2013 national Saturday :((((

[FERRIT1]

Hi We were camping with friends from our branch club, and this is our fourth National Rally, campsite setup was great, yes, there were queues, but these are old cars:- what's the rush!- Sunday access was MUCH better. we thoroughly enjoyed all the events and entertainment, we had our own picnic, as experience tells you this is more practical:- they were caterers, not Our Lord feeding the 5000!
we thought it was one of the best nationals we've attended, well laid out with fantastic club displays; and I take my hat off to ALL the hard working event marshalls and rally team who made it another great success, whatever the petty whingers say

Cheers, Paddy & Fiona (+Caitlyn)

See you next time.

[dantournay]

Only attended on Sunday but had a great day.

Thank you and well done to all everyone who organised it

[Steve_S]

I would like to congratulate the organisers for this years National. The events in the arena including the various non-Minor cars made it much more entertaining than previous years.
Also from other years, we have learned not to rely on the few catering facilities that tend to be there. We normally bring our own food. I do agree that the catering was particularly bad this year though.

[win]

Hi all
Just to continue on the thumbs up for the rally,
Ok a few problems, I am sure the makers of the mistakes, were well aware of them.
Spot on W/E for me, any chance of 2 nationals per year.
WELL DONE THAT TEAM.

Regards Win

[Matt]

I will put my hat in the ring...

Provided its a weekend I can actually make... I am quite happy to volunteer my services at future National Rallys! And yes, I do mean that. I would want chance to have a look around though!

If you are one of the organisers feel free to contact me to get my details. Once the details are out (provided I see them) I will probably contact the appropriate person anyway!

[lambrettalad]

and me please

[dwenger]

what a nice day on satursday at the national rally from ian in devon

[clougha7]

As someone who attended with a trade stall , we thought the Event was FANTASTIC , not because we made a fortune coz we did not and that's not why we do it anyway , it had a great atmosphere , a wide variety of cars and other vehicles (some quite rare) nice people , some who have travelled from far and wide I e Italy , lots going on to suit all tastes etc etc. Live music on the Saturday @ very reasonable prices...and so on
If you wanted to go to a REALLY BAD Event you should have come with us to the MX5 Spring Rally @ Pitlochry
Take on board the comments about catering (we were lucky, as we brought our food in our "P" reg camper) and the litter bins were conspicuous by there absence, but the loos were some of the best we have seen and as we attend all sorts of these type of Events I can assure you we get to see the good , the bad and the ugly.
PITY about the weather
So WELL DONE to the Organisers

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

I camped at the rally, arrived Friday evening. We always bring our own grub. Toilets facilities were very good, pity about cold showers but at least there was a place to wash with a sink!

The rally field was well laid out, branch avenues and registers all had plenty of space and the main arena in the middle.

All in all I thought it was a great event and would like to thank all of the Andrew and all the other folk involved in making the event happen. As Win says can we have it twice a year!!

[1098]

Yes, it's well done to the organizers,because the positives outnumbered the negatives for me. If you are into classic vehicles,you had a lot to look at. The Aircraft display, at the end, was worth the rally fee alone. Shame about the showers though,another weekend of minging armpits. Looking forward to next years event.

[Humphreysmum]

Yes, it's well done to the organizers,because the positives outnumbered the negatives for me. If you are into classic vehicles,you had a lot to look at. The Aircraft display, at the end, was worth the rally fee alone. Shame about the showers though,another weekend of minging armpits. Looking forward to next years event.

Good god man !... Have you heard of deodorant !

[1098]

Yes, it's well done to the organizers,because the positives outnumbered the negatives for me. If you are into classic vehicles,you had a lot to look at. The Aircraft display, at the end, was worth the rally fee alone. Shame about the showers though,another weekend of minging armpits. Looking forward to next years event.

Good god man !... Have you heard of deodorant !

Ah, that's what it's called ! To be honest, If I had used deodorant, it would have been like putting under-seal on a mInor that has driven in all weathers for twenty plus years. I would have just been sealing the crap in. Had many cold showers in the Army,and I was tempted to do the same once more. But at 55+ I bottled it.

