Cranmog - Morgan Sports Car Club

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Events from 2010

Birthday Party Weekend

Friday 22nd January saw about 50 Cranmog members, attired with various examples of patriotic items such as deeley boppers, bowler hats, bow ties and of course red roses, attend the St Georges themed dinner at Brampton Park Golf Club.

Philip Bell led proceedings as our MC. Three readings in keeping with the evening were read by Judy Bell, Vanessa Barham and Michele Chapman in between courses, followed by the toast to the ladies from John Barry with Sarah Lightfoot replaying on behalf of the Ladies. The final vote of thanks was given by Haydn Lightfoot.

Throughout the night the members were entertained with appropiate music provided by the Bedford Brass Ensemble (otherwise known as the calendar boys) who provided the backing for a rousing 'Proms' chorus sing-a-long.

Thanks to them, Judy Bell and the Golf Club for a wonderful event.

The following day about 120 Cranmoggers once again enjoyed the Annual Birthday Party.

Crangmog was 37 this year and celebrated with a masked ball at The Dolphin Hotel, St Ives, Huntingdon. Cranmoggers were concealed under a vast array of colourful masks.

The Woodsford trophy was awarded during the evening. This is always awarded to an unsung hero and this year went to Philip Loring for stepping in to take over the running of the Car Trial at the eleventh hour when Joyce Smith had to go into hospital.

The entertainment at the ball again showed the versatility and talent among Cranmog members and this year saw the return of the Cranmog Crackers. The ladies discarded their ball gowns for lacy attire and gave us a dance routine that our men folk won't forget! This was then followed by dancing until midnight.

The evening was enjoyed by everybody and our thanks go to Judy Bell for organising another fantastic event.

Spring Saunter
The 11th April was a fine and sunny Sunday when 17 Cars arrived at the Waggoners Public House in Ayot Green for the first Cranmog Spring Saunter.

After coffee & biscuits the participants set off at 2 minute intervals on a 40 mile prescribed route through the villages and potholes of North Hertfordshire.

Philip & Linda were the event organisers and they had planned a very pretty route through the Ayots, Whitwell, Preston, Wheathampstead, Welwyn Garden City, Tewin, Digswell, Knebworth & Codicote. Despite many members knowing the area quite well, there were quite a few route deviations through missed turnings! Route instructions included some local historical detail which was very interesting even for those that knew the area well. There were the usual driver navigator arguments during the morning and in some cases the navigators were so interested in reading the historical details, that they for got to tell the driver where to turn!

There were no mishaps and everyone arrived back safely to the Waggoners for a well earned lunch. Top score for the Navigator quiz was Jim & Vanessa Barham. No doubt this very successful event will become a regular in our calendar. Our thanks go to Philip & Linda Loring for organising this excellent event.

Mendip IX

A big thank you must go to Terry and Janet Wilson for yet another very successful Mendip Weekend which started on Friday afternoon with afternoon tea for all those who had arrived during the afternoon. Janet had spent some considerable time baking delicious home made cakes which were enjoyed by every one. The serious drinking commenced at 7p.m when Terry opened the first of the two 36 pint barrels of local ale which went down very well. By 8p.m the party was well under way; all Cranmog had arrived together with some Mendip and Wessex Centre members. The neighbours were also invited to join the party so that there could be no complaints from the nearby houses.

One couple from the north thought that they were going to a French Restaurant called “Chez Nous”, which is how Terry described his house in his notes, and were somewhat dismayed and rather cold to discover that in fact “Chez Nous” was Terry’s spacious garage. However after a few glasses of wine and the loan of a couple of warm jackets they soon forgot they had been cold and enjoyed themselves. The fish n’chip van arrived around 9o’clock and quickly managed to serve over 90 guests – very good they were too! Several local members arrived in old Classic Cars which included a 1930 Austin 7 and a 1953 Austin Somerset Convertible.

The taxis to take people back to their respective hotels arrived all too soon, in fact before the first barrel of beer had been consumed. At the early Mendip Weekends Cranmog would have got through three barrels of beer in an evening – we must be getting older!

