Another December COVGOG update and another year gone. Under the guidance of its committee the club has flourished and enjoyed a series of enjoyable events in Coventry and further afield.
Readers may recall that we had previously hosted members of the London and North Western Railway Society (LNWR Soc) when they brought a number of their models to run on our test track. By way of saying thank you in October John Gowers the Chair of the LNWR Soc joined us for an evening to tell us about the LNWR and the society.
Also, in October the club held its Autumn open day. These open days are always very well attended by members and visitors. Occasionally we will pick up a new member but whether people join or not the event is a good showcase for the Guild and the hobby. Setting up and putting away is always demanding. A big thank you to those who do help to move chairs, baseboards etc. One benefit of visiting the club on its open days and Saturday running sessions is that if you have brought stock to run then sessions are usually around half an hour. We also have sidings set up to allow operators to couple up stock ahead of their session.
Our Autumn show and tell saw a number of new models that were either being worked on or completed. Also recounted was the sad tale of a taper reamer bought cheaply from Amazon. It was so roughly machined that the journey from envelope (jiffy bag) to bin took around 30 seconds. What was telling was that whilst a refund was readily offered there was no request to return the item. For a few pounds more a quality item was subsequently purchased. Lesson learned.
The weather put paid to any plans to drive up the M6 to Wigan in December. This was a great shame as we were keen to support the Guild’s latest initiative. However, Kettering is only a few weeks away and we will be out in force then.
Probably the highlight of our year is our now traditional Christmas supper and quiz. As ever many thanks go to Christine Wilkinson for cooking the steak pies and making the trifles that members wait a whole year for. The quiz was challenging to say the least. From 20 questions if you scored into double figures you were doing well. Congratulations to the winners Martin and Greg and many thanks to Nick for producing it.
Paul Williams
