| Back V8 Column for September 2003  
              published in Safety Fast!, the award winning monthly magazine 
              of the MG Car Club This month we have a final reminder for the V8 Cornish Tour over 
              the long weekend 3rd to 6th October and a call for members to join 
              one of the V8 Tables at the Club's Annual Dinner at Sandford on 
              Thames near Abingdon on Saturday 18th October which is the tenth 
              and final event in the V8 25th Anniversary 2003 year. The Goodwood Revival race meeting is a popular event for V8 enthusiasts 
              and an informal gathering will be organised this year from Friday 
              5th to Sunday 7th September. See the V8 Website for full details 
              or contact Victor Smith on 07770 822977.
 
 The V8 Cornish Tour over the long weekend from Friday 3rd 
              to Monday 6th October 2003 is proving popular. The base hotel is 
              in Falmouth by the sea from where the event organiser Gordon Hesketh-Jones 
              has arranged an interesting programme of visits and tours. Full 
              details of the programme of events, information on the hotel, costs 
              and booking forms are on the V8 Website. Members without internet 
              facilities can contact Gordon for an information pack on 01736 763053. 
              His email address is at manningford@btinternet.com for any 
              queries.
 
 The Annual Dinner of the MG Car Club is on Saturday 18th 
              October and always an opportunity to meet members from all parts 
              of the Club and this year it will be the final event in the V8 25th 
              Anniversary 2003 year. The location of the Four Pillars Hotel is 
              convenient, just south of the Oxford ring round so there are excellent 
              links from the M40 and A40, and from the
 
 |  M4 via the A34. Contact Club Office for tickets and ask to be 
              placed on a V8 Table.
 The V8 Gathering at Rousham House in north Oxfordshire on 
              Sunday 13th July was popular as the annual AWC Day Out organised 
              by the Abingdon Works Centre is always a most enjoyable and well 
              run event. This year was no exception - an interesting house to 
              go round, wonderful gardens and a garden party setting for the event 
              in an adjacent meadow organised John Venables and his team - plus 
              warm, sunny weather. The V8 members found shelter from the blazing 
              orb under the oaks!
 
 
   V8s under the oaks at Rousham Park - an enjoyable 
              event organised with quiet attention to detail by John Venables 
              and his AWC team. (Photo: Victor Smith)
 Both series of workshop notes are available on CD in Word 
              and PDF formats and are in regular demand, particularly the RV8 
              Workshop Notes CD as many of the new owners of the model joining 
              the V8 Register. Full details of the content, availability and cost 
              of each CD are on the V8 Website where you can buy the CDs online 
              using the V8 Online Sales webpages. Incidentally the website hit 
              count continues to rise - for June and July the hits were well over 
              2,200 in each month so the website is clearly a popular source for 
              technical information for V8 enthusiasts including regular RV8 auction 
              reports from Japan and an active V8 Bulletin Board.
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