When you are my age,3 years is new. I have been a member of The Veteran Motorists(GEM) for 43yrs
The catering at the rally was provided by companies that we, the rally organising team, liked the look of and who were prepared to pay the pitch fee.
As the person responsible for booking the caterers (and also the traders), perhaps I should add to this.
All of the caterers were selected as they were local (to the Eastern Region) and for the quality and diversity of their offering, all of them were invited to attend because I or other ER Event Team members had previously experienced their food/drink and could recommend it.
We could not have predicted the numbers of people that would be queuing for almost the entire day. The young lady with the coffee van had a queue from around 9.00am until 3.30pm, something she has never previously experienced despite doing many similar sized events.
Whilst the weather was very kind to us, the gremlins struck hard with various items of catering equipment, the Car BQ chip fryer was faulty, the Vintage tea room boiler decided to play up, and the Pimms bar ice machine also decided to play up. To the immense credit of all these traders they overcame these adversities and managed to please the vast majority of their customers. The Pimms bar even made an emergency trip to Asda in Kings Lynn to buy bags of ice.
It is a great pity that some people were dissapointed, but the caterers on the day did a great job in the face of adversity, and justified the decision to invite them. After all, they could have just thrown in the towel and gone home
Thankyou both for a straight answer to a simple question.I personally was not that bothered by the problems as I had a good hotel breakfast & was looking forward to a good hotel Sunday roast in the evening. There was no queue at the bar,so liquid refreshment was taken care of.
Reg.
Understand some of the grumbles and grimbles from people who had to wait longer than expected for some things. Having had to organise similar events as part of my job (and getting paid for it!!!) I also know how difficult it is to get absolutely everything right to suit everyone. Self and wife had a great day out with no serious problems and everyone we spoke to was happy so what the hell - thanks to all those that spent their time and energy on the event. In the world of industry megabucks would have been spent on hiring agencies to organise and staff an event like this - our guys/girls did it for free!.
Ok
None and i mean NONE of these events are ever perfect and go without problems, no matter where ,who, and what date , what ever club etc is holding it because we are all different people with different ideas of how things should be in life,
Everyone exspected rain? if it would of come then the whole event would have ben a waste of everytimes and efforts and a total wash out, for once god smiled on us all and we could use the roadster for what they were built for roof down all the way there, sun bouncing all day while we were there and roof down all the way back home ,big big bonus for a open top sports car event for once.
No one is saying ther was not problems or issues,we had some which were aired at the time and will be sorted for the future, but things need to be taken to basics and what it is, a drive to meet like minded owners with the same passion to a field in the middle of nowhere and hope we get good weather and bore each other to death about our passions, thats it ,and then just fill in the gaps of the day, i met loads of faces to names again, found some food and drink through it down the fuel the body and carry on, i exspect to eat crap at these events to be honest as it is a quick fix until you get home,and i can leve with that for acouple of hours while i meet and chat roadster,i don’t exspect a red carpet on arrival and give my keys for someone to park the roadsters and have a 3 course meal at hand.
It is a field in the middle of nowhere with a load of poeple with the same make of car ,love and passion and crossed fingers that the weather holds out the same at every event with owning a open top sports car, while you meet and chat, and like i said i would of been the first to get on a soap box and air views if i thought it was that bad, food outlets where more than there as been in the past and i never seen or had a problem and they were bang at it all day makeing food for s all, i eat when my body tells me to not when the clock tells me.
I just see a lot of whinging going on ,and to be honest it was not a bad day,weather helped, if the chaps that have a point on things being better, then put your hands up for the future ones to help and force some input, get your hands in,we did to help the club.
There is no way everyone will be happy, and i am the worst, thats life, even at the next future events there will always be unhappy poeple/owners, but you need to go to these events realistically, it is just to get together,chat and have a bit of fun over a one make car ,because that is after all the only thing that we do have in common, oh and it is in a field in the middle of nowhere and pry for good weather.
M-m
Never heard my surname used in that context before! (Grimble)
This was my first national rally, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, there could have been more going on in the arena and I was expecting more, but for an event organised by volunteers, I was quite impressed.
We had a party on the Norfolk Fives stand so there was plenty of food and drink.
Looking forward to next year now!!
