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January
 
Submarine Museum - Gosport
 
 
 
 
 
February

The meeting at the Vine Inn was well attended and the cars gleamed in the sun. Such a difference from the last meeting when it poured with rain.
 
 
 
 
The pub was large but the lounge area did not lend itself for people to chat as a large group. We’ll have to investigate some more pubs!!!.
 
 
March
 
On Sunday 5th March we are going to Brooklands. Brooklands Motor museum is the home of British Motor Sport with its famous banking, We last visited Brooklands 2 years ago and we had such a good time that we thought we’d go again.
 
 
 
 
Also, to Mark the 50 Year Celebration of Club Lotus a Photographer commissioned by Club Lotus will be visiting different Area Regions during the Year to Video the regions in action, and we are pleased to announce that the visit to our Region will be during the Brooklands Visit next weekend and they will film our cars on the banking of the historic circuit.




April

Our Annual Lunch at the George and Falcon was a huge success with 37 people attending with a car park full of Lotuses. We had new a new couple Matt and Joanne in their bright red Esprit who promised us that they’d come again.
 

 
The lunch was enjoyed by all with a wide choice of main courses and desserts. We had a room to ourselves which meant that we could make as much noise as we wanted.
We had a champagne and brandy draw where Elaine won the brandy and Matt won the champagne. The landlord, Pete, donated a third prize of a good bottle of red wine won by Mike Chapman.



May

The trip to Goodwood and Tangmere museum attracted a lot of interest. It was nice to meet James de Main for the first time in his lovely aquamarine M100. We had a superb drive over the downs to Goodwood for the breakfast meeting of pre war cars. There were some lovely old cars including some racing Bentleys. After a short break we made our way to the Tangmere museum of Aviation There were some really interesting exhibits including a simulator where you could attempt to pilot a plane using a joy stick with an instructor next to you. There was a 2nd World War hurricane that had crashed in the middle of Hove and was only discovered a few years ago . Inside was the body of the pilot who was later buried with full military honours. It was fascinating to read the vital part that Tangmere played in the Battle of Britain.

Also on a very wet Castle Combe Lotus day it did not stop 3 Blue Lotus Elite's from splashing around in the rain ( how rare to find 3 Blue Elite's together like this ?)
 




June

We had a HOT sunny day for the Swannery visit in May It was so nice to see so many swans and cygnets so close to us and to each other .
 
 
There was a mass feeding of the swans at 4pm with a short talk by one of the staff and afterwards there was a mass feeding of tea and cakes for all of us. Two new members Peter and June Hayward joined us in their Elise hope to see you again soon.
 

The show at Sherborne Castle attracted 17 cars including Steven Hall in his gorgeous silver over burgundy 1961 Elite which caused a lot of interest.
 
 
This year we had 2 gazebos but as Dee had brought the instructions our club gazebo was up in seconds which gave us somewhere to sit and admire the ingenuity of the many trying to erect the larger gazebo which had arrived without its instructions as ours had done the year before. The club stand had a complimentary mention but we were unmissable by our size and our “marquees”



July

Our visit to Forde Abbey in June couldn’t have been blessed with better weather. After a picturesque run after coffee at St Leonards Hotel we arrived at the Abbey and parked next to a picnic area. Some of us had a picnic whilst others took advantage of the Abbeys facilities. The Abbey has some beautiful grounds including a wonderful fountain which most people managed to stand near and get a lovely shower next to the swan who was also making the most of it.
The Abbey itself was lovely and we were also given permission to park the cars on the upper front lawn for some spectacular photographs in the sun. We rounded the day off with tea and cakes in the refectory before we all made our way home. We had a new couple at this event, Ryan and Shula, who have a very smart red baby Elan Sprint. We hope to see you again soon.



August
 
We had a good display of cars at the Hampshire Pageant of Motoring at Broadlands on the Bank Holiday Sunday. Some new members joined us namely Shaun and Kerry from Devizes in Wiltshire in their blue Elise series 2. It was voted a success as there was plenty to see and do.
 


 
September

The run to the Subtropical Gardens at Abbotsbury was a great success even though the weather at the start of the day was very dubious. We were unable to see Hardys monument which is within 30 ft of the road because of the mist so stopping for a look at the view was impossible but just before reaching the pub the mist cleared as if by magic giving an awesome view of a sun drenched Chessel beach . After a lovely lunch in the sun we made our way to the gardens where we all enjoyed some fantastic unusual plants.


October
 
The trip to Winchester proved popular despite the torrential rain. The meal at the Dolphin pub in Hursley was excellent . Many thanks to Bruce for the recommendation. After we parked the cars around the huge fountain at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester the sun came out as if on cue and gave us some lovely photos.



November

The “Birthday” skittles evening was a resounding success with nearly 40 of us present. James and Carol kindly organized the teams and the scoring. The teams were Elan Esprit and Elise with the Elan team winning by a small margin. In the interval we had a meal, a raffle and cut the “Birthday” cake which was donated by Club Lotus. Peter blew the candles out as it was also his birthday. We then had a game of killer which Peter then went on to win. Sportomotive Service sponsored the prizes for the game of killer many thanks to them and to all of you who came and supported it. We are hoping to repeat this next year but possibly in a different alley.

Our next outing was a trip to Portland and the lighthouse which proved equally popular. After a run to the island we stopped at The Heights for lunch with its magnificent views over Chessel Beach and Weymouth Bay.
 
After lunch we went to Portland Bill where a few of us climbed the lighthouse and even fewer of us climbed up Pulpit Rock. The lighthouse is one of a few open to the public and it was interesting to see how they monitor the shipping in the English Channel. All large ships are required to have on board a GPS receiver which enables the lighthouse and coastguard to pinpoint all the shipping. As in good Wessex tradition we all ended up in the Lobster Pot for tea and cakes before making our way home as the sun was setting.


December

In December we had our Treasure Hunt which went very well. After a vote on seeing the weather it was unanimously agreed to do the hunt and it was a wise decision as the weather did improve. After a good lunch the hunters left for their walk around Lymington before returning answers in hand for tea and prizegiving. 1st place went to Colin Webb who won a Club Lotus fleece donated by Club Lotus 2nd place was won by Joy and Kelly who won the Formula 1 book and third place was Cowardly Custard Racing Team namely Simon and Elaine who won some photo frames. There was also an annual trophy donated by Club Lotus. Thanks to all of you who came.