Saturday 13th January
“ As an outcome of discussions at the Petanque day held last November, some plotting and scheming was conducted prior to Christmas by Bill Bowks , Andrew Henshall and yours truly with the outcome being a planned run to Sugarloaf reservoir in Christmas Hills .
The date and route was promoted amongst the Alvis, Armstrong Siddley, Bristol, Daimler Lanchester , Jowett & Veteran Cars Clubs based in Melbourne.
The day dawned cloudy and overcast, and was in contrast to the previous hot Melbourne summer day.
With not a great many RSVP's received, it was with some trepidation that I arrived at one of the starting points in Lilydale, only to have my anxiety lifted by finding Alistair Shepherd’s 403( 110151) & Bill Bowk’s Daimler ready and waiting. Two Jowett club members were also present , like myself , in a modern & we were soon joined by Mark in an Alvis speed six (110052) .
We departed as scheduled & arrived to find in the Sugarloaf Reservoir carpark, a motley crew of the various car club members with 18 Classics (115014) together with a RMS Riley, and few additional club members in their moderns .
On behalf of BOCA, other than the fore-mentioned 403, there was a 401 and two AC Aceas , one with a Bristol engine, one AC motor & a three wheeler from the early 1900s .
Together with these seldom seen cars and owners , Colin Young made an appearance and was seen to be enjoying the occasion.
The 401(1977 H3) of Cathy Ferguson had not only the youngest driver but has not been seen often at a BOCA event. .
Those in attendance spent a relaxed couple of hours talking cars and motors as well as being able to conduct some closer inspections (115056) of some very interesting marques .
There was some joy riding done around the car park , courtesy of the three wheeler , which also had the effect of drawing in a few spectators who had stumbled onto this impromptu gathering.
At about half past 12 , we congratulated ourselves on our initiative and camaraderie before we all dispersed back to our starting points.
The intention is to schedule similar ad hoc events with a series of different destinations to the north, west and south of Melbourne to enable club members the opportunity to clear out the cobwebs with a half day excursion, perhaps to include lunch – at various times in the coming year.
Suggestions for a destination or a route that you may consider suitable are welcomed. “
Mark Macallister