Saturday dawned bright and dry as we prepared for a scenic run to The Haynes Motor Museum. Terry was leading our group and we arrived in record time ! We spent two glorious hours inspecting the fantastic array of cars of all ages, shapes and sizes. It was a wonderful experience. It was then foot on the boards to the nearby lunch time stop at the Spread Eagle Public House where we had a truly delicious lunch of freshly cooked ham and roast beef. These were served with chicken, scotch eggs and a variety of salads which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

After lunch there was a short trip to the stately home and gardens of Stourhead Park where we were able to walk off some of the excesses of our lunch whilst enjoying the house and beautiful gardens with the huge lake. The majority of participants returned to their accommodation for a siesta and to prepare themselves for the Gala Dinner leaving Gerard and Marian the only two to complete the whole of the scenic run. That evening there was a formal dinner at the Lyncombe Lodge Hotel where we all enjoyed an excellent meal. After dinner Terry made a speech welcoming us all to the Mendips and thanking his trusty helper Simon Heaton who has “helped” with the scenic runs for all the Mendip Weekends. Haydn responded on behalf of all those present ending his vote of thanks with his obligatory joke and then presented Terry and Janet with two beautiful metal garden herons as a thank you for all their hard work. A splendid end to a wonderful evening.

Simon and Jennifer and ourselves returned to Terry’s house and within a few minutes Simon had managed to break the toilet! All was not lost because President Philip (still in dinner suit) managed to a repair job with the aid of a coat-hanger.

Sunday was overcast and cold but it did not stop the intrepid Morganeers taking part in Simon’s scenic run to the lunchtime stop at the Strode Arms in Cranmore. Unusually, no one appeared to have got lost on Simon’s scenic run. ! After an enjoyable lunch time session we all went our separate ways after having an “absolutely fabulous” weekend with Terry and Janet much enjoyed by all those who attended. However, at Terry’s open invitation to every one 14 guests, who were spending an extra night in their hotel, descended on Terry’s house to help drink the beer that was left from Friday evening and enjoyed an excellent supper provided by Janet and Terry.

Again, many thanks to them both.

Report by Philip & Judy Bell

Stony Stratford Classic Car Show

Sunday 6th June saw the 2nd Stony Stratford Classic Car show take place in the Old Market Square. This is becoming an annual gathering of classic car enthusiasts in the area displaying their fascinating cars and showing off their finest features!

Stony Stratford is located on the old Roman road of Watling Street, now the A5. In the height of the coaching era - the 18th and early 19th centuries, Stony Stratford was an important stopping-off point for mail and passenger coaches travelling between London and the North of England. This coaching history is the source of the supposed origin of the phrase ‘cock and bull story’. The Cock and The Bull were two of the main coaching inns in the town and the banter and rivalry between groups of travellers is said to have resulted in exaggerated and fanciful stories, which became known as ‘cock and bull stories’. The two hostelries still exist and we sampled a selection of their fine ales during the day.

The weather started off grey and overcast, but brightened up later in the afternoon and fortunately, the heavy showers which had been forecast, failed to arrive.

The Old Market square started filling up with cars from 9.30am. A total of 160 cars attended throughout the day which required some overflow car parking.

Eight Morgans were displayed, six from Cranmog and two from Folkmog. The Cranmog cars were a trio of +4’s and another trio of +8’s. Two Cranmog members, Steve and Moyra Isherwood in their +4 were interviewed at length by a member of the local MK press. We await with interest the publication of the article, it seemed quite an in depth interview!

There were some beautiful cars on display, a matching pair of his and hers’ Aston Martin DB9’s. Hers was a lovely shade of mint green. In fact, quite a range of Aston Martins were in attendance, another DB9, a DB7, a Vanquish and a couple of DB6’s, one of which was a fully restored 1966 SuperLeggera. Other cars on show, included a number of Ferrari’s, a 1938 Austin - Big Seven, found in a barn and rebuilt, complete with a working gramophone in the back and a very loud drag car, so loud that is almost blew the ears of the unsuspecting black Labrador standing behind it as it started up! We think it was a black lab before it stood behind the exhaust, but who knows?

