1 APRIL 2008 UPDATED DIARY DATES
Not its not April Fool’s; we really have updated the latest diary dates list. The sheet can be downloaded as a PDF file here or from the index on the left. Please email us if you’d like any more events added.

24 MARCH 2008 PUB MEETINGS - TEMPORARY MOVE

At our usual Blackbrook meeting this month, the bar staff told us that the pub will be closed for at least 8 weeks, starting from 1st week in April. They are having a big refurbishment; altering the layout a bit, and repainting so its brighter inside.

This will affect our monthly meetings on Monday 14th April, Monday 12th May and Monday 9th June.

The favourite choice of temporary relocation is the O'Bridge / Brewers Fayre just over the viaduct bridge in Priorswood. That’s the friendly pub which held the charity day where we waited all day for the south west Mini run to arrive (lots of food and ice cream!). We’ll check its OK, and turn up from 8pm on Monday 14th April. See you then / there!

2 January 2008 HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

You’ll be pleased to hear that club membership will not cost you a penny this year! All we ask is a small contribution towards PLI when your Mini is displayed on the club stand. Use Adobe Acrobat to download and read our proposals here.

Diary dates will be also published in PDF format, available here or ask for a paper copy. This will be updated through 2008. We’re going to cut the Blackbrook pub meetings down to once a month during the winter. These are now on the 2nd Monday of the month. We want to encourage members to contribute lots of fun ideas via the Message Board and at meetings for events plus local runs throughout this year. Just give us the info and we’ll pass it on! So please keep a check on the website for the latest news, or phone 01278 683380 for more details.

16 December 2007 HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Festive greetings to all members, friends, families and associates. We hope Santa brings you something nice for your Mini.
Marks & Spencer are selling small r/c classic Minis again this Christmas; red with a union jack roof for £9.50. Check your local shop for stock or you can buy from their online store.

27 October 2007 MINISPARES

Mini Spares have emailed a winter 2007 newsletter to customers, which features one of our Minis Unlimited cars. Suzy Kinsman’s 1275GT Tigger poses in a snowy landscape for their ‘Winter Is Coming’ advice article. Website link is http://www.minispares.com/Article.aspx?aid=239

Don't forget, club members can benefit from some discount prices from Mini Spares; contact Suzy for details.

10 October 2007 MU CAR OF THE YEAR + NEW W-S-M MEETING PROPOSALS

The club has a blank trophy that we propose to use for Minis Unlimited Car Of The Year! Members will be invited to vote every Christmas for their favourite club car of the year, and we will engrave the winner’s details. The shield will be displayed at the Blackbrook Pub, and be featured on this website. The unused award was rediscovered in an old box from the loft, having won it in a club display competition in 1996, and it seems a shame not to put it to such good use.

We currently have several members from further up the M5, so we suggest introducing new regular pub meetings in the Weston Super Mare area. These would be in addition to our normal Taunton meetings, and its an excellent excuse for some scenic drives over the Mendips and north Somerset areas. Discussions have been started, with a view to start this in the New Year.

24 September 2007 BRECON BEACONS TOUR POSTPONED

Andy Weaver offered to organise an overnight tour over the beautiful Brecon Beacons in South Wales. We added this to our event list provisionally for 27-28 October. Unfortunately Andy now has other commitments, so we will postpone this run until spring 2008.

However if you still want an autumnal drive, we will meet at the Blackbrook Pub on Sunday 28 October at 10.00am, and we’ll do a local run instead. Possibly Dorset or Glastonbury direction, with a stop at a pub for lunch.

For those still wanting a weekend pyjama party (!), don’t forget that MiniWorld’s Winter Warmer is at Newquay the first weekend in November.

9th September 2007 VIDEOS PAGE ADDED TO THE WEBSITE

With the increasing number of videos being uploaded to sites like YouTube involving club members and activities, a new videos page has been added to replace the forlorn gallery section.
Any contributions welcome !

4 September 2007 BLACKBROOK PUB MEETING LAST NIGHT

Some new faces at our club meeting last night. Alex N-P recently met Ian Hawthorn near Minehead and persuaded to come along and meet us. Ian has just bought a blue road legal racing Mini, which has a modified MG Metro engine and rollcage. We were fascinated by the vent in the boot lid, which he informs us was originally added to vent the small fuel cell when it was raced.

