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I can’t believe its September already, and what the general consensus terms… the main show season has come to an end. On a whole we have had a great summer with some fantastic weekends, both weather wise and some laid back quality time with friends old and new. That last fact is what has given me the most pleasure this time around, yes there has been a cracking turn out of stunning highly detailed American Icons a petrol head like myself finds irresistible, but this year I’ve found myself able to spend time chatting and getting to know a lot more of you. After all I believe that’s what this great club of ours is about, it’s not just the cars, it’s the members and the North West ethos of friendship and getting stuck in to help one another. No doubt a lot of you have heard me say this is a hobby we all love and our escape from the crap and stress we have to put up with in our daily lives, to get lost in conversation over what polish or the best way to pull the motor certainly brings my blood pressure down. Before we lament the passing of the season let’s remember that we no longer have to tuck our cars away due to lack of somewhere to go, as most of you know we have a strong cruise scene through the second half of the year, be it the Krispy Kreme at the Trafford centre, or Sue’s tenpin bowling in Southport, there’s something for everyone, and let us not forget the Blackpool lights cruise! Before you know it we will be in the queue outside Newark show ground and the American Auto Club North West will be well into its thirtieth year.
After a live radio link up with Steve Butler of Kissimmee Old Town Cruise fame, we’ve now got links with the Old Town Cruise. Steve informs us that any members on holiday over there are to make themselves known as he will be there every Saturday night and will make our members most welcome.
Safe cruising good friends Graeme S.
Hi All, Firstly let me send out a big warm welcome to all our new members who joined us at this years Stars n Stripes and the magnificent Americana International! You’ll find us a right barmy bunch always up for a laugh, and extract the you know what out of each other. After all this is a hobby, an escape from the every day headaches thrown at us from all-on-sundry. You’ll find us all willing to help and support when needed and generally anything to enhance, as if it’s needed with the pleasure of owning American automobiles. Well what a difference the sun makes after three years of wet show grounds, damp tents and frustrated show organizers, we get blazing sun high temperatures on both Saturday and Sunday at the two biggest events on the show calendar! A chance to catch up with old friends we only sometimes get to see down at Newark, or a chat with a new face who’s name we’ve seen on the membership list. It’s funny how such a chat can plant a seed that I’m hoping could lead to something special, especially with us the American Auto Club North West celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, yes that’s right the big 30 in May 2011! Them grey haired old buggers catching flies in the afternoon sun along side their highly polished land yachts started off this great club of ours way back in 1981, that’s some eight years before your youngest committee member was born, ….anyway back to the seed… Mid Sunday afternoon at Americana gets chatting with a couple from Windermere, you know the place with a big lake on its doorstep, it transpired Glen and his partner have a rather attractive caravan park midway between lake Windermere and Grange over sands with a Rally field 4 times the size of the plot we have at Americana. With the committee already looking to do something next year this seemed like an ideal opportunity, so we will keep you informed on developments. As some of you are aware Nick our hard pressed Editor has had surgery lately, causing her to miss both Stars n Stripes and Americana. I’m sure like myself, you all send your love and hope for a speedy recovery, hopefully in time for the Woodvale Rally at the start of August. Here’s to sunny days, knowing the judges ways, Take care good friends Graeme S.
Btw as you may have noticed the Gas columns are a little behind, our Magazine Editor Nick Holding has had a rather nasty operation on her foot, most of you have probably seen her hobbling around by now and she has had plenty of other things to be getting on with.
Get well soon from all of us.
Hi folks, you know the more I look at this great club of ours the more I realize its similarities to a families natural life cycle with its ups and downs. This last month has been a right kick in the nuts, starting off with an email from Les Ardron, informing me of the passing on of John Wayne Greatbanks, a true character of the American car scene. A man who based his values on his great hero and name sake, larger than life and a girth that was big enough to hold that great heart of his, a true romantic who loved life and his bacon butties. The show fields will miss his great smiling face and mischievous laughter.
On a brighter note I hear Des O’Meara has just had a successful heart bypass on the 15th of June, the club wishes him well and hopes to see him soon and firing on all cylinders. Nick our hard pressed Editor has also been under the surgeons knife very recently, hence the possibility of her being strapped to the wheeled commode at Stars and Stripes. I wasn’t going to accept a bad back excuse from any of our committee no soirée, especially with John picking up a batch of the new T shirts with designs of traditional club logo and the wild eagle logo in such great demand.
