February

Our Sunday meeting in February was the Slot Car Racing held at Millstream Raceway in Ringwood.  Once again it proved to be a great success and is now under new management, with a new track layout, which is even better than before.  When you first see the track with eight cars going around it at the same time, the sheer size of it is very impressive; so much bigger than the scalectrix you may have had at home once upon a time!!

James had once again organised us into groups so we knew what heat and colour car we were racing, ably assisted by Colin taking over the operation when it was James’ turn.  With a Murray Walker animation – it was go, go go!!

The cars hurtled around the track and in our enthusiasm, some inevitably came off on the bends, thereby giving those of us who were not racing in that particular heat plenty of involvement in putting the cars back on the racetrack!

All too soon the session came to an end and prizes were awarded to our overall winner Colin, who won the Wine and Food Hamper.  Joint second prize went to Neil and Kelly closely followed in third place by Shaun.

We then made our way to The Fish Inn, Ringwood where we sat in our reserved area by a lovely open log fire – very welcoming as it had started to snow lightly outside!  A range of excellent meals were enjoyed by all, together with general conversation and laughter.  It was also nice to meet John and Paula who are thinking about buying an Elise at some point – the main decision now, after being taken out for a drive in both models, is whether to go for a sexy, curvy Series 1 or pointy, aggressive Series 2 – I know which one I prefer!!

 March

The first day of March was an ideal opportunity for us to say a warm, unofficial welcome to springtime as we made our way to the Museum of Army flying in Middle Wallop. There is nothing better than a group of Lotus cars being driven on a bright, sunny day in the countryside and sure enough that is what we had.

On our arrival we were provided with a separate area to park our cars, right next to the outside exhibits of flying history, and very soon the cameras were clicking away trying to capture the resplendent machinery glinting in the sunshine.

The museum was a great success providing detailed information and interesting memorabilia surrounding the history of Army Flying through the ages. The whole exhibition was arranged to replicate the era of that time and it was intriguing to see the contrast of primitive early flying machines against the more sophisticated methods of later years.

After lunch and a further wander round we then gathered back at our cars to reflect on the experience and as time passed, we all made our way home still enjoying the sunshine.

On Sunday 15^th March a few of our more energetic members took part in the “Red Shoot Ramble” which was a 7 mile walk through the New Forest.  It incorporated the traditional old Oak trees with modern fast growing Pine together with open heathland and rambling brooks.  We had a very enjoyable ramble in glorious sunshine which made refreshments in the pub so much more enjoyable, without feeling any guilt! It was also lovely to see other members back at the pub who joined us there for lunch.

April 

Our run to Exbury Gardens was again blessed with a nice sunny day.  Let’s hope that it`s a good omen and we continue to have great weather for our meetings in the year to come!  Four new members joined us – Martin and Linda in their Series 2 Elise and Martin and Gill in their beautiful, original Elite.  We hope you all enjoyed the day and look forward to hopefully seeing you again at some future meetings.

The drive out to Exbury Gardens took us through some lovely Dorset countryside and then into the New Forest where we had to moderate our driving style somewhat!!  On arrival, we parked the Lotus’ in their pre-arranged area and were met by the Estate Manager, Nigel.  He gave us a brief talk about Exbury and then we were free to wander the lovely gardens and pathways.  Some of us took advantage of the miniature steam railway that took us on a tour of the Summer Lane Garden, leading to the American Garden. 

Later in the day, we all met up at the restaurant terrace for tea and cakes (of course!) and then said our goodbyes.  We all agreed what a magnificent day it had been, aided by the weather.

May

For our May monthly club run we had arranged to visit the renowned and wonderful Wilton House with its beautiful gardens near Salisbury and what a good decision it turned out to be. 

On arrival at Wilton House we were met by the staff and the main ornate gates were opened to allow us entry to our own private parking in the courtyard. Once we were parked it didn`t take long for visitors to the House to start shooting away with their cameras and asking questions relating to the cars and our Club. It really was an impressive sight to see the cars in front of the House with fountains and gardens as a backdrop.

Our timing as usual was perfect and before long it was time to seek out lunch with some of us heading for the on-site refreshments while others settled down to a picnic on the manicured lawns.

The sunny afternoon allowed us to enjoy Wilton House and Gardens at our leisure as we explored the pleasures of formal gardens with riverside walks and the exhibitions and displays inside the House.

