The Winterbottom Run

Any social or anti-social get togethers, track days, shows, stag nights etc. that may be of interest to members. The occational blast down the road, or trip down to the local.

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richardw
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by richardw »

bash wrote:
Thu Apr 01, 2021 07:39
Im in, travelling from Doncaster.
Bash
Ps, Ive posted this on the fbook wedge forum richard to see if the tvrcc are doing owt , hope you dont mind. Im sillious soddus on there because I have some friends in Rome (or the tvrcc).
Thanks for that Bash. Could you find out if they will have anyone who can coordinate their trip so we can give the family a reasonable idea of numbers - you can pass on my contact details - let me know if you don’t have them and I’ll fire them across. I think we should have someone at each rendezvous point doing our coordination insofar as that’s needed, so I’ll be asking for volunteers when I post more fully over the weekend. I’m happy to do the Midlands one.

Cheers, Richard
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by Radar »

I will try and make this. I was married in Wymondham Abbey too, so it would be doubly significant for me

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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by Ray-s »

I'm going to try and make it too..... :)
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by Radar »

I'm in, can I join the midland group convoy?

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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by bash »

Has the tvrcc in touch yet richard ?
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richardw
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by richardw »

bash wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:09
Has the tvrcc in touch yet richard ?
Bash
Not yet, email sent over the weekend. I’ll let you know when they come back to me.

Cheers, Richard
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by richardw »

Thanks to everyone who wants to join in. There is no limit on cars or numbers at the moment; we’re trying to find a venue near Wymondham Abbey that can accommodate a reasonable number of cars as there may not be enough space in front of the Abbey.

I would like to ask for a volunteer to act as coordinator for each of the rendezvous points - just making sure nobody gets left behind and being a point of contact for anyone who needs help. If nobody else wants to do it I’m happy to look after the Midland one.

We are still at a planning stage. In particular, we need to ensure sufficient time is allowed to get to the Abbey in good time - maybe the volunteer coordinators can look at this and set their own start times taking into account any stops to rendezvous with others along the way.

Refreshments are planned after the service. Our plan always was to stay overnight to have a meal and raise a glass to Oliver; it’s difficult to check accommodation availability until hotels etc reopen but it does look as though East Dereham (10 miles away) is the nearest place as there is nothing much I can see in Wymondham itself.

Given the timing of the service, people may instead wish to return home afterwards so it would be good to get an idea of who wants to do this rather than stay over - if you could reply to this effect it would be appreciated!

That’s all for now; I’ll post developments as they occur. Meanwhile, hopefully the TVR folk will join in so let’s have a good contingent of Lotus wedges.

Perhaps somebody could post about this on the Facebook site (not on it myself) and link back to this thread so that we don’t miss anybody?

Many thanks, Richard
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by rbgosling »

I'm hoping to come (Midlands contingent). I won't be staying overnight, as I already have weekend plans with my parents conveniently close in Suffolk anyway.

It'll be weird being in Wymondham, I haven't been to the town since I lived there while working at Lotus, I left in 1997. In those days you could park for free in the town centre car park, which is a short stroll from the Abbey (and indeed most of the town!), I imagine there's a charge these days but I've no idea, there's maybe room for 50-60 cars (total) from memory. There was also an enterprising group of teenagers who would hand-wash you car for you, for however much you thought it was worth (long before this concept became ubiquitous using Polish cheap labour).

There also appears to be a pretty small car park next to the station, which is also a very short walk from the Abbey. There are more car parks in Back Lane and by the library, which aren't much further. The streets are mostly pretty narrow so there's not much street parking in the town centre. For this reason most town centre residents (myself included) used the public car parks for parking their own cars, but still I'd imagine on a Friday afternoon there should be space available.
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by bash »

Richard, Ive pasted your last post into the TVR wedge owners and enthusiasts group on fbook.
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by barker_001 »

I'm interested in attending this too, probably doing the bulk of the drive from South Wales on the Thursday night, staying somewhere that evening, then making our way to a rendezvous on Friday morning. We would be looking to stay in / around Wymondham on Friday night.
How about looking at a block booking at the Bird in Hand pub / B&B just down the road from the factory? There is also the Old Thorn Barn nearby, which we have stayed at before. It's lovely, but doesn't have bar facilities.
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richardw
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by richardw »

Bird in Hand sounds good - I only used booking.com which didn’t show anything around there. Do they serve food in the evening?

Cheers, Richard
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by barker_001 »

Pre-covid they definitely did, we had a lovely meal in there. Some Lotus memorabilia in the bar too.
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by rbgosling »

Bird In Hand - I'd forgotten that name, that was certainly the preferred post-work watering hole for Lotus employees in my day. Probably still is.
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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by Alan_M »

barker_001 wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 19:38
I'm interested in attending this too, probably doing the bulk of the drive from South Wales on the Thursday night, staying somewhere that evening, then making our way to a rendezvous on Friday morning. We would be looking to stay in / around Wymondham on Friday night.
Hi Bryan. I will probably be doing something similar, especially if my working week is the same then as now. So, I will expect to drive to London on Thursday morning for work in the Lotus and then stay somewhere between London and wymondham overnight and pick up the convoy en route. Something similar to when we went to the 70th.

At the moment I can’t promise which Lotus I’ll be in - planning to take a few weeks off June/July time to work on the Excel doing a full respray, recolouring the new interior, and fitting carpets etc. So, will depend on how well that goes :D

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Re: The Winterbottom Run

Post by richardw »

Quick update - the TVRCC has been in touch and are keen to get involved. We just have to be sure we have more Loti that they have TVRs.

I’m also starting to think about some merchandise we could create. What do people think about Winterbottom Run rally plates? I’ll try to get some costings if you are interested. This year proceeds could be used to help the family cover the costs of the service and refreshments, and we could sell them to the TVR participants as well.

We have around half a dozen interested participants so far. Did anyone manage to post anything on the Facebook group?

Cheers, Richard
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