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Report on November 2006 activities
Greetings Wingers
It’s still too cold to put the new ‘shiny bits’ on the bike so relax in front of a warm fire wearing your new socks & novelty tie and enjoy a quiet read safe in the knowledge that your pride and joy is safely tucked away until the sun returns and all the nasty salt is washed down the drains back to the sea where it belongs.
Our AGM, well attended with 14 members, 1 Wingnut, & 3 new members was eventful with changes to our committee.
The first change was at the top of the tree with both Edd and Stevie standing down as joint Regional Reps and after leading us through a very positive and enjoyable period with events and runs galore I am sure that everyone would like to give these two loveable rouges a huge round of applause for their efforts and those who attended our Wing Ding etc will know they both did an excellent job.
And so we welcome back Dave Turvey to the position of Regional Rep. Dave is a very committed member of our team and did an excellent job as Runs Co-ordinator before this promotion and although he remains tight lipped about his plans we are all looking forward to finding out what he has in store for us all in the coming year.
With Dave T’s move Pete Rowe bravely stepped into the role of ‘Run’s coordinator’ and if the stories he tells of his two & three wheeled exploits so far are true we are in for some very interesting and enjoyable rides indeed. Watch this space!
Despite a challenge from Emily, Nigel retained his position as Web Master by using the ploy that her youthful diction may not be understood by the majority of the winging fraternity, to which Emily replied “oi, minger, bovered, wotever?” which we took as a gracious withdrawal.
Oh yes…did I forget to mention the new Wingspan writer? Some of you may know me but most people just say “you know, the one married to Loopy,”
The three new members who came to our AGM are Dennis Stephen, formally of Lancs & Lakes & Jan and Dave Shirt, a lovely couple who must be super cool because they ride a 1500 just like mine! Everyone gave them all a warm welcome and they seemed to join in nicely so we hope they return to share many years of safe and enjoyable rides & events as North Wales Wingers.
After our AGM Jan, Jan, Dave, Dave, Nigel, Jo, (Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub) went for a ride to the Ponderosa then to Llangollen for ice cream. How is that for commitment, this was November 5th!
On the 6th Nov was Wingnut Emily’s 12th Birthday, now quite the young lady. This milestone was closely followed on the 9th by another major event, Edd’s first ride with his new sidecar! They say you have to be mad to own one and Edd certainly scores points there as his first ride was in torrential rain to pick up a delighted Georgia from the pony club and drop her home with Mum Ann.
The busy month continued as the 11th brought a trip to the Salvation Army Toy Run at Manchester. Dave & Jan T with Nigel & Jo arrived at the meeting place with Loopy and I turning up fashionably late.
The ride was amazing with over 500 bikes including quite a few Wings whose owners wore seasonal costumes that had Nigel snapping lots of pics for our website.
We joined in at the back of the parade. There was a reason for this but a bribe of ‘Jiffy pudding’ prevents me from revealing it, suffice to say why can’t the ladies ‘go’ before it starts? After the ride we sang carols and added our donations to the mountain of toys & cash that was at £4,500 and counting when we left for the return trip via Cosco before ‘cutting to the Chase’ for Joanna’s legendary ‘Jiffy Pudding’.
On the 18th we attended the annual Cheshire Wing Quiz Night. This is a really enjoyable evening that we all look forward too with a bar and food including Betty’s world famous ‘pan of Scouse’ and delicious curry. All money raised went to their charity ‘Zoë’s place’. Oh dear did I forget to mention the quiz? The questions were tougher than replacing a wings back tyre but we managed to pull ahead and win with grace and dignity. It’s a good job only one Pennine winger attended as they usually thrash all opposition.
We would all like to thank the Cheshire’s for a brilliant evening which more Wingers should try as it is great fun and for a good cause.
After the Quiz we all went back to Loopy’s for a quiet drink with muffins and a rather ‘interesting’ chocolate cake but Karaoke was mentioned and before we knew it Nigel and the ladies were entertaining us with hits through the decades although the highlight of the evening has to be the rendition of ‘Jack the Knife’ sung superbly by Nigel while Stevie graced us with his own unique backing vocals. I have never seen so many grown people crying with laughter it was a truly memorable performance and a shame only a part of it was caught on video. The clock struck 2.45am as the last guests left.
Early next morning Nigel, Edd, Q, Loopy, & I went to the Ponderosa for breakfast. The ‘brass monkeys’ were abundant but later at the Chase Joanna treated us to some home baking to warm us up. Oh dear, I nearly forgot, James Bond has his ‘Q’ and we have ours but as our Q was alighting from Edd’s sidecar she must have operated the ‘ejector seat’ by mistake and landed in an ungracious heap faster than Nigel can say ” WWW.NorthWalesWings.org.uk ”. Luckily she was only ‘shaken not stirred’, and Edd says she just needs lots more practice…cameras on standby!
Have fun!
Mark R