NEWSLETTER Vol 4 Issue 7
Sept. Oct and Nov 2014
Halifax Main Drag
G’day Marquers,
A few changes to the Newsletter this time, Presidents Blog is at the end of the Newsletter this time.
I was having some difficulties with the service provider and sent out this edition by email in PDF format but all is well again web wise.
The last couple of months have been quite busy for members with the various activities that have been going on. First item to kick off would have to be the Cancer Council Relay for life which was held on the 23/24th August just after the last Newsletter. By all accounts this went off well with Kat Martin taking the lead and organising walkers and support people. I am not sure what the final figure was as it was quite involved with various raffles and the funds also generated from the Reasonably Priced Car.
The last weekend in September, Fathers Day, Todd Martin had his Big Cruise up to Halifax as a Charity Drive to raise money for Trish Wallace, President of the Cyclones Car Club. This was a great drive with approximately 80 cars from all sectors of Townsville’s car enthusiasts. A handful of bike riders joined the cruise as well.
MSCR members having Lunch at Halifax Pub
The Halifax local constabulary blocked off the main street outside the Pubs and this provided a good area for the impromptu car show that evolved as a result of the interesting variety of vehicles.
Todd doing what he does best, working the crowd.
Todd took the opportunity after lunch to Auction off several items that had been donated and then drew the lucky ticket which was Trish Wallace. Up till this point she had no idea what was going on so the look on her face when Todd advised her of exactly what she had won was priceless. In total the Cruise had raised around $6000. This amount was far more than Todd had anticipated and it has given Trish and her husband the opportunity to make some much wanted comfort changes to their home to better cater for Trish’s wheel chair, plus the new electric mobility attachment Todd has on order for her chair from the USA. All in all a really top cruise for such a worthwhile cause. Thanks Todd and Lucille for another top event.
Trish Wallace after receiving news of her win.
The Cardwell Local Council put on a celebration in October to commemorate the completion of the revamp of the seaside town. News of the event reached me too late to organise anything but Graham Williams and Tony Williams aka Yorky, made the trip to join in the event which apparently went very well with a wide range of visitors including members of the Saints who went in force with their Hot Rods.
Graham related a rather scary incident on the way up there. Apparently they pulled in to the Rollingstone Pub to check Yorky’s steering on his MG PA as it was hard to turn in one direction. Didn’t take long to find the problem, the 2 bolts which hold the hub to the kingpin had undone so the only thing holding the wheel on was the split pin. Yorkie only had one tool in his car, a huge shifter. Fortunately Graham had a basic toolkit so they were able to sort it out. Their initial fear was finding 2 nuts to replace the ones missing. but after removing the wheel they found the missing nuts floating around in the brake drum. Job fixed and away they went. Hate to think of the consequences had the wheel parted company .
The Reid Park 2 Day Sprint Event went really well with a good field of racers including some who had come from south to be a part of this annual event. This two day event requires a fair amount of effort from many to get the show on the road so to speak and certainly wouldn’t happen without the support of the many members who step up and make things happen. Like all events, setting up is only half of it, you still have to take it down. Fortunately with some foresight, a Demonstration Day was planned for the following weekend that meant most of the gear could remain in place till the following weekend.
Jeff Phillips V8 powered RX7
I have to mention that amongst all this set up and organising Paul Martin and Jeff Phillips were struggling to finish putting together this monster V8 powered RX7. Both guys put in a huge effort for the event not only donating tilt tray trucks and fork lifts but also transporting and setting up tyre barriers and concrete barriers. Getting back to the story line, this monster machine roared off and continued to perform over both days with gratifying results for Jeff, Paul and Kathy, there were a few murmurs about their tyres never had a chance to cool down being an unfair advantage, but this was all in jest as they all new they never had a chance against it. At the end of the meet the threesome were rewarded with overall First, Second and Third. Stellar effort guys. All in all a great week end of racing
Winners are grinners. . .
The following weekend brought about the much mooted Drift Day. The Race Committee refrained from publicising this event till the last minute as a drift day in an effort to avoid the Fun Police getting wind of the event and putting a stop to it. The wizardry of Facebook and Twitter ensured that once it was sanctioned to publicise the world knew about it. The entry field was fairly small, thankfully, and it allowed participants to have a ton of fun with virtually unlimited runs, something previously unheard of. What was surprising was the amount of interest generated by the public. Spectators were welcomed and there was no charge. Hard to judge the amount of spectators but somewhere around 500 would be a safe assumption . There was a fair bit of carnage with a couple of really good looking cars being transported home on the back of a tilt tray. It was all good and certainly provided an insight to the sport and highlighted the amount of work and experience required to run an event of this nature. Question from most spectators was “when’s the next one?”
