April 2010

A good number of TaffMoggers attended the MSCC AGM, dinner/dance and spares fayre at the Abbey Hotel and enjoyed themselves to the full. I don’t know about Mike Smith being a plumber – more like a market trader, the way in which he disposed of all his spares!

The TaffMog AGM & planning meeting was finally held at Simon & Natalie Griffiths’ Halfway Inn on Thursday, 11th February. Forty-eight members attended, lured, I’m sure, by the buffet rather than the official business. Who could blame them because it was superb? There were only three Morgans in the car park and the one that was selected by Simon’s staff to receive the prize belongs to Nigel Parker. He’s a lucky chap because he also won second prize in the raffle; the first prize, a meal for two, which was donated by Simon & Natalie, was won by Neil & Helen. Many thanks to Simon & Natalie for the superb buffet and for the prizes that they donated.

Life is full of surprises, as they say, and the incumbent officers were returned unopposed, with Jackie being voted in as third signatory on the chequebook. The rest of the official business was dealt with, and then it was down to the planning. By the end of the evening we had produced a full programme for 2010 and are looking forward to another enjoyable year. Thank you to all who have offered to organise events.

The Mellington Hall weekend, organised by Tony, Pam and Adrian was most enjoyable. Dianne and I were unable to travel to Mid-Wales with the rest of the party and by the time we arrived at the hotel the four Morgans in the car park (belonging to Tony, Pam & Adrian, Stuart & Jackie, Denis & Liz and Nick & Elizabeth) had all been bathed and were tucked up cosily for the night. We let the side down, being in our tin top. As we enjoyed our dinner we wondered whether we would be able to enjoy the scenic run that had been planned for the following day because the snow started to come down thick and fast. However, the Saturday dawned bright and clear. After cleaning the snow off the cars and negotiating the slippery drive, we were able to enjoy the snowy, picturesque scenery of the Welsh Marches on clear, ice-free roads.

Our first stop of the day was the Severn Valley railway depot, south of Bridgenorth, where the engines and carriages on display were well worth the visit - as was the restaurant, where we refuelled with coffee and cakes before carrying on to Stokesay Castle. More coffee and cakes kept up well stoked up to ward off the cold before we took the audio guide around this fascinating castle. The day ended with a delightful run back to the hotel. Well done everyone for having hoods down throughout the day.

We woke on Sunday morning to find that more snow had fallen during the night, but again, after slipping and sliding along the drive, the main roads were clear. Unfortunately, due to a family birthday celebration, Dianne and I had to set off home, but the rest of the group again enjoyed a lovely day’s drive before finally arriving at The Honey Cafe in Bronllys for dinner. The cafe lived up to its reputation for good food, with Stuart being particularly impressed with his chocolate desert. Thank you Tony, Pam & Adrian for all your hard work in organising the weekend.

Despite being a week later than usual, the Usk noggin was very well attended. Keith & Brenda proudly showed off pictures of their new +4 which they have recently purchased to replace their +8. I can feel a ‘Dai Cap’ run coming up shortly, when they’ll be able to show it off in the flesh (or should it be metal). We were sorry to hear that Jackie (Jones) has not been too well lately, and neither has Ronie. We send them both our best wishes for a speedy recovery.