Guy-

ana, Brazil and Peru and included

numerous ferries and bridges, thou-

sands of kilometers of dirt roads and a

crossing of the Andes.

They had a relatively trouble-free jour-

ney, apart from a broken stub axle and

one puncture.

In Peru they visited Machu Picchu,

Colca Canyon and the Nazca Lines

before finishing in Lima.

News

October 2019 5

On 17 September we were entertained

by Robert Tilney, the Arms and Mili-

taria Expert from the BBC’s Antiques

Roadshow

After a worrying delay due to his

unplanned diversion to North Tudden-

ham rather than our location at East

Tuddenham, Robert launched into his

talk, sharing his experiences working

with the Antiques Roadshow pro-

gramme.

He explained that he started with the

programme about nine years ago, not

as an expert but as their armourer, with

responsibilities for health and safety.

He recounted a number of amusing sto-

ries whilst in that role, with what can

only be described as clueless members

of the public.

His “big break” came about when the

regular militaria expert was away

recording and the queue at his table

was becoming excessive. This led to

him being spotted by the producers and

as time has gone by he has now

become a regular as an expert,

although for some time he additionally

carried on with his armourer’s duties.

Robert explained that occasionally he

has had to disappoint visitors to the

roadshow, even casting doubt on their

ancestor’s tales of heroism! he related

a number of amusing tales about the

visitors to the show who turned up at

his table, such as when he identified an

illegal firearm that could potentially

result in a term “inside” for the holder

– who was slightly embarrassed when

he revealed that he was a Police

Inspector!

Following his talk Robert took ques-

tions from the audience before joining

members for a cup of tea and chat.

News

6 Norfolk NA7ter

Barney’s BirthdayEighty-one years young!

We had another super day at Dave and

Karen's picnic in the paddock. As I was

feeling a bit under the weather we

came in the modern. The threatened

rain arrived late morning and boy did it

rain! So we moved undercover and

enjoyed bacon and sausage baps and

tea or coffee.

Then a big surprise as Karen brought

out a tray of mini cakes spelling out

Happy Birthday for me. What a lovely

thought, thank you Karen and Dave.

The rain soon stopped and the sun

dried everything up and the Austin

Seven gymkhana got going with crazy

games on the meadow. Great fun! The

annual skittle match between us and

the Essex club soon began, usually we

thrash them but this time we lost or

perhaps I should say we came second!

One of the highlights for me was when

Dave invited me down to his music

room and let me play his Albert Lee

guitar – wow! Then Dave showed me

how it should be played.

All in all a great day.

Barney

A full report of the event is on page 21

News

October 2019 7

Christmas DinnerTuesday 10 December

7 for 7.30pm – please be prompt!

Wensum Valley Hotel, Golf and Country Club, Beech Avenue,

Taverham, Norwich, NR8 6HP

Three-course waiter-service meal, followed by coffee and mints.

There will be the usual raffle and donations would be appreciated.

Dress Code – Smart CasualEntertainment by vocalist Kelly Bayfield

The cost is £20 per personA booking form is on page 35

CLOSING DATE 29 NOVEMBER – NO LATE BOOKINGS WILL BE ACCEPTED

Please talk to Paul Maulden

(01986 872537 or paul_liz@maulden21.plus.com)

if you have any questions about the Christmas Dinner

MenuChef’s Home-made Soup with Croutons or

Prawn & Paprika Marie Rose Cocktail or

Goat’s cheese and red onion tart with a sweet pepper salsa

***

Roast Sirloin of Beef with Yorkshire Pudding or

Breast of chicken stuffed with chorizo, spring onion and mature cheddar wrapped

in bacon served with a peppercorn sauce or

Grilled fillet of seabass with a prawn, pea and parmesan mornay sauce or

Sauteed mushroom, fennel and spinach suet pudding with a rich red wine gravy

***

Homemade Bramley Apple Crumble with Vanilla Custard or

Cherry & Almond Bakewell Tart with Wild Cherry Ice Cream or

Lemon meringue roulade with lemon curd ice cream or

Cheese & Biscuits

***

Coffee & Chocolate Mints

News

8 Norfolk NA7ter

The Trophy CabinetNorfolk Members Clean Up at Beaulieu –

Dave Witton reports

Rick and Cherry Fryer were rewarded for their long journey to the 750 Motor Club’s

57th National Austin Seven Rally at Beaulieu Motor Museum in July.