Dario and James also turned up. These lads work at Thornfalcon Car Sales and know Alex, Suzy and Paul from helping out at the local annual classic car show. Dario passed his driving test last year, and has progressed from his first Mini to an early 90’s BRG Mainstream Cooper. Its currently standard with the addition of a wooden dashboard and matching steering wheel. He’s already taken it to Steve Harris to get it tuned up!

It was nice to meet some guests from New Zealand, who chatted all evening about Minis down-under. Alan and Lynda Smith lived in Bridgwater 5 years ago, but emigrated and are now members of the Mini Car Club of Auckland. Lynda exported her 1997 MPi when they moved, and Alan has bought a couple of NZ spec Minis since they’ve been there.

30 August 2007 DAVID VIZARD GOFASTNEWS

Most club members will have heard of the god of Mini improvements; David Vizard. His book ‘How To Modify Your Mini’ was first released in the early 70’s, and ‘Tuning The A-Series Engine’ is currently published as a 3rd edition. Along with the Haynes Manual, they are the most informative books you can have to hand when maintaining and tweaking your car. Dave does not rest on his laurels; he emigrated from Gloucestershire to the USA and carried on tuning and writing books about Chevys and Fords etc. Alex & Suzy had the pleasure of meeting him in Tennessee earlier this year (sharing some beers and meals catching up about family, friends and English life!).

Dave has a fresh project; www.gofastnews.com
It’s a brand new online magazine and forum resource to discuss all things motorsport and engine tuning. There are regular technical articles from professional contributors, daily news and press releases. The message board is free to join, and we have been told by the guy himself that Mini owners are very welcome because he still has a very big soft spot for the little cars. Take a look at the website, and keep an eye out in the British Mini magazines for a return of ‘Viz-The-Wiz’…

22 August 2007 BONHAMS TO AUCTION GRX 5D

Unfortunately at an estimated value of £70-80,000, none of us are likely to afford this famous BMC Works Cooper S! This Mini has extensive rallying history ranging from being disqualified from the Monte Carlo Rally in 1966 with Paddy Hopkirk, RAC with Makinen, Circuit of Ireland, Tulip Rally, and so on. Information and some lovely photos are under Lot 206 in Sale 15344 for 31 August 2007 on Bonhams.com.

20 August 2007 BLACKBROOK MEETING NEWS

Following the wet weekend and disastrous show, we cheered ourselves up with sorting out some Club Runs. Please take a look in the Shows and Meets Section on the MU Message Board for more detail.

North Devon Grand Tour on Bank Holiday Weekend. Some members have booked tickets (and caught the others to sponsor them!) for this marvellous annual event. Unfortunately the rest of us are less organised and have missed the boat, so an informal run up to the Cotswolds has been suggested by Alex Kinsman on Sunday for anyone interested.

MU On Tour to the Brecon Beacons in October. Andy Weaver suggested we drive up and book a B&B overnight. The autumnal countryside is fantastic, and the route has just been featured in a Top Gear magazine article as a ‘great drive’.

MU On Tour to Ace Café in December. Ian Wyatt has been recommending for ages that we should go to a Mod N Mini Night. We thought it would be fun if we combine it with some Christmas Shopping in London in December. Mini Bandits, a local club, is helping with some B&B suggestions.

MU Christmas. Arrrgh you cry, its only August! But seasonal bookings need to be done early. We have a few more kids with us this year, so an evening meal at a pub venue may not be the best solution. So building from the past couple of year’s enjoyable skittling, we’re inviting members to join us for a basket and games deal at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday 6th December. Beer, grub, arcades and silly shoes!

19 August 2007 SHOW REPORT FROM MINI IN THE PARK

Mudi in the Park more like… There are some soggy photos on the Message Board topic MITP in the Shows and Meets section.

Mini Magazine stuck their necks out with trying an alternative event location at Santa Pod. All the right ingredients were there to be a great show. Unfortunately the added weather wrecked it! Apart from Tigger and Lydia on display in Readers Cars, all the rest of our club members plus the Little Gizmos trade stand had packed up and gone home by lunchtime. Luckily the drag strip dried up through the day, and the impressive biked engined K-cars and Pinto powered Minis could get some runs in, and the awesome jetcar did a couple of demonstrations.

16 August 2007 MINI MAGAZINE FUTURE FEATURE

MU member Ian Wyatt is going to have a feature in Mini Magazine later this year. Staff writer Jeff Ruggles and ex-editor-now-photographer Gerard Hughes spent the day with him and his 2.0 GTE engined Mini Lydia. Strike a pose…

1st entry BLOG UNLIMITED

We have added this new feature so we can keep you up to date with the latest news and what we get up to with our Minis.