[badobsession]

Well i am sorry for using all the hot water up
i had a shower on saturday morning and it was hot ... had an other shower on sunday morning and it was hot ......
the toilets in the camping where kept very clean and as for the toilets on the rally field they where hotel class
well done to the organisers .........yes there was some wee issues but on the hole a very good rally weekend ......

and we did 1000 miles round trip to attend with no big dramas so hears to next year .......can we have it a bit more up north

[Audrey1955]

Must say I thought as the big event, the 'centenary' we were disappointed.

The host, Cornbury Park, was NOT a suitable place to hold such an event. We went on the Saturday, and to get it was beyond ridiculous. Cars overheating, and endless check points. To make it worse, the incline of the path into Cornbury park was quite steep in places, it wasn't an easy path to negotiate bumper to bumper in the heat.

Anyway, when we EVENTUALLY got in, it was relatively easy to park up some where to be fair. However, we were still surprised at the amount of people still setting up autojumble etc, but to be fair, they too probably had the long wait to get in.

Now the things that were really disappointing.

1. The lack of stalls, the auto jumble was dismal to put in nicely. It was by far the smallest lot of stalls Ive seen at any show this year.

2.The prices and the wait for a drink. The prices were too steep, and the wait far too long.

3. The entertainment. Now I said this before the event was held. Morris is an iconic British make, the Morris Minor in particular one of the worlds most recognisable cars. So why on earth was there nothing remotely special entertainment wise. Its was the same old same old from previous Morris events.

4. The weather couldn't be helped. Its the British summer, it rains. But why was the grass not cut? Where many of us had to park our cars over by the trees, the grass had never seen a lawn mower, making it one muddy mess around the car.

Now we only stayed for 4 hours on the Saturday, before the long 5 hour drive home because we had had enough really. The Sunday I believe was better Ive been told.

We have decided this is the last time we will be attending a Morris rally, because we have realised once you've seen a Minor, a Morris eight, and a bullnose, its pretty boring. But I will say that I really do hope that no future events are held at this venue. Compared to other 'special' birthdays of other car manufacturers, im thinking of VW in particular, to be a Morris owner was a bit shameful if im honest.

Yes, I have been critical, but if I could, I would volunteer to organise these sort of events, but due to time, I cannot. I do hope though that some new blood comes through and can finally deliver a decent Morris rally.

ON A FINAL NOTE, the no dogs policy. I knew we were not allow to take our dog before we came, hence one family member had to stay behind and miss out. PLEASE in future make sure you are allowed to bring dogs. Classic cars and dogs go hand in hand, and many Morris owners have dogs.
Being fobbed off with 'its a deer sanctuary' is utter tosh, because Tatton Park in Cheshire allows dogs to its classic car events, and it too is a deer sanctuary. To really contradict themselves, there was a dog show on apparently so Ive been told?

[minor65]

To respond to the post above

We flew to this years national. So from home, 1 hour to get to the airport. Due to flight delays it was 4 hours to we landed in Birmingham, then a 2 hour drive to our accommodation which at this stage was midnight on the Friday. We where at home then on Sunday at 10.30pm, due to having to work on monday. All to the cost of approx £200 each. One of our members drove his traveller from Belfast and broke a halfshalf on the way. He managed to buy everything he needed at the autojumble to fix it and get him home. After all the issues we had to overcome to get there, not one of us as complained yet. Yes there was a catering issue, but so what !! I for one will be doing it all again next year, the countdown has started.

As you (audrey 1955) have told me in the past, I'm easy pleased, well maybe I am. But if you have set your expectations/standards so high then maybe you would be better of with a vw.

Andrew

[stevey]

Well I enjoyed it. Thats 10 nationals in a row ive done and I wouldnt miss one if i can possibly help it. The people you meet and the craic you have, its not all about what the facilities are like (but that can hinder a good event) but the cars and the people.

Well done

[theminorsite]

Hi Audrey
I'm not exactly sure why, but it seems to have become traditional for those who worked their danglies off in organising these events to be all deferential and apologetic when those who haven't worked their danglies off deign to point out all their objections. Frankly, though, I'm bored of that game, and I've decided to break rank and point them out for laughing purposes. Sorry about that.