As the day drew to a close we met up for a final pot of tea and concluded that it had been a wonderful day out and as the weather was so nice, we decided to extend the day. After not too much soul searching we thought it best to seek out a pub and round the day off nicely with an evening meal, which we duly did before we all said farewell and made our way home!

On 23^rd May the annual Lotus Track day was held at Castle Combe circuit which several of us also attended. We were blessed with fantastic warm sunny weather (the best it has been for years at Castle Combe). There was a great deal of action on the track and at lunchtime Lotus owners were invited to take part in several parade laps around the circuit which were also great fun chasing the circuit car around the track.

June

Our club run in June gave us the opportunity to venture into Hampshire for a visit to the remarkable Hollycombe Steam Park where everything is driven by steam (the title was a clue!).

We met at St Leonards in our shorts and tee shirts in readiness for a glorious drive through the rolling Hampshire lanes eventually arriving at our destination with the sun still shining, what a treat.  The staff had set aside a special parking area for us and soon we were parked up and tucking into our lunch in preparation for us to experience the sights and smells of bygone days.

We ended our day with a ride on a traditional steam train, complete with its ear piercing whistle, through woodland with its own peacocks, to an elevated viewpoint with views across the Hampshire and Sussex hills and valleys and rounded off with a cream tea in the old station masters office. 

Welsh Weekend

Our long weekend away in Wales during June began on a Friday morning in a local Little Chef with some of the party indulging in a proper breakfast before departing on our journey in lovely sunny conditions towards Tintern Abbey. On our arrival there, we were welcomed by other members of our party and were soon rekindling old friendships over lunch. After exploring the village we all set of for Mid-Wales in a multi coloured chain of Lotus cars, what a sight!

Saturday began with a hearty breakfast before we set off to explore the appropriately named Elan Valley with its great walks, dams and reservoirs followed by a drive through the area to soak up more of the breathtaking scenery.

After a good night’s sleep we again gathered for breakfast before we drove off through the quiet Welsh lanes of mid Wales .Monday morning saw us all departing after yet another hearty breakfast and stopping off at Angus and Shirley’s house, conveniently located mid-way, for a BBQ The weather was glorious and so we were able to actually enjoy the food outside – a real bonus!

London to Brighton Classic Car Run ‘21st Anniversary’ 7th June –        Report by Ed & Lena

This year we decided to enter our Lotus Elite in the London to Brighton Classic Car Run as poignantly it marked the 21st Anniversary of this somewhat famous Classic Car Event, also it had been a while since finishing the last event way back in 2002.

On the Sunday morning after an early breakfast we set off on our way to the starting point for the event which this year was from Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands.

After we registered and collected our ‘Tulip style’ route map book we had to hurry back to the car as it was nearly our time slot. This year as it was the 21st Anniversary of the event Sir Stirling Moss would be ceremoniously flagging each of the cars from the start line with a Union Jack flag!

It was quite exciting arriving at the start line where several photographers were standing by.Stirling Moss greeted us smiling and then after a wave of the flag we drove out of the complex and onto the country roads of Surrey., the sun also came out to greet us and at that point we knew it would be a good day.

Lena did very well in navigating the many wonderful routes through the Surrey and Sussex countryside and we never got lost once….honest. The roads ranged from long sweeping A roads, small B roads and even narrower roads through villages and wonderful woods where the mist was still rising of the ground creating an eerie feeling as we drove through.

When we finally arrived at the Finish Line on Madeira Drive Brighton seafront, we were presented with the Chequered Flag and greeted by hundreds of spectators who were standing alongside the road, which added to the buzzing and exciting atmosphere. We were then interviewed by the Event commentator who genuinely impressed us with his knowledge about each car and our car too!

Afterwards, we parked next to the JPS Lotus Europa and went off for some traditional fish and chips to celebrate completing the event and spent a few hours relaxing in Brighton before driving back to Poole.  

July

Our monthly club run on Sunday 5^th July proved that you don`t have to be young to make a fool of yourself and our afternoon of New Forest Frolics certainly brought back the memories of bygone school sports days.

We started the day with a lovely drive through rolling Dorset countryside before heading into Wiltshire with the famous Salisbury Spire in the distance and then into The New Forest, Hampshire`s newest National Park.  Our destination was Godshill near Fordingbridge and soon we had the cars parked and the chairs and picnics were being unloaded as we set up camp overlooking the cricket pitch.  Lunch was enjoyed in beautiful summer sunshine and the suntan lotion was being shared as we prepared for the afternoon’s activities.

