AC Owners Club Forum
AC Owners Club Forum => ACOC News and Events => Topic started by: C9OBY on September 06, 2017, 18:10:11
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The AC Owners’ Club is once again very pleased to invite you to join us at this year’s AC Owners’ Club Clubman’s Sprint Meeting, to be held at Goodwood Motor Circuit on Saturday 4th November. The event will continue the format of previous years, with a number of different AC and non-AC classes competing under MSA Sprint rules and regulations.
We would love to ensure that we once again we have a full complement of AC members in AC cars competing in what promises to be another fun, exciting event. Of course, AC owners are also able to support the event in a non-AC car if they don't wish to dirty their pride and joy or if their beloved AC is currently off the road.
Entry forms have today been emailed out to all past competitors. To obtain an entry form and event information pack, please contact Bruce Claassen (Secretary of the Meeting) at bruce_claassen@hotmail.com or on 07958 570 718. Please note that entries close on Friday 27th October, being 1 week ahead of the Sprint.
For anyone interested in coming along to watch, please do join us! Spectator entry is free and you will have full access to the paddock and circuit and are free to look over the cars and chat with our competitors. People start gathering from around 8.30am onwards and festivities tend to wrap up at around 3.30/4pm following the prize ceremony. You do not need to be a member to attend, hence please feel free to invite your friends and family too. Food and drinks are available at the circuit and in nearby country pubs - an ideal way to spend a day out.
As always, your support is very much appreciated and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at Goodwood!
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I wont be there this year Bruce , now Im living up in Scotland
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Sorry to hear that Aaron, I'll make sure to add a few extra pics to my post-event upload for you to see.
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We are looking forward to another superbly organised great Sprint day driving this fantastic historic Goodwood Circuit venue. Come see what fun we all have and watch the proceedings and excitement build on the day.
See you there Sarah & Malcolm [:D]
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Thank you to all of you who've already sent me your entry forms.
To everyone else (and with 5 weeks until entries close) I'm hoping that you're in the process of dusting down your overalls and close to popping your entries in the post!
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More ACOC members are needed to participate and support the ACOC Clubman Sprint. Are there any ACOC members who need assistance? Will any members contact Bruce Claassen who are thinking of entering and supporting the ACOC Clubman Sprint event to be held on Saturday 4 November at the former Classic Goodwood Grand Prix Circuit. Every entry will help this event succeed. Encouragement for additional competitors outside of ACOC can always join ACOC to participate at such a world class venue.
Has the younger element of the ACOC membership no interest in such a fantastic sporting and competitive event opportunities?
What remaining Classic Grand Prix Circuits allow you drive in a Club Sprint event on a Saturday where the world's greatest drivers have battled.
These opportunities should be grasped with both hands.
Please plan to join the entry in any car or even consider using your modern fast road car to enjoy our Clubs only remaining competative event.
Malcolm [:D]
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I'd like to, but have not been able to do the necesary's to be compliant for the regs, both car and kit in time, so I hope to come along again with the Ace to spectate.
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Bruce
Entry Form plus cheque in post, will sprint BEX333 in Class 6 this year not Barry's Lotus Twin Cam Anglia.
So PLEASE have a few words with him upstairs for warm dry conditions this year, GoodWood is not the most hospitable place in the Rain.
Malcolm & Sarah are you entering two Lotus or one Lotus and a Cobra ?
Looking forward to meeting you all and enjoying yet another great ACOC GoodWood Sprint, Long may it continue, as Malcolm expressed
in earlier post , we need a full entry in order to keep this
event alive.[:)]
So many Clubs would jump at the opportunity to secure a date at GoodWood, they are few and far between. No pressure then, simply enter and enjoy or at least turn up and enjoy by spectating and / or marshalling...[;)]
Cheers for Now
Keith
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Well done Keith.
Great to see there are still one ACOC members who has a MSA National B or National A Licence to compete. Have we no Mk IV Cobra Licence Holder’s? Where are the younger members of our Club. Sarah & I attended the last Historic Lotus Register dinner held earlier this year for the Lotus Elite 60th Anniversary and we were nearly the youngest there!!! Can’t we generate a spark of enthusiasm or support for our only remaining competative Club event?
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Malcolm.
I am one of the younger members, I have no intention of ever growing up.... Growing older gracefully. Yes!!