There were a few Jaguars, a 1965 ‘D’ type replica and the iconic ‘E’ types. Also, a beautiful dark blue XK150, which would have been my choice for the car I would have most liked to take home (apart from my own, of course). There was a rare 1949 black Humber Super Snipe, apparently these were built for the bank manager classes of the day and a 1936 Talbot Lago GP car, displaying information that this was a sister car to the winner of the 1936 French Grand Prix, driven by Jean - Pierre Wimille, (interesting aside - his first car at the age of 20 was a three- wheeled Morgan).

I think that perhaps the star of the show was a 1903 Oldsmobile which had travelled from Buckingham. Recently restored by its owner, the car had tiller steering, centre chain drive, a 1- cylinder engine that develops 5 bhp, two forward gears and one reverse and a top speed of about 25mph. It had a side crank so the driver could start the car from the front seat. Judging by the difficulty the driver had starting it, I am quite glad things have moved on since then. Apparently, an option when it was built was a mother-in-law seat for $25.

A great day out was had by all. It was also in aid of a good cause, all entrants paid a fee £3 to raise money for Willlen Hospice. One for the calendar for future years.

Report by Michele Chapman

Jersey

Ten Cranmog adventurers set out for the Chanmog Jersey Weekend two days before the official event was due to start to get settled into the hotel and to explore this beautiful island.

The Philip & Judy Bell Scenic Tour started on Thursday morning in overcast weather. After visiting the shops in St Brelades we just happened to be near The Old Smugglers Inn when it started to rain so we did the obvious thing and called into the pub at 11a.m for coffee or other liquid refreshments.

The weather soon improved so it was back to the Morgans to continue the scenic run. Unfortunately rained threatened again at another beauty spot at Portelet Bay so it was into another hostelry for shelter. The sun soon came out and we set off yet again to explore the west coast of the island and stopped for lunch at an old German fortification selling fresh sea food sandwiches as well as oysters etc. The wine came out and a picnic was enjoyed by one and all as we sat admiring the views of St Ouens Bay.

After lunch we headed north to explore this coast line which is much more rugged and continued our travels to the Bouley Bay Hill Climb for a quick dash first down then back up the hill.

The scenic run was completed by a tour of the east coast of the Island and then back to the Hotel for dinner. The food was very good and we had a most enjoyable evening sitting at a table for ten which the restaurant manager arranged for us. The next day was dedicated to doing our own thing such as visiting the Orchid Farm and other attractions but was mainly spent dedicated to shopping in the capital of Jersey – St Helier.

The weekend proper started on Friday evening when a large contingent of Morgan owners from France arrived well outnumbering our small group from the UK which by this time had risen to a total 16 people. Before dinner we had a welcome reception where we enjoyed meeting the French Morgan owners even though not all of them spoke English and our knowledge of the French language was non existent – however we seemed to have a great “entente cordiale”. Another excellent dinner was served by the hotel followed by music in the bar.

Saturday dawned dry, but overcast as we prepared ourselves for the Scenic Run which was very well organised by Paul Egerton-Vernon and his team. We set in four groups of approx 10 – 12 cars per group and were taken to places of interest by the local Jersey Morgan owners. We all met up at St John’s Manor, which is a fabulous mansion owned by John Dick. We had lunch in the grounds whilst being entertained by the local group of Morris Dancers. After lunch we enjoyed looking at his fabulous collection of Rolls Royces, wondering around his grounds and the beautiful Japanese garden. These are maintained by a group of gardeners whose duties include raking the gravel drive which surrounds a large ornamental pond in front of the house. The scenic run resumed after lunch and we eventually arrived back at the hotel in time to prepare ourselves for dinner. This time, much to the restaurant manager’s consternation, “our” table for ten was designated top table where the French President Patrick, Jean Paul, the French club’s secretary, Paul, the Jersey secretary, together with our own Brian Lee and Philip Bell sat with their wives. Korona had organised a Grand Prize Draw and some members of Cranmog were lucky enough to win prizes. After dinner we all retired to the bar where we had music and dancing until the early hours.

