Stop press - previous unpublished

Minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting held on Thursday 31 July 2014 at the RAF Museum, Cosford.

No notes were taken at the meeting, nor was there an agenda. These minutes were penned as a ‘wet-playtime’ activity as the author’s planned projects the following day were curtailed by rain. They are therefore purely recollections and no offence is intended by any part of them.

The EGM was called by Peter Lawrenson in order to meet up with Terry Rigby - who had planned a trip to the UK. In view of Terry’s interest in aircraft, the museum at RAF Cosford was considered to be a suitable venue.

Attendees

Peter:                          BMW R1200GS

Ken:                            Honda VTR 1000

Martin:                        Honda CB500

Swinn:                       BMW R1100RS

Everyone had enjoyed a dry run to the meeting. Swinn arrived at the Museum first and paid the parking fee. Peter was second and managed to park his bike in the same bay - which is standard practise for motorcycle parking at Cosford. Ken was third to arrive but admitted that he had been waiting a short distance away as a) he didn’t want to be first and b) he didn’t have sufficient money to pay for parking. As if to illustrate his impecunious situation he too managed to manoeuvre his bike into the same bay. Martin arrived last and did several laps of the car park before concluding that it was possible, if everyone move-up slightly, to get his bike in too. This notionally reduced the cost of parking to 62.5p per head – but, lamentably, Swinn was unable to recoup any of his initial outlay.

Apologies

Received from Terry (due to back problems), Dave I (due to wind) and

Roger (due to not being retired).

As usual Ken spoke most frequently, loudest and at greatest length on most matters.  His name therefore appears more frequently than others in a ratio of about 10:1 - the same as the compression ratio of his VTR. He is the subject of teasing to the same extent.

It was agreed that motorcycle ownership/ailments/medications were not EGM matters and should therefore be updated at the AGM.

The meeting commenced promptly at 12.30pm with lunch. A good choice of dishes was on offer but, with one exception, everyone went for a fry-up with chips. Being least wealthy and most weight-conscious*, Ken chose a single lemon muffin. Having made his selection, he asked the lady behind the counter to explain the pros and cons of every variant on display. Having considered the options in greater detail he uncharacteristically declared that he would stick with the selection already made - much to her disappointment.

* see footnote

Matters discussed

1. Attendees wished Terry well and hoped that he would make a speedy recovery and be able to re-arrange his visit. It was unfortunate that he had been unable to attend but, the date having been established, the decision was made to hold the meeting anyway.

2. The opportunity was taken to gossip about non-attendees and also family and, In particular, the challenges presented by partners, children and grandchildren in fulfilling one’s ‘bucket- list‘ ambitions. The ‘list’ was further complicated by finance, fitness, and anticipated longevity.

3. Attendees having reached (at least) 60 years of age there was general consensus that the Club71 upper age limit for motorcycling activity should be raised to 75 years (previously 65).

4. It was also suggested that the Roger Smith model of motorcycle ownership would be the best to follow at this time of life i.e. to buy the most desirable and expensive you can afford and then (ab)use it for as long as you can. Ken declared that, following years of torment and deliberation, and taking into account the number of test rides he had recently taken, he had definitely decided to sell his GS and Firestorm and would be buying a Ducati Multistrada in the very near future (see item 13).

5. Travel and the merits of camper van v caravan were discussed in some detail. In particular sanitary arrangements and how to deal with waste-water products. Peter had successfully toured France and Spain in 2013 with caravan in tow. Ken was under pressure from his partner to abandon camping in favour of something more comfortable. He thought this had been prompted by her recollection of happy times in a VW Combi some 30 years previously.

6. Peter had taken a trip to Assen this year for the Motogp, accompanied by his Fireblade mounted son - and picked up some useful tips on lane-splitting en route. In contrast, Swinn had attended the Classic Bikers meeting at Spa accompanied by his long-suffering wife and had experienced the many inadequacies of the Belgian transport system.

7. Martin announced that his daughter had been awarded a Doctorate (Geography) and was writing a book.

8. Prior to a tour of the Museum, Ken told the meeting that he had approached the (Avro Heritage Museum?) with a view to volunteering his services. He wanted to mend things but been advised that he would be restricted to ‘conservation’ – essentially crawling inside exhibits and spraying surfaces with WD40. Understandably, he had chosen not to take up this offer.

9. The tour went well, the consensus being that the TSR2, attended by a pair of volunteers, was the most impressive. One volunteer spoke at length and with some authority about the history of the aircraft before admitting he had no aeronautical experience and had only recently learnt what to say. However it was obvious that he was very proud of his speleogical abilities and the level of proficiency already achieved with his very own can of WD40.

10. Least impressive was the project to preserve the Dornier 17 retrieved from the Goodwin Sands in 2013.  To the untrained eye this comprised a scrap-heap in a poly-tunnel - being sprayed with what appeared to be many gallons of WD40 to maintain it in this remarkable condition.

11. The meeting closed at about 4pm over tea, Swinn having ‘lent’ one of the other attendees the price of a cup. Martin left to do shopping for his 91 year old father (bodes well for your longevity, Martin. How long do you think you can make the Honda last?). However, discussion turned to Triumph 3s, Rob North frames and John Cooper. Peter advised that complete ‘Letter box’ Triumphs were still being built. Ken thought he ‘must’ have one (and therefore his declaration in para 4 became null and void).

12.  It became clear that there was still some reluctance to spend by one attendee in order to retain sufficient funds to get back home – his motorcycle having used over ¾ of a tank-full to travel just 80 miles to the meeting.

13. Peter claimed the long distance award for his round trip of some 220 miles. Swinn had travelled 120 miles and claimed the shortest distance award but pointed out that he had paid £2.50 for the privilege.

Future meetings

The prospect of a Tour de Yorkshire, calling in at Silsden had met with a lukewarm response from that part of the world. Therefore, except for the AGM in January 2015, no additional meetings were arranged. This did not preclude occasional encounters between consenting members.

* footnote

Ken had recently declared that he had removed the body armour in his jacket as a protest against the ‘nanny state’. The more likely explanation is that he had outgrown his jacket and measures had to be taken to avoid the expense of a new one.