The Network’s 2020 annual rally next June (5th-7th) is to be held in and around the England- Wales border region known as the Welsh Marches. The event has been organised by Tony and June Adlard and will be based upon the Herefordshire village of Titley. Full details can be found on the new rally webpage here.
Parts of the UK and north western Europe are expecting a decent spell of late summer weather, representing a golden opportunity to make use of our cherished and much discussed Minors, Midgets and Hornets. There will be plenty of time for discussion during our long winter, so why not get out there and use them while the sun still has some warmth? After all, that’s what they were originally built to do…
While our days are definitely shorter, the grain silos are only two thirds full and hedgerow and tree foliage remain green (Apart from those on the blighted horse chestnut). Yet, if you are up early enough, there is a nip in the air that wasn’t there a week ago and the dews are heavier than of late. Harbingers of autumn? Almost certainly!
It’s said that laughter is the best medicine in which case Frank Ashley (left), Avril Ovenden (centre) and Peter Yates are in danger of overdosing! This Peter Brock photograph was taken at the recent Morris Register Thoresby Rally where both Avril and Frank were award winners. Frank’s 1929 MG M Type (PG 1045) is no stranger to winning trophies as the car competes successfully in VSCC ‘speed’ events, while Peter’s 1933 Minor Saloon (LV 975) has been a ‘regular’ at the last five Network rallies.
The recent Morris Register/MVA Rally held in the grounds of Thoresby Hall, Notts was subject to mixed weather conditions over the weekend. Saturday’s rain gave way to sunshine on Sunday while some entrants experienced appalling driving conditions on their journies home later that day. (Photo: Peter Brock)
The pre-war Morris Minor was exported to markets across the globe, the largest of these being the Dominions of the former British Empire. Perhaps the second largest (to Australia) of these markets was New Zealand where many hundreds of Minors found homes. This extract from a December 1929 Otago Times newspaper advertisement proclaims the Minor as “the world’s economy car” while further claiming later in the text that 50 mpg was not unusual. Hmm!
This internet sourced image shows Dave Cooksey at speed in his 1930 Duple dual-bodied Minor Special. This may resemble the standard 1930 Minor Tourer, in fact most would be hard pressed to spot the difference. However, those with a keen eye would pick out the dividing arc of a neat join over each rear wheel, where the tourer body can be replaced by that of a van via the simple expediant of undoing four nuts and lifting it off. The photo was taken on the Bean Car Club’s annual Daffodil Run, which this year took-in stretches of the New Forest in Hampshire.
Rasmus Larsen from Oelgod, Denmark owns this 1931 Minor Two-seater (z9489). Images appear on the internet around this time each year of Ramus and his car attending a rally, although the name of the rally and where it is held has not been established to date. Regardless of that lack of data, his car always looks to be immaculately turned out and is an excellent ambassador for the model in that part of Northern Europe.