Most of your criticisms are unjustified, unhelpful, and faintly ridiculous. You wanted the field mowed? Have you even the faintest idea how big it was? Notwithstanding the fact that its a wildlife habitat? If the Minors were "boring", perhaps you could have tried chatting to some of the people on the stands, although since their conversation would probably have involved Minors then actually you were possibly right not to, because you'd have been bored by that too. Of course, you could manage a much better job, but unfortunately you don't have the time. Ummm, here's a free clue as to why I'm being just as critical in response - neither do we! I have a full time job and have to use part of my leave to help organise these events, not just on the weekend itself but at planning meetings beforehand plus innumerable evenings laying out plans etc. Everybody else in the team likewise have to give up their leisure time so that you can come along and (not) enjoy yourself and then give us the benefit of your critique afterwards. We all choose NOT to moan about things, and actually put ourselves out to do something about it.

The vast majority of people seemed to enjoy themselves, and that in itself is reward for our efforts. Unfortunately you can't please all the people all the time, although if you find a field full of Minors boring, perhaps you went to the wrong show

[chesney]

I'm not trying to sound harsh, but if cars were overheating then surely it's the cars at fault, not the route/terrain? My Morris overheated on the way there and had to be recovered, not blaming anyone for its location, if your Morris can't make that terrain then you should be looking for faults in the car and not necessarily the terrain. And I picked up some bargains from the jumbles, so no complaints there either!
Also, aren't Morris dancers specific entertainment, or did I miss the point?

[ASL642]

Well said Mike!

[Audrey1955]

I'm not trying to sound harsh, but if cars were overheating then surely it's the cars at fault, not the route/terrain? My Morris overheated on the way there and had to be recovered, not blaming anyone for its location, if your Morris can't make that terrain then you should be looking for faults in the car and not necessarily the terrain. And I picked up some bargains from the jumbles, so no complaints there either!
Also, aren't Morris dancers specific entertainment, or did I miss the point?

What a silly comment to make. I doubt you actually have a car older than the 1940s? Well because there were cars there from the 20s, some earlier. These cars are VERY old now, and someone we got speaking to had to go bumper to bumper for a couple of hours on the Saturday in their Bullnose. It overheated. Guess what. It was very well maintained, but those cars were not built for that sort of driving and are now very old to be stuck waiting to get on a field.
Yes, Morris Minors shouldn't really have that issue, but having a pre war car myself, they are more prone to overheating, despite being well maintained. Those engines are old, so are all the components.

To defend those Morris's, particularly the Bullnose, have you any idea how hard they are to drive? Put it this way. A morris minor feels futuristic to one.

As for some of the other comments, I suggest you visit other car rallies, especially those in the states. Somebody commented that an American told them that they could not pull this off in the states. Really? Because Ive been to classic car rallies in America, and their organisation of those events is superb.

As for the grounds not being mowed. Well ive been to many stately homes that have better kept fields than Cornbury. They mow them by tractor, bot the one you use for your garden, so its not hard. I know it is hard to organise an event, and I also know that many people give what spare time they have to organise such events. However, somebody has to be critical, and just because somebody has something negative to say (I wasn't the only one, a few left on the Saturday but they don't seem to bring it up like myself) it shouldn't be demonised.

As for having a VW, what utter tosh. I was merely stating that their events are superior. There is no disputing that. If you don't like what you hear, then tough luck. I met a guy from Germany who was too disappointed on the Saturday. So yes, whilst I may be the only one again, or one of few, I voice the opinions on behalf of a fairly few people. Don't forget, many Morris owners are not even in the club, nor participate on this site.

Yes, saying that a field full of Morris's was a bit boring, was a silly thing to say I suppose, considering it was a Morris event. But in the future, I prefer to go to multi brand car shows. theyre just more interesting, but that isn't of course the fault of this event.

So again, yes I am the one having a moan, but that's only because others can merely not be bothered, or don't want to be shot down like I am. I for one don't care, so choose to voice my opinion. Yes, I hear of those dedicated owners travelling from Scotland etc etc, well done. Its not an easy feat.

I think the reason I am probably more disappointed is the fact it took me 7 hours stuck in traffic on the Friday in my little 803 to get down there, and is wasn't the big centenary I was expecting. Maybe I did expect a bit too much? But I thought for the once the biggest UK car manufacturer, it wasn't that good overall.

I did leave early, and heard the Sunday was better though, so maybe my opinion isn't fair for the entire event, just specifically for the Saturday. I expect Ill be shot down again, another reason some people no longer join the club and participate on this forum