On Sunday there were more scenic runs all ending at the Jersey Heritage Centre where we had yet another lavish meal and entertainment by a couple, one playing the accordion and the other the double bass, both dressed in traditional French attire. We all made our own way back to the hotel in good time to have a much needed rest before the Gala Dinner. The dinner was a splendid affair with a choice of Entrecote Steak or Lobster Thermidore; we had the lobster which was quite delicious. After dinner, speeches were made by Paul Egerton-Vernon and Brian Lee, toasts proposed and there was even the singing of the French and English National Anthems, both with equal gusto and participation. After dinner we adjourned to the ball room where there was dancing to a local disco until midnight. The highlight of this was the demonstration of the Tango by one of the French couples. This was a most sensuous affair with the lady wrapping her legs around the gentleman in an amazing way. Had it been any of us performing this dance our partners would have been covered in bruises from the intricate leg work that was necessary!

The whole of the weekend was enjoyed by everyone who took part and our thanks must go to Paul and his lovely wife Korona for organising our visit and to all the Chanmog members who helped during the weekend.

Report by Philip & Judy Bell

Silverstone Classic 2010

Cranmog was allocated a car club area at this year’s Silverstone Classic between 23rd and 25th July. We extended an invite to other centres and had members from the Yorkshire centre, Taffmog, Foxmog, Oxmog and Thames Valley. The word had even spread as far as New Zealand, with Olly and Vicki Newbegin wanting to come as they were over in the UK picking up their brand new Aero Supersport from the factory!

Most visiting were staying in nearby hotels and B & B’s, but not our intrepid Dave and Ann Albert, they were camping, although they discovered it was a longer walk to the campsite than they had anticipated! Even longer on the first day when the security guards giving directions sent them the wrong way, twice!

The Silverstone Classic is one of the largest classic racing events in the world. It was established nearly 20 years and recently the spectator attendance has grown to the level of 65,000 in 2009.

The concept was changed last year from being purely classic motoring racing to include live music concerts on the Friday and Saturday nights. This year’s line up had performances from Dr Feelgood and The Yardbirds on Friday and Rick Parfitt Jnr, Jedward and Ruth Lorenzo on Saturday.

Over 100 classic car clubs were there, displaying over 5,000 members cars, these included over 100 Ferraris on Saturday. Almost every vehicle marque was displayed over the weekend.

700 rare classic race cars worth well over £100 million were driven by around 1000 owner/drivers (some races had two drivers). The cars entered represented each of the decades from the pre-war ere through to the 90’s. These were Grand Prix cars, Le Mans, Sports and Touring cars. It was also celebrating 60 years of the Formula 1 ‘World Championship’ at The Silverstone circuit. Stirling Moss drove his 1956 1.5.lite OSCA in the two - driver RAC Woodcote Trophy sportscar race and was leading his class until his car stuck in gear in the last ten minutes, forcing him to retire.

The BSM Centenary Abarth 500 celebrity challenge put a field of famous names from TV, sport and radio into competition on the circuit, racing in aid of the Bobby Moore Fund for research into bowel cancer. The race was won by Rick Parfitt junior who beat other celebrities including Travis drummer, Neil primrose, chefs James Martin and Heston Blumenthal, DJ’s Richard Allinson and Jonnie Walker amongst others.

There was a great opportunity to get up close to all these fabulous cars by walking around the pit area.

Morgans were competing throughout the weekend with qualifying on the Friday and racing on Saturday and Sunday. Races included Plus 4 supersports and Plus 8s with 2 SLRs racing on Saturday. We managed to see a few races including James Patterson’s win in his +8 on Sunday.

You could also take part in The Silverstone RetroRun, where the entry not only included the 3 day event tickets but a rally plaque, road book and a parade lap of the GP circuit. The RetroRun was a 107 mile run through beautiful Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire countryside visiting venues such as Upton House, Blenheim Palace, and Stowe School amongst others. For those interested in vehicles with only two wheels, there was a large Harley-Davidson Expo tent where you could see the latest models, parts and accessories. You could also take a free demonstration ride on one of the latest Harley-Davidson models.