Their journey in Vincent

the Van took them over

200 miles each way. Not

only did they win the

best in their commercial

vehicle class but they

also deservedly took

home the Long Haul

Trophy. Just as well

they had a van to carry

home all that silver-

ware!*

Karen Witton won the

Gordon England trophy

having been reluctantly

pushed in to the spot-

light by the Chairman!

*Editors Note: No one else was mad enough to attempt a 460-mile round trip – and

we were the only entrant in the Commercial and Military Class!

News

October 2019 9

The Trophy CabinetMore Competition Success

The 54th Austin Ten Drivers’ Club National Rally was held at Newark, also in July.

Roy Reed was delighted

to receive a third place

rosette in the “Pride Of

Ownership Trophy”,

particularly as he knew

there are things on the

car that are not quite

correct and the judges

are very particular,

making sure it is as it

would have been when it

left the factory.

Meanwhile, The Fur and

Feather Inn (Wood-

forde’s Brewery Tap)

held their first Classic

Car Show on 21

September. Les Reilly

took his ‘29 Chummy

Spud along for the ride.

He was delighted when

Spud was voted “the car

I would most like to go

home in” and he was

presented with a six-

pack of ale.

Photo courtesy David Charles

News

10 Norfolk NA7ter

Garden Party in aid of Macmillan Cancer

Support – 30 AugustMembers do their bit for charity

This now annual event, held at North-

all Green Farmhouse, near Dereham,

the home of members Elaine and John

Newton, always attracts a number of

club members and their cars.

This year was no exception, with five

Austins, two Crossleys and a Riley on

display. In addition, several members

came in “moderns”.

There was the usual well supported raf-

fle, several competitions and a deli-

cious buffet. Jean and Barney Barnard

had brought along their ukeleles (and

kazoos) and an impromptu musical

interlude ensued.

The total raised for Macmillan Cancer

Support was £304.50 including gift

aid.

News

October 2019 11

Kevin Shortis Memorial Service – 13 SeptemberMembers turn out to pay their respects

The was a good turnout of members,

both past and present – and their cars –

at Norwich Cathedral for the memorial

service for Kevin Shortis, one of our

founder members, who died in June.

There were five Sevens (Dave Witton,

John Howell, Trish and Dave Rix,

Hamish and Annie Alger, and Rick and

Cherry Fryer), Michael Spinks and Sue

Hunt in Michael’s Austin 12 Fabric

Saloon (which used to belong to

Kevin) and Martin Jones and David

Charles in Martin’s Ford Model A.

There was a lot of interest in the cars

both before and after the service. Rich-

ard Shortis was particularly pleased to

see his father’s old Austin 12.

12 Norfolk NA7ter

Runs & Rallies

NICE Vintage Fayre – 30 JunePhil Sharpe at Scottow

In perfect weather the Norfolk Internal

Combustion Engine Society rally, held

at North Walsham Rugby Club, Scot-

tow, was well supported by a good

variety of cars, stalls and attractions –

although only two NA7C members

cars, our Ruby and John White's

immaculate Austin Ten were in evi-

dence (although member Jamie Roger-

son made an appearance as a paying

visitor). As seems to now be the norm

there were only a handful of pre-war

cars present – but a lot of stationery

engines!

This location was a new venue for this

rally and the organisation seemed

excellent, with a vast array of station-

ary engines in a good layout, with all

other attractions in close proximity. If

the steady stream of visitors is any-

thing to go by next year's show show

be a repeat on the same site, with pos-

sibly an increased club presence?

Runs & Rallies

October 2019 13

North Norfolk Railway Vintage Transport Day – 7 JulyEric Ramm

The Vintage Transport Day held at

Holt on Sunday 7th July was a most

excellent event, greatly helped by the

glorious sunny weather. As an added

bonus each exhibitor (driver) was

given a complimentary rail travel

ticket and any passengers could also

purchase a ticket at the privilege rate of

£5. The half-hourly train service was

supplemented with a free vintage bus

service, for which a small donation

could be given. A variety of food and

drinks were available at all three sta-

tions.

At Sheringham 36 motorcycles were

on display and a group of 19 Morris

Minors were parked at Weybourne.

The main car display was at Holt with

358 in attendance. It was a great selec-

tion of vehicles of many types and

makes, mostly very colourful and

shiny. However, cars from the 20s 30s

and 40s were few and far between. My

1936 Ruby was parked next to a very

nice Bentley, I was somewhat relieved

to find that the next car was a 1937

Ford 8. So the only Austin 7 and the

8572, the only

B12 locomotive still in

existence, at Weybourne station

Runs & Rallies

14 Norfolk NA7ter

only Ford 8 at the event, paired up for

the day to keep each other company –

see below.

