The 7th & 8th August was a big weekend for MGCCSE events with two taking place – the first a meet on Hayling Island to eat Fish n Chips on the Beach – the second to have a ride on the Kent & East Susse Railway at Tenterden.
Both were different parts of the region and both experienced some interesting weather!
The Fish n Chip Run is a stalware n the South East MGF Register calendar and has taken place for the last seven years, usualy at Hayling Island although one year they did venture as far afield as Newhaven for a change and one year was called off entirely because of…..you guessed it….storms!
This year the meet was open to all members of the MGCCSE but it as manily members of the MGF Register that came down, maybe this was due to the apalling weather forecast – which wasn’t too wrong. An MGBGT and a TF from Winchester MGOC did join them though which was unexpected!
Arriving at 5pm it wasn’t actually raining but then at 5.10pm the heavens opened and evyrne sucrried for the relative dryness of their cars.
The rain was torrential and the wind buffetted the cars parked alongside the beach. Would we ba able to get across the road to actually get our Fish n Chips? As the time passed the rain did move away enough to head out and dash to the Fish n Chip shop with umbrellas battened against the strong wind. Duly ordered a dash back to eat them sitting in the cars. There was little chance of actually sitting on the beach in this weather but after the chips were gone so did the rain.
Normally we would sit on the beach and watch the sun go down over the Isle of Wight as the cruise ships depart Southampton and maybe play a game or two of beach boules. Not on this occasion, it was enough to merely stay upright on the shingle and any boules would no doubt have disappeared into the sea.
So there we were – it did happen despite the rain, we had our chips and we had a natter on the sea front and then we went home as the clouds gathered again and Portsmouth took a drubbing in the distance. Let us hope for better weather next year!
A Splenid Summer Day took place the following Sunday morning, organsined by SE Chairman Chris & Janice Liegh. MGs gathered at Tenterden Railway Station and some big puddles were in evidence in the MG car park here as well but this time it was a bit more sheltered. A ride on a steam train on the Kent & East Sussex Railway was a little bit drier than tryng to sit on a beach but those heavy showers were still very much in evidence throughout the morning.
