You would be amazed how many traditional middle class brits there still are
in Surrey! The MG Car Club generally has a greater ratio then the MG Owner's
Club. The ones you met are just a little older now?
There is a natter in Ripley just down the road from me which is very much
like this.........this is how I fared (I'm not alone on this)
Natter leader, after being forced by one of the other members
...............
"So what MG do you own"
Me...... "A '71 Midget"
Natter leader ..."Oh.....a modern one then"
Turns away!
I can't think what problems the couple with the MGF had who were also new to
the natter - extreme persona non gratia I imagine - they looked very much
on their own.
I go to another meeting now with a different club and attitude . It does
worry me as to what will happen when all the older members die
out.......what will happen to all the cars and club as this happens? Very
few young people will be able to afford to take on a lot of these rare and
often expensive cars. Friend's of mine in one of the Austin Healey clubs
suffer the same problem.
Chris (Age, 35 who now has a wax jacket to fit in)
'71 Midget
'78 MGBGT
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~spridget
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/midgetspriteclub
----------
From: Lawrie Alexander
To: Nevard, Chris
Cc: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: MGs & old fartdom in Blighty
Date: 01 January 1999 17:09
Chris.......
I must have attended a meeting of this same club before I left England in
1964. Certainly, the characters sound the same! But maybe it's just the
Weybridge influence? Surely, in the last 35 years the rest of the country
has seen a melding of the population that has resulted in a decrease of
these snob groups? (As well as a loss of regional dialects;
on my last visit, I gained the impression that the whole country - BBC
announcers included - now speak what can best be described as "Lazy London")
And what sort of MGs are these Surrey clubmen driving these days? One can
hardly imagine the generation you described, Barbour jackets and all,
crammed into T-types! If Bs are now their MG of choice, and the
owner-attitude is as you described, it's time for more of you youngsters to
emigrate to the US where MG clubs are populated by people who truly enjoy
the cars for what they are, rather than the clubs for the social status they
confer!
Lawrie
-----Original Message-----
From: Nevard, Chris <Chris.Nevard@BSKYB.COM>
To: Christopher Banton <cyb@tridentgarages.co.uk>; mgs <mgs@autox.team.net>
Date: Friday, January 01, 1999 7:55 AM
Subject: MGs & old fartdom in Blighty
>Earlier on today I went to the first MG meet of the year here in Weybridge,
>just outside London ..............this a light hearted
>observation..........how do MG meets compare in the USA?
>
>As old fartdom begins to take over (by this time you will be well and
truely
>accepted by the AH Club & MGCC ) you will scowl and totally ignore new
young
>members to the club (young = under 55), MGOC fleece jackets will definately
>be a no no. You will have to take on a damp old leather smell (a bit of
body
>odour and stale tobacco helps) - you know that smell you get inside a damp
>old VA Tickford or Y Type
>
>You must never go to the dentist - the browner the teeth the more cred you
>will have within the 'T Register' - maybe tannin stains?
>
>Always drink ale from a pint jug.
>
>Half moon reading spectacles on a chain look good even if they serve no
>practical function. Alway use them examining the engine bay of a new
younger
>members MG saying something like............"Of course in my day one
>would............".
>
>ladies need to have some involvement with horses - if they start to look
>like a horse even better. If they are 'into MGs' they must have one of
those
>Austalian outback hats with something like a Nepal to Reikavik Rally 1978
>badge on it. A big smile with very red cheeks and a loud voice helps.
>
>When down the pub natter scratch your bum as you wink at the bar maid (who
>is old enough to be your grandaughter) and order another pint with whiskey
>depth-charge at you local natter.
>
>Try to marry within the family, first cousins are a favourite, this way you
>can keep those prominent front teeth which go so well with the Barbour when
>you are standing next to the Range Rover. They also look mighty fine if
>complimented with a red silk neckacheaf when sitting in the 3000.
>
>Smoke a fine small cigar, monster cigars are a no no, they are the domain
of
>East End gansters, Americans and scrap metal merchants.
>
>When on the loo (don't wash your hands after, you will wash away that fine
>touch you have for tuning SU carbs ) practice singing in as deep a note as
>you can. If you do this enough you will develop vocal cords that 'boom' out
>above all others at your natter.
>
>Tell every body about the family connection with 'ol Cecil K - how you
>vagely remember going in the back of his prewar MG when he used to make
>visits to the 'family seat'
>
>At your MG natter......................
>
> You need to say things like "So what do you do for a living?" and "Don't
>you kow" - the more affected the voice the better. If you refer to kids
(not
>that you will have to) they must be called ..........
>
>Emma
>Gemma
>Claudia
>Caroline
>Jamie
>Henry
>
>The 'girls' are at finishing school in Switzerland
>The 'boys' are at 'Uni' learing law so one day they can keep Mummy & Daddy
>in the style they have become (or are pretending to) accustomed to.
>
>Always refer to the parents as Mummy & Daddy.
>
>All in the best possible taste and no offence meant to any old farts on
this
>list.
>
>Happy new year...........
>
>Chris
>
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