2006 Season

2006 began with the election of officers at the AGM on 16th January. John Nixon was unanimously voted in as chairman again, and Ken Sayers also elected as treasurer again. With the news that John King unfortunately stood down as secretary, Ken Curry was elected to the post for the year.

January
At the meeting the members decided that the chosen charity for 2006 would be Chest, Heart and Stroke Foundation. A film by Liam Coyle from club outings in 1996 was shown to the amusement of everyone in attendance.

February
This meeting was addressed by Trevor Mitchel of the AOVC, and topics covered were history of the AOVC, the Parades Commission issue, Insurance and the Kilbroney show. The Ladies from Chest, Heart and Stroke Foundation gave an informative talk about what their charity actually does.

March
Lots of members attended the parades commission meeting in the Everglades Hotel on the 28th. Final plans were drawn up for the annual show at CDRFC on Sunday 2nd April.

April
The month began with a lot of work for all those involved in the annual show, but again it all proved worthwhile with approx 274 vehicles on display and an excellent days fund raising for our chosen charity.

May
The 14th saw a good turn out for the run to Portnablagh organised by Tommy Finlay and Billy Hamilton. The prizes for the treasure hunt were awarded after an excellent meal in Arnold’s Hotel. The annual Ballylinney weekend on 5th-7th was again a roaring success with an entertaining fancy dress BBQ on the Saturday night.

June
As usual the June meeting was held at magilligan point followed by a BBQ . On the 11th cars left Limavady for another good run and ended up in the Royal Hotel for a lovely meal to finish the day. The 25th saw us meeting in the Happy Landing for tea and scones before heading to Bushmills. On return we all enjoyed a fine BBQ in the garden of Pat and Debbie Dixon’s house. A few members attended a fantastic weekend at Moffatt in Scotland and it has been suggested that more people go to this event next year. The Moville run proved to be a good day out and was followed bya nice meal.

August
The 26th and 27th saw Portrush come to a virtual standstill as minis from all over GB and Ireland arrived for their annual weekend. Eglinton Classic Club members again helped to marshal on the Sunday afternoon.

September
The was a sad month with the announcement of the death of Owen and Adele’s baby. Naturally the run scheduled for the 10th was cancelled as many members attended the funeral. The Willie Hutchinson run took place on Sun 17th and was sponsored by Willie Nutt and Richard Hogg. Those who went to Kilbroney reported that even the fire engines had to be towed out due to the muddy conditions! A few members went to the Garvagh show on the same day and they also experienced pretty bad weather. The trip to Dorset was a great success with only a few mechanical hiccups! Thank God for duck tape and wee bits of Sally rod. A very interesting trip to the Tank museum at Bovington on the Sunday made up for a wet afternoon. A 40 foot trailer was despatched from Eglinton to bring back everything that Lennie Curry bought in his effort to outdo Gerard O’Donnells purchase last year of a snow sledge and 2 reindeers!

October
Thanks are due to all those members who helped out at the annual flower show in Eglinton on Sat 9th. Thomas Finlay showed a great DVD of the mini run at the monthly meeting. A fancy dress night was organised by Erica King for the 28th October and was a great night but attendance by members could have been better.

November
The tickets for the Christmas Dinner Dance are going like hot cakes (or mince pies ) Plans are being drawn up already for next years show, and the Moffatt trip. The Ballylinney weekend has been booked for 21st and 22nd April 2007.

December
The Christmas Dinner Dance was enjoyed by everyone, with a great meal, very good band and a serious night’s craic! All those who attended the December meeting enjoyed the traditional Christmas drink bought by the club, although there were rumours that a crow-bar had to be used to get the cheque book out of Ken Sayers pocket!