Octagon March, 2016

Some words from Elaine
Here’s another great cover photo for you.
Our thanks go to Ian Welsh of Shifting
Focus who made a special effort at Morgan
Park recently to get a cover-worthy photo of
Ken Wasley in his recently acquired MG at
its first ontrack outing. Read all about it in
‘Stories from the Stables’. There is a second
‘Story from the Stables’ which takes us back
in the historical spectrum of MGs with Ross
Kelly’s tale of the fascinating history of his
J3.
provided a moving tribute to their member,
Tony Gubbins, who died suddenly earlier
this year. His loss had extra impact for all
of us as he had just taken on the job of
being the Chapter’s scribe for their Octagon
reports.
Part 3 (of 4) of Dan Casey’s documentation
of the ownership of MGAs is included here
and is followed by an incredible story of
coincidences relating to MGAs.
I know that there are plenty more stories of
cars in your stables out there. Please don’t
be shy about coming forward with yours.
About 1500 words along with up to 8 photos
is a ‘rule of thumb’ for the length of your
story. Your car does not need to be special
in that it might be different to everyone else’s
like the two in this issue but there probably is
something special about it for you.
It’s a pleasant surprise to have three letters
to the Editor in this issue. You will find them
on page 62, just inside the back cover. The
first one contains a plea for help at the
Queensland Hillclimb Championships at the
end of May. Please check your calendar to
see if you will be able to help. Another is a
brief account of the only member of our Club
to make the journey to WA for last year’s
Australian Hillclimb Championship. The
third arrived just in time for inclusion and
give us an update on the trip to WA being
undertaken by the Rayments. I thank them
all for taking the initiative of writing these
letters.
Letters to the Editor can also be used as
a vehicle for you to express your opinion
of what is happening in the Club -- maybe
some praise is due, maybe you have
suggestions to make. Use the Letters to the
Editor as your forum to open up discussions.
Remember, too, your contributions to ‘Bits
and Pieces’ are always welcomed.
Members of the Wide Bay Chapter have
A number of our members will be making
their way to WA for the National Meeting at
Easter using different methods of getting
their MG there. Peter and Delia Rayment
are travelling in their MGY and Peter has
documented the changes he has made to
the car to make the trip more comfortable
for them. Hopefully we’ll get some followup
from them after the event.
While the Chapters have been well
underway with events already this year the
first Brisbane run was held on 25 Feb and
attracted a large group of runners. The other
social event of the year was the annual
dinner and presentation of trophies. There
are reports of both of these inside.
In lieu of reports of competitive events
by the absent Ace Reporter, a number of
competitors from the various activities have
given their perspective on the event. Our
thanks go to them for their contributions.
The keen-eyed may notice that we have a
new advertiser -- an auto-electrician with a
liking for working with older cars who works
as a mobile business, visiting the home of
the needy vehicle.
Please note the closing date for the next
Octagon, the May issue, is the last day
of April. Please also note that this March
issue will be the last you receive if you do
not renew your membership by the end of
March.
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The Octagon - March 2016