Not only was this an interesting day

and event for the transport enthusiast,

it was also a good family day outing

and the spectacular scenery during the

rail journey, brought back from a

bygone age, should not be missed. I

would suggest that next year we should

try and represent our club with a small

group of Austin Sevens. Considerable

interest was shown in my car, mainly

from people that remember travelling

in them as children but had forgotten

what they were like and just how small

they are.

At the recent King’s Lynn Car Club Rally, two NA7C cars – Martin Jones’ 1928 Model A Ford and the Editor’s 1929 Special – seen here at the Thursford lunch

stop – were among the handful of pre-war starters

Photo courtesy Martin Jones

Runs & Rallies

October 2019 15

BBQ at the Buck – 17 JulyDave Rix visits the Bungay Old Timers Club

Following on from last years Bungay

Old Timers Club invitation to their

BBQ at Flixton Buck, the club were

invited to come along again this year.

Of the NA7C members attending only

Paul and Liz Maulden brought their

Ruby. The rest of us settling for our

‘mates in crates’ machines, The

Sharpes in the Spitfire, the Lains in the

MGB and Mrs R and myself with the

Elan.

We enjoyed the BBQ in the courtyard

the only mishap was me tipping cider

into my lap, which added a rather

incontinent element to my appearance.

Among the mix of classic and pre-war

cars (see below) a 1916 American

Dodge stood out from the others. In

seemingly original condition with its

very patinated upholstery and dark

paintwork it certainly looked so. An

interesting detail was the hollow worn

through the floorboard beneath the

central accelerator (gas) pedal.

This car was right hand drive which

reminded me of a car meeting we

attended in Los Roblos California, a

while ago. The cars were all pre 1920

and RHD, and when I enquired why

was told that although the USA drove

on the right they also put the steering

wheel on the right. One persons opin-

ion was that the driver could let passen-

gers off without going into the road.

In 1908 Ford started fitting the steering

wheels on the left in the model T and

Runs & Rallies

16 Norfolk NA7ter

by about 1920 most other manufactur-

ers had followed suit.

Although the British colonies kept to

the left on the roads, for some

unknown reason the original colonists

in America took to using the right lane.

About 75% of countries drive on the

right these days.

After mingling and mardling with

Bungay and Lowestoft club members

we made our way home in the remain-

ing daylight. A very pleasant evening.

A Footnote...

Any reader who managed to get to the

end of my piece on Ufford earlier may

be interested that sentence was passed

for speeding (35mph in the 30 limit)

and punishment was a 90 quid fine and

condemned to 4 hours at Norwich foot-

ball stadium on a drivers awareness

course – which was nothing like as

interesting as a previous one I had

attended a few years ago!

Beighton House Garden Party – 28 JulyClub members enjoy the Charles’ hospitality

Mother Nature played her Joker yet

again for this event. After several days

of record-breaking high temperatures,

the mercury fell 20° and rain clouds

filled the skies. In view of this, and

because the van was undergoing a bit

of scheduled maintenance, we decided

to give “Bluey”, our 1933 RP, a rare

outing.

The journey to Beighton Hose was

uneventful, but slightly wet and we

arrived to find we were the first guests.

We drew up next to David’s 1936

Ruby, which had also made a rare

appearance from its garage.

David told us that, for various reasons,

he was not expecting a big turnout, but

club members began arriving and

eventually there were five “Sevens”, a

Ford 100E and Colin and Mossie

Aldridge’s delightful 1916 Model T

Ford.

Several of the guests had stopped off at

Raveningham Gardens, where the

Campaign to Protect Rural England

Summer Fair was taking place, then

continued their journey via the Reed-

ham Ferry.

The line-up was completed by three of

David’s friends who travelled from

Watford in a 1970s Triumph Stag and

one of the Charles’ MGs.

We spent an enjoyable afternoon on

the patio, chatting, eating and drinking.

David and Carol, as usual, provided a

Runs & Rallies

October 2019 17

seemingly inexhaustible supply of tea,

coffee and cakes. Fortunately the

weather remained kind, with no rain –

but very little sun either.

Once again we are indebted to David,

Carol and Chris Charles for the hospi-

tality they show every year to the club

– and for the Battenberg! Many thanks.

... eventually there were five

“Sevens”, a Ford 100E and

Colin and Mossie Aldridge’s

delightful 1916 Model T Ford

... on the patio, chatting, eating and drinking

Runs & Rallies

18 Norfolk NA7ter

The 2019 International Vintage Glider Rally was held at Tibenham Air-

field from 27 July – 3 August. On Tuesday 30 July the organisers kindly invited

local car clubs to attend in the evening.

