Very Quiet...

James
There are nearly 300 members in EAR at the last count I had.
i should explain perhaps that prior to Mid 2003 i used to send out quarterly event fliers to all EAR members complete with booking forms etc
However National vetoed this and despite having the regional funds to do it we now have to do everything through Straight six and the Mag. Personally I think it sucks and this is one reason why I resigned and why members do not get to know about events. (its a rather longer story actually) We had real autonomy in the region with our own funds to spend as we liked and we were completely self supporting. However this was deemed not to be in 'the spirit of the Club" and we now have to requisition National to spend over £50!. In addition the money which was generated by 'the few' was deemed to belong to 'everyone" and cannot be spent on those who generated it....... ie our fund suddenly was made unavailable to us!
I have been a member of the BMW Ccar Club for over 25 years and run the region with help from others, who shared the duties equally, since its inception in 1984. To say that i was a liitle peeved would be an understatement .

It is however very encouraging to see some new interest as normally we are supported by the dozen or so stalwarts who turn up for the various lunches. Chris has some great events planned for 2004 and i hope to get some of our members to organise a lunch once a month (or two) at a local pub throughout the region. We have (supporting) members in Cromer Brentwood Huntingdon, Near Stanstead, Hemel Hempstead , London Wisbech King's Lynn and of course DISS! If you would like to pick a Sunday and suggest a suitable watering hole we can park at and have lunch, a chinwag and perhaps a short drive to something interesting then this would be great and I can e-mail all the people who would actually turn up !
One of the problems of "impromptue" pub meets is that you may drive 60 miles to a meeting to find yourself on your own. Previously we have felt booking and getting people to pay was the best way otherwise we not only end up with no one but look complete pratts if we "book" meals at a pub and no one turns up.
It is obvious you and Kevin are keen, so pick a spot that suits you and we can advertise it from there. We should be able to get 10-20 people from the "stalwarts" mailing list
Unfortunately the National office is as yet unable to supply us with a 'regional e-mail list' quoting data protection etc etc...
I have to confess i haven't used the forums much so if there are lots of you out there that want to get together in EAR then let me have your e-mail address by mailing me at bmwcarclub@east-anglia-region.co.uk and I will add you to the e-mail list I have. It is then a simple job of e-mailing you a short event flier.

OK chaps where are you all

If you fancy a meet post your location and we'll find somewhere centralish.

I'm Suffolk side of Diss

Hi guys
Sorry that we can't organise events every week or month in EAR but we have had a full calendar this year
I have now stepped down as Regional organiser for 2004 and due to work pressures don't have much time to keep looking at the forum or more frequent events one every other month took huge amounts of time. I do still get e-mails of any posts so have noted your comments......
If you wish to organise pub meets and the like this would be great   We are always on the look out for members willing to lend a hand. However perhaps I could ask you to run things by Chris Wadsley who is in charge for the next year so he can fit things in with his own calendar of regional events next year. You can contact him on 01553 810467 I am sure he would be interested in recruting such willing helpers! Also don't forget we need plenty of notice if you want to publish in the magazine as deadline is month prior to publication date soend December is deadline for Feb edition . I am still doing the pages so you can e-mail EAR if you have any contributions about your cars etc.
We used to all meet for monthly committee meetings at the Cornwallis and also the Highwayman is nice on the A14/A140 junction. But as you are finding out E.A.R. is a BIG region and finding a centrepoint between Cromer, King's Lynn Cambridge and all of Essex for Regular meets is a problem. The Norfolk Suffolk Border is about 1hr or so from most members hence we tended to use Diss ! Ipswich or Bury are also possibilities but parking is a hassle in town. yes its a long way from Essex but so is Essex from Cambridge or North Norfolk !
If you do organise something let me have the details by e-mail and I will mail out to the e-list I have of regional members and try and come along
Mike Milbourne
PS I have an M3 in Diss which is probably the one you have seen Kevin ?

Too busy finishing up work before Christmas to go to the Christmas do unfortunately.

So then who lives within 30 miles of Diss? Maybe have a meet at the Old Ram on the A140

Hi James,

You are right, I can hear the wind whistling most of the time!

Mind you I have only seen one other M3 around here.

When I joined I hoped there would be informal pub meets etc aswell as highly organised do's.

Maybe just needs a kick off.

I'm on Norfolk Suffolk border with my 88 Evo2

Regards

Kevin