The September 2016 Gathering

The last 2016 Greetham Gathering was held on 15^th September at Greetham Community Centre. The Gatherings have now been held over the last 3 years, and the final one of the year has the challenges of an early departure for some vehicles because of the failing light. However, the warm sunny weather obviously encouraged many to turn out and give the public a great display of vehicles. In 3 years the attendances of the “last” Gathering of the year have more than doubled, emphasising the interest and appeal of this event.

Yet again, the organisers remain surprised and delighted at how many vehicles arrive that have not been before. In the car paddock there were about 100 classics. These included Jaguars, Citroens, Austins, Rovers, Fiats, Porches, Audis, Triumphs, Morris, Aston Martin, Mini, Mercedes, Maserati, TVR, Alpha Romeo, Vauxhall and others. Also in attendance was a monster wheel Chevrolet truck, a replica Isetta-BMW bubble car (with 4 cylinder Honda 250cc bike engine in it!), a growing collection of VW Camper vans, a Ford Dexta tractor and the “local” London Routemaster bus!

In the bike paddock there were about 18 classics in the 50 bikes that made an appearance. Included there were a trio of Velocette singles, various BSA twins, a rare (rescued from a shed) Honda C70 cub, a beautiful Yamaha FS1E 50cc moped (these used to be everywhere when kids were learners on mopeds), a Suzuki, Morini, Guzzi, several Hondas (including a rare 1000cc 6 cylinder CBX), an AJS 33CSR (with Norton Atlas engine and cycle parts) and a beautiful early 1960’s Triumph Thunderbird.

Thanks as always must go to all who attended, whether showing a vehicle or not and who supported our raffle. Also to Andy and crew for the fine food he prepares; to Anne and team for the bar (which did a great job); to Maureen and Carol for the cakes and coffee, to Julie for selling raffle tickets, to Debbie, Sue and Pippa on the gate, to Brian, Bill Rogers and Malcolm Radford for helping marshalling and to all the supporters who lend a hand as and when. Also, thanks to Beanie at the Plough for donating a raffle prize, and belated thanks to Scott at the Wheatsheaf and Sandy Begy for each also donating a prize at the previous Gathering (Sorry – I didn’t know until too late last month).

We plan to hold the Gatherings again in 2017 on the 3^rd Thursdays of May to September, but will keep you all informed of any changes or news. We shall also be making our annual donation to the local Air Ambulance in the coming months (once we have done our sums and got the presentation arranged) and we will keep you posted on that. Be sure to check back on this website for more information.