Derbyshire Region - January '25 Monthly Meeting Report

We started off the New Year with a very respectable turnout of 36 members - 34 of whom were members of the Derbyshire Region and 2 were members of the France South East and Monaco (SEM) Region who just ‘happened’ to be passing the Robin Hood whilst in the UK visiting friends and relatives - Brian and Catriona Macklin, who by complete chance also knew member John Eyre from trips they have enjoyed together in Europe. We made them welcome and we hope to see you again when you are next passing!

The draft programme for 2025 had been circulated in advance by Roger, who unfortunately couldn’t be with us due to family commitments, so Committee members Geoff, Nigel and Hartley went through some of the proposed items on the programme which all require members commitment beforehand to allow them to proceed due to minimum number requirements. These include proposed trips to the National Memorial Arboretum, Thornbridge Hall, Middleport Pottery and Cromford Mill. From the show of hands it looks as if we will be able to run all of these events.

As expected, there was a lot of catching up to do with this being the first gathering of the year. Included in such news was one snippet that Geoff has bought an E Type. We can’t wait to see this as it is apparently a real cracker!

On a personal note, I would like to thank all those in the region who have wished me a good recovery after a recent stroke, which has led to a 'period of confinement' as the late Sir Terry Wogan was wont to say. Thankfully I am well on the way to full recovery and will be partaking in as many regional events as other commitments allow this coming year (Hartley Jenkinson).