What followed can only be described as a token gesture towards sport as the captains of each team, Nigel and Terry, tried to motivate their fellow team members with typical male competitiveness during the games and at the same time distract the opposition with underhand tactics (especially in the egg and spoon race!!). Much more fun and laughter followed with the last game to be played being an obstacle course with both teams having one member blindfolded whilst another member shouted instructions to them.  Once they got back to the start, another team member was then blindfolded and the pandemonium started all over again until each of us had made our hairy way around the course! The day proved that laughter is definitely the best medicine (and that some of us don’t know our left from our right!!) but it’s all about taking part, regardless of age or ability.

August

Our monthly club run on Sunday 2nd August to Montacute House was again a dry day!  We had a lovely drive to the venue with tops down and after managing to negotiate ourselves through the main town looking for the elusive brown signs confirming we were on the right route, made it there in good time!  The weather unfortunately had a change of heart and decided to drizzle on us slightly whilst having our picnic, but as ever us Lotus folk are not put off easily and we continued to sit outside, albeit under a tree!  We then decided to go into the House first to see if the weather would improve (which luckily it did), and then we were able to go around the grounds.  They had people walking around, both in the House and around the Gardens, dressed in period costume some of whom were playing instruments, whilst others took the opportunity of being photographed standing beside the picturesque display of Lotus cars parked in front of the house! 

September

Firstly, I cannot believe we are already in the month of September!  The year just seems to be flying by and so far, we have taken part in some great days out.

The August Bank Holiday saw us at the Hampshire Pageant of Motoring held at Broadlands.  Unfortunately we were not lucky with the weather this year as the man from the BBC had forecast a sunny day but we ended up with drizzle!  As ever though, we Lotus crew were not to be put off and there was a fantastic turn out of 17 cars, giving a great display of various designs and colours for people to admire as they approached the Lotus stand.

As usual, the yearly ‘Gazebo Challenge’ started the morning off with many amusing scratching of head moments but eventually it was up and assembled (how many people does it take to put up a Gazebo – quite a lot it seems!!).  Then came the next challenge of how many people and chairs could fit under the Gazebo as the drizzle became slightly heavier – again, quite a lot it seems and Jackie has photos to prove it!

The weather didn’t quite dry up but it didn’t dampen our spirits either, all of us having a great laugh and looking at the varied motor vehicles from by-gone days to present, together with the many craft stalls. 

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October

Our club run in September saw us at Lasham Airfield in Hampshire in a joint venture with Club Lotus Sussex.  The day proved to be very popular with 17 cars and the weather was dry but a bit windy.  Two Gliders had been set aside for our sole use and the people at Lasham organised us very well!  For many people, it was their first time taking to the skies in a Glider.  The experience was exhilarating and those that were wondering what they had let themselves in for before being towed up, were all smiles when they landed, having thoroughly enjoyed the experience of soaring silently on the wind like a bird!  Several people took in-flight photos of the countryside as a lasting memory of their experience. 

Many thanks to John and Doreen for arranging this great day out.

After we had enjoyed lunch in the airfield’s Café, we decided to visit the Watercress Line at New Alresford.  We jumped into our cars and arrived just in time to see a wonderful steam train pull into the station.  We stood on the bridge as it went under, steam and soot going in our faces – lovely!  It was great to see men at the front shovelling coal into the fire and to then watch as they switched the tracks, allowing the engine to move to the other end of the train so that it could set off on its return journey again.

December

What a Christmas cracker we had at our annual Wessex Lotus Christmas Lunch at The Sway Manor Hotel in the New Forest.

We were blessed with a lovely sunny day and as we drove along the roads enjoying the New Forest wildlife, you couldn`t have wished for a more idyllic setting in which to celebrate this festive period with friends and their Lotus cars.

The Hotel as usual was decked out beautifully with Christmas decorations and it didn`t take us long to forget the recent monsoon conditions and move into celebration mode. After a fantastic lunch, the winners of the table challenge quiz were decided and given their prize of a box of Celebrations. As coffee was served the draw for the free raffle commenced and I would like to thank Club Lotus for donating some of the prizes which were greatly appreciated by all.

Whilst all of this celebrating was going on Chris, the manager of the Hotel, had been out to the car park and chosen a “car of the day” which was Ed and Lena`s Elite, as featured on page 12 of the October issue of Club Lotus News.

When Chris was a boy he had a toy model of this car and to see one “in the flesh” was a real treat for him. Ed and Lena`s prize was a voucher donated by the Hotel and I would like to thank Chris for his generosity and his staff for making our celebrations a great success.