MLOC meet - 11th & 12th July 2015

[Ade]

Hi all,
anyone going to Midland Lotus Owners Club meet at Chatsworth.


Ade

[Enright]

When is it?

[theelanman]

Neil
11th and 12th July

Ade
I might do......but I wouldn't get there until late.....
theres a run in the morning, and a picnic in the afternoon......
similar to the Serpentine run but with a picnic after.....
I think the run is fully booked up......and the picnic cost you about £12 each I think

I may make if for about ~3pm

cheers
G

[Enright]

OK I'm bringing Laura along (to The Serpentine) on Sunday - will have to see how she enjoys it before committing to 12th which is when we're supposed to be having a few days away anyway.

Oh and I've edited the title to include a few more details. Do we have a website link for meetup times/places etc.?

[Ade]

Hi all,
it is my first time at this event so i don,t know too much about it except it looks like there is a really good turn out. The run out is fully booked and there is as stated a breakfast or picnic (I'm not sure which). It is just £10 a car to get in.

If you go to the Midland Lotus Owners Club http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/ you will see all the details,there is also a YOUtube link. I was also wondering if this meet was any good if it could replace our Donington meet, as it looks like that will never happen again and I really miss it.

Cheers
Ade

[theelanman]

theres another local run here.....

only been doing it for 10 years.....

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=24078

bacon butties to start........stop for lunch at a pub........finish near a coffee shop, with ice cream and a brass band tooting in the background.....

might even finish at chatsworth house......never know until you get there........

[Tuga2112]

my coleague at work is going, she was quite adamant it was going to be a good meeting and very enjoyable. i am thinking of turning up just to see what its like.
for me its just a 90 minute drive and i suppose there's not much else to do on a sunday anyway...

[Ade]

Hi all,
The MLOC meet was really good, plenty of Lotus cars attended, as usual a lot of Elise,s but a good mixture of other Lotus cars. It really needed more M100,s, there were approx seven of us, Met Enright and had a good chat with him about all things M100. He came in his project car, which got more attention than all the other M100,s put together.
The meet was at Chatsworth house which I think was a really good place for the meet and once we arrived was well organised, with plenty of stewards to guide you to your place, far better organised than the Club Lotus meet.
Will certainly be there again next year, when hopefully there will be more M100,s.

Ade.

[Enright]

There was a morning run before we all travelled in convoy from Hassop to Chatsworth, but the only representation of Elans was me. We set out in groups of about 8 from Matlock Bath train station car park around 8ish, and there was a really good briefing beforehand. The group I was in was led by a guy in an Exige, there was a gaggle of Excels, a (beautiful) V8 Esprit, another flourescent Exige and me last.

Unfortunately the chap in the flourescent Exige simply didn't seem to know what he was doing. Conditions were damp but he was clipping and crossing white centre-lines all over the place, and braking into every corner (while the Excels and the Esprit took off into the distance). We could hardly get above 40mph and it was frustrating. Even when we bunched up, the Exige was braking into corners that everyone in front was managing with no problem, and taking ridiculous lines.

One of the Excel drivers had to pull over for a pee stop, then we all passed an RV - I was hoping that we'd have a turn-off ahead and would have to wait for him. But instead we came upon a village and had to slow right down. So he cleared the RV too and caught up before we had chance to have any fun catching up with the others together.

At least after that he had a grandstand view of the ineptitude of the guy in front of me, while I tried to "over-use" my gears for the corners to avoid showing un-necessary brake lights and demonstrate that "hey, the problem aint me!"

When we stopped at Hassop I heard the Exige driver grumbling to the group leader that he never takes his car out in the wet and he "had an Elan right up his arse", which annoyed me because a few times I'd checked that I was observing the 2 second rule. If he had watched and learnt from the driver in front he and I could have had a much better time.

100+ of us paid a fiver each for a bacon cob and a cup of coffee (so they did rather nicely out of that), then we had the procession in to Chatsworth. This was the first run of the day during which I'd had chance to have the roof off, and I forgot to put the wind-blocker up, so Laura went ballistic at me because it blew her hair.

We were directed next to a single other Elan at Chatsworth but another 5 turned up later. I did my usual thing of leaving the bonnet up to take the attention away from the bodywork, the car got a lot of interest, and I ended up chatting to quite a few people. There was a picnic but it was £10 per head so we decided to leave quite early to go and get a carvery or something elsewhere.

It would have been nicer if there had been a few more familiar faces, but in summary I felt it was all very Elise-and-new-money-centric.

[Fredjohn]

Had I not had a music festival come pig roast to go to I probably would have gone. But my cousin tripped over it on her way through Chatsworth Park and was sufficiently impressed to text me with a photo and wondering if I was there. Cross fingers may well make it next year.