Dear ACE Members,

I would like to start this newsletter by saying WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS. We are delighted that you have decided to join us and hope you have some great times with our club.

Since my last newsletter in June, we have had two great events: 

• The summer run to Eyam for a late lunch at Stella’s Kitchen with a lovely route through the Peak District and an outstanding and memorable African meal. A big thank you to Bob and Britt Westhall for their organisation. 

• The inaugural Ashbourne Classic Car Festival. We had 80 cars and filled the Market Place, Victoria Square and Shrovetide Walk, with further cars on QEGS car park. The quality of the cars on show was excellent. The town was alive and busy with a large number of people viewing the cars and chatting with the owners. An enormous thank you to Andy Thomas who took the lead in organising the show, supported by Dave Robson (and myself). We are also very appreciative of the close teamwork with the Town Team, with their marketing expertise and contact with the local authorities and to our sponsor LongcliƯe Quarries. It was great to have our President, Ken Bayliss, come to the show. Following this success next year’s show is planned for Sunday 1st August – please put the date in your diary.

As ever we have a number of upcoming events and dates for your diary:

• The annual trip away to Sandburn Hall near York is taking place this coming Monday to Thursday (14th to 17th September) and all arrangements are finalised.

Autumn Run - Sunday 27th September

• This is a scenic drive through Staffordshire to the Black Country Living Museum https://bclm.com/ at Dudley which is an outside live experience of over 250 years of history from the Industrial Revolution to post-war prosperity. We finish with an (optional) evening meal at the Boar’s Head near Sudbury. If you have not done so already, please sign-up. Details attached. Deadline to sign-up Sunday 20th September.

AGM – Wednesday 4th November – 7:30pm – The Royal Oak, Mayfield 

• As in previous years we will combine our AGM with the opportunity to have dinner together. Please put the date in your diary. Details will follow nearer the time. There will be a couple of opportunities to become part of the ACE Committee - which will give you a chance to influence the direction of the club and the sort of events we arrange. How to put your name forward will be issued with the details for the meeting.

Annual Dinner – Friday 26th February 2027 – The Bentley Brook Inn, Fenny Bentley

• This will take place at the Bentley Brook Inn. We had wondered about trying somewhere else since we have been going to the Bentley Brook for many years and so our annual dinner organisers, Helen Walker and Mel Howe, conducted an extensive exercise contacting and visiting several alternative venues. They even produced a spread sheet evaluating those visited which Helen presented to the committee. In the end the Bentley Brook is the best option for us – quality and size of the room, variety of menu options and value for money. Thank you to both Mel and Helen for an exercise which exceeded expectations!

Monthly Noggin and Natter 

• This continues to take place through the winter on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at The Shoulder of Mutton at Osmaston (DE6 1LW) at 12.00 noon. You are free to just come for a drink and a chat or also order a meal. Booking not required. 

• Upcoming dates: 9th September, 14th October, 11th November

Website

• We are grateful to Dave Robson who has agreed to be our “webmaster”. He has put information and some excellent photos of club activities, including of the Ashbourne Classic Car Festival, on the website. You can contact him on contact@ashbournecarclub.org, with information or photos. He will be pleased to receive material to keep the site up to date and dynamic.

Looking forward to seeing you again soon. Happy motoring (and happy tinkering!)

Best Wishes,

Tony

Tony Walker,

Chairman, Ashbourne Classic Enthusiasts