During our visit to the circuit on the Thursday evening before the main event started we spotted a familiar face from Parc Ferme, Chris Bailey, putting the finishing touches to the vehicles that would be auctioned by Bonhams that weekend. Many thanks to Chris for his advice and assistance enabling us to view the auction. There were some beautiful cars being sold including an Aston Martin DBR2 recreation going for £141,100 or a 1958 MGA roadster for a more modest £18,400. If you were a budding DCI Gene Hunt, for £6900 you could ‘fire up the (1985) Quattro’!

We arrived each morning for gazebo erecting duties, we didn’t like to leave it up overnight, and too many prized vehicles around for it to blow into if the wind got up! We provided much entertainment to the some of the trades stand holders watching and offering helpful tips. By Sunday morning we had it down to a fine art, only taking 5 minutes. I might try for a job erecting marquees next! My thanks also, to the other members of the gazebo dismantling working party every evening and John Bellenger, from Allon White’s for the loan of it. Gazebo erecting duties complete, the kettle would go on for a cup of tea.

As well as the classic car displays, racing and other entertainment available from the Victorian funfair to the hot air balloon display, there were a large number of trade stands, a veritable mecca for the motoring enthusiast. Any item for your pride and joy could be found, if required.

Over the three days, we had a number of visitors admiring the Morgans. There were ten Morgans on display on Friday and about twenty cars on Saturday and Sunday. These ranged from a 1947 flat rad 4/4 DHC to the latest aero supersport.

One highlight for us was on Sunday morning, the Morgan display HQ ( or to most people - the Cranmog gazebo) was approached by a couple asking if the number plate displayed on the 4/4 flat rad had always been with that vehicle. When we confirmed that it had, the gentleman said that he used to own her in the early sixties. He had wanted a sports car and she was languishing in a garage near Blackpool with a cracked cylinder head due to the previous owner not putting in any antifreeze and was covered in bird droppings. He bought her, at the considerable cost at the time, for £37 and 10s and managed to track down a replacement engine and as he had always wanted a red sports car, he had her resprayed from what we now think was her original British Racing green, to red. He has continued with his fondness for red sports cars with louvres above the engine, he now owns a Ferrari! He’s kindly sent us a couple of photographs of her.

I think I can say that everyone attending had a great time and there was something for everyone.

We certainly will be returning next year and will be arranging the Cranmog (Morgan) display area again. It would be fantastic to get even more Morgans on display next year. The provisional dates are 22nd - 24th July 2011.

If you are interesting in coming and bringing your car please send me an email and I will notify you when the bookings are open again for 2011.
Email Contact: Michele

Report by Michele Chapman

Cranmog CT 2010
Thirty cars competed for the Allon White Trophy at the 4th annual Cranmog Car Trial, Copt Hall Farm on 25th September. We had good turn out from our regulars plus an even larger number of new entrants to the sport which was great to see. 4/4’s were the most popular class with 16 entries followed by 7 plus 8 / Roadsters, 5 plus 4’s, and a series one entry by Techniques’ Tracy Gateson. A non Morgan class entry from Alan Foster in his Toyota MR2 completed the field. We were delighted to have five lady entrants this year competing for the Techniques ladies trophy, something we would like to see grow in future years. Where are you ladies?

We are not blessed with very steep hills at Copt Hall and so the course team have to resort to cunning and confusion in order to test the drivers skills. Unfortunately we were a bit too cunning on hill one with an impossible turn for the plus 8’s which had to be amended during the first run. In previous years we have complained about the dry course due to lack of rain. However this year a significant amount of rain fell prior to the weekend and unfortunately on the Sunday too! With our course shorter and tougher than in previous years plus the rain there were no clear rounds.

