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BRANCH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2011
Our September Branch Night was held at the White Hart at Wroughton with the usual good attendance
On Sunday 11th September we met at Subway in Devizes the weather was wet but soon cleared up for our ride to Sparkford which, was led by Rob and Tiddly. We were visiting the Haynes Motor Museum which, we had not been to for some time. On the way back we visited the café at Stourhead. After the visit to the café the heavens opened again but, soon cleared up. There was a party of 7 bikes and 1 car 13 branch members who all felt that they had had a really good day out.
25th September saw the protest ride out in support of MAG. About 10 Branch members and 8 bikes (4 of which were Enfields) met at Chiseldon Service Station and then travelled on to Leigh Delamare Services on the M4 where the main body of the protesters met. They then carried on down the M4 to Bath. There was a great atmosphere amongst the bikers taking part who, were all obviously united in their cause.
The Branch AGM was held on 13th October at the White Hart, Wroughton. The meeting was well attended. There was only one significant change, Trevor Cook who has been our Secretary/ Branch Organiser was retiring from the post. He has been doing this job successfully for some but, now felt that it was time for a change. Our Chairman Alan Snook thanked Trevor for the sterling work that he had done for the Branch he also received an appreciative round of applause from the Branch as a whole. Trevor will be replaced by Gail Baker.
After the AGM we were treated to slide show by Gordon Gambrell who told us all about his adventures to the North Cape and the Britt Rally. Gordon was accompanied on this 5 week adventure by Don McKeand
 Our ride out on 16th October was a Mystery Tour devised by Trevor as, it was his birthday. It was a glorious October morning and a lovely ride through Purton and Brinkworth we stopped for coffee at Malmesbury Garden Centre. After coffee we went on a direct route to Trevor and Chris Cook’s home at Stratton St. Margaret where we were treated to a birthday feast. Many thanks to Chris and Trevor for their hospitality. In all there were 23 riders and 18 bikes 9 of which were Enfields.
The Wiltshire Branch meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the White Hart, Wroughton with a ride out on the following Sunday. New members and visitors are assured of a warm welcome.
Contact Alan Snook (Chairman) 01793 870126
Wiltshire branch web site www.reocwiltshire.co.uk
Email robinnnotton447@btinternet.com
Future Events
December
7th Wednesday Branch Christmas Dinner at the White Hart , Wroughton 7pm
10th Soup Dragon Run, Meet Chiseldon Service Station 10.30am
January
12th Branch Meeting White Hart, Wroughton 7.30
14th Visit to Oakham Treasures and Farm Shop,Portbury, Bristol. Car share
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REOC International Rally July 2011
Introduction by Gordon Gambrell Rally Marshall
After much planning and deliberation by the Wiltshire Branch the date of the International Rally was upon us. However the only thing we forgot to organise was the weather, we needn’t have worried however as it was on our side with glorious sunshine on all the rally days. It remained dry for the set up and the clear up days too and was a major factor in the success of the whole event. There were 197 members camping over the five days with the vast majority camped in the first paddock. Sam Walden (site manager) commented that he had not seen so many campers on the field in all his tenancy. In addition we had 59 Day visitors who joined in with the amazing games on offer and also participated in the motorcycle judging on the events field. All the games were designed, built and directed by Jason Reeves and his dedication continued into the late evening, as he compered the two evening’s entertainment ensuring that all members had a very enjoyable day. Of note was the huge input made by Julie Winter in ensuring that the Breakfasts, BBQ’s and Beer flowed smoothly at all times. The Wiltshire branch can be justly proud of what has been achieved and claim this rally to be a resounding success.
Neil Winter has a background in the print industry he was asked to organise and produce the literature and ride-outs for the rally. Here is his report
The main job with regards to the literature was the production of the rally brochure. After much discussion it was decided that 8 pages would be the right extent, and to keep costs down, colour would be used only on the cover. However, during my negotiations with the printers I was able to get full colour throughout the publication, and an additional 30 copies on top of the original 250, and all for the same price!
For the cover I thought it a good idea to have a rally logo. So I designed one based on the one used by the REOC, but with the addition of our text around the outside and the use of green and white - the colours of Wiltshire. This was so well received by the committee that it was adopted on the rest of the literature and on the tumbler that was used as a free gift for the rally-goers.