Five NA7C cars turned up – Martin Jones in his Ford Model A, Paul and Liz

Maulden and Martin Roper in Rubies, Dave Rix in his Lotus and Rick and Cherry

in the Editorial Special.

Due to the generally inclement weather few cars took advantage of the invitation

and all the gliders were secured under cover or in their trailers. However, interest

in those cars that did turn out was high and a pleasant evening out was had by all.

Runs & Rallies

October 2019 19

Tricia's Trundle– 11 AugustLiz Maulden has a day in the country

On Sunday 11 August, Dave and Tricia

Rix organised “Tricia's Trundle”

through the Norfolk countryside.

The day was fine but blustery when we

met near the church in Mulbarton. In

all eight cars set off. These were Dave

Rix with friend Brian, Tricia with Joan,

John and Christine Lain, Phil and Trish

Jepson, Phil and Pat Sharpe, Hamish

and Annie Alger, Martin Jones and

ourselves, Paul and Liz Maulden (see

opposite).

We had a short two mile run to the

389th Bomb Group Museum at Hethel.

This enabled us to have a tea/coffee

and comfort stop ( vital to those who

had travelled a good distance). On

arrival we found that Dave and Karen

Witton were already there, fed and

watered and looking at the exhibits

(see below). The museum was very

interesting and well laid out. Well

worth visiting again and easily missed

as it is a bit off the beaten track. There

is an original painting of Christ in the

Chapel done by American airmen

during their stay there.

Suitably refreshed we all (except for

Dave and Karen who wished to stay

Runs & Rallies

20 Norfolk NA7ter

longer) set off into the countryside

through villages with beautiful houses

and buildings. We had to cross the

main A140 Ipswich Road which

proved a challenge but we all

eventually reached the other side.

We trundled on and reached

Shotesham Mill which involved

driving through the ford, luckily not

too deep and the tyres all got a wash!

Continuing on we came to a junction

where we had to turn left towards

Woodton. Suddenly from the right a

Chummy appeared at a rate of knots.

Dave and Karen had taken another

route and had caught us up. So we now

had nine cars in the convoy.

We then passed through Woodton,

Topcroft and Alburgh and crossed the

A143 into Homersfield. From here it

was a short journey to the Air Museum

at Flixton which was holding its RAFA

day. We joined other cars and military

vehicles who were already there and

lots of visitors. Some of us had booked

lunch at The Buck so we set off for our

meal. After that we returned to the

Museum to have a look round and chat.

Just as most of us had decided to head

for home it started to rain so we had

timed things perfectly weatherwise.

Many thanks to Dave and Tricia for all

their work planning such a lovely

route. We all enjoyed a splendid day.

Pelham House

Runs & Rallies

October 2019 21

Picnic in the Paddock at Pelham House – 18 AugustDave Rix

Over the past years the annual gather-

ings at our Chairman’s home (oppo-

site) has always been blessed with fine

weather, so perhaps the short period of

rain early in the proceedings was only

to be expected.

However, it didn’t spoil things and

after the delicious bacon and sausage

rolls had been consumed and washed

down with tea and coffee (served by

the ever-cheerful Annie) the rain

relented and the fun began.

Chris Makepeace (with bucket!)

negotiates the driving test in

the “Imp”

Runs & Rallies

22 Norfolk NA7ter

For whatever reason, numbers were

down this year with a smaller contin-

gent from both Essex and Suffolk,

although the Norfolk members were

well represented, with one RN, two

Rubies, two Opals, one Imp, one Gor-

don England, one Special, one Cross-

ley, a Riley Monaco and several

Sevens from the Witton stable. An A35

and MGB made up the classic entries.

Les Morley set up the gymkhana (an

Indian term for place of assembly – the

meaning altered to denote a place

where skill-based contests were held,

mostly equestrian) and after an initial

slow response for combatants the

entries picked up and battle was joined.

After much driving and reversing,

steering over a plank whilst the drivers

head was covered by a bucket, going

round in circles and the throwing of a

Seven crankshaft by the chaps and a

teddy bear by the lasses. The winners

were declared to be Judy and Charles

Levien in their much travelled Opal.

Congratulations to them.

Due perhaps to a massive degree of

over confidence and ego, the Norfolk

skittles experts actually came second

in this year’s competition in spite of

loaning the opposition some players. A

certain apprehension set in when our

Chairman scored more shots in his first

turn than in his entire previous career!