Some minor changes to the layout followed by a short rain shower at lunchtime ensured that the afternoon session was even more challenging. By mid afternoon heavy rain made hills 5 & 6 almost impassable with few cars reaching beyond the 6 point marker post. There were no clear rounds in this session either, even Dave Sapp was unable to show how it should be done!

It was raining hard by the end of round 4 and everyone, especially the marshals, seemed pleased that the ordeal was over. A very wet group huddled round for the presentations. Our thanks go to our Trophy sponsors Allon White Sports Cars and Techniques. Overall Winner Allon White Trophy Dave Sapp 37 points Ladies’ Winner Techniques Trophy Emily Smith 97 points Series 1 Tracy Gateson 132 points 4/4 1st Paul Royds 52 points 2nd Matthew Waters 54 points 3rd Richard Smith 58 points Plus 4 1st Chris Bailey 68 points 2nd Steve Thompson 86 points Plus 8/ Roadster 1st Peter Deans 70 points 2nd Colin Mackay 78 points 3rd Frank Orton 86 points Non Morgan Alan Foster Toyota MR2 19 points

Reydon Weekend

A group of us started the weekend with lunch on Friday at the Red Lion, Southwold, where Derek and Theresa had reserved our usual corner of the pub. They thought we had moved on to pastures new when we didnÕt book our usual weekend in October, so were glad to see us all.

A free afternoon followed, enabling people to potter around and enjoy the delights of Southwold before heading back to hotels and B&Bs to relax before the evening meal at The Randolph in Reydon. En route, David and I visited the Adnams Store to top up on wine provisions for Saturday Lunch (you donÕt want to risk running dry at a Cranmog Event!)

For the first time ever, I was in the Bar at the published ÔstartÕ time of 6.30pm, but where was everyone else? (I feel a ÔFirst in The BarÕ Award coming on). The usual suspects soon joined me, but I was a gin and tonic ahead of everyone all night! A splendid three course meal was served, with many brave souls opting for Steak and Kidney Pud followed by Sticky Gingerbread Pud (both excellent, I am told. I think the Snake and Pygmy may become the new Beef Wellington on the Reydon Menu!) Once coffee was served, CranmogÕs Plus 5 took to the ÒstageÓ (otherwise known as the hearth) to perform an acoustic set, allowing the audience to chill-out either at the tables or in the bar area (or outside in the case of those who had overdone the puds! Or perhaps it was my singing which drove them outÉ.) Anyway, entertainment over, competition began in earnest for the ÔLast in the BarÕ Award. David and I were in contention being amongst the last eight, but, as last yearÕs winners we opted to withdraw gracefully from the arena in order to give the others a sporting chance (plus, having been first in the Bar, we were really tired!)

Saturday Morning dawned and the weather deities of Southwold smiled upon us with an exceedingly mild and (more importantly) dry day. Hotel and B&B parties joined on the Halesworth Road for the walk across the marshes to the Harbour Inn in Southwold (under new ownership Ð cheaper beer!)

We spent the morning in the usual way, spread out over the two bars (a hang-back from the days when some of us could only go in the downstairs bar because of our children Ð the children are now grown-up but we are happy in our comfy corner by the fire and, anyway, more and more people have joined us over the years) Ð a great chance to catch up and laugh with friends - with David making mental notes for the Awards Ceremony (the Bedford-Stradling/Goodman Contingent unwittingly supplied us with loads of ammunition, all directed against themselves!)

As lunchtime approached, a small group of us headed for the Sole Bay Fish Company just along the harbour where we had arranged a Seafood Lunch. Wonderful platters washed down by our bring-your-own wine (crisp Burgundy white, personally selected and delivered by David and me the day before and chilled to perfection overnight in the restaurantÕs fridges). This was a lovely, delicious and convivial lunch which gave us the opportunity to catch up with different people. (If you like seafood, we recommend a visit Ð you take your own wine, bread, salad etc and they supply jugs of water, napkins, cutlery and glasses Ð and the seafood, of course!)

Saturday nightÕs Fancy Dress theme was, appropriately enough, ÒBeers and SpiritsÓ. We had the usual gripes about the difficult nature of the theme, but, as ever, Cranmog rose to the occasion and interpreted the theme with gusto and plenty of lateral thinking.

