2018 Past Events & Photos

December 11th 2018 – GBBCC Christmas Gala

 

64 members and guests gathered at the Blue Mountain Golf and Country Club for our annual Christmas Gala.  Doug Simpson was the master of ceremonies for the evening.  We were treated to a wonderful turkey dinner with all the 'fixings' by 'Burger Bob' and his great crew.  Thank you to all of them!

 

Before and after dinner, we enjoyed and danced to the music of Wayne Buttery - always an enjoyable part of the event.  We also got to review our year's activities via a slide presentation of nearly 300 photos assembled by Graeme.  It was fun to see all that we did and remind ourselves of who attended.  Thanks Graeme.

 

Thank you also to Bill Rogers and Andy Hims for going earlier in the day to add the British flavour to the decor of the room.

 

Towards the end of the evening, we held our usual Christmas draw (some bottles of wine) which was supplemented by additional wine, courtesy of Burger and two wonderful gift baskets generously provided by Brian Cullingford.  Thank you both, Bob and Brian!

 

On Wednesday morning, Bill and Doug collected all the food items donated by the members along with the cash contributed and called into the Salvation Army offices.  All was gratefully received by the Major.

 

Many thanks to Bill for taking some excellent photos of us all at the Gala – please view them below.

 

Thank you to all who attended.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

 

October 25th 2018 – Ear Muff Run

 

Thursday saw 14 GBBCC members assemble for the last run of the year.  Although quite overcast, it was a (mostly) dry day.  Part ways through our 1 1/4 hour tour, some rain spots appeared, but were short lived, and not enough to get any of the four brave participants to stop and put their tops up.  We finished up in Thornbury at The Corner Cafe & Grill where we were joined by four other GBBCC members for lunch and some good conversation.

 

After some deliberation, the jury chose Brian Wootton in his stylish and very weather appropriate fur aviator cap as the recipient of the annual Ear Muff Trophy.

 

Thanks to all who attended!

 

October 17th 2018 - Gravenhurst Discovery Centre Visit

 

A group of 16 GBBCC members plus two guests (only one British car – a MGB) met in Collingwood with one car arriving covered with a layer of snow.  Led by Graeme, we drove in convoy for about two hours on back roads to Gravenhurst, experiencing a wide variety of weather from sunshine to sleet, to rain, to snow, etc.  We were met at the Centre by Ann, the manager who very kindly gave us a tour of the Centre.  It is an amazing place and it was fascinating to see the wonderful classic wooden boats.  We were also very fortunate to have Dunc with us who is a judge for antique wooden boats shows throughout North America and owns, and has owned many such boats.  The Centre also includes many great displays for children and one item with sand representing the Muskoka river watershed, certainly attracted many members especially our webmaster who was carefully watched, in case he tried to remove any of the sand.  The tour lasted about an hour and a half and we all then adjourned to the local “The Oar” pub for an enjoyable and good lunch.  The group then split up and drove their separate ways, back home. 

 

September 30th 2018 “Adopt-A-Highway” Fall Cleanup

 

Many thanks to the 14 members (includes Sharon and Bill) , who showed up for the Fall Cleanup.  It actually turned out to be quite a pleasant morning as everyone seemed to be dressed for the weather, and the rain held off.

 

August 12th 2018 GBBCC BBQ

 

The annual BBQ was a great success with about 58 GBBCC members and guests attending.  Thornbury Clarksburg Rotary once again provided a wonderful meal.  Again, we were blessed with good weather.  Thanks to Brian Wootton for MCing and running the CornHole competition.  Congratulations to Team Healey (Jim Spruce and Gillian Arkless) who eventually beat out Team Jensen (Peter Smith and Sue Turton) in the finals.  Many thanks to Doug and Kate Simpson for hosting this event.

 

July 18th Stratford Festival – Music Man

 

Eight GBBCC couples cruised down to Stratford, stopping en route for lunch at Anna Mae's Mennonite Bakery and Restaurant in Millbank"The Music Man" production was very good and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show.  Some of the group drove back together and had an early supper at Mylar & Loreta’s in Singhampton.

 

July 5th Headwaters British Car Club – Hockley Valley Hill Climb

 

Four GBBCC members attended this year’s hill climb, led down there by Bill Rogers.  It was the 7th annual re-enactment and it was in honour and memory of HBCC member Alan Sands.  It was also attended by our friend Barney Gaylord (MGAguru).  The afternoon ended with a lovely BBQ hosted by Marlies Sands.

 

Canada Day July 1st 2018 Parade Thornbury 

 

10 GBBCC cars showed up on a very hot morning at Lions Park, Thornbury before the parade which was delayed, out of respect to the many churches on the parade route. 

