Past Events
We will add our photos here from Club events – along with any reports and reviews from Club members. If you'd like your words or photos to be included in the event gallery, please send them to media@e-typeclub.com
Spring Meeting North, 19 May 2024
Sunday 19 May saw a group of E-type Club and XK Club members gather at The Renaissance Kelham Hall, just outside Newark,
Nottinghamshire, for our very first Spring North Meeting.
What a wonderful day! Thank you to everyone who came along to join us and made the event such a success – it was particularly nice to welcome some new members at their first Club event. If there had been awards for ‘distance travelled’ we would have had two clear winners – Clive Arnold and Sheri Doyle-Jones, who came from Australia and Mexico respectively. Lovely to meet you both.
After a chilly and damp Spring South Meeting, in Surrey, the weather at Kelham couldn’t have been better. The sky was blue and a fine selection of XKs and E-types glittered fetchingly in the sunlight. Many thanks indeed to my co-host Anne Mitchell (East Midlands
Representative for the E-type Club) for her invaluable support, both before and during the day. Also to Jonathan Mitchell for impeccable parking logistics (ably assisted by Jacob from the Kelham team). The venue itself was stunning. The current building is Victorian, but the Kelham estate dates back to the 17th century, and played an important role in the first Civil War, as King Charles I was held there for a short time after his defeat. There was plenty of opportunity to walk around the beautiful gardens, and space indoors to sit and chat, as our group had sole use of the rather splendid Library, Music Room and Drawing Room. The lawn to the side of the main building was the perfect spot for the display of cars, and we were lucky enough to be able to take some photos from one of the balconies which provided quite a view of the cars parked on the grass below. We stopped for a delicious three-course lunch in the Music Room, the high, vaulted ceiling and imposing fireplace of which provided a very grand air to the occasion, in addition to excellent acoustics! As is the custom at Spring Meetings, lunch was followed by the awarding of trophies for the most special E-type and XK in attendance. Cip Nistorica, of P&K Thornton (and also Rep for the XK Club), had made the trophies for the occasion, and very impressive they were too. Scott Tran won the award (made from part of an E-type bumper) for best E-type, with his Silver Blue SI FHC, and Ed Friend’s Polar Silver 140 DHC took the XK honours. Made from a flywheel, the effort involved in the lifting of this hefty trophy caused some amusement. A very big thank you to Cip both for the trophies and for being on hand all day for technical advice, along with his customer Marcus, who brought along his restored E-type. We must also thank the team at Kelham, led by Jodie, who looked after us brilliantly and kept the day running smoothly. We had such a positive response from everyone we are very much hoping to make Spring Meeting North (or North-er) a fixture in the XK Club calendar, and to return to Kelham for a meeting next year
Spring Meeting South, 28 April 2024
Sunday 28 April dawned cold and soggy, as Club members (of both E-type and XK flavours) gathered for the annual Spring Meeting at Hartsfield Manor near Betchworth in Surrey. Despite the rain (and at one point a rather biting wind), we had an excellent turnout, and a very fetching display of cars, orchestrated masterfully by Peter, Chris and the WinSpeed team. It is always a highlight for me to meet up with Club members, and this event is always the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends, as well as new faces. I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to get around and properly chat with everyone. There was much admiring of fellow members’ cars, and the discussion of at least three (that I heard of, anyway) thorny technical issues, all solved by the WinSpeed crew. Hartsfield is a lovely venue, and Helen and her team looked after us very well – including providing a delicious, and much remarked upon, lunch. Following lunch, the hotly-anticipated ‘Best E’ and ‘Best XK’ trophies were awarded. These had been chosen by WinSpeed junior engineer Kieran (E), and apprentice Freddy (XK).
Jonathan Edwards and Matthew Slaffer were the lucky – and very happy – recipients, for their Dark Blue SI FHC, and Pastel Blue XK120 FHC respectively.
In almost an action replay of last year’s event, the sun broke through towards the end of lunch, and we hurried outside to enjoy a warmer browse among the cars and some final chats before heading off home.
Thank you all, and see you next year!
CBR Technical Masterclass, 27 April 2024
Despite unseasonal temperatures and a hold-up on the M6, over 35 XK and E-type Club members attended the Technical Masterclass at CBR Classic Restorations in Cheslyn Hay on Saturday 27 April. Once teas and coffees had been distributed, Andy Waters, CBR’s owner, gave everyone an overview of the company and introduced the CBR team to us all. Andy then identified the four experts who were hosting the sessions: Steve, from HB Body, on detailing; Alan Floyd and Kevin, from CBR, on the English Wheel; Jon and Kris, from CBR, on prep and painting body shop; and Peter, from SNG Barratt, with Andy on Q&A and details of parts. Louise, from Club HQ, then outlined how the day would proceed, with a briefing on the timings of the sessions and the all-important lunch break! Members then split into groups for the first of the sessions, and I had a chance to take photos and observe some of the talks. The wealth of knowledge that everyone was happy to share, and the level of enthusiasm and craftsmanship from all the guys, was great to see. There was a lot of engagement from all parties, with plenty of questions and queries from the Club members to keep the experts on their toes!
I was able to watch sections of some of the sessions, and I was particularly struck at how easy Alan made using the English Wheel look,
the many years that he has worked to perfect his craft obvious to everyone present. He was happy to let Club members try their hand, and they soon realised it really is not as easy as Alan makes it look.
Peter and Andy’s sessions were very popular, with their many years of experience being tested by a wide range of questions from the
Club members. There seemed to be lots of laughing in the area where Peter and Andy were presenting, and their sessions often ran over, as they both took time to answer the many queries enthusiastically fired their way.
The talks by Jon and Kris in the prep and painting bodyshop area were popular, with plenty of very useful advice for the avid home
restorer. I think that many members will have left feeling more confident in finishing any projects they have lined up to complete. Again,
the guys were great at answering questions, and dispensed plenty of tips that they have both picked up over the years.
Steve demonstrated his skill at detailing, and drew quite a crowd with his various polishing devices! I overheard one Club member saying that they thought their car was shiny, until they saw the level of detailing at CBR! There was a lot of ‘shine envy’, as everyone admired the finish on the cars in the workshop.
The lunch break came after the first two sessions were completed, each approximately one hour long, and then it was time for everyone
to move along to their next session. Once everyone had finished their four sessions, it was time for a quick tea or coffee, and members had the chance to chat to all the CBR team before leaving for home.
This was my first visit to this event, and I really enjoyed it, and admired both the level of skill on display and the level of enthusiasm
from the experts on hand during the day, plus of course the Club members. All in all, thoroughly recommended.
A group of Club members enjoyed an autumn tour through the beautiful countryside of Andalucia, in the ever-capable hands of Club tour partner, Classics on the Road. Stunning doesn't begin to describe it, as the photos below testify...
Sunday October 8 2022 saw the return of our ever-popular Technical Seminar, held in partnership with Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth. What we hope will be the first of many to come.
Many thanks to Tim Griffin and his team, our very own Louise who co-hosted with aplomb, Whitehouse Catering for a delicious buffet and attendee Paul Briggs for some of the photos below.
To view images from some of our larger events, please select from the links below: