THAMES VALLEY HOODS

Event Reports for 2005

The Chinnor & Princes Risboro' Railway - January 2005

The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Steam Railway - 2nd January 2005 , first run out of the new year, a bit chilly round the ears but thankfully dry and clear. A good and varied turn out rolled into the car park at Chinnor (click any image for larger view) - the surface of which turned out better than feared, always a worry for Hoodies. One of the Hoods made a particularly noisy entrance, Pete Brundel's "Hood on Loan" had suffered a broken exhaust manifold on the way in :-

2 MG's were proudly brought along by Pete MGB and Roger/Dan MGA who are building or refurbishing - I'm confident they arrived a few degrees warmer than the rest of us. A short walk to the station and we were settled into the rail carraige that serves as the stationery buffet car and enjoying a welcome and warm cuppa (thanks to Pete and John) and much chat. During our conversations we discovered a few closset "Train Fanciers" (they knew far too much) ! By the way , John P. - at least Peter R. has the excuse he used to work on the railways !

The line is placed in really beautiful scenery by the Chilterns and is about 4 miles each way in length with plans for more. The steam engine really does make for a spectacular sight and John grabbed this evocative shot :-

The journey allowed us to spy a swooping Red Kite (v.rare) and various other country views - all whilst enjoying Mince Pies and warm tea / coffee. The gift shop was visited for the necessary momento's of our trip (mood rings and keyrings !) and then it was back to the car park to consider how the exhaust would make it home in one piece and to critique Peter's newly aquired MGB (the loud blue one !) - which we agreed looked a bargain and in good fettle .

Before we headed off for the journey home - John press-ganged a few into standing by their Hoods for the Members Gallery (check them out). Given the direction of the sun it was a wonder his camera made any sense of it all ! I notice John that we still don't have a picture of you by your Hood ? (Perhaps a job for Christine).

One Hoody (Beth - 9 yrs) was certainly not going to get cold on the journey back (I wonder if a driver version is available !) :-

The Exodus :-

The Epilogue :

John Peach departed last, and headed back via Bledlow and High Wycombe, just to vary from the route taken on the way to the Steam Railway. He got a whiff of something that did not smell right, a sort of burning. Christine convinced him it was just the after effects of the steam and coal dust in his nostrils. Curious to prove it, John lifted the bonnet at home, and found that the oil filler cap had somehow escaped from its hole, and lay on the exhaust manifold , nicely wedged between 2 and 3 plugs ............cooking nicely !!

More details on the Railway at CPRRA

Homecall - Dan and Roger's - February 2005

Homecall – Dan and Roger – February 2005

Roving Reporter Roger Recalls ……..(Detail from Dan)

Just a short note to let you know that our Hood "homecall" was excellent, 12 club members arrived around noon ( we were a bit overwhelmed to say the least) after the usual tyre kicking on the driveway we all moved into the garage for tea, muffins and the object of the visit to check out Dan’s car.. Dan was given the task of making the list of To-Do’s and to our amazement the list was only 7 lines long, we plan to tackle these jobs in the next two to three weeks.

We would like to thank JohnPeach for arranging the visit and Graham B, Graham M, Steve, Terry, Neil, Andy, Peter M, Peter C, Paul G , Danny, Irene and Claire for all making the effort on a very cold day. I was very interested in the general garage talk about Dan’s car and the pending SVA test, I am sure with all the information we have gleaned from our home call we will stand a better chance of getting the car through.

Thanks to you all.

Dan and Roger.

Graham Mintram :

And the inevitable Epilogue , I followed Pete M. home from Dan and Roger’s through darkest Bucks ……

"Hi Graham, had fun last Sunday, sorry about the lack of indicators, just outside Princes Risborough the ignition warning light came on and all the dials on the dash stopped working, funny thing is the lights still work, as does the heater fan and the hazard warning system? I think the brake lights were working hope I didn't give you a fright ! Cheers Pete 2b"

I'm sure Pete's already fixed the problem, and do you know - I didn't notice a thing - that must say a thing or two !

