This article was submitted by Tyne-Tees Centre member Owen Frankland who gets up to all sorts of things in his 1937 TA:

"Saturday 6th & 7th August was the Croft Nostalgia Weekend and we were there in the TA with The Northern Midas Group. This is a group of great enthusiasts for the Midas car, which, for those who don't know, was the successor to the Mini Marcos.
Saturday started off a bit cold and damp, and then got worse. It absolutely lashed it down in the afternoon and put a stop to any racing. We strolled round the paddock and the stands in the morning and took some photos of the great stuff that was there. Classic race cars, military vehicles, buses and commercials were all over the place.
Thankfully, the Midas group had a gazebo which kept us dry(ish) and was very useful at the end of the day when we parked the TA under cover to put up the hood (shock horror). This was the first time I'd driven the TA with the hood up since 1982 and although it pained me to do it, we were glad of it when we ran through flooded roads and had water coming over the top of the windscreen.

Sunday was cool and windy, but at least the rain held off. The morning gave us a chance to drive a lap of the circuit. It was probably the slowest lap ever but it was great fun.
The afternoon saw some great racing. Talk about blast from the past. Cortinas, Anglias, Minis, MGBs, E Types, even an Austin A95. The smell of Castrol R and the sounds of the 4 cylinder cars howling round with the occasional rumble of the Mustang's V8 took me back to the days when I used to marshall at Croft in the 60s.
A super weekend with something for everybody. Anybody with an interest in classic motor racing should keep an eye open for next year's event and book early, as spaces are soon taken up."

Jubilee and LE Register
The following account was written by TTC member Ken Armstrong, one of our regular members. It tells not just the story behind his restoration of his father's MGB GT LE but demonstrates that our MGs are more than just assemblies of metal with assorted components doused in oil but also have an intangible edge to them, such as the sound - read about his father coming to just listen to the engine. It's really a quite moving account so read on .....

Three years ago my father, Sidney, then 89 and in failing health gave me his MGB GT LE. The car was first registered in April 1981 and it was the 6^th GT LE off the production line at the Abingdon factory. He had owned it from new, using it for work until he retired in 1988. As he got older he used it less and less and by the time I took it over the car had been on axle stands since 1995. My brother and I brought it from Northern Ireland to Page Bank that autumn (hampered only briefly by the trailer almost losing a wheel in the dark on one of the snowy peaks of the A68) and I started work in earnest to restore it. By coincidence these events coincided with the formation of the JULE Register, an offshoot of the MGB Register for Jubilee and LE MGBs and I joined as a member. As the restoration progressed the JULE Register grew and in the spring of 2009 and 2010 runs were held in Abingdon. I watched these outings with envy as my car was far from ready. However I had tremendous help and support from the group via their website and regularly posted pictures of the car as work progressed. As the 2011Abingdon Spring Run approached it became clear that the car could actually be finished in time and with only days to spare I was finally in possession of a valid tax disc and was able once again to get her on the road.

On Saturday 14^th May my son Connor and I set off nice and early for the long motorway journey down south the car went remarkably well cruising at 70 without any complaints and we had arrived at the Heritage Museum in Gaydon by 2.30.

After looking around the exhibits (well worth a trip, by the way) we pushed on to a local hotel for the night. On Sunday we had 40 miles to run past Oxford to get to the Market Place in the centre of Abingdon. This had been specially unlocked for the occasion and we parked among the startled pedestrians in the bright sunshine.



In all 15 Jubilees and LEs gathered to do a 75 mile trip which took in Kimber House (the LE overheated due to a dodgy connection to the electric fan), the site of the MG factory and a rather fine pub for lunch. I discovered at this stop that the toots of appreciation from other road users were in fact due to me having no brake lights as the switch had failed at some point on the way down. Much fun was had diagnosing the problem in the pub car park using nothing more that fifteen enthusiasts and a multimeter. After the final leg of the trip (ending commendably at another pub) we set off for home at about 3.30pm arriving back 5 hours later without drama, stopping only for petrol and a cheeky donut about half way.

Looking back at the 3 year restoration of this car brings a tear to my eye; there are for me so many happy memories associated with it. My father died a few months after we took it out of his garage so he never saw the job completed but we did manage to get it started that day and he came to the door of the house to listen, too frail to come any further. I can only hope he would be pleased with the result and that it is a fitting reminder of a lifelong MG enthusiast and all round gentleman.

On a lovely but very windy hill at Hartside Top near Alston, several TTC members gathered to watch the magnificent array of cars arrive and depart on their final stage of Day 2 of the 3-day Brooklands to Edinburgh Rally. This is the location of the highest cafe in England and the views over Cumbria up to Scotland are simply magnificent. Other TTC members would certainly have gathered at other strategic points along the route and enjoyed the spectacle of these very valuable cars being driven with much gusto. As ever, most of the pictures were taken by Sheila Hope, who seldom appears in front of the lens.

When you look at the picture below, just realise that I am about 5'10" tall, so just imagine how large this 6 1/2 litre Bentley would look in your rear-view mirror! You would feel like moving over that's for sure.The picture alongside shows Peter and Lyn Ebdon enjoying the Spring air.

Most of the entrants really enter into the spirit of the event with some splendid outfits to enhance the view.

This picture below catches in the foreground from left: Barrie Hope, Peter Ebdon,Lyn Ebdon, Keith and James Dunn.

The car that attracted the attention of the MGCC contingent was this beautiful K3  below of Douglas and John Hampson with David Alexander and son Matthew already checking it out as Peter and Lyn Ebdon stride over. 


Barrie Hope had a chat with a very frozen lady in this 1913 Ford. It didn't just not have a roof, there were no doors or windscreen to protect driver and passenger and when I tell you it was cold standing around, imagine travelling even at 30mph into the biting wind.

Lyn Ebdon caught Barrie Hope, David Alexander and husband Peter standing as if waiting for a bus, but thought the best title for this would not be Three Musketeers but Three Rusty Steers, which is probably the best compliment all three have received in some time!


We hope that more of our members can see what they are missing if they don't take up some of the events for which we send them details. The whole time was really special, sharing a love of cars with like-minded enthusiasts.