Meanwhile our loaned players failed to

keep their shots low thus ensuring our

defeat. The final score being 82 – 62

we offered our congratulations to the

victors.

Cakes and goodies contributed by

many kind people were set up with liq-

uid refreshments as the final act of

another most enjoyable day. We thank

all the cake providers for their splendid

efforts.

Above all huge appreciation to Karen

and David for their making it all possi-

ble.

Essex on their way to victory

Runs & Rallies

October 2019 23

Village at WarPhil Sharpe

This year I decided on a Sunday visit to

Gressenhall museum's 1940s event as

we had arranged to attend the funday at

Harleston on Bank Holiday Monday.

With record breaking temperatures

forecast (and later realised) the day

seemed much improved on recent

years with numbers of military vehi-

cles exceeding those usually seen on

the normally busier Bank Holiday.

Similarly a good number of classic pre-

war cars were in evidence. Although

only two club members were present –

myself and Martin Roper, more were

booked in on the following day.

Also in the courtyard and adjoining

grassed area were plenty of stalls with

vintage merchandise – Martin Roper

succumbing to the draw of a rather

excellent record player. Even more

goods were to be found in the marquee,

to the accompaniment of live music by

“Timescape”

As usual the museum displays in the

main buildings drew plenty of visitors,

with the Amateur Radio station oper-

ated by the Bittern DX group now

seemingly with a more permanent

home in the garden room near the

garage housing the Panhard veteran

car.

Runs & Rallies

24 Norfolk NA7ter

An excellent addition this year was the

Supermarine Spitfire MH805 (see

above), meticulously built over dec-

ades with original parts, which was

prominent at the top of the field, where

there were also other interesting dis-

plays. The organisers have since

advised that they are trying to get the

Spitfire back for next year.

Down on the farm, where it seemed

even hotter, more displays abounded,

including the Girl Guides camp, farm-

house kitchen, livestock and more.

The only thing missing was a BBMF

flypast, but with so much to see on one

site a visit again next year is planned.

Runs & Rallies

October 2019 25

Harleston Fun Day – 26 AugustThe Editor overheats!

On a record-breaking hot August Bank

Holiday Cherry and I headed off to

Harleston in the special to take part in

the annual Fun Day.

Our journey was enlivened by missing

the non-existent sign for Harleston on

the Scole bypass and heading off

towards Ipswich. We were not alone in

this, as we overtook Zita Denmark and

Lynda Watts in their Ruby heading

south, and met them again whilst head-

ing back north!

Once we finally found Harleston, we

joined a collection of classic cars in the

forecourt of Harleston’s Honda dealer

– see below – ready for a circuit or two

of the town, ending up at the Leisure

Centre.

The organiser, ex-member Peter Met-

calf, who led the parade in his A7 Spe-

cial, decided that all the Sevens should

travel together so that they could group

together on the field.

So that is what we did. Paul and Liz

Maulden, Phil and Pat Sharp and a

potential new member in Rubies; Bar-

ney and Jean Barnard in their RP and

Cherry and me in Cecil the Special

duly tagged on at the end of the con-

voy. Zita and Lynda had not appeared

at this point.

Off we went round the town, with us at

the end of the convoy. The first circuit

encountered a lot of modern traffic and

was very “stop-start”, but we were sur-

prised to find that the convoy, when we

eventually caught up, was heading to

the Leisure Centre after only one cir-

cuit. As Cecil’s water temperature was

beginning to rise towards the “tea’s

Runs & Rallies

26 Norfolk NA7ter

ready” point I was not sorry to get out

of the traffic.

However, when we arrived at the field

we found ourselves almost at the front

of the convoy, and stuck in a queue to

get in. We also spotted Zita and Lynda,

who had driven directly to the Leisure

Centre. We eventual got onto the field,

and began another stop-start circuit.

Overheating was now becoming very

evident, with smoke and fumes wafting

around our feet. A quick look around

revealed no more club members in

sight, so I made the decision to get out

of the parade and pulled up in the line-

up that was forming next to the ring. As

I got the bonnet up the remainder of the

club contingent entered the field and

parked in a neat line some distance

away.

It transpired that one of the entrants,

during the circuit of the town, decided

he was low on fuel and diverted to a

filling station. Unfortunately he forgot

he was part of a convoy, now broken

up by moderns, which duly followed

him to the garage forecourt!

