Recent Events
As a forward thinking MINI club we aim to provide our membership with the largest and most diverse set of events available on the scene.
A small selection of pictures from the events we have recently attended are shown below.
MINI Factory Tour – May 2010
For the second time this year, members of NMC visited the MINI Factory in Oxford. It was an early start for most with the majority of cars meeting at the now temporary Cherwell Valley Services. The whole complex had been flattened following a fire earlier in the year. We convoyed on from there and eventually reached the birth place of our cars. The factory was bathed in glorious sunshine with temperatures reaching the mid twenties, and after being greeted by the tour guides and donning our MINI lab coats, we were invited to take a look around the display area. Items such as the one millionth MINI to be produced, one of the cars from the modern Italian Job movie, and a robot from the factory were all on show.
From the display area, we all jumped about the mini bus and headed for the production factory. Inside was a sea of efficient robots, all working seamlessly together to turn sheets of metal into car parts. It wasfascinating to see how these machines almost looked like they were alive, such was the sophistication with which they operated.
As we walked around this area, we were allowed on to two different raised platforms which gave a terrific view of the robots at work. Finally, we came across the the first human at work. He was checking the welds as the parts were placed in front of him by the robots. There will always be an element of human input in all of the processes, but more and more of the work is being taken away from us by technology.
Our next stop was the assembly factory, where the skeletons come in, and six hours later, are driven away as a completed MINI.
There is much more of a human element to this process, as the machinery merely placed the cars where the workforce needed them. Firstly the doors are removed for ease of access, then the wiring is put into the car. The next phases see the cockpit assembly, glazing, and rear lights added. Following this, the engine and gearbox is fitted, before the front end of the car and the wheels are added. Deano was invited to have a go at fitting a couple
of wheels to a Cabriolet and he duly obliged. It is a fairly simple process but requires the operative to move swiftly as the cars pass on the conveyor. The final stages were to add the oil and fuel before the cars were fired up for the first time and taken away to be tested.
We ended our day with some photographs at the front of the factory before several of the members went for some food at a nearby restaurant. For any NMC member who hasn’t visited the factory, it is highly recommended.
Chris (a.k.a. GPChris)
Newsletter Editor
London to Brighton Mini Run 2010
Hosted annually by the London and Surrey Mini Owners Club (LSMOC), the London to Brighton Mini Run saw it’s 21st running on Sunday 16th May. 4 of our member cars were fortunate enough to be allocated a space amongst the 2100 cars taking place in this event.
After travelling down on Saturday 15th May, we set up camp in the ground of Crystal Palace Park, and had our first laugh of the weekend when it emerged that club chairman, Deano had forgotten to pack half his tent, much to the annoyance of his girlfriend Sonia. Off to the shops to buy a very manly Pink popup tent went Deano (more on this latter).
This delay to proceedings allowed the other members (Sam, Tom a.k.a. Barbara, Jon and his kids) to explore Crystal Palace Park in more detail and take part in the LSMOC’s treasure hunt, which was subsequently won by Team NMC and the award duly presented to Deano on the seafront in Brighton the following day.
Saturday night saw all of us descend on the local McDonalds for a spot to eat and some great banter as we got to know each other socially, the discussion quickly turned to tomorrow’s main event.
The London to Brighton Mini Run is well known as being the biggest single make car run in the world and this year was no exception with cars forming the queue to leave Crystal Palace at around 11pm, by 4am there were 4 whole lines of minis of all shapes, sizes, colours and spec parked and ready to leave the park. A quick walk around these cars went some way to bringing to the forefront what we all love about these cars, old or new we simple loved them all.
After packing up our tents and making our way to the now mile long queue for registration we were all buzzing with excitement to get the MINIs on the road and enjoy what was for some there first experience of the London to Brighton. Following the collection of our run packs, the task of attaching the run plaques to the car started (some members finding this harder than others), and with the run t- shirts on we were ready to fire up the MINIs.
8.30am and the 21st London to Brighton officially started with the first of 2100 cars leaving the park and making there way towards Brighton, the sight of all these minis in one place is incredible and something that I recommend to all MINI owners.
Driving down in convoy to Brighton we passed many members of the public who seemed genuinely happy to see us all having fun, even if we were causing traffic nightmare for the locals.
