Febr uar y 2016 CONTENTS

KENT SOUTH REGION NEWSLETTER

Lesley’s preamble

Chairman’s letter

‘February Feast’ report

London Classic Car

Show reports

Forthcoming JEC dates

Kent South Events up-

date

Xclusively Jaguar

Press clippings

Contact Us

JEC Kent South

Region, proudly

sponsored by:

Website: www.kentsouthjec.org.uk Email: events.ksjec@gmail.com

Chairman: Colin Boakes 01634 231693

Hever Castle in Spring

I have delayed this edition a little, to include members reports

from our ‘February Feast’ and The London Classic Car Show.

March 1st marks the official ‘first day of spring’ and we have

already had some surprisingly warm spring weather, with

daffodils and blossom well on their way.

So, with our thoughts turning to the open road and getting our

beautiful Cats checked-over and spruced-up, don’t miss our

next Club Night with ‘nibbles’ on Tuesday 8th March. Steve

Norton , our man from sponsor Guy Salmon at Maidstone , will

be giving us some advice and tips from the trade.

However, I for one, will have to work really hard to achieve the

superb shine on my XJS— as shown in Frank and Yvonne’s pho-

tos from The London Classic Car Show!

Lesley

P.S Can anyone recommend a car trimmer/ upholsterer please,

as I need the headlining replaced on my XJS.

C H A I R M A N C O L I N ’ S L E T T E R

It was great to see so many of you at February’s Club night; quite a num-

ber of whom were new or making their first visit for sometime. It is always

good to meet you, even if circumstances prevent your regular attendance.

I am writing while we away in Somerset; our first visit to the West Country

for a long time and due to (correctly) forecast wet weather, we decided to

bring the 4x4— so the long awaited open-top run will have to wait a little

longer.

We can recommend the area and have found plenty to do; visiting the re-

cently extended ‘Haynes Motor Museum’, with its excellent selection of

cars and memorabilia, and for Kerri, the 3-mile-long ‘Seaton Tramway’.

Kerri also enjoyed our trip to the ‘Clarks’ Designer Outlet’ at nearby Street,

plus there are miles of unspoilt countryside and the delightful seaside

town of Lyme Regis. Also nearby West Bay - setting for the TV series

‘Broadchurch’. Unfortunately, there will not be time to visit the ‘Fleet Air

Arm Museum’; maybe some other time?

Keith tells me (20th Feb) that around 70 members have already renewed.

That’s a great result at this early stage, especially given that renewal

notices have never previously been sent out by email; if you haven’t re-

ceived yours please check your junk! An early return is much appreciated,

as it gives our volunteers more time to prepare to send out your renewal

packs.

Due to other commitments we will not be attending the ‘February Feast’,

but I am really looking forward to boogieing-on-down at the ABBA Tribute

Night! After that is March Club night on the 8th, when all being well mem-

bership packs will be handed out. Steve Norton will be talking to us about

preparing our cars for Spring. If that’s not enough to get you down to the

Conningbrook, we also have free ‘nibbles’ on offer during the evening.

Kerri and I look forward to seeing you there……………….

‘February Feast’ report (Sunday 28th February 2016)

The ‘feast’ was well attended with some twenty JECKS members and partners. The Bull Inn pub has

a corner location, with a generous car park. It looks like one of those pubs you may well drive by

without a visit. However the bar was very busy and the carvery oversubscribed, so you would need to

book in advance.

Our meal was booked for 2pm, so we had plenty of time to soak-up the pub atmosphere, drink and

chat with friends.

The pub décor is dated, but suitably dressed with knick-knacks, adding character.

The Carvery menu provided a good choice and servings were generous. 3 courses would be a

challenge! Judging by the banter and laughter, it was evident that another enjoyable event was had

by all.

Thanks to Lesley and Stuart for a well organised event.

Dave Lockwood

Richard Reeves about to enjoy

his Banoffee Sundae!

Unfortunately, we had to

call ‘International Rescue’

for Phil, after he left his

lights on while parked, so

“conked-out”.

However, help was at

hand from our friends in

the AA and he was on his

way within just 17

minutes from call to run-

ning again.

23 diners enjoyed a full Sun-

day roast with all the trim-

mings and a selection of

tempting puds.

Hi, I am Clive Thwaites and I have a white Mk 2 Jaguar, which you may have seen at various club dis-plays during the past few years.

I have always had a passion for cars, so have been to many car shows of all types over many years, I did the big NEC show in Birmingham last year, as well as the Excel show, which is substantially small-er, but less crowded than Birmingham.

I booked early to take advantage of discounted tickets, which I secured at £18 each + £1.50 booking fee, that my friend split with me.