Andy Carter turned up in his newly SVA'd car - a nice green Hood that turned a few heads and Neil came along in his newly aquired S7 model - with Elise seats, wheels to die for and a tuned engine that just about ticks over (apparantly goes like the clappers when opened up)! Testimony to the cold and driving wind - Pete's door window was blown clean off during the afternoon on the drive - but Roger's well equiped garage came to the rescue and repairs were possible on-site to keep Pete a little warmer on the way home. Besides Roger's fine MGA tucked away in the garage he has a small collection of "older" motorbikes in varying states of repair - with a fascinating story/history attached to each, not being a bike fan I cannot recall their model types nor the associated bike capers - ask Roger for details !

Thanks to Dan and Roger for their hospitality from all who turned out , much appreciated.

Some of the Homecall photos taken by Terry B , Pete C , Dan & Roger - thanks guys (click for larger image) :-



Irene's                          Graham's                      Pete's



Graham's                     The drive + Neil's       Pete's



Andy's                           Andy's                          Andy's



Andy's                           Andy's                          Andy's



Roger's MGA                Roger's MGA             Irene & Claire exit



Dan's                           Neil's                            Dan's Den

Homecall - Alan and Tim Saunders - March 2005

March 20th dawned a fine dry day for the visit to Alan and Tim in Basingstoke, and following Alans good directions we all arrived at the prescribed time. Their build is coming along fine, and all were impressed with the boot construction. ( Can you come and do mine like that lads ? ). Fitting of front wings and seats are the last key items before the dashboard and the final fiddley bits. ( You remember............thats the list that goes on and on ....and on .........!! ). These chaps ae dedicated to completing by about may/June, and progress involves going 7 miles to the build garage, and working without mains power or lighting. Phew, and I used to think my integral garage was not warm enough sometimes !!

The usual discussions on build tips and progress for SVA hopefully resolved any sticking points that they had. If there are more, Alan, we''ll come back to treat the neighbours to more decibels. ( Did you hear Richard depart !!, rumour has it that plod arrived soon after the departures. ). Tim and Alan also rely on field kitchen facilities , so the tea and doughnuts were skillfully prepared from generated power, while the need for latrines was available in the garage ...........the enamel bucket wasn't it ?. There were crossed legs towards the end . but the bravery award goes to Gordon, who'd had a curry the previous night !!

One final note, a chance remark from Terry revealed that his car shall be named 'The Gun Carraige'. Explanations on a postcard please.................

Pictures of the day, provided by Terry...........

Click for a larger image.

Gozzards Ford Monthly meeting - April 2005.

Another excellent turn out of bodies (but not cars, the weather was very damp !). Some snapshots :-

The Black Horse by night !

KARTING SHOWDOWN - SWINDON April 2005

South West vs. Thames Valley

The South West Hoodies' (SWH) Area Secretary Bob Lancaster and wife Pauline challenged the Thames Valley Hoods (TVH) to a Karting Race taking place in Swindon. John Peach had difficulty fighting off takers for the 10 places and in the end gallantly relinquished his own place in our team - he became event photographer instead !

There was a good deal of pre-match baiting going on as Bob and Pauline often get along to the TVH meeting at Gozzards Ford ! So the tension was set to "fever-pitch" well before the first lights went from red to green.

The cars began to arrive at the old aircraft hanger well before start time there were 5 or 6 Hoods , a Westie and a Fury in the end - but mostly tin tops. So, after brief introductions in the foyer (thanks Bob and John - you nearly remembered everyones name !) we set off to select from the freshly laundered overalls , newly issued gloves and sparkling helmets .... not ! Although our own TVH team were issued with high-grip gloves by Steve House, obviously you'll understand, not a competitive advantage - merely a hygiene precaution ! Meanwhile the adoring fans and photo-journalists took their places in the viewing galleries and pit-wall vantage points (due to the cold our "Pit-Babes" were well covered, pictures though are still available from John Peach ).

The drivers were ushered along to the pre-match briefing where the Health and Safety aspects were highlighted at great length. I became quite nervous of the whole affair as the briefing moved towards the local Environmental Health Officers' interest in mixing the Public with 50 mph Karts and a high grip indoor tarmac track ! We sat nervously and intently taking in his every word - grateful that the gas Karts we would be using had "good low down torque to get the fuller figure out of bends faster" - tact not a strong point then.

