Since the publication of the first part of my article on this inspiring venue in April, I have received a deluge of requests from two members asking when the next instalment of the museum trip would be published. Wait no longer, because here it comes. But, before we begin, let […]
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Having been let down at the last minute, the chaps at Jaguar World found themselves without a Jaguar 420 to be a photographic model in their spread on the 50th anniversary of the car. Doug was contacted to source a replacement, so “who’s he gonna call…?” A few phone calls […]
On Thursday 9 June 2016 a number of members started their trip to Reims a day early by staying at the Holiday Inn in Folkestone, in order to be closer to the Eurotunnel on Friday morning. I worked in the morning but finished at midday. My wife, Jackie, had also […]
Faversham (in Kent) has attracted its fair share of visitors over the centuries. Crucially, it was situated at the head of a navigable creek, offering quick and easy access to Europe, pure spring water and a dry temperate climate well suited for growing crops and grazing cattle. All this lead […]
Some of you may know that Sue and I visit Seattle regularly to catch up with our eldest daughter, who lives out there on the West coast. It’s a great place to be, with an abundance of sights to see and places to go – from the futuristic Space Needle, […]
My tale begins in September 2015 when the Essex Thameside group visited Brands Hatch to watch the JEC racing group compete in a day’s racing. We had a great day, finding ourselves quite literally a fingertip away from the cars, the pits and the drivers. Ideas started to bounce around […]
Aaron is a bright 14 year-old from a school near Albany in upstate New York, USA. He has a passion for Jaguar and contacted us about his after-school project. Here is what he has written about the history of the marque and its cars, from the earliest days to the present. Thank you to […]
On 28 February some of our members and partners treated ourselves to a Sunday lunch at the Fox and Goose on the A414 near Chelmsford. The pub has recently been refurbished including an expansion of the existing space and the addition of The Bake House which serves breakfast, light lunch and […]
Like many an old car, when you are thinking of buying an XJS, you need to consider its inherent faults….and there are a few. If you ignore the misguided comparisons that were made at the time with the much-loved, though long in the tooth, E Type that it superseded – but which, […]
Best wishes to all our members for 2016, which looks to be an excellent year with some new shows, our club stand at the Silverstone Classic weekend and 19 cars travelling to Reims this summer. To start off the year, Doug Warren and I decided to attend the New Year’s […]
A couple of months back Dave Flyn, who runs a well-known fit-out company, called me saying “Clear your diary for September 25th”. “Why?” said I. “Factory visit” came the response. We do a fair bit of that in our line of work, so no surprises there then. Something to look […]
Great Leighs is famous for its brand new, state-of-the-art, horse racing venue, but it is also the home of a much older property. It’s the location of St. Anne’s Castle Inn, now just The Castle, which is believed to be the oldest inn in England. As with many ancient buildings, […]
The penultimate gathering of this popular informal mix of classics and exotica saw a lower turnout than usual, but, as the weather, dull at best, improved to a brighter shade of grey, via a light drizzle, so did the attendance. The Porsche fraternity fielded various iterations of their evergreen 911 […]
[youtube=http://youtu.be/qafVryU60cQ] Thursday 18th June and just finished fixing window rubbers and chrome bonnet strips to Bob’s E-type. Time to meet the others at the Holiday Inn in Folkestone. Bob would follow on later when he had installed the interior. The sun was alone in a cloudless sky, so it was […]
A day trip to the Heritage Collection sounded irresistible if, like me, you can’t get enough of car museums. So it was with great anticipation that I set off with our club convoy of Jaguars from Grange Motors in Brentwood in the direction of Warwickshire. Arriving a couple of hours […]
It was 8.15 a.m. on the first Saturday in April when I pulled into the Hare car park and greeted Doug for the first Breakfast Meet of the new season. With grey skies full of foreboding, the scene was clearly set for another bank holiday weekend downpour, but this did not deter a steady […]
The continuing story of a Jaguar Mark 2 3.8 MOD, registration 5949 DD Why a Jaguar Mark 2? Ever since I was a boy I have been car mad. During my later career from 1991, I have been lucky enough to have two XJ6’s, an XJ8, six Jaguar Sovereigns and three Daimler Super V8’s […]
As mentioned at our Club Night in March, the committee proposes to offer the option of collecting annual membership subscriptions by direct debit. Arrangements have been set up with GoCardless, an online direct debit agency and, subject to confirmation at the club’s AGM, will be launched in May. Why direct […]
You know how it is. You’re in the depths of winter; cold, wet, freezing and you need to take that cherished classic out for essential work, MOT or, if you are really keen, just for the fun of it. The day is damp, the rain is falling to Earth in […]
January saw the opening of the first ever London Classic Car Show in the Excel Centre in Docklands. Clearly, as the inaugural show, it was never going to be as large as the national Classic Motor Show each November at the NEC, which regularly attracts over 60,000 visitors; nevertheless some 25,200 […]
This year marks a little-known anniversary: 50 years since the 1964 Road Signs Regulations came into effect, on 1 January 1965, and introduced the standard signage system that we still know and love today. The designs have become classics, much copied or imitated around the world, with their now familiar black images […]
Wishing all our members a happy and prosperous year in 2015, as our club goes from strength to strength. A blue plaque like the one above is being ordered, for display at Langdon Hills Golf and Country Club, the venue for our monthly meetings. photo credit: cocoate.com via photopin cc
Every year the Goodwood Revival weekend is the highlight of my September. I’ve attended regularly for eleven years, becoming a club member from 2006. It usually benefits from Indian summer weather – I can only remember two occasions on which it was a washout – and is always a wonderful spectacle, often eventful. This year was no […]
What a day it turned out to be! [youtube=http://youtu.be/BAF1p72Ls2s] The car parking area allocated was so full they had to put late comers in the public car park and beyond. The weather was brilliant and everyone enjoyed the day. Various members of JEC Essex Thameside attended and took advantage of […]