 

Only four of our GBBCC cars took part in the Parade and one Morgan over heated and spewed coolant every time it stopped.  It finally stalled, as they entered downtown Thornbury but fortunately restarted amid cheers from the spectators.  The other cars survived okay.

 

Due to the heat, there were fewer spectators than normal and those in attendance were crammed under the available shade.

 

Muskoka Tour June 19-20 2018  

 

Bob and Janet Tremble ran a most enjoyable car tour of Muskoka.  The weather gods certainly were smiling on us and no one broke down or got lost.  A total of 17 people with 9 vehicles (7 British – two Jaguars, Triumph Spitfire, Morgan 4/4, , Lotus Europa, MGB and an Aston Martin) went on this trip.  Some cars started in Collingwood and we all gathered in Waubaushene. 

 

On the first day, we drove through Wahta Mohawk Territory to Port Carling and saw the mural in the heart of Port Carling, entitled "The Wall Looks Back".  It is comprised of over 9,000+ individual photographs from the towns first 100 years from 1860 to 1960.  What a wonderful tribute to the history, heritage and legacy of Port Carling for future generations.  We boarded the “Peerless II”, a restored supply boat and cruised around Lake Muskoka for two and an half hours, including a very good lunch.

 

We then enjoyed a tour of the magnificent Marriot Rosseau Muskoka Resort, including visits to some of the guest rooms.  We drove to Huntsville and checked into the Rodeway King William Inn, which was very clean, quiet and comfortable and beyond our expectations.  The entire property has been renovated recently with new furnishings, carpeting, mattresses and bedding, plus new pavement and landscaping.  We went to “The Mill on Main” and dined on the upstairs patio area.  We returned to our motel where some of us had a nightcap with a dram or two of single malt. 

 

We gathered in the morning for a continental breakfast and left in convoy to visit Bob and Janet’s friend Brian who is restoring a wonderful 1955 Jaguar XK140.  We drove to Dorset where some brave people climbed the 100 foot high Scenic Lookout Tower for a great view of the surrounding scenery.  We drove to Bracebridge and parked close to the Falls where we adjourned to the balcony of the River Walk restaurant for a lovely lunch.  We drove to Johnson’s Cranberry Farm and Muskoka Winery for an opportunity to sample some goods and taste the local wine.  At this point, we dispersed to drive back home.

 

This was an excellent two days and the weather was perfect.  Congratulations to Bob and Janet Tremble for all their efforts to make it such a great success.

 

 

June 16th – Cruise to Micro Cars

 

Jim Spruce led a very interesting trip to see the Annual Micro Car Gathering near Coldwater. As well as 4 members of GBBCC, we were joined by Barney Gaylord and his son Elliot.  Barney is better known by his other name - “The MGA Guru”. He and his son are in the 4th year of a cross North America road trip with their 1958 MGA and trailer.

 

They have covered over 150,000 miles in the process, with a mission to help MG owners across the continent through visiting every British Car Club they can, where there is some interest in MG’s, and sharing both their knowledge and through hands on repair work. Having sold their house in Chicago 3 years ago, they then set off in their MGA. They attend Car Club meetings whenever they can, or alternatively drop in on events - today it was our turn to have them join our cruise. From our discussion it seems that the two men essentially live in the MGA, with McDonalds being a favoured respite spot. You can find out more information from their web site:

 

 www.MGAguru.com

 

Apparently this has had well over 1 million site visits since it was first started.

 

Our visit to the micro cars, which was truly captivating  - with over 20 micro cars present, including a Bond Bug, NSU Prinz, Heinkel, Isetta, BMW and Messerschmitt micro cars and a beautiful tiny French Rolax roadster, as well as 2 visiting Polish saloon cars built in the 1970’s but looking as if they were straight from the 50’s. As well as the Bond Bug there was also a Frogeye Sprite to satisfy the British contingent, and a number of newer Japanese K cars, including a Nissan Figaro and various Hondas and Suzukis. All of the owners were very enthusiastic - with some having 6 or more cars (which is understandable given that they take up so little garage space). They were most welcoming and pleased to see us there.

 

After the visit, we motored to the Oro African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is a National Historic Site, dating back to 1849. This unique property was built by Black Settlers on the first section of land set aside for a regiment of Blacks - “The Coloured Corps” after the war of 1812.

 

We then proceeded to Craighurst for lunch, followed by a swift visit to Chelsea Chocolates where we all bought handmade Belgian chocolates and truffles.

 

All told this was a great event - hopefully to be repeated next year with a more significant GBBCC turnout

 

May 22 – Western Cruise - Thornbury

 

25 members enjoyed probably the shortest cruise ever undertaken by the GBBCC – a total of 0.3 kms from the harbour at Thornbury to Maiolo’s restaurant!