Credit where credit is due must go to the Townsville City Council representatives who liaised with President Les and the Race Committee in regards to the organising and oversight of both events. Everything worked like clockwork and it was a credit to them for the assistance and understanding they afforded the Marque Club and it’s members.
We had a non scheduled Pub Dinner on 7 October at the West End Pub. I had a call from Wilf Hardy, he was coming up for a few days to sort out some of his affairs here and asked if it was possible to meet up with some of his Marque mates so we settled on a Pub Dinner. It was good to see some of his old mates make the effort to come along to meet up with him. Thanks to all who came along.
Wilf in the middle with some of his mates
October the 12th brought about a drive of sorts that included an observation run followed by a novelty event. We didn’t have a good response or support for this but those who did make the effort hopefully had an interesting day. A suitable venue has always been a problem for this type of event but this time Les and I bit the bullet and used a really great new location. The day was completed by moving off to Sheriffs Park in Mundingburra for a buffet type picnic lunch and cold beverages anonymously donated. Points for this event went towards the Club Challenge Award Trophy
Round Six of the Zinc Bitumen Sprints on 18th October completed the series for the year with a few new PB’s and interesting results for this years awards night.
We have had some good Pub Dinners this year but the last one was held at the Seaview on The Strand. I think everyone who came enjoyed their meal, I for one enjoyed one of the best pub dinners I have had for a long time. There was a little angst from some members about the venue, voicing concerns about the cost whilst believing it was still running an “a la carte” type menu. These were all put to rest when we assured them this wasn’t the case.
15th November brings about the annual awards and presentation night being held at the Metropole again. Hopefully all those who wanted to go have advised Tracey Weirick and paid as closing date was last weekend. If last years event is anything to go by this year should be excellent.
Some words from Les
As you can see from Rex’s round-up of the last couple of month’s events there has been something for everyone to attend.
I have been able to attend most of the pub dinner’s and must say the Seaview Pub was a pleasant surprise, quick service and great location.
The two racing events (Sprint & Drift Demo) went off very well, the competitors that I spoke to were very happy. The Drift Demo day went extremely well, I received a lot of positive feedback not just from the competitors but also the spectators which included two police officers, who asked “why doesn’t Townsville have more of these events?”. I would like to thank all those who helped with the organising and running of these two events. I have thanked the two Townsville City council staff who went out of their way to help me, which included giving us one of the Pit garages to store our equipment in for the Drift demo day.
As mentioned by Rex a few charity events supported by our club this year. Well done to Kathy and her helpers for their fundraising support for the Relay for Life event. I believe that supporting our locally arranged fundraisers such as the event organised by Todd restores your faith in fundraisers and encourages you to support future fundraising events.
Our Christmas party is almost here, I’ll be there so feel free to tap me on the shoulder for a chat or two. As most of you know I’m not putting my hand up at this years AGM and will be hanging up my presidents boots. I’m not going anywhere and hope to be back out on the race track next year after I do some overdue maintenance on the little Datto.
MOPAR to ya!!
Les
Finally
The AGM will hopefully be scheduled late November early December and I will not be putting my hand up this year consequently this will be my last newsletter. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and patience over the last couple of years. I have enjoyed the experience and gained some valuable friendships and memories. This past year has been particularly busy for me work wise and I haven’t had the opportunities to do as much as I had wanted to with regards to the Club.
Take care out there. Cheers,
Rex
And Lastly. . . . . . . Some humour
One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the road-side eating grass.
Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and got out to investigate.
He asked one man, “Why are you eating grass?”
“We don’t have any money for food,” the poor man replied. “We have to eat grass.”
“Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I’ll feed you.” the lawyer said.
“But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree.”
“Bring them along,” the lawyer replied
Turning to the other poor man he stated, “You may come with us, also.”
The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, “But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!”
“Bring them all as well,” the lawyer answered.
They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was..
Once under way, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said, “Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you.”
The lawyer replied, “Glad to do it. You’ll really love my place.. The grass is almost a foot high. . . .. . . .
Club Calendar for 2014.
December 2014
Tuesday 9th Pub Dinner, Dalrymple Hotel.
Wednesday 17th AGM. Railway Estate Community Centre.