John Harrison.

As you read this we will hopefully be sunning ourselves on some French beach, I say hopefully as I recently had a frightening experience. After having my caravan serviced at what I have in the past considered a reputable dealer, 50 miles later my nearside wheel came off. Fortunately we were travelling relatively slowly and no one was hurt and damage was relatively limited. The dealer disclaimed any responsibility as I had not rechecked the torque settings after 20 miles as recommended in the hand book, also, my fault, I did not read the small print when I signed to say the service had been carried out. I have learned a valuable lesson, do not assume that “experts” do what they are supposed to do, and check your wheel nuts regularly.

The rally season is in full swing and we have been to some crackers, mostly in brilliant sunshine but occasionally in pouring rain. Whatever the weather though, we have enjoyed them all and have welcomed several first time ralliers, all of whom seemed to enjoy themselves.

At one rally I even presented a First Rally plaque and a 450th Rally plaque, sobering thought that this represents 20 rallies a year for almost 23 years, a fantastic achievement.

There is still a full programme of rallies to look forward to and some interesting new venues to explore. One which is not a new venue but is well worth re-visiting is the AGM at Harrogate, if you are intending to attend, please let David have your rally slips as soon as possible to help with the arrangements.

Jan and I look forward to seeing you around.

Jim James.

I have to write my “Rumblings” early, as Hazel and I will be four weeks into an eight-week tour of Northern England and Scotland by the closing date for Newsletter copy. We decided not go to France again this year and have planned to take in a number of Elddis Rallies on our route and see parts of our beautiful country we have wanted to visit for many years.

The Rally season has moved into top gear after Easter and so far this year the attendance at the majority of rallies has been excellent, with many that had a limit being fully booked well before the closing date. This is particularly pleasing for the Rally Marshal’s to see their efforts appreciated by our members.

It is also very pleasing that I have received proposals for fifteen Rallies for 2008 and I would remind anyone who is planning to run one to get in touch with either your Area Secretary or myself as soon as possible as the most popular dates fill up very quickly and it is first come first served.

If you have not sent your booking form for the AGM yet, please do so as soon as possible, cheques can be post dated, as it will help David Bird to plan ahead if he knows how many units to cater for.

Well its time to prepare the Motor Caravan, pack the Dog Food and head off for Corbridge and all points north.

Hope to see you on a rally somewhere.

Len Stoneman.

Welcome to the Summer Newsletter and with it the approach of the A.G.M. so included in this newsletter you will find the accounts for 2006, which bring from me a great big thank you to you all. Why? Because we have decreased a deficit of £605 on rally expenses in 2005 to a mere £14 in 2006. We also increased overall profit from £76 to £402, so well done to all of you, but please don’t get complacent, we need to keep up the good work.

Whilst on the subject of the A.G.M., have you booked for it yet? if not then I would urge you all to get your booking forms off to David Bird as soon as possible, remember this is the biggest event in the clubs’ year, so come along and help to make it a Bank Holiday weekend to remember.

Rally returns so far have all been good, with at least the £1.50 per van admin fee being sent, and in a lot of cases much more, so once again, particularly to all the Rally Marshal’s who have run, or are running rallies this year (and in the future), well done and keep up the good work! We still need more Rally Marshals to run rallies all over the country so why not give it a go, and if you don’t feel confident enough to go it alone the first time, why not approach one of the many members who have already run a rally and ask them to assist you. I’m sure that any one of them will answer yes, and if you want to you can now make them an official Assistant Rally Marshal, no matter how long the rally is or how many vans and motorhomes are at the rally. If you need help in finding a rally site then contact any of the committee who I am sure will be pleased to help you find one.

At this point I would like to say well done to the children and teenage section, led by Tiffany for their efforts last year in raising such a wonderful sum of £1,850 for CHILDLINE, the cheque for which was handed over at the Boat, Caravan and Leisure show in February. Thanks must also go to the Explorer group for allowing the presentation to be made on their stand.

Finally to end this article I must say a big thank you to someone very special, namely my wife Diana, who has to put up with me hogging the computer to do the book-keeping for the club, and using it as an excuse to avoid doing all those little jobs around the house.

Goodbye for now and I hope to see you on a rally field somewhere soon.

Best wishes – Moss Owen.

Hello everyone,

I haven’t attended many rallies this year as I have to work at weekends, but I have been busy promoting the Elddis Owner’s Club, both in magazines and on TV!! I was interviewed for the Caravan Channel recently with the shows being broadcast just after Easter. Since then I have been interviewed for the Camping and Caravan Club Magazine and a small piece appeared the July issue of ‘Caravan’ Magazine!

I hope that you will continue to support our Charity ‘BLISS’ in my absence as the money raised will be used nationwide.

Bookings are still being accepted for the Christmas Party and Steve tells me that you do not have to attend the Rally to attend the party. A visitor in a red suit will be attending and great fun will be had by all……………so book now!!

Tiffany

If you are a new Rally Marshal and are not sure how to go about running your rally please feel free to either contact myself or your Area Secretary for help. We would be only too pleased to help. Likewise if you are contemplating running a rally but not sure how to proceed please give us a ring or e-mail us (addresses in the front of the Rally Book).

Don’t forget to send you’re A.G.M. booking forms in as soon as possible.

Rally reports can either be sent to me by post or by e-mail. Please note that the deadline for articles in the next Newsletter is 1st October 2007.

Cofion cynnes – Best wishes.

Janet