V8 Column for May 2006
published in Safety Fast!, the award winning monthly magazine of the MG Car Club


Shoulder of Mutton on Hazeley Heath. (Photo: Victor Smith)

The next V8 Gathering at the Shoulder of Mutton on Hazeley Heath in North Hampshire is on Sunday 21st May from noon. It's a popular event with V8 enthusiasts and other MG members too. Bryan Ditchman will be there to greet you. This country pub offers Sunday lunch or tasty bar snacks and has a pleasant garden with tables under apple trees. The pub is easy to find as it is north of Hook and the M3 and south of Reading. Full directions and maps are available on the V8 Website.

V8 MARQUEE AT SILVERSTONE 2006
The International MG Meeting at Silverstone over the long weekend of Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th June will have the usual warm welcome at the V8 Marquee alongside the dedicated car parking area for V8 enthusiasts. The V8 Marquee is a popular gathering point for V8 enthusiasts where you can meet the V8 gurus Clive Wheatley and Bryan Ditchman, and obtain copies of the workshop notes CDs at the special Silverstone discount prices. New members will find a briefing note on the V8 Website with details of how to get to Silverstone, how to find the V8 Marquee, details of the programme of events over the three days, and useful web and telephone contacts for booking local accommodation for the weekend.

On Friday there is the popular visit to the independent brewery at Hook Norton followed by lunch at the Pear Tree Inn nearby. As the brewery is tucked away down the lanes in rural Oxfordshire, there is a location map with helpful directions on the V8 Website. During the afternoon the practice sessions for the two day programme of motor sport will be in full swing. In the early evening there is the annual informal supper at the Star Inn at Sulgrave, a few miles from the Circuit. Again there is a location map and directions on the V8 Website.

On Saturday the V8 Marquee is open all day and there is a full programme of track events, and one of the largest gatherings of MG traders' stalls with spares and books. In the early evening there will be a V8 BBQ for V8 enthusiasts and their friends run by Clive Wheatley. To help plan supplies for the BBQ, please book your supper with Al Barnett at alfi.barnett(at)btinternet.com or on 01306 875786.

On Sunday the V8 Marquee will be open, a full programme of track races, driving tests and a concours. The V8 Annual General Meeting is traditionally held at Silverstone at 12.30pm on Sunday 25th July to enable as many V8 members to attend as possible. It is thoroughly democratic - the whole of the V8 Committee stands down and a temporary chairman of the meeting then conducts elections for a new V8 Committee. Do attend if you can.

New registrations continue to surge and are recorded on the "Welcoming new members" webpage of the V8 Website. The popularity of the V8 Register is stronger today than at any time - the enthusiasm is seen from the many useful technical tips on the V8 Bulletin Board and contributions to both workshop notes series are clear signs of how members can share their experiences and knowledge of the V8 powered models. The hit count on the V8 Website has grown strongly since Christmas and has broken through an extraordinary 7,000 hits per month, a clear sign the V8 Register continues to be the leading group for V8 enthusiasts!