However, all’s well that ends well and

all the club members gathered in the

welcome shade of a hedge (see below)

– all except Zita and Lynda who, hav-

ing arrived ahead of the rush, had

found a shady tree!

The show was the usual mix of charity

and craft stalls and food outlets. There

was a very imposing bouncy castle for

the children and a 1950 Eastern Coun-

ties bus was giving free rides around

the town.

The cars were also the usual mix. Other

than our club there were only three or

four pre-war cars. Our favourite was a

1930s Alvis, but the prize for the best

pre-war car went to an Austin 10.

October 2019 27

Our Cars

Spud in PrintOur cover girl appears in “Let’s Talk”

Les Reilly and his 1929

Chummy “Spud” appeared

in a two-page spread in the

September edition of the

popular Norfolk magazine

“Let’s Talk”.

The article, by Radio Nor-

folk’s David Clayton, a

well-known old car fan,

was factual and informa-

tive. Les even managed to

get in a plug for our club,

describing us as “a lovely

bunch of people”.

Thank you, Les.

Our Cars

28 Norfolk NA7ter

A Trio of Trips With RubyLiz Maulden brings us up to date with their car’s wanderings

This year we decided to widen our ho-

rizons and try pastures new, all local to

home near Halesworth.

Firstly, we went to Holton's Classic

Car Day and Fete. Just a mile or so

away we arrived to find thirty or so

cars of all ages on show in three rows.

The plan was to look at one row, reach

the entrance gate and have a catch up

chat with the chap on duty, whom we

know well. We never did reach that

gate! We met so many people we have

known for years, going back to school

days – a long time ago. Barney and

Jean Barnard had planned to bring

Winnie but she decided to wake up

with a flat battery, so they came in the

modern.

The day sped by, but after having a

BBQ lunch and a cuppa the weather

changed and the heavens opened. Eve-

rybody decided to depart at about 3

pm. which is when we eventually

reached that gate for that chat, but sit-

ting in the car in the dry. A lovely day

with a short journey home.

The next outing was to Sotterley Coun-

try Fair near Beccles. This event was

on the same day as the Heveningham

Our Cars

October 2019 29

Hall event – hence the reason our Edi-

tor and Cherry met us travelling in the

opposite direction to them! (see last

Natter issue). Set in the grounds of Sot-

terley Hall, this was larger than we ex-

pected. The cars were parked up in a

very bumpy meadow alongside the Ar-

chery, Musket and Clay Shoot. So

much for a peaceful day! Once we got

used to a shot ringing out now and

again it was not too bad.

Ruby was parked near a huge white

Cadillac (see opposite) belonging to a

member of the Lowestoft Club. Sever-

al of their members were there as well

as some from the Bungay Club. NA7C

member Laurie Rooke and Pat attend-

ed with their Riley. Once again an as-

sortment of cars of all ages plus

military vehicles, many of which we

had not seen before.

A lovely sunny and quite hot day for a

change. There was plenty to do and

see. About fifty craft stalls were set up

in the formal gardens; a stage offering

a variety of music to suit all tastes with

straw bales to sit on and listen; charity

stalls plus lots of eateries. This event is

a fund-raiser for various charities orig-

inally started five years ago by a father

to raise funds in memory of his daugh-

ter who died young from M.S.

All in all a great day out which we shall

certainly try to visit again next year.

The last outing of the trio was to Roy-

don near Diss for a Jazz afternoon. Set

in what was once a pit but now a lovely

grassed area we settled down to enjoy

our lunch with a background sound of

jazz performed on stage by various

bands.

Also there were John and Christine

Lain, Hamish and Annie Alger, Tracy

Jenkins and her partner and Mavis and

Trevor Jenkins. There were only a few

other cars there, in fact without our

Club presence, a low turn out.

This event was in aid of the children of

Chernobyl. Children come to England

to stay with host families to give them

a welcome holiday away from the area

where they live in shadow of the nucle-

ar disaster.

Our thanks to Mavis for telling the

Club about this event – a perfect sunny

Sunday afternoon relaxing with

friends.

Hopefully the weather will settle so we

can all enjoy the numerous events tak-

ing place over the next few months.

30 Norfolk NA7ter

FBHVC News

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs publish a bi-monthly magazine that

highlights legislation and other topics which may affect our hobby. Articles of

interest will be reprinted here. If any member would like to read the magazine in full,

please contact the Editor, or visit the FBHVC website at: www.fbhvc.co.uk

LegislationBob Owen

RegistrationFollowing our meeting with DVLA we

wrote to them on a number of outstand-

ing issues.