“The young lady with the coffee van…”
what fab coffee and cup cakes
Nom nom!! and she was so apologetic for keeping people waiting… ten minutes (If that… MY experience not talking about others)
Fab attitude and and excellent book 
re the date - last mention (sorry)
I booked my aforementioned important event around the Rally in 2014
So - even if you’d like to keep the location a SURPRISE maybe having the date announced sooner would be appreciated as i am sure the controlling bods must know the dates the best part of two years n advance.
Ta muchly anyway
The dates for 2014 have been posted for at least 11 days now.
National Rally 28th September 2014
The 2014 National Rally is to be held at Gaydon Motor Heritage Museum. This is going to be a rally not to be missed.
Its been interesting reading through the various comments, good and bad. I didn’t make it this year, so I’ve been interested and as usual everyone has different opinions! I don’t see most of this as whingeing though, if people don’t say what they think then the organisers won’t be any the wiser and things won’t improve. Regarding the catering etc, although this was a meeting in a field, it is also the main meeting of one of the biggest (maybe the biggest?) car owners clubs in the UK … so I don’t think it unreasonable to expect high standards. Some things are outside anyones control though, and it sounds like the various companies battled on as best they could.
I think the key to this is communication though, there was a tannoy system I believe, so couldn’t an announcement have been made that there were issues with some of the equipment and apologising for the delays? I think once people know whats going on they can make their own decisions, the worst thing is being kept waiting with no idea whats going on.
I’ll certainly be going along to Gaydon as my car will be working by then (honest!!!)… I’ll probably take along some emergency snacks too, but fingers crossed the Car B Q wil be there again as I heard good reports from some of the local guys about it!
Russell.
And totally agree without feed back what ever it is, nothing can ever change, but it is stil a drive to a field in the middle of nowhere regardless, maybe that is the big problem of the expectations that owners think they are driving to, personally i gave up on that idea many moons ago from the first one of the owners club one i went to after that i became realistic with car events in general. The problem is some members expect to be greeting by a over the top event, the realisim is a load of people with Mx/Roadsters driving to one place that just happens to be in a club to look at the same make of cars stood still and to talk to the members and owners about their own mx/Roadsters, it is all down to the expertations of some members, and are let down when there is no red carpet and valay parking, a purpose built restaraunt with waiters for every one on hand, a hotel with a games room and pool purpose built just in case the weather goes ■■■■ (which nine times out of ten it does),it is about meeting other owners and seeing each others roadsters, that is regardless of how much money everyone wants spent with their own minds eye of how they want a day to go.
The one thing i have noticed in all this with owners talking about it should of been this way or that way and my chips were cold, is i do not see a show of hands to offer help to help the lads set up the field for everyone to enjoy, because that is what is needed to help in every area to take the pressure off the hand full of die hards that go out of their way to do these events,
More hands make light work, because that is what is needed for the greater good as that is all part of the club helping each other to enjoy a days meeting, the trouble is that some owners expect, rather than being realistic. i do understand the expectations because it is a club, but i also understand the realisim of it being a car club as many other car clubs are regardless, we all love a piece of metal from Japan that this club is about and needs members help… volunteer and make a change for the future, and put words into action.
M-m
Haven’t read all posts - sorry!!!
It was a national rally - it DIDNT rain - I rushed arround like a dog with three tails looking at Goergerous MX5s and the wife sat and read her kindle, with the occasional “thats nice dear - dont buy anything we dont have any money”
Did the house on the saturday - picnic on grass watching the early arrivers blasting up and down and listening to the comments of the good citizens arround us. Best comment of the day was a toss up between “Showoffs” from an octagenarian biker and “less intelligent than MG drivers then…” I was physically restrained from offering a retort to both and was told she would sit on my head if I said a word
Blinding meet guys - roll on Brooklands (hey i get to go look at buses too what more could a boy want???)
Yeah - i know
but i didn’t know the date back in August.
I would like to chip in. This is my first rally and I am a new member, (Sub three years 
), and I was thoroughly impressed with what was on offer. I have made a flippant remark in another thread about the rally about a lack of hog roast but that was in jest. The day was well worth the 200 mile round trip and the fact that the sun was shining made it a day to remember. Looking forward to Brooklands and Gaydon next year now.
Yes I totally agree with you Wayne. When the National was at Prescott we at SWM helped out and I for one enjoyed doing it. I have done 4 club rallys so far and plan to do both next year. But I still could not get a hot drink this year. Thats life.