The format for 20 drivers would be 14 heats of 4 laps - we'd all get 4 drives in these and then take part (in ranked positions) in 4 "Quarter Finals" (6 laps each) - the overall top 8 from which would enter a Final race of 6 laps - so we'd all get 5 drives and the chosen few would be in a 6th, to battle out for final positions. Sadly one of the SWD's had not made it so Nigel Peach (John's son) stood in for the missing SWD - this free-transfer by our Manager John of a through and through TVH, was to have an unexpected importance - often the case where parents and off-spring are concerned.

Despite being warned about black flags and the like - the driving was "spirited" from the start ! Very kindly the SWD's had been issued with "Team" colours in the shape of those multi-colour light bands that you see at fairs and the like , they wore them around their necks - so in the semi-dark air-hanger they stood out very nicely as illuminated "targets" ! The first heat got off to the strains of "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac , the theme tune from F1 coverage by the BBC back in the dark ages - when the commentating team were all quite likeable. The red lights came on one by one and then four greens appeared - the exhausts bellowed , drowned out the PA system and filled the air with smoke the karts entering the hairpin bend 3 abreast and 2 deep ~ how they got round the first corner is beyond me (it didn't appear to be by being polite).

Early on it was clear that Dan McIntyre was making good ground and many a brave overtaking pass was being boasted by others ! The television monitor feedback on progress of all drivers was eagerly scanned for indications on team advantage - but it was all very confusing ! After a couple of hours racing we were down to the Final ! A tense affair with the assembled elite of our motley crews - evenly matched with 4 from SWH (Downes , Peach , Spiller and Bell) and 4 from TVH ( McIntyre , House , Mintram and House) ...... a real nail-biter !

The Final - Grid in place , Ready to go.

Held on the line for longer than normal.

The tension was high.

The result of the final as the drivers saw it !

The "Final Race" Result : Pos , Drivers Name , Num , Fastest Lap , : 1 Daniel McIntyre 0:32:16 , 2 Steve House 0:31:96 , 3 Jon Downes 0:33:08 , 4 Nigel Peach 0:33:92 , 5 Pete Spiller 0:33:40 , 6 Graham Mintram 0:33:48 , 7 Jamie Bell 0:32:00 , 8 Darren House 0:36:40 .

OVERALL Results

Pos Drivers Name points

1 Daniel McIntyre 58 , 2 Steve House 50 , 3 Jon Downes 50 , 4 Nigel Peach 44 , 5 Darren House 42 , 6 Pete Spiller 40 , 7 Graham Mintram 37 ,8 Jamie Bell 32 , 9 Ray Adams 30 , 10 Dylan Meyer 26 , 11 Richard Hanks 26 , 12 Bob Lancaster 24 , 13 David Peach 22 , 14 Barry Liles 22 , 15 Tim Saunders 21 , 16 Peter Jacob 17 , 17 Steve Carver 12 , 18 Pat Saunders 11 , 19 Alan Saunders 10 , 20 Peter Ray 7 .

The Podium photo says it all - 1. Daniel McIntyre (Centre - TVH) 2. Steve House (Left - TVH)* 3. Mr Downes ? (Right - SWH). I know Dan is taking his trophy off to add to the horde of football awards he already has (don't you just hate him).

Someone has to be last - and it could not have gone to a more deserving fellow ! Peter Ray had never sampled Karts before and has spent 20 years in 4x4's trundling around looking down on all passers-by in Northants - so the rear-wheel drive, lack of grip and zero ground clearance came as a bit of a shock ! Better luck next time Peter.

We all gathered again at the Sick Parrot Arms (or something like that !) for the post match drinking and eating to take place - it was here that the team results were announced by the Landlord...... TVH 275 points , SWD 303 points ........ and how many did JP's son Nigel score ?

(When The FA are after their next England Manager - we'd do well to keep JP out of the running !) . A fine trophy was presented to Bob of SWHoods who didn't make too much capital from their fine win (thanks Bob).

As gallant losers , TVH will be organising the return match for one years' time, I'm sure there'll be just as big a rush for tickets - so get in quick !

A big thank you to the SWH's for their welcome and competitiveness - and a special thanks to Bob and Pauline for pulling it all together - a memorable day.

ps : Our Champion on the day Dan is having his car SVA'd on 3rd May - good luck mate.

Report : Graham Mintram with excellent photos by John Peach ~ a career beckons ?

More photos from the event :-