To celebrate the Club’s fiftieth year a programme of events is being organised and a number of members old and new have come forward to form a steering group. The Club has enjoyed a very successful season but at this point in time the Committee is stretched to the limit* and this outside help is most welcome. As each of these special events approaches, more help will be needed and volunteers sought, but to date the following enthusiasts have come forward with offers of help:
Anne McDermid, Jean & John McMillan, Malcolm Noble, David Johnston, Gordon Alexander, Jock Frew, Louise & Ian Gemmell, Charlotte & Robert Smith, Brian Telfer, Alex Young, Johnny Watson, Pearl Marr.
(*The 2012 schedule was for 7 sprints, 5 rallies, 7 grass tests, 16 members’ test days/evenings, 3 autotests, 5 social functions, and 23 track hires).
RE-UNION DINNER SATURDAY MARCH 2ND 2013.
The Club’s 50th Birthday Dinner will be held in the Dumfries Arms Hotel, Cumnock where the Club was formed in 1963 and which was refurbished two years ago to a very high standard. A number of guest personalities will be in attendance and it is envisaged members and ex-members from the sixties through to the present day will turn out in force to renew old acquaintances and recall past adventures. The ticket price of £25.00 represents good value. There are 30-40 rooms available for overnight accommodation, but as over 200 are expected to attend, arrangements should be made with the D.A. as soon as possible. Tickets are now on sale and are available from Robert Smith, Ian Gemmell and Jock Frew. A limited number of group tables (of 10) may be available. Please purchase your tickets as early as possible to minimise the workload. The hotel’s telephone number is 01290 429230. Please mention Car Club when booking.
OPEN WEEKEND AT KAMES
In mid-summer it is planned to have two open days at Kames at which the general public will be admitted free of charge to a wide variety of activities of motoring, sporting, leisure and general natures. For this undertaking in particular we call on all those with the Club at heart to come up with ideas to provide visitors with an entertaining two days out. One of the points to be made is that Kames Motorsport Complex is a valuable local asset which, with its parking, cafeteria, toilet and public address facilities is suited to much more than just motorsport.
ARRAN WEEKEND
Many of us have fond memories of the motorsport-cum-social weekends the Club ran between 1969 and 1999 on the Isle of Arran so the news of a return there as part of the 50th Birthday celebrations will be warmly welcomed by lots of enthusiasts. The date has been fixed as September 20th – 22nd and the base will again be the Kinloch Hotel in Blackwaterfoot where around 40 rooms have been reserved. The plan is to offer two days of autotest and grass tests but the less sporty can join in two half-island tours instead. Needless to say there will be a lively social scene. Any trip to Arran is not cheap but numerous enthusiasts who travelled there from all over the UK have always confirmed it was money well spent. Special ferry rates are being negotiated and more details should be available soon. The current Club Committee have taken a bold step in making these hotel and ferry commitments in order we can all re-live those golden days on Arran. Please show your appreciation by starting now to plan your participation in this memorable outing.
ALASTAIR FINDLAY
We are sorry to note the death on 18th September of Alistair Findlay. Alistair was an active member in the seventies, and was the only member to have taken part in the Monte Carlo Rally. He was third in the Scottish Rally Championship and rallied in Finland and Romania. On his retirement three years ago he moved to the mountains of Yukon, seven hours drive from Whitehorse but after he developed a terminal illness in the middle of this year he came back to Scotland in August. A number of EACC members attended the funeral in Mauchline.
BOOK LAUNCH
The finishing touches have now been applied to the second part of “The History of East Ayrshire Car Club and Kames Motorsport Complex” covering the period 1990-2012, although it will also include recently uncovered material from the early years as well. This book will be larger than Part 1, with almost 250 pages and over 900 photographs. Nearly all of these will be in colour but we have been able to hold the price at £25.00 (postage extra). The Book Launch will be on 2nd March at the 50th Birthday Dinner. All 250 copies of the first part of the History (1963-1989) have been sold, but a low-volume re-print has been ordered and these will be on sale at the original price of £25.00.
Communicating with ex-members is a major problem and I would be obliged if you could help me build up a circulation list for the 50th Birthday celebrations by sending me the E-mail address or telephone number of any person interested in attending. Also, as some contacts may have changed E-mail addresses since the last Re-union, it would be appreciated if you could confirm receipt of this e-mail. As we already have a list of over 300 people to contact, this will save me making numerous phone calls.
EACC were awarded with a cheque for £100 and highly commended in this year’s National Motorsport Week awards. The quality and quantity of entries exceeded the expectations of the organisers and EACC were chosen with five other clubs, the overall award going to our neighbours at South of Scotland Car Club.
Please keep in touch with me or Ian Gemmell (Tel 01292 591226; jjgemmell@yahoo.co.uk) for up-to-date information. Or Jock Frew on johnifrew@gmail.com
Robert Smith
25 Ballochmyle View, Catrine KA5 6EN Tel 01290 550897
Email: robert@rsmith4.orangehome.co.uk
EAST AYRSHIRE CAR CLUB HAVE AN EXCELLENT WEB-SITE AND THIS IS A GOOD WAY OF KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH CLUB ACTIVITIES.
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE 50TH BIRTHDAY DINNER ON 2ND MARCH