 

Unfortunately the weather was very poor - little visibility, damp and cold.

 

Mike offered the group 3 options:

  1. full planned tour
  2. shortened tour
  3. or an immediate retirement to the restaurant

 

Option 3 won out.

 

After the obligatory group photograph, with those members willing to get out of their cars, we drove up the hill out of the harbour and then parked outside Maiolo's. Things were much better inside the restaurant, where the group enjoyed an evening of camaraderie and supper. 

 

Mike is planning to try again in August - hopefully when the weather is better!

 

East Cruise – May 8th 2018

 

Bob Tremble led some 12 cars on a very interesting cruise.  Starting in Collingwood and collecting a couple of vehicles in Elmvale, we drove to Body by Biggs, near Coldwater.  This is a very impressive high end, auto restoration company that has been in business for some 30 years. 

 

After the tour, the group then sampled some goodies at Hewitt’s Farm before going on great driving back roads to Big Chute Falls and then to Queens Quay British Pub in Victoria Harbour for lunch.  Some of the group then visited Tom Haubert’s great collection of Austin Healeys.  A great day’s outing – well done Bob and Janet.

 

Spring Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup – May 6th 2018

 

Bill Rogers led another successful Adopt-A-Highway cleanup.  Some 20 GBBCC members came out for the Spring cleanup and all went well, except for one pair of wet feet (Dick Clark).  TVR provided the three lovely gift bags.

 

Monthly General Meeting - March 12th 2018

 

Doug Simpson was presented with the amazing President’s Trophy by Mike.  Two new members were introduced to the meeting.  Graeme gave a detailed walk-through of our GBBCC website showing members how to navigate the various sections.  There is a wealth of information on the website and members are encouraged to use it more frequently as well as to submit things to Graeme for adding to it.

 

Bill Rogers outlined the new British Car Enthusiast Award which has been established by the British Car Council.  The award recognizes a club member who exemplifies the spirit of what it means to be a British Car enthusiast and very supportive member of the car club.  The Executive selected Brian Bailey as our 2017 recipient of this award.

 

Bill proceeded to speak to Brian’s history as a car and racing enthusiast in general, and in particular his love of the Sunbeam Alpine roadster through the years since his first purchase in 1961. His first vehicle in the UK was a 1957 Morris Minor, which he often drove from his home in Blackpool to Greenock in Scotland. He moved to Canada in 1961 and purchased his first red Sunbeam Alpine - 1600cc engine. He used that vehicle in many car rallies and also took up marshalling at Mosport. He converted his Alpine for racing and, with the number 22 on his car started racing at Harewood Acres - he has many racing stories to tell! He stopped racing in 1967. In later years he purchased a red 1967 Alpine which he drove until 2017 until deteriorating eyesight forced him to stop driving. His Alpine is going to a car museum in Hamilton in the spring, for all to see and enjoy

 

Bill then gave us an interesting walk down memory lane with his British Auto News about the Austin Sheerline, produced in England between 1947 and 1954. 

 

AGM & Monthly General Meeting - February 12th 2018

Bill Rogers, acting as Chair welcomed our guest speaker, OPP Constable John Gee  He answered a wide variety of member’s questions from front licence plates, seat belts, travelling in convoy, distracted driving dashboard cameras, accident reporting, fastest driver caught, etc.

 

There was a moment of silence in honour of Tom Schutte, who recently passed away. 

 

Our annual AGM took place and the new Executive committee was elected, as follows: 

Past President - Mike Arkless

President - Doug Simpson

Treasurer - Eric Taylor

Secretary - Andy Hims

Membership – Joe Bimblich

Regalia & Public Relations – Peter Turton

Director – Bob Tremble

Director – Bill Rogers

Director & Webmaster – Graeme Wallace

 

After the AGM, Bill Rogers gave a very interesting  short show-and-tell presentation on the Toronto Police Force – his father was a member from 1921 to 1964.

 

After the regular meeting agenda items, the monthly meeting ended.

 

Monthly General Meeting - January 8th 2018

Our monthly meeting featured an excellent pressentation by Bob Mills on his visit to the US Vintage National Champoinship races in Austin, Texas in November 2017.   There were 432 cars in attendance in 14 categories and Bob showed many photos and videos of the cars in the pits and racing around the circuit, with amazing engine sounds.

 

Ken McNay provided details of a GPS speedometer that he has fitted to his 1976 Triumph TR6 - see Classic Automative Innovations

 

Bill Rogers gave us another of his very good British Auto News sections, this time featuring the Nash-Metropolitan car produced in the 1950s at the Austin plant at Longbridge (Birmingham).