POLAR NEWS   -  No. 52 December 2008

FROM YOUR EDITOR

Many thanks to Nigel for sending the two lovely action photos of Dream Rides at the NEC, taken by Bll Crichton, which raised about £27,000 this year. The £4,000 raised on Friday will go to the BBC Children in Need and the other charities that will benefit are REACT, Jack’s Place at Naomi House and Dogs for the Disabled.

Helen

WELCOME

A warm welcome to new members Peter and Matthew Primmer and Drew Leonard of York, and to Graham Forrest of Leyland who all joined at the NEC. We look forward to meeting up with you soon.

DREAM RIDES AT THE NEC

Mike and Fiona and Brian and myself decided to help out at the Dream Rides this year, as well as get a look at the Classic Car Show. We got there early on the Saturday and found a nicely laid out SBMC stand with a well rehearsed team swinging into action - registering the drivers, sorting out the garage area, laying out the booking sheets, the ‘sign your life away’ forms and sorting out the regalia for sale. It was good to be able to put faces to the names we knew and Mick’s wife had laid out coffee/tea for drivers and helpers and there was a good supply of delicious home made cakes. There was a great range of cars on offer - the older ones ranged from a little Austin and a Bond Bug (that took me back to 1970s Stirling Uni) to an Alvis, MG Midgets and a V8, through the lovely Lagonda, onto Jaguars and Daimlers. Phil Roberts was there in his Morgan and Paul Bonsall in his Healey. In the modern category, there was something for every taste - Scubies, Evos, Go Faster Beemers and Vauxhalls, Westfields, Jaguars, Aston Martins, Cobras, Mustangs, Corvettes, Maseratis, Porsches, Lotuses, Ferraris, Dodge Vipers, GT 40s and Lambos. Not to mention Jeff’s ACE, a Lola, the Cortina from ‘Life Keep in Touch! www.sportingbears.org.uk No. 52 December 2008 on Mars’ and a Street Legal Sofa! Donations ranged from £10 to £70, so there was something for all pockets. Apparently Friday had been fairly quiet with £4,000 raised and I gather the Police weren’t that helpful - booking two drivers. Over the weekend, there were reports of camera vans hidden round corners and the Dodge Viper and Ferrari P4 replica got a severe talking to. The Saturday was steadily busy, with   quite a queue developing after lunch. Bob and Mary Smith were loading passengers and Brian (Kirkness) was helping out Brian (Short) in the garage area, Mike rattled a bucket at the punters, Fiona went off with Gill to the ‘sign your life away’ desk and I ended up on the photo desk. I was a bit nervous about this as it involved a PC and I’m a Mac person - but have to say that Hewlett Packard laptop was miles better than the school's Dim Dell! I was certainly kept busy handing out the punters' photos and helping to print them up on the PC. Mary-Jane and one of the lady drivers were also prepared to ‘muck in’ on the photo desk, which let everyone get a break. Mary-Jane and myself thought we were quite good on the car ID front - until we helped out on the photos. Both of us spent ages looking for a Daimler, until we realised it was actually what we thought was the ‘white Jaguar’. I got a row for referring to the ‘Caterham Thingy’ which was a Lotus Seven - identical to the Caterham as far as I could see, apart from the large 7 on its nose. I was all good fun - especially seeing the lady with immaculate long blond hair AFTER she’d been out in the old Lagonda! Anyway, the busy Saturday raised £11,000 - which was very good in these recession hit times. Mike and Helen Webber had arranged a meal at the nearby Beeches Restaurant for the Saturday evening and they, the Davies, ourselves, the Snellings and the Bonsalls enjoyed an excellent dinner. We turned up early again on Sunday and had a tour round the MG clubs, the autojumble and the tool stands before finding a slot on the Dream Rides. There were plenty of people on the photo desk this time, so I joined Fiona on the ’sign your life away’ forms. It seemed a bit quieter than the Saturday, but still raised nearly £10,000 and kept us all occupied - with Mary-Jane and Helen W helping out, so we could all get a break. The main excitement of Sunday morning was the late appearance of Mike Webber and a certain Ferrari Dino Diesel (Oops!). We enjoyed helping at the Dream Rides - it was tiring but great fun. At the airport, Mike and Fiona treated themselves to a reviving glass of Champers, I had a go on the massage chair and Brian fell asleep!

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

30 Polars braved the icy roads to enjoy their lunch at Auchen Castle and I have to say that the high powered exotica (eg Boxster and Ace) did have some wheel spin in the very icy car park. However, the car that needed to be pushed by four good strong men was an allegedly four-wheeldrive, Zafira! After the lunch, Corinna Cartwright, Headteacher, gave an informative talk on the work done by the James Rennie School in Carlisle which had previously received money raised at the Culzean Autoclassica. Dick and Pat then donated their raffle prize (a lovely reindeer) to the school. The lunch generated £300 from the raffle and a very generous donation from one of the Polars who was present. (I think everyone managed to get a raffle prize). Fiona had previously received £90 in loose change from a southerly Polar Bear. Other donations were £10 from the Tristar Hotel which Phil stayed in while at the NEC and £5 from Helen for the Polar Bear badge she got from George. Sheila had persuaded 3 friends to give good homes to a few of her bears and received £25 in donations! So, that is a good start to our Sunday lunch fund, which Brian S suggested we should add to for a year and then give as a good lump sum to the approved charity. A good discussion took place about which charities should benefit from our fund raising. Jim suggested we should continue giving to the smaller charities and this was supported. Polars very much appreciated receiving specific feedback from charities indicating how donations had been used. Members are urged to think of any charity they would like to nominate in the Polar area and advise Fiona. In response to the request by the Committee, it was agreed that the James Rennie School should be nominated by the Polars to receive a share of the end of year funds. The amount will be decided at the February Committee Meeting. Following the formal launching of the Club's 21st Birthday Bash over the weekend of 14th/15th May 2010 at the AGM accommodation can now be reserved at the Coniston Hotel, Coniston Cold, Skipton by phoning 01756 748080 and quoting "Sporting Bears". Room rates including breakfast are £125-£175 depending upon type of room. Less expensive accommodation is available at the Travelodge Skipton (Tel 0871 984 6177) or the Premier Inn Skipton (Tel 0870 850 6398). The Birthday Dinner is in the Coniston Hotel on Saturday 15th. To book your place send a cheque for £38.50 per person made payable to SBMC to Boo Grant, SBMC Treasurer, 24 Rahn Road, Epping, Essex, CM16 4JB. Please enclose a Stamped Self Addressed Envelope and if possible give her your e-mail address. As the Polars are the most active regional group, it would be good to have a strong presence at the celebrations. Fiona Davies would appreciate being advised by members when they have made a commitment to attend so she can liaise with them.