British Hotchkiss Society
Past Events in 2016.
Spring Opener
When: Sunday 24th April
Where: Hampshire
About 40 car enthusiasts, including 26 BHS members and friends, met at Judes Ice Cream dairy on a sunny but windy morning to join in the 80th birthday celebrations of Giselle, Theo and Judith Mezger’s Hotchkiss. After a welcome warming drink, groups had the opportunity to join a guided tour round the dairy as well as plenty of time to ‘talk cars’! All the Hotchkiss cars there shone in the sunshine, as did the Bentley, Rolls Royce, MG and Bristol, together with Giselle’s sister-car owned by the Buckmaster family and never seen before.
A 23-mile drive took us through the most beautiful country lanes and wonderful vistas to our lunch stop, The Flower Pots at Cheriton. A delicious barbeque had been prepared by Judith & Theo, together with some of their friends, and the sun continued to shine intermittently. Another pretty 8-mile drive took us to the Mezger’s home where tea, sandwiches and delicious cakes were enjoyed. After a rendition of ‘happy birthday to Giselle – and a successful raffle – everyone slowly made their way home. Our very grateful thanks go to Theo and Judith for arranging such an excellent day.
June Run
When: 10th-13th June
Where: Suffolk
Dis ‘n Dat – fun in the sun and rain!
Between 28 and 32 members and friends met up in Suffolk for our 26th Drive, with 8 ‘old’ cars present from 10 to 13 June. On Friday, before our fish and chip lunch on the beach at Dunwich, we explored the 12th century castle at Framlingham and in the afternoon enjoyed the industrial Long Shop museum. Saturday dawned bright, and everyone enjoyed the roundabout and train rides at Bressingham, as well as the beautiful gardens. After a light lunch at Wingfield Barns and a guided tour of St Andrew’s Church, we made our way to Brundish for a cream tea in the garden at Pat’s farm. However ... the weather got the better of us, thunderstorms arrived, so tea was taken in Pat’s farmhouse! That evening, our President Paul Hickson made his usual lively speech and the Gala dinner went with a swing – maybe it had something to do with the copious amounts of wine that were drunk!
Sunday morning found us at the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation museum viewing the 66 aircraft and thousands of smaller artefacts relating to World War II – and our cars were also viewed by the visiting public. On our way to lunch, we had to cross the River Yare on the Reedham chain ferry, which was greatly enjoyed by the man in charge! It was only a short drive after lunch to Somerleyton Hall for a guided tour, a privately-owned stately home set in a 5,000 acre estate and complemented by beautiful gardens. This visit certainly rounded off a very interesting day.
Monday dawned rather wet, but we were soon cheered up by our visit to the fascinating Mechanical Music Museum, where much singing and a little dancing took place. Our final venue was a boat trip along the Deben Estuary, and, although the poor weather restricted our view, the captain made it a very interesting two hours.
As always with these get-togethers, there was a lot of talking, laughter, eating and drinking. Only one car misbehaved, and that problem was sorted out by the end of Monday. We were very lucky to be able to spend so much time in such a beautiful area and our thanks go to Paul for arranging such a wonderful four days.
Summer Saunter
When: August 16th
Where: Stanford Dingley, Berks
I21 members and friends met at The Bull, Stanford Dingley, for our summer get-together. While we enjoyed coffee and biscuits, there was a lot of catching-up to do. We were lucky to be able to enjoy a visit to the pub by several horses and carriages that were also having their annual meet. Lunch was a lively and tasty affair, and then we headed off to nearby Bucklebury to David and Erica’s for the most delicious cakes and tea in their sunny garden. Several neighbours and friends joined us there and it was with reluctance that, at the end of the afternoon, we all had to say goodbye and make our way home.
Very many thanks to David and Erica for such a lovely day.
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Autumn Closer
Where: Bradford-on-Avon
When: Sunday 9th October
Congratulations go to Alan and Shirley for arranging the glorious weather to accompany our Autumn Closer. In total, 22 members, family and friends met at mid-morning at The Tollgate Inn, Ham Green, Holt, close to Bradford-on-Avon, and it was good to see some of the ‘old’ cars lined up in the car park. A good hour was spent sitting out in the sunshine drinking coffee and catching up on everyone’s news. A fourteen-mile drive through the local, beautiful countryside followed – although some cars were more successful than others in managing to follow the route!
We returned to The Tollgate for a delicious lunch served by very friendly staff – and, as usual, there was a lot of talking taking place also! A successful raffle was held before we said our goodbyes at about 4.00 p.m. Thank you to Alan & Shirley Newberry and Michael Scott for arranging such a lovely day.