Seriously, we have a few members who have / are posting entries this weekend. e.g. Andy Shepherd in his MK1V ( Ace Bristol ? Engine still with Steve Stanton) and Bryan Moseley in his ME3000.
Consider double entering BEX with Barry or Craig [:0] but they do not have the necessary race clothing, maybe next year ? Looking for sponsors !! .. .. Don't all rush at once.
ACOC Entries required whether AC , Lotus , Vintage or Modern , Road or Track...[;)]
See you all at GoodWood Saturday 4th November.
Keith ..[:)]
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I would love to do the ACOC sprint in my Ariel Atom 3 300 but i do not have a race suit or a sprint licence, I do a few track days every year so have track exp.
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I would love to take part but not sure how loud my 427 is!
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Hello all, a quick update.
With only 2 weeks left to go before the deadline for entries to the Sprint closes (Friday 27th October), we have 5 members in AC's and 7 ACOC members in non-AC cars confirmed. So if you've been sitting on your paperwork or just haven't got around to deciding on whether or not to join, please do so asap!
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perhaps if road going cobras were allowed you might get more entrants
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Road going Cobras are allowed, ( subject to meeting noise levels) it's just the drivers that require MSA license & racing overalls and helmet!
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And MSA approved gloves.
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quote:
Originally posted by CRS28
perhaps if road going cobras were allowed you might get more entrants
Any road-going car is eligible as long as it remains unmodified from date of registration, notably safety equipment. This includes headrests and safety belts, as all MKIV and CRS Cobras had these fitted in order to comply with road regulations at the time. Once removed you either need to replace the originals, or fit an equivalent 'solution' which will be inspected by the scrutineers before the event starts.
Our event is governed by the MSA and hence the scruitineers are required to comply fully with all relevant rules and regulations. Should an accident occur and a car that had been through scrutineering was found not to be compliant, all hell would break loose and we, as the organisers, would have to deal with the fallout.
It is not too late for you to investigate a solution to the issues raised with regards to your vehicle and there are a number of people who would be willing to help if you ask for it.
We always aim to run a fun and inclusive event, but safety always comes first.
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The email from the chief scrutineer states, and I quote :
"A head restraint is mandatory - see S 10.1.13 on page 343 of the Blue Book" most CRS's don't. Mine does not.
"The roll bar should be 5cm above the top of your helmet" the CRS does not without modification or driven by a dwarf.
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Ah. See your problem there. Common solution is a head pad mounted in the roll hoop, but the height issue is a bummer. Sorry.
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The weather forecast points promissingly into the direction of a sunny w/e ...
.. but it changes daily ...
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Any road-going car is eligible as long as it remains unmodified from date of registration...
That's 99% of AC's out the window then, ;-)
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Unfortunately not - at the least, you need a catch tank, external throttle return spring, yellow band on the battery earth lead and a fire extinguisher. The issues with the CRS were news to me but were raised with Simon's car at Shelsley Walsh.
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2 young whippersnapper (does 28 still count?) entries on their way to you Bruce. Murray is on good form after a weekends racing at Donington a few weeks ago. My last motor sport entry was ACOC Sprint 2016 :(
Looking forward to the sprint and hoping for dry!
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Excellent news Ted, having you youngsters (!) back will be good fun to watch. In 2014 you pipped Murray by a 1.06 seconds and in 2015 he reversed the order by 4.11 seconds... who'll take the line first this year?!
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Hi all, please note that I've just emailed out the Final Instructions plus the Provisional Grid to all competitors and officials.
For anyone not competing, please feel free to come down to Goodwood next weekend to spectate. At present the forecast looks dry (!) with light cloud, perfect for a Sprint!
Entry is free for all spectators, who enjoy full access to the paddock, pit wall and viewing areas around the circuit. Drinks and food are available throughout the day from Goodwood's paddock-side cafe. For AC members arriving in an AC, please feel free to park your car in any of the paddock bays numbered 70 or greater.
Officials and competitors begin arriving from 8am onward, with timed laps beginning at around 9.45am. We'll break for lunch at around 12ish for an hour, followed by further timed laps. We typically wrap up on-track action at around 3.15 ahead of the prize giving ahead of 4pm departures.
See you next Saturday!
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A big thank you to all of our competitors, marshals, officials and spectators for another fabulous event. Everyone had a fantastic time, with the usual mix of interesting vehicles and even more interesting individuals!
