Weekender 2010
May 15th & 16th
This year we met at the club rooms at 9.00am and had morning tea with included trays of Fritz’s fabulous squishy cakes. Participants were given 2 goodies bags which contained Just Cars and Just Parts magazines, a stubbie holder ,key ring, 2 bottles of MG labelled water and a Barossa Tourist Guide. The Run sheet folders with their colour MG Weekender cover contained run sheets for the long and short run with a map .They also contained a run sheet of the event, a map of the Barossa Junction Complex, A pen from Ann Calver, and a brief history of the Barossa from Barry Bahnish.
10.00am and we were off with a quick stop at Chain of Ponds for a light hearted safety check and then via the chosen short or long run through the hills to the Barossa Junction.
Following check in to the railway carriage accommodation lunch was baguettes, sandwiches and fresh fruit served in the restaurant at 12.00 noon
The plan was to have people doing things together and having fun and it worked a treat. It was great to see the enthusiasm of these groups when they tackled the major task of building a train. With cardboard, glue, scissors, alfoil and all sorts of other materials supplied the trains took shape and with prizes on offer at the dinner, great care was taken to stand out from the crowd.
After train building the outdoor activities included Rocket Launching, Horseshoes and Road Bowls,
Once again the enthusiasm and competitive spirit of this group was terrific.

Canapés were served in the restaurant at 7.00pm with complimentary drinks and this gave us all a chance to chat and admire the costumes of all the Weekenders before moving into the function room for the dinner and find out the results of the various activities during the day.

Each table had complimentary bottles of wine, a Choo – Choo bar for everyone and 2 quizzes for the group to solve. There was a bent red valve trophy for all the drivers as a reward for travelling safely to the Barossa Junction.

During the dinner the Fat Controller (Leyland Goerge) the Station Master (Leigh Richter) The Man in Blue and his wife (Rodger and Sue Polkinghorne) awarded the following trophies.

Horseshoes most enthusiastic player................Bev Waters

Rocket Launching..............................................Phil Smith  (26 metres)

Famous Faces Quiz    (won by all members of the table) Represented by Barry Bahnish

The Great Train Quiz (won by all members of the table) Represented by Martin Kimpton

Train Building              (won by all members of the table) Represented by Sandra Cardnell

Best Dressed Female.............Kath Whittle

Best Dressed Male.................Derek Laynes

Best Dressed Couple.............Ian & Di Williamson

The new perpetual trophy introduced this year is a magnificent MGB piston mounted on a large octagonal polished timber base and has an engraved brass plate which reads;
                         “Outstanding Achievement in Entertaining Behaviour”
It is presented to the winner who holds it for 1 month and then it is displayed at the clubrooms until the next weekender. A brass plate carrying the winner’s name and the year presented will be attached to the base each year.
This year’s inaugural winner was Denise Miklin for her wonderful poem about the train built by the clever people at her table. Congratulation Denise.

Prizes were also awarded to the 6 drivers whose cars failed the safety check after they explained to us all the reasons for the oversight.

The event went off without a hitch which was due solely to the dedicated group who helped Chris and I put it together. The “Piston Trophy” and the “Valve Trophies” were built with only engraving costs and all art work was in house. This helped to make the event good value for money.
I would like to thank the following people for their time and creativeness in making the 2010 Weekender work and work very well.
Lawrie and Lyn Foody
Leyland and Gloria George
Graham and Pat Loader
Rodger and Sue Polkinghorne.

The following sponsors deserve recognition and our thanks for their part in making the event a success.
Brock Harcourts Magil     Ann Calver                 Pens and calendars
MG Sales                          Bob Bazzica.........    Supplied the valves for the drivers trophies
Crafers Inn                       Gerry Siebert               Wine and 2 x $20.00 vouchers 
Just Cars.                         James Goode              Magazines, stubbie holders, key rings and bags.
Shannon’s                                                         Bags      
.

Cheers
    Leigh Richter