After arriving in Brighton we made our way to the top end of Madeira Drive to park up, walking through the many cars on the front we stopped to talk to fellow owners about their experiences of the event and everyone commented that this is the best event around.
In conclusion this event is an event I would recommend to you all.
Deano
Club Chairman
Himley Hall Show
Well what a day and another success for NMC!! With the rain lasting until the Saturday hopes were low for a sunny day but what a surprise on the Sunday morning! As the two NMC convoys met up in the West Midlands the sun was blasting down to make a perfect start to this show!
30 NMC cars turned up to what was the biggest stand at Himley, a huge result for NMC! The spirits were high for the event as the sun stayed out and a few members went home with red faces!
The event also saw the birthday of the clubs chairman Deano, which added to the day of celebrations! His girlfriend and NMC rep Sonia organised a big surprise for Deano with the words ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEANO’ on his car, courtesy of club sponsor MINI Pirate, which certainly drew in some attention!
Home made cakes by a few of the members certainly went down well along with drinks and chats about all things Mini! The show in general had a huge turnout and the amount on MINI’s there was more than ever which was great to see however it was disappointing to see only one new MINI trader at the event so we all went home with full wallets!
Again the highlight of the day had to be the spirit and friendliness of all the guys at NMC which made the day what it was!
Tony (a.k.a. dj_tonylee)
Events Coordinator
Party At The House
The 5th of April, Easter Monday, saw an NMC invasion of Chatsworth House. Following on from last year’s picnic themed success at Chatsworth House it was decided to hold the event again this year in what will probably become a regularly yearly event for the club.
20 MINIs made the event in the stunning grounds o
f Chatsworth House, giving the chance for a good catch up for many NMC members after the quiet close season. In addition, one or two new members sampled their first taste of an NMC event. The weather wasn’t quite as kind to us as last years’ heat wave but this didn’t dampen the sprits of the NMC members, and in fact it helped spur on an impromptu MINI run around the local area, quickly organised by Rob who proudly presented his new MINI to the team after a short while away from MINI ownership.
After arguing with parking attendants for putting the Chairman in a separate area of the car park, we all took a few pictures (including the Fiat which had managed to find itself parked amongst the MINI’s). A few of us went for a look around Chatsworth House and the surrounding grounds which were very picturesque. After a bit more chatting, a few of the cars made their way home, whilst the others embarked on their mini run.
The run took us around the area near Chatsworth house and we then headed south towards the very scenic Matlock Bath, passing many motorbikes parked up on their bank holiday get together and passing under the famous cable car routes at the Heights of Abraham. Following on from the run the remaining attendees of the event then nicely rounded off the day with a traditional NMC pub lunch!
Nottinghamshire MINI Club Visits MINI Pirate
After nearly a year of been sponsored by MINI Pirate (www.minipirate.com), the members of Nottinghamshire MINI Club thought it about time to pay a visit to one of it’s most active and enthusiast sponsors, known to many simple as “The Pirate”, so a plan was formed to spend a day at his studio’s learning more about the design, production and application of the vinyl’s that are present on ever increasing numbers of MINIs today.
The day started with a quick meet at the Donnigton Park services on the M1 for coffee and an quick chat about what was to come later in the day. We then proceeded across some fine roads of Leicestershire to MINI Pirate’s studio in Old Dalby, where we were greeted by some other members.
There were now 12 members of the club who were buzzing with excitement as Phil started to explain some of the work that goes into the “design” stage of any project he works on, this just reinforced our opinions of the lengths that he goes to for his customers.
After a quick break for snacks and a chat about various projects club members have planned for their cars it was onto the “practical” element of the day.
The car that was chosen for Phil to demonstrate his work on was the club’s founder, Dean Quartermaine’s (Deano) R56 Cooper. Phil took his time to explain the advantages and disadvantages of various methods of vinyl application before handing the floor over to Deano who attempted to fit one of his two new bonnet stripes, and quickly gave up, handing back to the professionals, whilst echoing all the members thoughts that it’s looks much easier than it is.
Further work was carried out to members cars including the fitting of a number of new club sun strips which will be spotted at various events over the summer.
In conclusion seeing Phil at work and his skill, commitment and dedication to both his work, and the MINI scene in general has inspired a few more of our members to explore ideas for changing the look of their MINI in the near future, it was a truly great day with a truly great MINI specialist.
