The MGF Register

2007 EVENTS

RUN TO THE WOODS

Essex

Sunday 20th May 2007

At last the rain had stopped and the sun was shining on P & A Wood's showroom in Great Easton as we set up the new MGF Register flag for it's first outing next to the more seasoned Essex Roadsters one. Both flags and the banner fluttered in front of the prestige showrooms displaying the famous double R logo . I'm not sure what casual passers by must have thought to see this  well known Rolls Royce and Bentley dealership with it's forecourt full of gleaming MG sports cars.

We held the signing on in one of the more upmarket locations we have been to, with leather and wood foremost in the reception area, but this was only a prelude to the "wow" factor that was to follow as we were led through some unprepossessing doors into a wonderland of motoring heritage.

First stop was the workshop to see some Rolls and Bentleys undergoing restoration work  - some of it very extensive indeed as you can see in the picture at (1) to the left - that particular car which had been taken down to it's unpainted bodyshell  was expected to take some three years to complete. As we moved through there were more cars in various states of restoration including one (at (2)) that has had it's first £1 million spent on it. This was impressive enough but when we entered the main storage warehouse you can almost here the sharp intake of breath. I would simply hate to guess what the insurance premium is for this place as it was jam packed with Rolls and Bentley cars as far as the eye can see. Most of these cars are here for work to be carried out ranging from complete restorations to more minor tweaking. As we walked around we came across some very rusty Rolls Royces parked next immaculate vintage examples. A Blower Bentley with it's engine removed for work to be carried out proved impressive and could be yours for a mere £3 million. You would have thought that was pricey enough but tucked away in a corner was the original 1907 Silver Ghost which is about to be driven to Scotland for the centenary year. Now this car is special not only because it has a 6 cylinder 7,046cc engine but because most of the silver work you can see on the car is actually real silver. This is the first Silver Ghost and the only one that is actually made of Silver plate . It has undergone a complete chassis and mechanical restoration at P & A Wood and is now in immaculate condition - mind you it didn't have a floor when some of our ladies were invited to sit in the drivers seat so one had to be hastily put in place ! Just as well they didn't let the blokes sit in it  - at a cool value of £20 million a tiny scratch could be very expensive. This makes the car the most valuable automobile in the world. (3). Not only do P & A Wood restore cars but they also sell the modern variety so you can get your standard RR Phantom here as well - if you fancy some alterations to it  - P& A Wood will do that for you too.

Once we'd managed to get our breath back it was time for the business in hand - the Run to the Woods. Adrian Clifford and Andy Phillips gave the briefing and the cars lined up ready to be waved away by Adrian in pairs. Andy had already been underneath his first car of the day as we found one of the Fs with a puddle of green coolant underneath it. Ron Hubbard was game though and went on the run despite a leaky rad  - and he made it to the finish - well done Ron (4).  Sadly Dave Alexander didn't have quite so much luck as his water hose gave up on the home stretch. The Fers rallied around and the car was taken to Steve Tyler's at British Legends for repair and Dave & Michelle were ferried back home by Emma and Ralph - Dave extends a big thanks to all those concerned.

The run took us through some tiny lanes  which could be destined to be under the wheels of jumbo jets before too long as plans to build another runway at Stanstead Airport progress. Meanwhile the cowslipped lined lanes provided some great driving for us as we headed down to Epping Forest and our halfway point at High Beach. A cunning walking treasure hunt has been devised to keep us amused at our break and I think most of us managed to find at least some of the answers.

Setting off again after a short detour via the Royal Hunting Lodge (5) which enabled us to wave at Fs going in the opposite direction it wasn't too long before we were at our finish point of the White Hart at Margaretting Tye. They had a handy flat field which provided an excellent parking area at the back of the pub and we managed to get all 36 MGF/TFs and one TR6 into two long rows. We were a little late arriving and all arrived at similar times so the wait for lunch was understandably extended in some cases but we still had the pub quiz to crack and an opportunity to sell some more FasTForward subscriptions, and of course the chance to meet some new faces.

The run was remarkable in many ways but not least in that we had a total of seven Trophy 160's out of the 36 cars that took part - nearly 20% of the total number ! They must be very popular in Essex.

So finally who won the various quizzes ?

Treasure Hunt (sponsored by British Legends)

1st - Emma Jackman & Dawn Clifford

2nd - Dave Alexander & Michelle King

Pub Quiz

1st - Mark & Decia Lucas

2nd - Steve Tyler, Angela Groves and Dave Jenkins

Lucky Entry Draw

Andy Dungate

The Run to the Woods 2007

Route and Quiz organised by Adrian Clifford and Andy Phillips

Administration by Tim Morris

Photos this page by Tim Morris