Greeted my a wet track (after 3 weeks of no rain, how frustrating!) we were nonetheless all glad to be at Goodwood. We set about getting drivers signed on, the pit and track crews briefed and drivers warmed with tea & coffee. We were soon up and running, starting with the traditional parade lap behind Mike Smith's AC Buckland.
Practice runs began soon thereafter, with a paddock full of running engines, chatting drivers, busy pit crews and meandering spectators....
[more to follow... watch this space!]
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The marshals are getting younger each year (or are we getting older?!)
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Many thanks to Bruce, Mike, Mike and family, Michael (!) and the rest of the team for making another very special day. The damp track gave a few 'moments' but no damage was done and the wonderful ACOC Sprint atmosphere continues.
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Bruce and Team.
Thank you for organising and running yet another Great ACOC GoodWood Sprint, Really appreciated and enjoyed by all those competing, Marshalling and Spectating,
Smiles all round. Bloody wet and slippery in the morning and dried out for some good times in the afternoon.
My slowest time ever in the morning, I reckon Aisling my 7 year old Grand Daughter would have given me a run for the money in her J40 pedal car, I will never be a
competitive racing driver but the camaraderie and social side of the ACOC GoodWood Sprint puts a smile on my face, enjoyed the whole day.
Nice to hear Bruce confirm that GoodWood Circuit to be booked for next year, Lets hope we have more AC's and interesting eclectic mix of cars next year.
Well done to all those who organised, run and supported this years GoodWood Sprint.[;)]
Last but not least, thank you to all those who not only laughed but helped when I returned to my modern to learn that leaving the car unlocked all day with keys,clothes
and valuables inside it decides to lock you out, Charlie from the RAC arrived within 35 minutes and used his special set of safe breaking /car entering keys
to open my car without any damage, then stayed on to admire all the cars in the paddock.[:)]
Seriously a Great event , Well done Bruce & Team.[:)]
see you all next year.
Keith
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Youtube vid of the parade lap coming through the S's, giving you a chance to see most of the entrants. A little wet... but thankfully no more rain fell and the track began drying out.
https://youtu.be/sq1FIsS71FA
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What a nice event!!
It was great to see good friends from the ACOC back on Saturday morning at the mystic circuit of Goodwood, where up to now I had only once stopped in the MkIV while on the my way back from the International in Ireland in 2010.
With nothing better to do on a cold November w/e, my nephew Gilles and I decided to go for a quick roundtrip to support competitors and organizers of the traditional ACOC Sprint. Long live it on!
The weather forecast had been quite bad for the w/e and with freezing temperatures at night I had decided to leave the Cobra stalled up and take the Lotus Exige with fixed roof and proper heating.
On the way up to Calais on Friday afternoon, we stopped at Helfaut-Wizernes’ La Coupole, a V2 launch site built by the Nazis in 1943-44, for launching V2 rockets at industrial cadence onto London and the South of England. Fortunately It was destroyed by Allied power in operation Crossbow before it went into operation …. Hard to imagine what the outcome would have been … certainly no ACOC sprint at Goodwood and we might be driving Messerschmits and Heinkels, if at all!
Took an early morning train on the Eurotunnel shuttle and 2 hours after leaving Folkestone, despite pouring rain most of the time, we entered the Goodwood circuit through its …. tunnel. Meanwhile the rain had stopped, with still an occasional light shower, and gradually the weather improved over the day.
Our visit to Goodwood must have surprised more than one of my good ACOC friends, as I read from their faces…. It was so good so see you all before, at and after the driver’s briefing. With photo camera at hand, Gilles and I wandered around the paddock, looked at competitors’ cars, discovered things I did not come across before like the Formula 500 racers (never too old to learn!). Tried to answer all questions from my nephew whom I try to get introduced to the world of ACs and other period machinery. Watched competitors on the start line and as they came through the chicane, intermitted by the occasional “hey ….. surprised to see you around here..” chat. We had a wonderful day, even if I had wished to be on the track….. but with no valid competition license at hand no other choice remained but to watch. The short lunch break warmed us up before watching the next round of sprints on a drying circuit. Competitors were in good mood, despite their times being ruined by the still very slippery tarmac, one or the other not happy about not having passed the very strict mandatory noise check. Guess with my street legal Mk IV Cobra I would have had to wear extra mufflers also!