Nottinghamshire MINI Club Peak District Invasion Part Two – March 2010
In what is already proving to be a very popular run for Notts MINI Club, ensuring its permanent status on the yearly events calendar, the 2nd Peak District Takeover for Notts MINI Club took place on Sunday the 7th of March following on from last year’s success.
Over 30 cars took part in the event through some of the most scenic country side Britain has to offer, right on the doorstep for the majority of Notts MINI Clubs’ user base.
Being the first “run” of the year it provided a fantastic backdrop with the snowy hill tops in the peak which provided a reminder on the day of just how severe the weather was just two weeks before. For it was on the 21st of February that the run was originally scheduled to go ahead. The days leading up to the original date were rather chilly with plenty of snow up in the peaks making it difficult to “rekey” the run in the lead up in order to produce the run notes and even forced a quick re-plan of the run the day before by club founder Deano and Sonia. However everyone w
oke up to a shock on the 21st of February when club members as far and wide as Nottingham, Stoke and Manchester all woke up to a few inches of the white stuff meaning that the run had to be called off at the interests of safety for all who were due to attend.
It just goes to show the enthusiasm of club members that instead of sitting at home, disappointed in what had happened, the club user base quickly got together to suggest new alternative dates for the run and even before the day was over a new date was set. Almost all of the original line up were able to readjust any plans in their personal life to take place in the rescheduled event just two weeks later. And it was certainly worth the extra wait!
The run took us through and past scenic towns of Leek, Buxton, towards Ashbourne and back towards Leek. And whilst almost all of the snow had gone, there was a short 100 yard stretch that added to the challenge of the day as MINI owners used their front bumper as a snow plough ! (very carefully of course!). The rest of the run provided a series of challenging bends, dips and hill hugging roads, all taken at a safe pace of course whilst reaching altitudes in the high peaks of well over 1,600 feet.
The day culminated in a pub lunch at the Red Lion Pub in Thorncliffe where over 40 members stayed for a bite to eat and then, as with last year’s event, to also take part in the charity raffle, with many prizes donated by club members and club sponsors. Money raised was £??? and was split 50/50 with both Sports Relief and Cancer Research UK.
What is certain is that this popular event will be one of the first events for the Notts MINI club calendar next year and beyond as we welcome members of other clubs along to the events of Modern MINI club of the year 2009.
Stay tuned for a possible re-run of this event later this year!
British Mini Fair – Bingley Hall – January 2010
On Sunday 31st January 2010 the Mini community converged on Bingley Hall in Staffordshire for the 2010 British Mini Fair.
The fun started before the show even opened as everybody had spent the Saturday cleaning their pride and joy, only for it to snow overnight. As the Mini’s arrived in their droves on the Sunday morning, the outdoor areas filled with dirty MINI’s, whilst inside the hall, dedicated MINI owners were frantically cleaning and polishing their cars ready for the doors to open.
As in 2009, there was a distinct split between the classic Mini’s and the new models, with the current generation being confined to a small hall at one end of the show. Despite this, everybody was in good spirits as it signalled the start of the 2010 show season.
The usual trade stands were spread throughout the event selling everything from brand new tyres to Mr Bean teddy’s! Some traders were offering show discounts and it has to be said, there were some excellent bargains to be had if you were there early enough.
The upper floor had themed displays which were put on by various classic Mini clubs and organisations. The most popular of these was certainly by the London & Surrey Mini Owners Club who were advertising the ever popular London to Brighton Mini Run for 2010.
In the MINI area there were some superb examples of the car we all love. The GP Pickup was on show along with a nice collection of Clubman models. The NMC stand had all spent a lot of time making the cars look immaculate and there was a fair amount of interest shown, resulting in new members for the club.
Towards the end of the day, the British Mini Club held a raffle for the chance to win a superb classic Mini. There was a lot of interest with almost everyone staying behind for the result. After a no show from the first number drawn, one lucky lady ended up driving home with a new car, and the slight issue of what to do with the one she came in!!
Overall it was a great day, but it has to be said that unless the BMC begin to let more new MINI’s in next year, then they are in danger of creating an all classic Mini show in the not too distant future. As a club we hope that doesn’t happen.