This year I arranged to meet my friend Mike at the Excel, travelling up by train then taking the Dock-lands Light Railway to complete the journey. I had heard the show would be bigger this year, so was quite excited at the prospect of more cars to view.

I was really impressed with this years show; both the quality and diversity of displays. We were there on the Friday and were pleasantly surprised at the ease with which we could walk around and even taking pictures was fine; whether numbers were down I have not heard, but it all made for a very good experience.

On arriving, we first spoke to an artist painting a picture on his stall. As well as some fabulous car paintings, he specialised in scenes of the London skyline as viewed from the Thames. There was a brilliant picture showing the rear end of Steve McQueen’s Mustang, alongside the villains’ car about to nudge it off the road into the filling station. At £350 pounds (a snip for a one-off original), just couldn’t think were I could hang it !!!!

On the next stand was a mint frog-eye Sprite, at an unbelievable £23,000. Moving swiftly on - always great to see our own marque on display and we were not disappointed. There were lovely E-types, with some for sale, but sadly for us non-owners, nothing under £80,000. One company offering a ‘nut & bolt’ restoration car for £275,000! Beautiful but expensive.

We saw several Mk 2s, three in bright yellow; again stunning, but not my first choice of colour. There were many other types of Jaguar to drool over, as well as a comprehensive range of Clubs displaying their finest, from Marcos, Aston Martin, BMW, Ford, Audi, MGs, RR, Porsche, Bentley and Lagondas. Plenty of American ‘muscle’ cars and also a few new models, like a Peugeot 108 GT and the 208 GT, both very nice.

I also spotted a car that I have often admired with the proud owner standing beside it, so I just had to mention what a wonderful job the Hawk was, as a replica of theses rare, expensive and wonderful ma-chines. Only to be met by a somewhat muted response, but further cajoling allowed him to explain that this was indeed the real deal - an original Cobra 289, worth in excess of £500, 000. Oops.

A big feature of the show is ‘The Avenue’; a large open space through the centre of the main hall, where at intervals during the day, you can view some of the cars parading up and down, giving the sights and sounds of some of your favourite classics in action.

The cars on display are backed-up by all stalls selling allsorts, from car accessories to model cars, racing car furniture, wine and holidays etc, etc.

The smaller of the two halls had an area set aside in the middle, with tables and chairs for people to sit and eat whatever picnic they had brought, whilst listening to live music. Very civilised.

The London Classic Car Show members reports (Friday 19th to Sunday 21st February 2016)

2016 London Classic Car Show – attended by Frank and Yvonne McAndrew

Getting there: Yvonne and I attended the show on the Sunday. We decided to drive there, as it has

been rumoured that trains can be unreliable. All was good, except it took an age to get to the car

park, so next time we will park somewhere else and get the tube. The car park was a set fee of £15,

which I paid on arrival, which avoided a 100m queue of people standing in the cold waiting to get to

the ticket machine at the end of the show.

The Show: The show had lots of nice cars, even a modern Ferrari with a price tag of over £2 million,

and quite a few Jags - some for sale at under £2 million! What I found a great aspect of the show

was the drive through the centre of the hall, of a group of cars representing the numerous counties,

rolled out country by country; with voting taking place by text for the best display. The UK came first,

but I think this was down to the Brits sticking together. For me it was the Italians that had the best

display. The winners received an award from Jodi Kidd.

Some of the performance cars, including a Lotus Formula One car, had their engines revved-up to

the delight of most. Yvonne ran away, but there was a rush of men to the barriers, to see what was

making the noise.

There was a second hall of classic cars, where the more ‘down-to-earth’ cars were displayed. These

were provided by the car Clubs, but we nearly missed this, as it was on the opposite side of the

centre and we had to leave the main hall to get there.

Some tips for anyone going next year:

If you drive, consider parking away from the area and use the tube.

If you drive to the car park next to the show, pay the car park fee before going to the show.

It is better to eat lunch at 12 noon. Any later there will be long queues and you will find it difficult

to sit any where, as they do not allow anyone to sit in the show hall.

UPCOMING JEC EVENTS

A summary of up-coming JEC events, both local and National, which may be of interest to you.

For March, April and May.

Regional events:

April

24th National Drive It Day. Kent South at Hever Castle organised by Colin Field

Major events:

March

5th Practical Classics Restoration and Classics Show (NEC Birmingham)

20th International Jaguar Spares Day (Stoneleigh)

April

30th/May 2nd Donington Historic Festival (Derby)

May

21st Club Cotswolds Weekend (Sudeley Castle)

22nd Club Cotswolds Prescott Hill Climb

Seminars: (All at Stoke on Trent)

March

19th E-Type Sports

April

23rd X-350 Saloons

May

14th XF Saloons/ Shooting Brakes

Racing:

Various racing events detailed at Snetterton, Donington and Oulton parks.

