This was only the third MOG we had ever attended so we were
quite excited about the journey and the event. For us and I believe several
other FolkMoggers the event started early as we motored down the week before.
In our case we were going to be supporting Diana’s brother-in-law in his efforts
to walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End. We had booked a very nice hotel
near Okhampton which did an excellent breakfast and had a really nice Italian
restaurant. We had to meet the walker, Vaughan, in Milverton to take up our
duties of support crew. This mainly consisted of Alan doing a bit of walking
with Vaughan, and Diana driving around Devon in the Mog finding places for
lunch. For more details and a chance to contribute to the cause visit www.vaughanscharitywalk.co.uk
We supported Vaughan until he reached Cornwall at a bridge over the Tamar
called Boyton Bridge then we spent one last night in the hotel and packed
up and go to Cornwall. First stop was Wadebridge to do some shopping and
visit Diana’s sister but after lunch we pressed on to Watergate Bay.
No, this is not a mistake, we went to Watergate Bay not Trevelgue holiday
park. We had been very tardy in booking so we could not get a caravan on
site. This was a bit of a shame as, although our flat overlooking Watergate
Bay was comfortable and had a marvellous view, there was always the question
of who was going to drive that night. Still we checked into the flat and
then drove the five minutes to the MOG site. Checking in there was easy and
it seemed to be a signal for loads of Folkmoggers to turn up. At almost the
same time we met up with the Braithwaites, the Daunts, the Tattons and Caroline
Page.
We collected our goody bags and went for a drink to await the arrival of the evening hog roast. There we met up with the Mackinsons, there seemed to be Folkmoggers everywhere. The hog roast was pleasant and we chomped away merrily and chatted between mouthfuls. Once we had eaten we decided to go back to the flat as we were a bit knackered.
Saturday dawned bright and clear although I believe some people inland had
had some rain overnight. We motored over to the holiday park and started
to have a look round. We started with the Concourse D’Elegance where
there were some stunning cars on display. I must admit I did think that it
was going to be easier to present a lovely Aero 8 than a Flat Rad or even
a three wheeler but to be honest they all looked splendid and made me a little
ashamed of the neglect I sometimes show towards my mog. Still I am happy
that she is an oft used car.
Moving on to the trade area we made a bee line towards Brands Hatch Morgans
as this is where we bought our mog from some nine years ago and they feel
more like friends than dealers. Mind you I get the feeling that this applies
to a few dealers. We also needed to talk to Keith of BHM to have a quick
look at our car on account of there was too much play on the steering column
and in typical style he walked out and had a look for me.
We then went to look at the AeroMax which is one of those cars that you either love or hate. I must say I think it looks fantastic although I rather wish it was a little cheaper as I fear it will remain forever outside of my budget.
All the time we were visiting the BHM stand and looking at the AeroMax there
had been a band playing. This was a school band playing all sorts of jazz,
blues and popular tunes as well as there being vocalists. They were very
good and we enjoyed listening to them as we moved on to join the end of the
queue for the Bar-B-Q where who should we run in to than Carole and Martin
Mackinson so this gave us some one to talk to as well as music to listen
to.
After lunch I went to have a look at the life car on the Morgan Motor Company
stand. This was a mock up and had no engine but was most interesting to look
at. At this point we decided to go and have a brief siesta before returning
for the evening fun.
We were on the second sitting for food which was ok and we found several other folkmoggers to sit with as well as meeting up with a new friend from Southsea. There were a lot of coincidences here. For a start they lived in the town where I was born and we had both gone to Technical High schools. Apparently there were only a few of these in the country and the fact that his was in the north and mine in the south seemed immaterial. The meal was pleasant but we were finally asked to move on as the next sitting needed a place to sit for there meal. At this point there was a slight problem as the entertainment was not due to start before ten that night and we did not feel much like hanging around until then so we quietly crept away. This was sad as Caroline Page reported that the Beach Boys tribute band was very good.
On Sunday we arrived at the competition ground in time to see the Brathwaites
do the blindfold drive in the gymkhana. We watched for a while and then moved
on as Diana wanted to talk to the man on the insurance stand to see if we
could get a quote for our new car. In addition there was to be a presentation
by the Morgan Motor Company about what was going to be happening during the
centenary year, 2009. On the way we came across Maurice and Eileen waiting
in the queue to compete and then Roger Coverly and son doing the same thing.
Strictly speaking, as I understand it, there will not be a club organised Mog next year. The event will be organised by the factory and be held in Cheltenham. If you would like more information about this click here and register your interest. The only thing that I really did not like at all about next year was the news of the gala dinner. The tickets are to be priced at one hundred pounds a head and the reason for this high price was supply and demand. There would be only one thousand seats and there would be a huge number of people wanting to go. I for one will not be attending the gala evening. On the other hand there were other things that were laudable. They intend running a track day for the employees of the factory many of whom have spent their lives building cars that they have never had a chance to drive.
After
the presentation we returned to the gymkhana to see Maurice and Eileen doing
their blindfold drive and the Tattons start their competition. We hung around
until Roger and Chrissie had finished their tests and then wandered back
to the flat for a brief freshen up before the evening bar-b-q. We were on
second sitting for this which was a bit of a disaster really. By the time
we reached the food they had run out of baked potatoes and salad. The salad
appeared fairly quickly but the baked potatoes took an absolute age (seemed
like at least half an hour) to arrive and mine was just barely cooked when
it did arrive. This was a shame as the rest of the weekend had been good
or at least for us it had. The evening entertainment was a Blues Brothers
tribute band but as the night before was not due to start until nine thirty.
Roger and Chrissie Tatton invited a group of us back to their caravan for
coffee and a pleasant hour was spent chatting before returning to the entertainment.
This turned out to be quite good (except they both looked like John
Belushi) but extremely loud. Diana and I stood it for a few songs but eventually
decided to return to our flat early.
So that was the Mog but not the end of FolkMog’s holiday. Most of
the crew stayed in Cornwall until the end of the week. On the Monday Diana
and I headed down to the Eden project. The first thing that greeted us in
the car park was crescent of Morgans. One of the centres had organised a
group visit so we joined on the end of their line and headed for the entrance.
The Eden Project is and enchanting place inside and out and I can recommend
a visit if you are ever in Cornwall. Of course, while we were there we met
up with Roger and Chrissie Tatton.
On the Wednesday Diana and I went to Lands End to welcome our charity walker in on his last day and much merriment took place as the whole family had turned out to welcome him in.
It was while we were at the Eden Project that I hit on the idea of having
an impromptu noggin at the restaurant next to our block of flats. This was
not the Jamie Oliver restaurant at the hotel but the other side a surfer
dude sort of place. I started phoning around and apart from Graham Murrell
who almost decided to turn round and come back to Cornwall everyone could
make it. We even managed to pick up a couple of extras from AngleMog. A very
pleasant meal was had and everyone eventually left happy. A special thanks
to Alan Braithwaite for his contribution to our walker’s charity.
That’s about it for Cornwall. Diana and I stopped off in Worcester on the way back to go to a party and we arrived back on Sunday two weeks after we had set out. It seemed like a long time as we had fitted in so much. As for the Mog itself there were good things and bad things but as to the bad we should remember exactly how much effort goes in to these events and that they are organised by non professionals who work really hard at doing it right so I feel we should forgive the odd hiccough and concentrate on the good.
Thanks to every one who sent photographs they are below. As usual if you want to see a larger verison click on the picture.
Alan Brathwaites pintures.
Martin Mackinson's
Diana's
Alan Biddlecombe's
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