LANDROVING IN KZN

March 2008

Hello Readers 

I have really made a concerted effort to recover some lost time this month to bring you the March newsletter a little earlier and secondly to get some important information out to you the members. There’s a stack of stuff on for this year but as you will read the first Tembe trip has been cancelled due to lack of interest / response.  These events take a lot of preparation and interested parties need to respond as soon as they know they want to go. We also have a report from our newly elected Chairman. A big thank needs to go out to Jon and Chard from Landy Parts for Africa for their generous sponsorship of shirts and caps for the AGM and they deserve our support wherever possible. A reminder too, to please pay membership subs or R140 by the end of April as no payment will result in removal from the newsletter mailing list. Thanks 

Enjoy!
Ed  

THE CHAIRMAN’S REPORT BACK by Selwyn Ambler

The 19^th AGM is behind us and the committee has been shuffled around a bit.

I was asked and agreed (with some trepidation) to be chairman and I agreed to carry on as Treasurer.

George agreed to stay on as Events Organizer.

Gary agreed to stay on as Trails Organizer.

Gavin agreed to take on Membership.

Greg agreed to carry on with Newsletter Editor.

Mike agreed to continue with the Web page.

And new kid on the block Andrew Mason agreed to take over Regalia from Jimmy.

So I’m fortunate in that all the office bearers (excepting Andrew) are experienced in the ways of LROC. As far as the AGM weekend is concerned the impression I have from my observations is that everyone enjoyed it. I certainly did. I was impressed with almost every aspect of the entire weekend but I was NOT impressed with some others.

Some of the things that impressed me: -

The weather. Two consecutive perfect days and night in the Midlands in February!! What a pleasure.

The venue. Everyone managed to squeeze in without any whinging and whining.

Eston Club’s food. Real value for money and once again I heard no complaints.

The events that were organized for our entertainment. The time constraints on the Saturday always makes the Gates event a bit of a rush but it was well organized and well attended and our Sunday Trail was a real treat.

Where else can we get four such diverse events i.e. camping, serious Club business, Gates Event and an Off Road Trail all being held close by in such pleasant and INEXPENSIVE surroundings?

The willingness of our Club’s Members to stick by and large to the requirement that we support Eston Club’s kitchen and bar. Our Club Members left the Eston campgrounds so well cleaned up.

Now the down side! ! !

At the AGM I explained that we, the LROC members were getting 2x night’s camping at Eston Farmers Club for R65.00 per person for paid up members. I said that this included all the facilities of the Farmer’s Club, the hall AND the braai, and the LROC had taken the decision to sponsor the R65.00 per person.

It fell to me to set up the arrangements with the Farmers Club and this duty included the supervision of the LROC Sponsored Braai. 

I was not impressed with what I observed while I sat there checking off the names of the people who had booked braai packs. We ran out of salads and rolls and some paid up members had to go without because of the greed and dishonesty of some people despite my explanation of the way in which the entire weekend was structured and paid for. 

The helpings of salads that some people heaped on their plates boggled my mind. Quite aside from the fact that it is hard to believe that anyone can normally eat that much at one time, it was done with no thought to whether there would be enough for others still to come. The food left over on the plates was proof of the sheer greed of some people.

I saw people taking salads as a starter then taking a second helping quite as large as the first helping once their meat was cooked. I also saw people taking three and four rolls at a time. 

People claimed braai packs pre-booked by them on behalf of other paid up members whom they knew would not be coming. 

Members shared their braai packs with others (who I assume were non-members) who did not want to pay R65.00 then allowed these non-members to take salads and rolls meant for paid up members. 

People camped but brought their own meat to avoid paying R65.00 but they took salads and rolls for which they had not paid. 

There were other examples of abuse but I won’t continue, as I’m sure you get my drift. The upshot is that the LROC had to pay out more than it should have because of the grasping attitude of some members. 

Well, it is just not on and this blatant abuse of club resources by a minority of members simply cannot be tolerated. 

We the committee, were elected by you the paid up members, and we have a responsibility to ensure that all paid up members get a fair deal. We will be considering other ways of sponsoring events in future (if it is done at all) to try to avoid such behaviour. 

I thank the committee members for their efforts to make the weekend the success it was. The recce, setting up and marshalling the gates, organizing and collecting trail fees and setting up the AGM were all behind the scene activities. These things don’t just happen on their own, they all take time and effort and someone has to do it and the committee members got on with it without complaint. 

The enthusiastic commitment to the club of these few people is what makes the club function as well as it does and I am confident that this will produce many successful events for the whole club over the next 24 months. 

Now think about this ---- if the enthusiastic effort of just 7 people can produce such fun, we could have 20 times more fun if ALL 140 members of our club showed the same level of enthusiasm. 

Please members don’t just sit there whinging about this or that not happening in our club. Come up with suggestions and ideas about what you would like to have happen. Research your idea or suggestion and present a package to the committee for inclusion in the next newsletter. 

That’s enthusiasm, and that’s what makes a successful club. 

(Thank you Mandy Goswell for the typed translation of this report)

Is this you?  It could be if you attended one of the club’s gates events

 LROC KZN   Events Diary   2008

EVENT NOTES:

1. DIRECTIONS : 2^nd Gates Event for 2008 in the Inchanga Valley

From Durban take the N3 towards Pietermaritzburg and take the Hammersdale / Inchanga off ramp. Turn right across the N3 and follow the road for about 2km.  At the 1^st road to the right (Land Rover Experience sign) turn right and follow the road past the Hotel and up to the R103. Turn right into the R103 (old main road). We will meet here to leave at 08h30 sharp. From here we will drive in convoy into the valley.

From Pietermaritzburg take the Hammersdale / Inchanga off ramp and turn left. Follow the route above up to the R103.

2. LAND ROVER CONVOY DRIVE, Monday 28 April. Please check the newsletter next month as the meeting place and route might change. Time 08h00 for 09h00.

Emphasis is placed on the fact that most events require booking well in advance. If you are interested in attending an event, please notify the relevant committee as soon as possible, as a lack of interest may lead to events being cancelled.

TRAIL GRADING: All our events from now on will have a Trail Grading according to the 5 grades below.

1.        Complete novice soft dirt road trail, no low range required. Suitable for all Land Rovers including the Freelander.

2.       Limited low range required but suitable for the novice driver. Suitable for all Land Rovers with certain trails not suitable for the Freelander.

3.       Low range and limited off road knowledge required. Suitable for all Land Rovers except the Freelander.

4.       A low range technical trail suitable for the experienced. The inexperienced will be able to do the trail, as assistance will be available from the more experienced members. Suitable for all Land Rovers except the Freelander.

5.       Extremely technical, suitable for the experienced only with the possibility of vehicle damage. Only suitable for "Series" Land Rovers and maybe a few others.

Land Rover Owners Club KZN   Gates February 2008         (Total 9 Gates)
 

 Note :

1.       Class S = Standard vehicle

2.       Class SL = Standard vehicle with lockers

3.       Class ST = Standard vehicle with traction control

4.       Class M = Modified no lockers

5.       Class ML = Modified with lockers

Drivers with the same score are separated by counting the number of clear rounds, then scores of 50 etc.

If you wish to continue advertising your Landy bits, please email me at gsbc@telkomsa.net or fax on 031 5642455 

To be politically correct, Eskom would like to remind its customers that it is no longer correct to talk about "blackouts".