THE LURGY

WINTER 2012

The official newsletter of

The Forest Of Dean Land Rover Group

Chairmans Say

Here we are, another year over and a year older!  What sort of year have we had?

It may not seem it but the Group has been quite busy taking part in shows, road runs, green lane days out and even a weekend in North Wales. In May we held our own fun weekend.

Not forgetting our monthly meeting held at the White Horse Soudley It has been a productive

year for fund raising on behalf of The Childrens Opportunity Center in Coleford.

We have had a skittles night if not producing great skill allowed members to make fools of themselves including myself, a fun night had by all. It all culminated with the Christmas Party

meeting with Grand draw, quiz and buffet.

The on thing that stands out is the fact that we are a very social group and I think quite a few members enjoy the social side of the monthly meetings. This is great because our ethos is

an interest in Land Rovers. We have recently accepted members who own and drive other 4x4

vehicles, this has lead to some friendly banter. It’s not their fault that they have not seen the light or perhaps they have!

What does the next twelve months hold, well we have already started planning some events.

The list will be posted on the web page and are also available at the meetings. Please ask

what is happening and if you wish to take part in any let Ivan know early as numbers may be limited. I look forward to seeing more new faces join the group and more out and about.

The years activities will be covered later in the newsletter.

All that is left for me to say is A belated Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Mike Miles (Chairman)

Our Charity Fund Raising

Once again our charity was The Childrens Opportunity Center in Coleford. For those who do not know of it. It is a center that gives respite to families who have a child that has a disability This pretty much covers anything that puts families under strain. It provides a safe and

friendly environment for the children while giving the rest of the family a break knowing that

their child is in safe hands. Due to the recent recession government has removed some of their funding so every little helps.

During the past year Jenny Miles has been doing various things to raise money. The obvious is the monthly raffle. At shows we have attended she has run a Tombola stall these raised in excess of £300. There was the raffle for the limited edition print which raised £70.

 Smith Kline Beecham donated drinks which were used in the tombola’s and some were sold to raise money. She also bought a bulk supply of Cadbury’s cream eggs again sold to raise money. We are still eating the one’s left over. Members attending the shows also helped on the stall.

The year culminated with the Grand Draw at Christmas. This raised £100 on the night.

We would like to thank all the local businesses that donated prizes also members who donated.

Fun Weekend

This was organised by Jim and gave members the chance to get their 4x4’s dirty without

the damage. Everyone had fun although the weather could have been kinder. Camping in rain is never great fun when you have children with you. Saturday night saw Marc appear with his trusted BBQ, hot dogs and burgers were in plentiful supply and the amber nectar flowed. A good night had by all. Thank you very much Marc. I would also like to thank Steve Clarke for providing the toilets for the weekend.

Vehicle Shows

Ivan organised stands at The Coleford Festival of Transport. It was well attended by members and their vehicles. I don’t remember what the weather was like but I understand it was a very good day.

Later in the year members went to Tradegar House Show near Newport. The weather was not kind at all but I understand it was a good day.

We were also represented at Bromyard gala and Herefordshire Country Fair. I organised the show stands on behalf of Herefordshire 4x4 response which were attended by the 8 who are members of both. Bromyard is a two day event and we camped from Friday night to Sunday, and a great time was had at both shows.

Two land Rovers from the Group took part in the Convoy For Hero’s and helped break the world record.

Road Runs

Earlier in the year we joined with the Vintage Power and Tractor Group for their annual forest run. This has become a firm favourite with members and non members alike. The 2011 run was a little more challenging than planned as the weather had been very wet prior to the run. This made it very slippery and heart stopping in a few places. Even so a great day was had and raised £670 for charity. One thing to note, we first joined in with this run 3 years ago and there was about 40 tractors and 10 Land Rovers, the last one saw about 25 tractors and 30 Land Rovers.

We had a run up to Gaydon to the museum. We were well received and had a great day.

27th December 4 Group members joined the Classic Vehicle Ross Roadies Group for a road run around Herefordshire, again for charity.

31st December 3 members joined with Vintage Power and Tractor Group for a road/forest track run around the forest another good day and a chance to relax after the Christmas festivities.

Green Lane Trips

Several Sunday green lane days were arranged and led by Ceri These as far as possible are non damaging days driving known lanes. Nothing special is needed for these days and are a good introduction to driving green lanes. Thanks for that Ceri, much appreciated.

In October we had a weekend driving green lanes in North Wales. We started in LLangollen on Friday night/Saturday morning  and finished in Devil’s Bridge on Sunday evening having spent Saturday night in Dolgelleu I only managed Saturday morning breaking the rear propshaft and poor Des had a failed clutch on Sunday and had to be recovered. Fun was had by all. Des provided the routes so thanks for that Des.

Finally Jim arranged a green lane day for Boxing Day. 13 vehicles turned out for a good day, unfortunately a couple suffered some minor damage. It was good to see SI, S11, S111, 90, 110 and Disco 1 plus some Mitsubishi’s

Other Events

In between members went along to various Land Rover Shows and Clear Outs.

We will be making a presentation to The Childrens Oportunity Center later in January, I will keep you informed.

All in All a full year and I hope something for everyone or at least most members. Please remember we can arrange an event to suite any level, come out and have some fun in 2012.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make these events happen, without your help and skills they would not have happened. So once again a big thank you and lets have a fun and safe 2012.

Mike Miles (Chairman)