This just in:

Goodness, how time flies!

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you managed to get a decent break over the summer holidays, notwithstanding border uncertainty and everything going on around us.

Fingers crossed for a more engaged and event-full (as opposed to eventful) 2022. We have already kicked off with the January TK&C meets, and in addition to the usual suspects, we had the slightly unusual phenomenon of rain, in January!

Oh well, things can only get better, as the song says.

February will, as is normal, be relatively quiet as we all get back into the swing of things, kids go back to school, those of us working go back to school too, and those of you lucky enough not to be working can kick back and laugh at the rest of us.

So we have the two Tyre Kicks, at Carss Park on 13th Feb (the day before all you romantics need to be on best behaviour), and the following weekend possibly back to Rhodes (if the new owners have got their timing right), otherwise still at Gough Whitlam Park – we’ll let you know that week by email, so keep an eye on the inbox.

February will also see the committee coming back together for the first time since the AGM. If you have anything you would like to raise to us, or you would like to come along, please do get in touch. It will be a hybrid event, with in-person Chez Roskill in St Peters, and a zoom link for those less willing to travel or be in close proximity with others (perfectly understood!) Drop us a line to [email protected] and we will organise accordingly!

There are several events we need to get our skates on to organise, not least the Tour of Tassie, slated for early October. We’d also like (if there is interest) to organise a run out round country NSW, as much to support the local economy as to get a view of the wonderful lush green countryside that La Nina has blessed us with!

Beyond our borders, life continues to be both different and challenging – the threat of Russia marching into the Ukraine is a blot on the landscape to say the very least, increased seismic activity in the Pacific has kept my employer occupied trying to restore the sub-sea cable connection to the Pacific islands, Joe Biden appears to be the president that everyone forgot (which I’m not going to get drawn on!) and that clown Boris continues to be almost as much of a laughing stock as our own political “elite”. Plus ca change.

So I hope you have got your resolutions clearly mapped out for the year?

I had a good clear view of my priorities and had even started building the shed in the garden to house my wood-working, when a (now ex-) friend pointed me to a barn-and paddock-find of not one, but four 2-door series 1 Range Rovers. So of course I had to put a deposit down.

And then work out how the hell to get two partly mobile cars and two cars on blocks off the property in double quick time. The reason they were cheap was because the owner has sold the property, and the new owner wants all his stuff gone before settlement.

Luckily, I have a long suffering friend (a different one to the ex-friend who pointed them out to me – yes, amazing, I have two (now one) friend) with a property near Galston which can house them and he’s even able to help with the metal work required to get one of them going quick-smart.

So if anyone wants a Subaru Forester and/or a Series 2 ex-Army Land Rover, they will both have to go to make room! I hope for your sakes your better halves are as accomodating as Mrs R.

And with that, I will wish you all a wonderful 2022, and I look forward to catching up face to face very soon.

In the meantime, keep safe, upright and (mostly) on the blackstuff.

Pip pip,
Ashton

Well, happy Christmas everyone! I very much hope you and yours enjoy a restful break after another difficult year.

Caroline and I have decided to take three weeks off over the end of the year, and go and be hermits somewhere other than Sydney. So, if you are trying to get hold of us, don’t be surprised if there is no answer – it’s one of the few places within two hours of Sydney with no phone signal! Glorious.

But before that, next weekend (Sunday 13th) we have the AGM and CLA Christmas Party. We are still very much expecting to have it in person in Tunk’s Park in Lane Cove National Park. We will kick off the AGM at 11am (and will have a Zoom line open too for those who would like to join remotely), followed by the BYO picnic in the park from about 12 onwards.

The agenda for the AGM is largely as in prior years (sign-off of the financials, appointment of the committee, review of the year that was, plan for the year to come) with the notable exception that we will be asking for your endorsement or otherwise of the revised CLA constitution.

The revised version was sent out earlier this year for consultation, and the final version is on the members area of the website (in the Member Jungle site, under CLA Documents). We need 75% approval of all those attending the AGM for this to be ratified and would value your presence and vote on the day.

Additionally, if anyone would like to nominate for any of the roles on the committee, or simply to join as a general member, we are always on the hunt for willing volunteers.

In particular this year we need some help with:

• Motorsport, where the team is going to need some additional support following David Mackie’s move to Queensland; and
• A replacement (as if that were possible!) for Anne in the role of Vice President, following her well-deserved retirement this year following many years of wonderful service to the club.

In other news, the new ominously-named Omicron variant of the COVID virus is causing the press (with nothing better to do) to drum up a crisis. Very sadly, this week we lost another great name in motorsport with the passing of Sir Frank Williams, and just so you don’t think I’ve completely lost my British roots, a mention of the weather, which continues to dampen spirits (at least in Sydney, I can’t really speak for anywhere else as I haven’t been there in such a long time).

On a brighter note, I got some encouraging photos of the Eleven (top), which continues to come back together looking rather dashing. The Elite repairs (above) have made the next step towards a coat of paint, although the rain is slowing that process down as the abnormal moisture in the air apparently upsets the quality of the paint – I do wonder how they ever manage to paint cars in, for example, the UK?

On that note I will wish all of you and your families a restful, joyful and above all safe summer holidays, and given that we will next speak in 2022, a very Happy New Year too, and may it be a bit easier than the last two.

Pip pip,
Ashton