For the content of the brochure it was decided that we would use the useful numbers (as used in our previous rally brochures), a list of Trade Stands & Auto Jumble participants, an introduction which welcomed the rally-goers and introduced them to the event, the Entertainment Timetable, a list of entrants to the Rally Exhibition Entries and a map of the rally site.
My next task was to sort out something for the ride-outs. As it was going to be impractical, with a relatively small team, to take out led excursions it was thought best to do what the Lincolnshire International Rally had done and produce them in printed form. So with my ride-outs team, of Gail Baker and Carl Cope, we produced maps for nine ride-outs, each supported with a selection of brochures and literature for places to visit and things to do along the way.
Each of the nine ride-outs were placed in numbered envelopes and set out in a display box. Then these were displayed on a board, so those interested could peruse the board and select whichever interested them. This meant they could do as many as they wished and when they wished.
With regards to the feed-back from the rally-goers it seems all my efforts was well received. Some people commented that they were not in the Exhibition Entries in the brochure, but with a print deadline to meet it was not possible to put in the late entries. However this was mitigated by the use of a poster displaying this list at the rally reception, and on which the late entries were displayed.
The system for the ride-outs seemed to work well with favourable comments and quite a high take-up. I had done 20 of each ride-out which seemed to have been about right, with the only one that run out being the day trip to Bath. Some of the places to visit had been discounted (Sammy Millers, the tour of Wiltshire, etc.) which may have helped in their popularity.
So, all in all, although it had been a mighty effort; not just my input, but the rally as a whole, it was nice to have all the work so thoroughly appreciated.
Catering was the responsibility of Julie Winter here is her report;
Free self-service tea and coffee was available throughout the rally weekend, along with a variety of cakes (of perpetual motion, and eaten with gusto!). All this was available from a tent next to the reception; and thanks go to all those staffing the reception for attending to this station.
Friday night saw a Real Ale bar provided in the marque, all at very reasonable prices. So much so new supplies were required for Saturday’s Bar! Nearly 1,000 pints of ale, 200 pints of cider and lager, washed down with 20-odd bottles of wine, along with a few bottles of pop.
For Saturday and Sunday mornings over 300 breakfast rolls were served, with the help from my gorgeous chefs: Trevor and Graeme. A very generous offer was made to my husband Neil to buy my good-self (14 goats, 4 camels, 2 Arabian stallions and 24 chickens) but negotiations failed over my Honda being part of the package (if it was a Royal Enfield we would have had success!).
The Barbecue was on Saturday evening. We provided the BBQs for cooking and the locally sourced meat packs handed out on receipt of the tickets, which had been issued at reception. Salad, sauces and rolls were served by Yvonne, Jenny, Pat, Gail and I (again a big thank-you to all the ladies that helped me over the weekend). Vegetarian options were supplied and they could use their own, separate, BBQ; which was very well received.
I think I can say that all the food and especially the drink was very much enjoyed by all and sundry.
MOTORCYCLE JUDGING RALLY REPORT FROM TREVOR COOK (No. 10054)
Having been given the honour of being appointed Head Judge I enlisted the assistance of four other judges:
Don McKeand – R.E.O.C. General Secretary
Graeme Warr – R.E.O.C. Committee Member and Wiltshire Branch Member
Rob Wells – Wiltshire Branch
John Wells – Wiltshire Branch
Their expertise, knowledge and assistance were invaluable and my sincere thanks go to them.
There were a total of 56 motorcycles to be judged on the day of the Event, the majority of which had been pre-entered. Further entries were accepted up to 10.00 a.m. on Saturday.
For ease of judging the many entries the Judges formed two teams: Team A: Don McKeon and I; Team B: Graeme Warr, Rob and John Wells.
As the quality of the entries in the 17 different categories was extremely high both teams judged every entry which unfortunately took a considerable amount of time, all scores were calculated to decide the category winners.
On the Sunday at 10.00 a.m. the winners were announced and trophies were presented by our R.E.O.C. Chairman, Graham Scarth, and I.