There is one area where we have good

news. DVLA have found a way to be

consistent with what their Press Office

said rather than their letter of a couple

of years ago. If a vehicle carrying a Q

Plate (which has not acquired it

because of changes to its configura-

tion) can produce evidence as to its true

identity and date of manufacture,

DVLA will allocate an age related, or

as the case may be, the original regis-

tration, to the vehicle.

Ian in his section deals with in more

detail with this subject and the others.

But I am bound to sign off by saying

with a heavy heart that for the first time

in my experience of dealing with them,

I am seeing what amounts to an organ-

isational bias within DVLA against

historic vehicles.

DVLA Ian Edmunds

As Bob has suggested elsewhere the

current attitude of DVLA is, to say the

least, unhelpful. In the last edition I

outlined various topics discussed in

our liaison meeting with DVLA and

indicated that in many cases the out-

come was inconclusive. Follow up let-

ters have been sent on individual

questions but unfortunately whilst

replies have been received to some of

these queries they have not in general

served to progress the situation.

We requested further information on

why one particular CKD vehicle had

been registered when it did not appear

to directly meet their stated require-

ments in terms of evidence of date of

FBHVC News

October 2019 31

final assembly. The DVLA reply refers

to a large amount of supporting evi-

dence but suggests that the same

approach is unlikely to be applied

again.

Two specific examples of registration

applications for vehicles where the

date of manufacture is marked directly

on the vehicle were sent to DVLA,

pointing out that one had been

accepted and the other rejected. It was

agreed with DVLA in the meeting that

to avoid any risk of problems for the

keeper of the accepted vehicle we

would redact all the identifying detail.

The latest response from DVLA effec-

tively says that without that detail they

cannot comment but that if the details

are supplied and the registration found

to have been issued in error it will be

withdrawn! Obviously we cannot take

that risk.

Following reports from clubs and

indeed a statement sent to me by

DVLA we queried the status of copy

documents. In the meeting DVLA

promised to supply a list of which sup-

porting documents for registration

applications had to be original and

which could be copies. This has been

received and on the face of it confirms

my long-standing understanding.

However, on one particular point the

statement is to my mind ambiguous so

I have requested further clarification.

At the time of writing this has not been

received.

I am very aware that a number of cor-

respondents have outstanding queries

with me involving one or more of the

above topics. I will try to update them

individually but to them and others –

please believe me; lack of obvious

progress does not indicate inactivity.

We are addressing, and will continue

to address, all valid issues brought to

our attention. Meanwhile my head is

quite sore from repeated contact with a

certain Welsh wall!

Not quite all is doom and gloom, how-

ever. There is one item of clearly good

news which I have deliberately left

until last. That way I hope you can fin-

ish reading this with a less heavy heart

than I have writing it! In the last edition

I reported on four sample cases of Q

registered vehicles that the Federation

had presented to DVLA for considera-

tion for conversion to normal age-

related registrations. In the meeting

DVLA intimated that all four met their

conditions and that suitable applica-

tions from their respective keepers

would be considered. Those who

attended Club Expo may remember

some discussion about an imported

Mercedes Benz which had also been

featured in the classic press. We now

know that it has been issued with an

age-related registration. At the time of

writing we have no news of the others

although I believe applications are in

progress.

FBHVC News

32 Norfolk NA7ter

One of our four samples is in fact a

V765 application as a V5C has come to

light since the vehicle was purchased

and registered by its current owner.

That can be treated in the same way as

any other V765 application. For age-

related registrations the DVLA

requirements are slightly more strin-

gent than normal as DVLA require evi-

dence that the vehicle has not been

seriously altered from its original spec-

ification. This is achieved by addi-

tional photographs. An initial request

to DVLA to re-register a Q-plated

vehicle will produce a standard

response which includes a list of the

requirements.

I must stress that this procedure is not

applicable to every Q-plated registra-

tion. In some cases, the Q was origi-

nally allocated because the vehicle was

modified or because there was some

clear inconsistency in its history. Gen-

erally these cannot be changed. The

new procedure is intended mainly for

vehicles where there was insufficient

information, or even interest, to pro-

vide adequate dating evidence when

they were first registered but the infor-

mation is now available.

Research Paul Chasney

Cost of Ownership Survey 2019On 14 May 2019 the Federation

launched the results of our 2019

National Cost of Ownership Survey at

a special meeting held at the Palace of

Westminster, hosted by the Right Hon-

ourable Sir Greg Knight MP, Chair-

man of the All Parties Parliamentary

Historic Vehicle Group and enthusias-

tic supporter of the Federation.

