The 8th bi-annual Australian Douglas Motorcycle Rally will be held from the 20th to the 24th March 2022 at Colac, Victoria. The event opens with a Welcome Barbecue on Sunday 20th, followed by three days of rally activities and riding. A final, optional day for the more adventurous involves a ride along the Great Ocean Road. If UK members would like to attend, further details are available from roystaunton@btinternet.com
Friends Reunited!
I’m occasionally contacted by people trying to trace a machine owned in years gone by, and I generally ask Doug Frost to put something in the Club magazine in the hope that a reader will recognise it. I have to say, the success rate is not great but, recently, we came up trumps as the machine in question is owned by a member in the north of Scotland. The request came from a lady whose father had owned a 90 Plus in the late 1950s, and she sent this photograph …
Fast-forward 60 years … the 90 Plus was restored by its current owner some years ago and today looks resplendent in its original gold finish. The owner tells me it runs well and he has covered thousands of miles on it.
I understand the present and former owners – both now of a similar age – have been in contact. There must have been a few stories exchanged in that phone call!
2021 – An Annual Rally To Remember
The LDMCC Annual Rally is over for another year and, despite all the pandemic-related nervousness, was a great success. The weather was in our favour and Saturday and Sunday were blessed with a good deal of sunshine. Club Secretary Roy Staunton tells me that he has not seen so many caravans and tents at the rally for many years, surely a good sign for the future of our Club and the event. As with our last rally in 2019, the Rudge Association joined us for the weekend, contributing to the fun and games with a skittles match between the two clubs.
Saturday’s ride out followed quiet roads with beautiful sweeping bends and gorgeous countryside, breaking for a coffee stop at Toddington Station on the Gloucester Warwickshire Heritage Railway. The turn-out on the Sunday was the best we have seen for several years, with about 60 Douglas and 20 Rudge machines lined up in the display area, followed in the afternoon with our usual field events and raffle. Thanks, as always, to those who brought machines to the event and congratulations to all who won a prize – and, of course, a big thank you from the Committee to everyone who helped out over the weekend to make the event possible. We look forward to seeing you all in 2022!
New South East Anglian Section
The LDMCC is gauging interest for a new section, covering the Anglia area between the existing sections in Hertfordshire/Cambridgeshire meeting in Bishops Stortford, and the Kent section based in Gillingham. The proposed new section would be based near Ongar, in Essex, and meetings would be held once a month. If you are a member who lives in this area and would like to attend – or are not yet a member, but are interested – please contact Dave Lawrence at law41.ldmcc@yahoo.com The preliminary get-together will be held on 29th September. More details in the current issue of The New Conrod.
DVLA Applications – Please Note
The Club’s registrar, responsible for applications to DVLA for new and age-related application marks, has drawn my attention to the following. In cases where insufficient postage has been paid on material sent to him, it is held by the Post Office for 18 days before being returned to the sender, unless the recipient pays the outstanding charges. The Club cannot accept responsibility for unpaid postage, or for the additional administrative fee which the Post Office charges. Please ensure, then, when sending material to support an application, that it meets the applicable dimensions and weight criteria. The registrar always acknowledges receipt of material, usually by email but otherwise by phone or mail.
The London Douglas Motor Cycle Club 