Even the buffet supper was faithful to the theme Ð Beef and Adnams Ale Stew with Dumplings, Coq au Vin, Mushroom and Suffolk Cider Stroganoff, Banana and Baileys Crme BrulŽe, Chocolate and Drambuie Tart, Exotic Fruit Salad with Grand Marnier (are you drooling yet?)

Disco Pete was back and assisted David very ably (and at short notice) by interspersing the Award Ceremony with appropriate snatches of music (ÒDrink, Drink, Drink!Ó being a recurrent refrain).

Awards were presented as follows:

Fancy Dress:

1st Jennifer Carr - Bombay Saffire - my favourite tipple Ð and Jenifer made a wonderful Indian lady in her beautiful sapphire blue sari

2nd John Goodman and Christine Palmer - joint prize for Hobgoblin Beer (John) with a TeacherÕs Whisky chaser (and Christine made a fearsome teacher whose end of term report revealed she had really done her homework on us all!)

3rd Joshua Flexton (our youngest member?) - stole our hearts and showed great promise for future fancy dress events by coming as Babybear Beer. Think mummy and daddy will have had to help him with the beer part of the prize though (good job I had some chocolate prizes too!)

Mike Carpenter Award for Stamina: the usual contenders, Mike G, Jackie, Bob, Gill, Sarah, Haydn, David and I found ourselves to be the last men (and women) standing (how does that happen?) Mr. Ayre attempted to cheat, yet again, by announcing he was going to have another pint before going back to his B&B. Fortunately this eagle-eyed judge spotted that, whilst he bought a pint, half of it was quickly tipped into HaydnÕs glass - instant disqualification. Sarah was giggling her way through the Amaretto bottle (how does she drink that stuff?) but then, in a last-minute shock turn-around, Jackie declared she was not prepared to risk being a repeat victim of SarahÕs ruthless determination to succeed (one year, Sarah pushed her down the steps on the way out to make sure there was no doubt who was last out of that bar!) and retired from competition, taking Mike with her. After David and I retired, the remainder battled it out with Haydn emerging the victor, so the Tankard was duly awarded to: Haydn Lightfoot (those Lightfoots are ruthless in competition).

Worst Hangover of Saturday Morning: Haydn Lightfoot (no surprises there!)

LecherÕs Award: Helle Moran who expects her men to ÔsaluteÕ her in the proper manner!

Horlicks Early Night Award: Mike Bedford-Stradling. Having admitted in front of witnesses in the pub that he drove into a skip, with his hand over his eyes, when parking outside a Tea Shop in Southwold, despite workmen frantically waving at him (he was relying on his super-duper parking sensors, but forgot that skips slope away at the bottom, just at sensor level Ð drew quite a crowd, apparently), Mike proceeded to tell the tale of going out and about shopping and wondering why everyone was smiling at him, including young female shop assistants (he decided he must still Òhave itÓ), only to realise when he got back in his car that he had been wandering around all day with a large piece of white toilet paper firmly attached to his chin courtesy of a shaving cut that morning! His face was a picture when all the Cranmog men stood up to toast and jeer with blood(red wine)stained tissue attached to their faces! Time to give up and have an early night (or several), Mike!

Awards over, we danced the night away to Disco Pete, in company with the locals (who often join us in the Bar), plus members of a stag party (also in fancy dress) and a coach party being dropped off for a quiet last pint (!) Can I point out, I was last in the bar, having danced all night, in heels - left to finish off my birthday champagne all on my lonesome (not strictly true, the bar was still manned) - where did everybody go? First in the bar at the beginning, last in the bar at the end - I deserve an award!

Very many thanks to David and Donna Smith and their team at the Randolph for a truly splendid weekend - organising it all would be so much harder without them (I know - I have done it many times in the past - and David is a gem amongst Hotel Owners). Thanks also to everyone who came along and entered into the ÒReydon SpiritÓ with such gusto. Are we going again next year? Watch this space.

Karen Redfern