Hopefully the winners’ photographs will appear on the R.E.O.C. website. Listed below are the worthy winners:
A1 M/C up to 1945 Andy Berry Model JF
A2 1946-1960 Singles Tony Banks 1954 Bullet
A3 1946-1960 Twin Vince Swain 1959 Constellation
A4 1961-1972 Single Phil Whitney 1963 Crusader
A5 1961-1972 Twin Glen Campbell 1967 Interceptor 1A
A6 1973 to Date Single Alan Webb 2007 Bullet 350 Trails
A7 Best Non-Enfield Les Horsman Harley Davidson
B1 Best Bullet Alan Webb 350 Trails
B2 Best 250 Phil Whitney 1963 Crusader
B3 Best2-Stroke Peter Stubbings 1960 Prince
B4 Best Interceptor Mick Timms Interceptor 750 1A
B5 Best Combination Andy Sixsmith Bullet Electra XS Combi
B6 Best Overseas Entry Peter Van Der Putten R.E. 190 1914
B7 Oily Rag Award Les Carter 1955 Meteor Combi
B8 Furthest Travelled U.K Lewis Wilkinson Interceptor Series 2 Total Miles 520
B9 Furthest Travelled Overseas Sten Brakenhielm 1954 G2 Bullet Total Miles 1,277
B10 Best in Show Ridden to Event Andy Sixsmith Bullet Electrra XS Combi
Samantha Reeves is one of our stalwart lady riders, she writes:
We had splendid weather for the REOC International Rally 2011, and REOC members turned out in record numbers. The good weather brought around 60 day visitors and we actually ran out of receipts. Hopefully everyone liked the brochure and the memento (a high ball glass with logo in Wiltshire colours). A team of 19 Wiltshire branch members were on hand over the weekend to make this event a success.
The Raffle was very popular. Besides our special prize of an Android Touchpad, We had some wonderful donations for the raffle, including a £100 gift voucher from Hitchcock’s who also set up a very good motorcycle display. We also had some lovely jewellery from Carole Coventry, and a signed book from Gordon May and George Whites donated some luggage. Overall we raised £485.17p for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Of the total, over £100 came from Christine’s stall, and nearly £80 from the collection tins. Many thanks to everyone who contributed.
Jason Reeves is Samantha’s other half and our entertainments wizard, here is his report:
Graham Scarth mentioned at the awards ceremony, anyone who has ever organised an event will know that the work behind the scenes tends to go unnoticed. This was very much the case for the entertainment and games aspect of this International Rally.
I had hoped to have all things prepared a fortnight early so that a reserve of sleep would be had before the event. My employer and my computer had other ideas. By Friday I was not so much on reserve as on float chamber dregs.
However on Friday evening the dance floor was full, the bar was flowing merrily. Rob Wells <&> Ramrod were well appreciated; the games equipment was in use, the sun had shone all day, and people enjoyed the music played during the day so much that they were offering to buy the CDs.
I got such an adrenalin fuelled recharge from Friday that I could have run a marathon.
Saturday also rewarded us for our efforts. Those taking part in The Royal Henfield cycle event had so much fun that they were entertaining the crew with their own off the cuff banter.
Thank you to all those who to all who took part.
Alan Snook is chairman of our very successful Wiltshire Branch, it was his vision that guided the Wiltshire Branch into holding the REOC International Rally at Blacklands, He writes,
I would like to thank everyone who attended our Wiltshire Branch International Rally. We realise some people were unhappy with some fees being charged but all financial decisions were made by the REOC committee.
Some people travelled 6 miles while others travelled 1200 miles how brilliant is that.
With some great organisation and a fantastic Wiltshire team, the whole weekend went off beautifully. We were blessed with wonderful weather. The Henfield egg and spoon race was a good crack! Lots of fun was had. Well done Wally, what a winner.
Finally I would like to thank Alan Hitchcock of Hitchcock’s Motorcycles and Atwell Wilson Motor Museum for their excellent displays and support, Rob Wells and Steve (Ramrod) Lister for their entertainment on Friday and Kabinrock on Saturday night, Blacklands Camp Site, Covered Occasions for their wonderful marquee, Graham Scarth our National Chairman, RAF Lyneham for their flypasts (the last out of this base) our guest of honour Jacquie Furneaux (Solo world lady motorcycle adventurer).
And last but not least, the members of the Wiltshire Branch for their unstinting support and hard work.
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