Car Clubs are complex. Because they involve PEOPLE. I founded a local MG club in 1978. We met twice a month, and for a while it was huge fun. I only stuck with that for 22 years because nobody else wanted to do it. Of course, everybody had a view, Most people had complaints, but nobody wanted to get off their arse and help. Then over time "cliques" developed, and it became impossible to agree on much, even start times for runs out, and so activities dwindled, although the meeting survived and still does, even now.
The MGOC faced criticism of not being a club, and yet functioned consitently better than the MG Car Club, which initially didn't want to bother with post T Type MGs. Indeed meetings tended to be for pre 55 MG's (from memory). Our local MGCC meetings were unwelcoming, and although we tried a few times, it was a lost cause. I fell into writing articles for both club magazines almost by accident. This was the late 70's. Cameras were not digital, and I used a typewriter. I ended up on the V8 Register of the MGCC and because we shared a focused interest, the committee meetings were generally good fun. Although occasionally politics and personal grudges erupted. These took place at Abingdon and so were a big commitment of time, when I was working full time.
The point of those reminiscences is this. If you pay your subs just for a magazine, it's not good value. The value of any car club is involvement, but even this can be tough to achieve.
Rolling forward to the MSCC. I joined in 2003, five years before I bought my Roadster. It was a no brainer. Already I had 25 years of car clubs under my belt. I needed to get a feel for the MSCC. So for five years I consumed every page of Miscellany. It was very different to the MG clubs and yet all the component parts were the same. When I finally took the plunge it seemed logical to continue being involved. In time the club needed a Concours Sec and I had been involved since 1982, with both MG clubs, including running local events and the national MGOC concours for seven years. So that was a no brainer.
The senior officials of the MSCC work very hard, mostly on a voluntary basis. I attended committee meetings for seven years, and the AGMs, all while I was working full time, and I enjoyed being involved and seeing the club function close up. Like any other club, there were cliques and politics and tensions. There were ups and downs. That's people for you. The local meeting leaders attended those meetings and many were frustrated by the local politics of their groups, much as I had been with MG.
After seven years of that, it was time to back off a bit. I've continued my involvement in the Concours event, and still write that monthly ramble but that's it now. We did try our local Morgan meeting, but just like the MGCC local meetings we never really felt like we belonged. If local meetings want to capture new attendees, they need to be much more welcoming. We had the same problem way back in the 80's. People would rather sit and chat with their friends than engage with new faces, and I don't have an answer for this. Even at this year's Mog Event, at the drinks reception, and at the dinner, members want to cluster with people they know, and yet they miss out on a perfect opportunity to have a new conversation with strangers. We chatted to a couple from East Anglia who also had "no friends", but the highlight of the dinner was sitting on a table with a Belgian contingent, who we may never see again, but were charming people, and amazing company.
TalkMorgan delivers more, because it has no boundaries and therefore no limits. It does depend on individuals getting stuck in, but we've done some amazing things as a TM group since I joined in December 2008. I regret very much not doing the Scottish Tour which took place one April.....maybe 2009 or 2010. But we've had several factory visits. We've been shown around the inner corners of the factory, normally out of sight, and we've had audiences with Steve Morris. We've toured Superform and seen the wing manufacturing process. We've had large gatherings at Gaydon and Hive Beach, and numerous smaller collectives. That's what makes TM so special. If you want to plan something, you can just do it. Lets hope for more of the same going forward.
OK I'm done!