Two phone calls too late to go through normal channels concerning up and coming show invitations, (didn’t want to wind Val up) ouch!! The first from Bolesworth Castle 15th to Sunday 18th July, this is the Bolesworth Show Jumping Classic and Country Fair. With over 65 grand up for grabs this event attracts all the top show jumpers, fine food and craft marquee, dog shows, shopping village, and live music on offer should make for a good relaxed atmosphere! With showers on site for campers, bars and bands till midnight. Give me a call for your free pass and more info. (Bolesworth Castle, Tettenhall, Chester CH3 9HQ.)
The second call came from our good friend Simmo chairman of the Liverpool Scooter Club, to remind me of their annual rally on the Sunday 22nd August, same as last year, at the Sefton Cricket Club in the heart of the beautiful Sefton Park, Liverpool. This will be our fourth year we’ve supported this great bunch of guys, again some fantastic live R&B and tunes from motor city USA . Great turnout last year enjoyed a fantastic day, Val has details on this one seeing as she walked away with visitors choice last year, Grrrrrrrrr.
Take care good friends enjoy the rest of the season Graeme S.
Well here we are half way through the year already, the shows starting to come thick and fast now and I’m certainly glad about the team I’ve got around me, each one pulling together in their own way for the greater good of this great club of ours. When you look at the age range and back ground individually you’d say NAH that won’t work, but as they say the proof is in the pudding. What with Tommy’s militaristic tenacity, Bert n Val’s enthusiasm every time they fire up the Bat mobile leaves us younger ones wondering how the fffeck do they keep it up. Then you get Nick putting in some great work on this much improved monthly of ours, and still finding time to do extra little jobs like next years calendar and merchandise, which reminds me if you’d like your motor included in said calendar give her a call you may just be in time before it goes to print. Emma, well she’ just dropped straight in, cool calm and totally committed, John well he’s just a pain in the ass typical old school treasurer wont let us have a penny tighter than a crabs A$$$. But hey that’s exactly what the club needs someone to remind us of where we’ve come from and where we should be. Then we have the two invisibles Gordon and Rick the unseen and too often forgotten grafters responsible for keeping the clubs web site up to date, every time I catch up with Gordon and intend to mention the web site you can guarantee I’ll get distracted or way laid with some thing else, but hey with the big weekender shows coming up soon I’m sure we’ll all find time too get round the Bar-b an chill . New or old be bold come and say Hi, Take care good friends Graeme S.
Running gear opened up and liberally oiled and greased, engine tweaked to its pulsating peak and the body waxed and polished to show of those sculptured curves.
Yes yes……this new season has got us all revved up and raring to go!!
With those pre-season sunny weekends we’ve enjoyed of late, it’s been a long time coming after such a foul winter of ever degreasing temperatures and rocketing petrol prices. I like yourselves can’t wait to hit the show fields, catch up with old friends and say hello to all those new friends who have joined this merry band of brothers over the last few months. The steady stream of new members coming on board new to the American car scene…and not with just late model muscle, some of you have bitten the Bullitt with some real classic land yachts, hats of to you guys! And it’s not just the show fields that will be seeing all the action! ….I know a good few of you have been beavering away extracting even more horses out of those Detroit thumpers in the hope of shaving ever more milliseconds of the time it takes to travel the quarter mile of your favoured track. A group of us have already got the Ford and Mopar dates at the Pod penciled in, so if you’ve never been drag racing and fancy a great day/weekend your more than welcome. If it’s your first show season give Bert n Val a ring or catch anyone of us, some of the shows have a mailing system for free entry to exhibitors. Val usually has the way with all being events organ grinder OOPs I mean Organiser, GRRRRRRRRR ouch!!
