"...Our hero had to slow for some lights and with the lull in his pace he used this time to pull a pair of goggles from the open dashboard and to cover his eyes. He knew as he left the lights he would be heading out of town away from the slow moving traffic, with the narrow screen laying flat, his eyes would need protection. Accelerating away from the busy junction and he was soon hitting the national limit on a darkened B-road in cold, damp conditions. These were roads he loved the best. Holding the steering wheel at "ten to two", he flicked to main beam with his little finger using the near perfect ergonomics of his cockpit. He pulled to the left, so that he could confront the first long sweeping bend efficiently, as he braked hard, he soon pulled himself clear to enter a satisfying straight to stretch his steed. Holding the steering wheel above the dashboard exposed his hands to the cold, so with this brief respite he slid his hands down below the dash to enjoy some meagre warmth. Soon he drifted to the right for a left hander; he had mastered the art of taking the best racing line on his side of the road. Shuddering he squeezed his long beard to release a mixture of ice and moisture adding to the frozen stiffness of his left hand while the other gripped the steering wheel to ensure he kept on the road. By now he was some distance from Bracknell Newtown, an emergent metropolis that was slowly eating up the countryside like a concrete flood. He had one more obstacle, a double bend in quick succession. With gritted determination he flicked the sports car to the left then to the right, with the resulting sudden movement from the backend, he instinctively corrected the over steer and blasted forth. This brought a broad grin to his face, all the suffering, all the cold, all the damp he endured was made worthwhile, this was part of the magic of driving a Morgan Sports Car. It was man and machine in harmony. Arriving at a main road he turned right and slowed his tempo to locate his destination. Ahead he turned left into a large fish bone shape car park. He noticed another Morgan in one of the fish bone parking lots, he wasn't the first. Unloading himself from his Morgan he approached the entrance to the Bird In Hand. With all his thick warm weather gear he had difficulty pushing his body through the narrow swinging doors. Inside he surveyed the scene, along from the bar he saw a well built man with a bushy moustache standing by the open fire. He noticed one of his hands had frostbite while the other was holding a pipe. Walking over to him, holding out his hand he said, "Hello you must be Arthur Neal, I am Chris Rowe." Arthur turned and smiled, "Welcome Chris, welcome to the Bird In Hand, welcome to the Reading Centre!" And the rest is history ...."
I hope you enjoyed my re-imagining of how Chris Rowe and Arthur Neal met at our first noggin that dark, damp, cold night in November, back in 1970 at the Bird In Hand. It was cold in those days; they were pioneers, dressing for the occasion, they never used their hoods. The conservation, round the fire, would have been about the journey and how their Morgan sport cars performed. Every trip was an adventure - arriving at a noggin, having beaten the elements and exercised their stallions, was the challenge and provided a great sense of accomplishment. No wonder are Centre was formed with such firm foundations with enthusiasts like Chris and Arthur. Incidentally, please don't try the above at home; Chris and Arthur were very experienced drivers especially in piloting the Morgan Sports Car.
This month we shall be celebrating the formation of our Centre with our 40th Anniversary dinner to be held in at the Bird In Hand. We will be saying a big thank you to Chris and Arthur. This will be a special event. Please contact Mike Aldrich if you would like to go as soon as you can as we are taking bookings on a first come first served basis. At the time of writing in late September, there were no places left, so we are now operating a waiting list. You can find Mike's contact details listed under Events, please see below.
As I have mentioned before, if you were a previous regular at the Reading, Grogmog or even Thames Valley Centre, I would love to hear from you, if you are still able to read this column. I would like to hear your memories so that we can pull together a comprehensive history for our Ruby dinner. Also, if you are still active with us please pass this message on to any old members that you may still be in touch with - thank you. With our journey starting in 1970, the US space programme to the moon was in full flight and Concorde was beginning its life while the flag ship Morgan was a Moss Box Plus 8. Now in 2010, Concorde has been grounded for some years and the US manned space programme is coming to an end. Whereas the Morgan Motor Company is looking at a hybrid vehicle with regenerative braking, advanced manufacturing material and ultimately an affordable, completely electric, sports car - arguably one of our most forward looking manufacturers. How things have changed. Long may it continue - here's good health and success to Thames Valley and the Morgan Motor Company. I look forward to seeing you at our dinner, at the Bird In Hand.
Please don't forget this month we have the Veteran Car Run meeting at Newland's Corner for a run down to Staplefield. If the weather turns nasty, as last year, please assume the run is off. Fingers crossed, this time we and the veterans won't be confronted with such a dire weather warning. Hope to see you there.
This month's walk returns to another beautiful stretch of the River Thames, appropriately for us this month’s walk starts in the Thames side village of Goring. See our events page for details.
Take care, see you all soon