Organizer Bruce Claassen and his team of helpers, ACOC members doing scrutineering and paddock marshalling, setting up cars on the grid in correct order and keeping times, and Goodwood starters and track marshals all braved the adverse weather conditions to ensure competitors could enjoy their rounds under best of conditions. They all deserve a big thanks. The day at Goodwood eased off with the short price giving ceremony, our valid ACOC memorabilia shop keepers remaining on duty until the very last potential client had left the room. The usual goodbye hugs and wishes for a safe journey home….. and we boarded our mount to tour around the horse racing facilities up on the hill overlooking the Goodwood estate, before hitting our hotel at Arundel.
Bobby and Sue Langley soon came to pick us up for sharing the evening with Gilles and me around a very pleasant dinner at the Black Horse in Binsted just a few miles down the road and then give us a night tour around the little city of Arundel before return to the hotel.
Sunday morning the sun was out again and we soon headed to nearby Tangmere for paying a visit to the Military Aviation Museum located on a former RAF site.
A short stop under the white cliffs at the end of Fort Road near the harbor entrance of Newhaven and off we were across country via Rye to our reserved channel tunnel crossing. Had to queue for over an hour and it was only in Calais that we managed to find something to bite. A quick burst over French and Belgian motor ways brought us home safely arriving at Gilles home on the south-east of Luxembourg just before midnight and me returning then to the west side of the country in another 20 minute leg.
A very nice weekend spent at the ACOC Sprint in excellent company with ACOC friends and in true spirit of the club. We’ll be back!!
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Don't worry. Nothing is wasted. Terry has got and will get more of this with photos. And it will not be anonymous!
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Ref: Pedant comment.
Why 'Wasted'?
I read contributions on the Forum regularly and found this one very enjoyable.
Nigel
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Originally posted by Pedant
There's always a minority.
Perhaps.........
But as an owner I have found the forum very useful for solving issues and...well...I also like posting pictures of my car.
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@ Pedant
If it is wasted, then you waste your time here, anonymously.
Let those who find the Forum useful, use it, those who find it a waste of time should play elsewhere.
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I echo the compliments offered to Bruce and his bunch of happy helpers, and as always, the valiant army of orange-suited marshals. Spare a thought for the ACOC members who can't quite afford the real thing (my Kirkham 289 comes close but is currently with Steve Gray for some fettling!) and who turn up in what they can. Not the most gracious car on track last Saturday, my little Fiesta nevertheless proved great fun and a big bang for the buck.
I'm happy to help the Club make this event possible each year and will continue to lend my support for as long as I can.
Best regards
Colin
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"those who find it a waste of time should play elsewhere."
Here here. What contribution have you (Pedant) made apart from criticisms?
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Well, who is being snooty when saying good content should be reserved to ACtion while talking down the forum which is of free access to anyone?
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Reposted... not sure what happened to my original post... Happy Christmas everyone!
ACOC Sprint 2017 (As printed in December ACtion)
A big thank you to all of our competitors, marshals, officials and spectators for another fabulous event. Once again everyone had a fantastic time, with the usual mix of interesting vehicles and even more interesting individuals.
This year’s event was held on Saturday 4th November, with another return to Goodwood’s historic motor circuit. For a short while we were unsure as to whether or not we’d be returning to the circuit this year but some persistent behind the scenes negotiations secured our a spot for 2017 and 2018. Times are changing and Goodwood’s ability to push for higher prices is having a knock-on impact on smaller organisations and clubs.
For those not familiar with the Sprint format, the event comprises two back to back practice laps which are timed in order to help seed cars as they line up for the first of their two official times runs. The fastest time of the two timed laps the counts towards determining your position within your competition class. Classes for ACOC members are determined by the model of AC being competed in, with an additional class for “AC Owners not driving an AC”. We also invite a number of other car clubs, with their members competing within their respective club-class irrespective of vehicle driven. We were once again joined by the Aston Martin Owners Club, VSCC, BMW Historic Motor Club, 500 Owners Association, Frazer Nash Car Club, BARC and Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club.
As has become tradition, a small group of core club officials meet up the evening before the Sprint for a steak & wine dinner at a little pub about a mile away from the track. It’s always a relaxed evening, catching up on the events of the last year and ensuring that our paperwork and plans for the next day are all aligned.
We awoke to less than ideal conditions, with light rain and light wind confirming that we’d be greeted by a wet track after 3 weeks of no rain... how frustrating! We were nonetheless all glad to be back at Goodwood when we arrived at around 8am, with a number of familiar faces greeting us as we arrived - a mix of early competitors and the resident Goodwood trackside team. Mike Smith (Steward of the Course) headed off to begin organising the track side teams, Nathan & Mike Berrisford (Chief Paddock Marshall) headed into the paddock with clipboards in hand, and I set myself up with all of the sign-on paperwork in the Jackie Stewart pavilion.