Drive carefully good friends Graeme S,
April already….. your committee are settling into their respective jobs. John has now had the membership secretary’s role lifted from his shoulders, which he was doing alongside his treasures duties as no one stepped forward to replace Moya at the AGM. Obviously a hard act to follow, but after the meeting we where approached by Emma, and all agreed she would be a great addition to your motley crew, step forward Emma Young. Now most of you will know her dad Paul of the pimping palace fame, and you may recall I mentioned Emma being a regular face at the Brown Cow from her early teens to the mature young lady she is today. Having finished her teaching studies, Emma feels she has now got the time and drive to take on the duties of Membership Secretary. All I can say is well done girl and welcome on board and I’m sure you will all make her feel a treasured asset to the AACNW. No doubt Emma will put pen to paper (do they still do that these days??) to bring us her exploits in her RED Cherokee. March saw some of the best sunshine we’ve had for months and that includes last summer! Clear blue skies from early morning led to some well attended weekend cruises, Southport, Eight Towers, Krispy Kreme this month drew 100 plus vehicles which saw Val and Burt signing up even more new members. Certainly a great start to the season and a welcome lift to our spirits. As some of you may know I have a young relative whose been in Alder Hey children’s Hospital for the past month or so, it makes you feel so helpless when you see such a young child plumbed up to all kinds of machines and you thank God for the devotion of those dedicated Doctors and Nurses. Where ever a child is involved your heart goes out to them but the loss of a child is something that should never happen, so when you receive a phone call letting you know of such a tragedy hitting a friend, no words can express the pain you feel for them. It was such a phone call to inform me of Harold Yates’s son Joe had passed on, (a young man a year younger than our Ian) who also like his dad had a passion for American pickups, but unlike his dads big blue Ford, Joe was doing his fifties Chevy his way. A son truly to be proud of. Harold and Elizabeth you know the whole of the North West hold you in their hearts and prayers, Graeme S. Please contact Tom Gore the Vice Chairman with your email address to keep you up to date with last minute events and news. Also providing easier contact with you. Also please contact him if some of your details have changed (e.g. new phone number/address). Merchandise Official Needed We are still looking to fill the position of the merchandise official, dealing with club stock and sales. Please contact Tom Gore for more details and any interest.
Well Hi good friends, as you can see you’ve got me for another year to lead the band of masochists elected to the committee! One new old face has replaced Mike and Moya who have retired from their roles as club treasurer and membership secretary, to which they gave nine long years of fantastic service, on behalf of all our members…Thanks!
Most of you older members will recognize the familiar face of John Smith who felt the time was right for him to put his talents back to work for this great club of ours and take on the joint roles Mike and Moya have left. John was club treasurer way back in the eighties when life circumstances aloud him to serve on the committee then, as we all know personal circumstances are always changing allowing us all to do our bit in what ever way we can when the time is right for us. John has always kept the club as a constant in his life as is his love of American Iron, but that’s his story and he can fill you in on that with his own biography I know Nick would like to print! With the history of John Smith in mind you start to look back at milestones, in 1956 the year I was born, I see Elvis signed for RCA, the winter Olympics was held in Cortina and Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest while James Dean stared in Giant, and Rock around the Clock had you bopping in the aisles. 1981 when the club was started MTV went on air with Dire Straits’ money for nothing, Adam and the Ants where asking you to stand and deliver, and Prince Charles married the love of his life Diana. At the pictures Burt Reynolds was on the Cannon Ball run and Chariots of fire was grabbing the Oscars. 2010 has us sliding to a halt when we can get of the drive , flocking to see Avatar the new 3D phenomenon, and Kitt Michael Knights talking GM has gone all Ford Mustang which I’m sure the Bow tie brigade are non to pleased about especially when you see the new Chevrolet Camaro, pop down to Bauer Millett and see this beauty in the flesh! If the time is right for you I’m sure you will be reaching for your plastic or that secret wad you were saving for a rainy day. From the driving seat of a Chevrolet Camaro it will be sunshine every day!
Take care good friends and enjoy life.
Graeme S.
Since this was written Emma Young has taken over as membership Secretary.
Well here we are at the start of the tenth year of the new millennium, the twenty eighth year of the American Auto Club North West’s existence. Yes that’s right, come May we are 28 years old, a good few years older than some of our quick to take the mick younger members. No doubt they’ll be up to their usual banter when the new show season kicks in, probably reminding some of us how bad we where way back in 1981, prompting us to recall some of the antics we got up to before the arthritis and grey matter slowed us down!
No seriously folks, now is a time to enjoy and celebrate the maturity this great club and hobby has developed into no matter how old or young you may be.
I myself can recall my older brother Colin scraping a mint 1959 Buick Electra, because of a smashed front windscreen. Something we’d be horrified at these days when we can just pick up the phone or go on the internet and have anything from a screen to a crate motor delivered to the door, from anywhere around the globe within days. If you get chance just ask Chris Jackson about some of the big bad motors that went through his yards, or the days when Americana was a couple of decorating tables and a field of cars.
Yes folks we take for granted now just how far our hobby has developed and still is growing.
So between ourselves and the newer younger members coming on board, there’s plenty to look forward to this year.
Enjoy this coming season, and I hope to see you all out and about good friends.
Graeme S.
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