Hello all, May/June has rather blurred together, largely as I spent two weeks of it in Spain and Portugal on the GOME Rally (more to come for those carrion eaters among you!) and then a week recovering from the by-now obligatory gastric flu you have to pick up when you visit Dubai Airport – fun it was not…

But I gather I missed out on the warmest two week stretch in May on record, only to come back to winter… which in my book gives some of the best opportunities for open top motoring, provided the rain holds off! I was reminded recently that the best way to warm the cabin of an S1 Elise is not the heater (which, in the words of one J Clarkson, is akin to an asthmatic blowing through a straw), but by removing the back window and allowing the backdraft in…. so it remains to be seen how the heating in the Elan will fare this winter.. I’ll let you know after the next Club Run, which will be on Sunday 27th July, with a trip (hopefully, and weather permitting) to either the Blue Mountains for some fresh mountain air and some fun and interesting roads over the other side of the black stump, or down south… or both.

So put the date in the diary, and more details elsewhere. Hopefully I’ll see you before then at the July GM, which will be at the Woolwich Pier Hotel on July 8th.

Looking slightly further head, August starts to get busier, with the next round of the CSCA sprints (AHOC round) on Saturday 16th and the Shannons Classic on Sunday 17th, both out at Sydney Motorsport Park (EC to you and me), followed the next weekend by the All British Day at Kings School on 24th.

Tickets for both events are paid for by the Club but restricted in number, so if you would like to come, please drop a line to Elliott and register your request for tickets. If you would like to enter the Concours at Shannons, notify Elliott of your intentions.

This year we will once again be holding our Concours d’Elegance at the All British Day, as well as the now-familiar Family Picnic, so please bring the family and persuade the cook in the family to prepare something to share! We will be taking photographs at the All British Day with a particular purpose (so top secret I can’t tell you) so make sure you give her an extra spit and polish.

Having recently decided to keep the Mini and spend some money getting her back up to speed (another money pit to park alongside the Elan and the Elise, yes), I have spent some entertaining hours reading about and researching the rebuild of an Eaton M45 supercharger; and while at it, apparently a 15% reduction in pulley size frees up 30 hp – sounds too good to be true; anyone fancy a working bee one weekend?

Looking slightly further afield, it was good to see Mark Webber’s return to motorsport get so close to nudging the Audi’s off top spot at Le Mans; sad to see that the transmission failure left them so close and yet so far… but as I can attest, endurance racing is as much about finishing as being the fastest!

Ah well, with winter upon us the garage heater is cranked up, and all those jobs that need sorting are on the list… including the relay; for those who came along to the Garagetek evening, you don’t need reminding that Mike Jefferies has offered a very generous 25% club discount off list price for floor tiles – contact Mike on [email protected] or 0411 955 173 and tell him I sent you.

See you soon I hope, and meantime, keep safe, right side up and on the blackstuff,

Ashton