The next hour passes fairly quickly as drivers sign on, vehicles pass through scrutineering (led by Bertie Gilbart Smith, our new Chief Scrutineer) and pit and track crews deliver the pre-sprint briefing – all warmed by tea, coffee and friendly faces. By 9.30am we were pretty much ready to go, with just the traditional parade lap behind Mike Smith's AC Buckland to complete - a personal highlight for me as I always enjoy my ‘hot-laps’ passenger ride around the course with Mike, taking turns to wave thanks to the trackside marshals and photograph the train of cars chasing after us.
Practice runs began soon thereafter with a paddock full of warming engines, chatting drivers, busy pit crews and meandering spectators. Practice laps finished at around 11.45, a little earlier than normal and enabling us to break for an early lunch. Notable this year was the fantastic lunch laid on by Goodwood for the drivers and key officials up in the Jackie Steward Pavilion. Following the recent price hike they agreed to soften the blow somewhat by offering a complementary hot buffet, served in a nicely decorated room overlooking the track and paddock. The food was superb and the room warm – what more could you want! Being the first time that we’ve brought everyone back together mid-event, it gave both drivers and officials alike the opportunity to relax, socialise and share stories of the morning before heading back out to the track feeling a little warmer (and a little heavier!) for the second half.
On point worth noting is that we run the event on a first-come-first-served basis and not in class order. This is a lot easier from a paddock marshalling perspective, with the added benefit being that each and every starting line has a mix of different vehicles – adding to the visual spectacle of the event. The only exception to this is the 500 Owners Association who run single-seater methanol-powered cars that are not suited to waiting in queues. We therefore shoal them onto the start in close formation which makes for a lovely spectacle as they each in turn light up their rear tyres and disappear into the distance in a squealing puff of smoke!
The fastest AC of the day was Andy Shepherd in his MKIV Lightweight who crossed the line in 109.20 seconds. Only 0.68sec behind him was Murray Shepherd in their AC Ace Bristol, with Ted Shepherd a mere 0.23sec further back... that’s less than a second separating the three of them in damp conditions. Another entertaining AC to watch was new Sprint competitor Andrew Williams in his beautiful and recently acquired AC Cobra 289, who entertained us with some ‘sideways + more’ chicane-exiting action on more than one occasion (where’s a camera when you need it?!).
Ace’s appeared to be the AC of choice this year, with 4 Ace Bristols (Shepherd’s + Mark Aldridge + Keith Lessiter) and Bill Holgate’s Ace 2.6 filling the largest AC class of the day, complemented by Melanie Hutton’s lovely Aceca Bristol. Regular attendees Bryan Moseley (3000ME) and David Goose (Brooklands Ace) completed the AC-car line-up, with a further 12 ACOC members participating in non-AC cars.
Overall fastest time of the day went to Glyn Sketchey in his Force PT with a time of 90.21. Damp track conditions appear to have little impact on Glyn and his winged steed... I can’t wait to see what time he posts next year when he plans to run with the turbo at full boost!
The prize giving at the end of the day was a very jovial affair with lots of happy faces and more than a few interesting stories. The paddock then clears fairly quickly as the light starts to fade. There are a number of competitors with fairly long homeward journeys (either in the car in which they’d just competed or on a trailer behind them) but the person with perhaps the longest journey ahead of him was Constant Wagner who’d come across from Luxembourg to spectator – it was a lovely surprise to see him.
Overall, the 2017 Sprint was another resounding success and I’m please to be able to confirm that the 2018 Sprint will once again be returning to Goodwood with 10th November now confirmed as the date. I trust you all have a good festive break and look forward to seeing you all again next year!
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see if it is possible to attach a photo here ......
looks like it works ...... ;) ;) ;)
thanks Bryan, you deserve a couple of beers ;) ;)
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tribute to the man who pulled it all together .....
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;) ;) tribute to all volunteers who helped
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tribute to the man who pulled it all together .....
Thanks Constant, and here is one of the photo's I'd just taken / was about to take when you snapped me ;)
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or in B&W (with you looking on from the top of the stairs!)
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:) :) thanks for the nice pic, Bruce