The survey took place in late 2018 and

early 2019 and followed a similar

methodology to that we used in the

National Historic Vehicle Survey car-

ried out in 2016. We completed a

national omnibus survey examining

both the behaviours and attitudes of the

adult population and completed our

work with a detailed enthusiast survey

examining specific costs of ownership.

The results of the Survey were both

encouraging, but in some cases con-

cerning, for those of us who are inter-

ested in Historic Vehicles of whatever

type. There is no doubt that public

enthusiasm for the historic vehicle sec-

tor continues to be very strong, but

changes are taking place that will

affect us all.

A particular focus of the national

omnibus element of the Survey was the

attitudes and behaviours of different

FBHVC News

October 2019 33

age groups. What this has shown is that

whilst overall there continues to be

enormous support for the historic vehi-

cle movement at large, enthusiasm

amongst younger people is not so

strong. The survey clearly suggests

that younger people do not readily

identify with the heritage issues under-

stood by older generations.

For example, there continues to be

enthusiasm at large for seeing vehicles

and owning vehicles but younger gen-

erations are far less sympathetic to his-

toric vehicles being exempt from

modern emissions and safety require-

ments. This is a particular concern for

the future given that it is not possible

for many historic vehicles to meet

these modern standards.

The survey results demonstrate a clear

need for all of us who are involved in

the movement to engage with younger

people and explain the importance of

the heritage aspects of historic vehi-

cles. All too soon these younger gener-

ations will be the legislators of

tomorrow and without a clear under-

standing of the importance of 'heritage

vehicles' our ability to use and enjoy

these vehicles might be severely

restricted.

And what does it cost to own a historic

vehicle?

Based on our survey group, the aver-

age cost per vehicle is £1,489 and the

average cost of fuel is less than £250

per year. This does not include the

costs of major restoration or repair

work, but it does show that day to day

ownership of a historic vehicle is open

to a large proportion of the population.

Further detail of the elements that com-

prise these costs is presented in the sur-

vey summary.

The full summary of the Survey can be

downloaded from the Federation's

website at www.fbhvc.co.uk. We hope

you enjoy reading and reflecting on

these results. The Federation's next

major survey will be published in 2021

when we will be encouraging partici-

pation from everyone who is interested

in the historic vehicle movement.

FBHVC News

34 Norfolk NA7ter

What’s OnNot much left on the Events Calendar for 2019, but Phil Sharpe is already working

on next year’s programme. Those which we know about are listed below – more to

come. Watch this space!

NA7C Events Calendar 2019

NA7C Events Calendar 2020

Please Note: All the above events and dates are subject to change.

Visit our website at www.na7c.co.uk for the latest information

Bold type Underlined = NA7C Organised Event Bold type = NA7C Supported Event

Normal Type = Event not organised by NA7C but rec ommended or suggested by NA7C

Grey shaded – a new or amended event added since last issue

Note: Please let the organiser know if you plan to attend an event

Date Event Venue Contact

Oct 15 Tues NA7C Meeting - Film Night: “Stanley's War” - the true and life-changing experi-ences in WWI of Stanle y Banyard, a Suffolk farm hand

Jubilee Hall, East Tuddenham - 7:30pm

Phil Sharpe

Nov 19 Tues NA7C Me eting – Guest Speaker: Dr. Row an Franc is (Forncett Steam Museum)

Jubilee Hall, East Tuddenham - 7:30pm

Phil Sharpe

Dec 10 Tues NA7C Christmas Dinner We nsum Valley Hotel, Golf a nd Country Club, Beech Avenue, Taverha m, Nor-wic h

Pa ul Maulden 01986 872537 paul_liz@maulden21.plus .com

Date Event Venue Contact

Jan 21 Tues NA7C Meeting - Indoor Rubber Band Aircraft, with a guest expe rt!

Jubilee Hall, East Tuddenham - 7:30pm

Phil Sharpe

Feb 18 Tues NA7C Meeting – Quiz Night Jubilee Hall, East Tuddenham - 7:30pm

Phil Sharpe

Mar 17 Tues NA7C Annual Ge ner al Mee ting Jubilee Hall, East Tuddenham - 7:30pm

Phil Sharpe

April 21 Tues NA7C Meeting – Rubber Band Racing Jubilee Hall, East Tuddenham - 7:30pm

Phil Sharpe

October 2019 35

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36 Norfolk NA7ter

Another delightful period advertisement, from the cover of a 1926 booklet

(Austin Publication No. 537)

And Finally...