Forum events:

May

2nd XJ40 meet (Ace Café in London)

Please see a JEC magazine for further details.

KENT SOUTH EVENTS UP-DATE

The Club calendar is complete now, but it will remain ’fluid’, if members wish to recommend ad-ditional events or visits. If we can’t accommodate these this season, then I will hold them in re-serve for next year.

March:

5th *ABBA Tribute Night at the Inn on The Lake is now closed, with 18 members attend-ing and three staying overnight. We are looking forward to a good meal, some serious dancing and a hearty sing-along!

8th *Club Night when Steve Norton of Guy Salmon Jaguar (our sponsor). For those of you who have not yet considered the preparation of your cars for the coming season, we have asked

Steve to give us some guidance. As previously mentioned, if you qualify for discounts, these are availa-ble on parts and the labour for repairs. Guy Salmon already provide attractive packages for servicing, which do not qualify for our additional Club discount. (01622 797700).

27th/28th Festival of Steam and Transport at Chatham Dockyard. This includes the Easter Bank Holiday, so a good opportunity for the whole family to visit a very interesting venue.

April:

12th Club Night.

18th JDC invitation to a talk by Peter Leake entitled: ‘The Cat is Back, the story of the XK8’. £6pp including refreshments at The Dog and Bear Hotel in Lenham, Kent.

24th *Drive It Day at Hever Castle, Kent. (Organised by Colin Field).

You will receive a personal copy of the Club Calendar 2016 with your renewal pack shortly.

Events further ahead:

May

8th Motors by The Moat at Leeds Castle in Kent. (Organised by Dave Lockwood).

Simply Jaguar Day at Beaulieu.

10th *Club Night talk with ‘nibbles’ by Jonathan Partridge of the Jaguar Heritage Trust, entitled ‘Jaguar and it’s Crown Jewels’. (We will be inviting other JEC Regions and local car Clubs to this event).

15th *‘Ladies’ Day’ at Chiddingstone Castle. (Organised by Lesley King).

June

5th East Sussex JEC Annual Jaguar Day at Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex.

11/12th Wrotham Classic Steam and Transport Rally.

19th Father’s Day XJs at IWM Duxford. Another superb day-out for all the family.

* are JEC Kent South Region events. Stuart King

CONTACT US:

If you have something you want to say, please send it to: events.ksjec@gmail.com

Something I would like to promote, as it may be of interest to members, is a web site set-up by someone you may

already know and I have enjoyed getting to know, via the JEC. Letitia Mace of Xclusively Jaguar offers much

information and related links to ‘everything‘ Jaguar.

Letitia is very active in the Jaguar ’scene’ north of the boarder, as she lives in Scotland; but often travels down

south to attend, or help organise JEC events. My initial contact was her invitation to exhibit both of my XJSs in

the XJS Time Line, for last year’s XJS 40th Anniversary weekend at Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales.

Please take a peak at her web site as detailed above, or on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/xclusively.jaguar?fref=ts and consider signing-up to her free monthly Newsletter.

Letitia has also invited me to submit our Newsletters to her ‘JEC Regions’ section.

Lesley

Press clippings From recent editions of The Saturday Tele-

graph ‘Cars’ section

Report on the Jaguar XE 2.0D 180 R-Sport

“..it really is a joy….and excelled on the fast,

winding roads….flowing from bend to bend in a

way that makes even the best rivals feel lumpen

and vague. You won’t get out at the end of a

long journey feeling exhausted…”

The Future is Child’s Play A new poll commissioned by Bentley asked 1000 children aged between six and 12 what their dream car would be like: 38% wanted their car to fly.

16% had their cars powered by magic, 14.2% by chocolate and 10% by hamsters running around wheels. !3% would most likely have an on-board sweets machine, while 10% preferred ice cream. 13.4% wanted a swimming pool as additional entertainment!

2016—the year to toast our classics

The FIVA has named 2016 as World Motoring

Heritage Year and British classic car owners

and enthusiasts are in a good place. We

have world-class establishments, such as the

newly refurbished British Motor Museum, as

well as many thousands of classic car events.

The UK is also home to an unrivalled industry

devoted to the restoration, repair, buying and

selling of these vehicles.

Patrick Rollet, FIVA President said “The auto-

mobile has over the last 100 years or so, had

a huge liberating effect on humanity”. Let’s

make the most of that freedom.