Review of our 2012 events January 2012 Our first meeting this year on the 19th featured a talk by Ashley Wakelin, owner of Midland Red Coaches and 'Wheels' the company that preserves and runs classic Midland Red buses. A comprehensive talk gave us all an insight into the history of Midland Red, its organisation and its vehicles. As well as the hire of classic buses 'Wheels' also run bus driver experience days where you can get behind the wheel of these classics. Visit http://www.wheels.co.uk/ for more information. Photo shows Ashley chatting to members during the refreshment break.

February 2012 This months Club night on the 16th featured a talk, supplemented by a short film and photos, about the history of Foleshill. Local historian John Payne took us through large area once covered by Foleshill with many recollections from the audience as the photos were shown. During the Race Retro show at the NAC, Stoneleigh over the 24th to 26th, Friends helped out on the museum stand which proved quite popular. Visitors to this historic motorsports show were particularly intrigued by the four-wheel drive 1967 Techcraft-BRM racing car, which won the RAC Hillclimb Championship, in the hands of Peter Lawson in 1967-68. This fascinating car is usually on display in the Motorsports Gallery at the Museum.

March 2012 Our AGM on the 15th went quite smoothly and we continue with mostly the same committee members. We welcome Peter Goult into his new role as Vice Chairman, and John Batchelor who joins the committee for the first time. Peter has been deeply involved in the Maudslay project for some time now, and John will no doubt put his knowledge of cycling to good use during the year.

April 2012 We had an additional meeting this month on the 12th; a week prior to our usual date. Ably organised by Alan Griffiths as a fund raiser for the Singer Courier cycle fund, around 80 people gathered in the Starley room for a fascinating insight into the 'Godiva Awakes' project. This is the massive Lady Godiva and Cyclopedia animated public artwork which will journey to London and be part of the 2012 Olympics celebrations. Jane Hytch from Imagineer Productions (far right) gave us the story of the thinking behind the project and how local craftsmen have contributed to the design and materials used. Roger Medwell from NP Aerospace (2nd from right) explained the Cyclopedia design and construction. We were pleased to welcome the Lord Mayor of Coventry, Coun Kieran Mulhall (2nd from left), and also Pru Poretta (far left), Coventry's own Lady Godiva, who took great interest in the evening. After refreshments and questions a short video showing the first trials of the artwork in motion was shown. Moving on to the 19th and our usual Club night featured a presentation by Martin Fisher from the Aston Manor Road Transport Museum. Martin explained the collection at Aston Manor, and the negotiations with Birmingham Council over the years. This led eventually to the Museum re-locating to Aldridge, the trials and tribulations of which were then covered along with a slideshow of vehicles and artefacts in the collection.

May 2012

Friends were on hand to look after the 1000+ visitors who took advantage of the Sandy Lane store open day on Saturday 12th.

Photos Mark Heseltine

Combined with the Coventry Corporation Centenary bus event, the sun shone all day and a stunning display of around 30 vintage buses could also be viewed. There was a real sense of nostalgia in the air as visitors reminisced about working on the buses and shared stories of bus journeys they remembered from their younger days.

On Thursday 17th the rear yard of the Museum was given over to the 2 and 3 wheel machines of our intrepid bikers. Another excellent turnout, pleasant weather, and a buffet made for an enjoyable evening.

Visitors were also able to walk around the Museum exhibits.

June 2012 Friends attended Coventry Car Day on the Saturday 9th. Museum vehicles were on display in University Square and Broadgate. Our club night was a day early this month on Wednesday 20th. Friends boarded ‘333’ at 18:30 for a trip out to the Blue Lias pub, Long Itchington. An interesting couple of hours were spent perusing the 200 or so classic and custom vehicles on display at the Coventry & Warwickshire Motor Club ‘Wheels’ evening. Two or three members had taken along their own classics to join in the display. Left; 333 parked outside the pub. Left; The field overflowing with classics.

Right; Classic bikes. Not a Friends event, but I thought you might like a picture of the Queens Daimler at The Goodwood Festival of Speed held at the end of the month. The Museum transported it down to Goodwood to be part of a display of transport used by the Queen in celebration of the Jubilee.

July 2012 Our day out with some Museum vehicles to the Boughton House Classic show on the 15th became a victim of the weather when the show was called off. For our club night on the 19th we were entertained by Doug Squires (pictured left with John Viggars) who enthusiastically took us through the ups and downs of his cycling adventure from west to east coast USA.

From 20th to 22nd Friends were on duty at the Silverstone Classic looking after the selection of cars and bikes on the Museum stand. Most of us also took time out to view the racing and the many classics on display.

Nice to see a good number of cars powered by Coventry Climax engines. Here a V8 nestles in the rear of a Lotus from the Historic GP Cars Association race series. 4 cylinder versions were spotted in Lotus Elite and Fairthorpe models.

August 2012 Our club night on the 16th was a bus trip to the Rose Inn at Baxterley, ably organised by Dave Stansfield. With Friends safely aboard '333' departed the museum at 18:30 for the 40 minute trip to Baxterley. Everyone enjoyed a carvery meal with a drink or two before the return journey around 9.00pm. Hopefully all enjoyed the more comfortable seating, the seats on '333' just having been re-upholstered with new foam padding. The Friends committee had agreed to share the cost of this with the museum from existing funds. We would now like to re-coup some of the cost by asking for donations from passengers each time they journey on the bus, any donations from individuals will also be much appreciated. A major event for the museum was the Coventry Festival of Motoring held over the weekend of the 25/26th.

An excellent turnout of Friends assisted with the set-up on Friday, as well as the main event over the weekend. Plenty of dark skies and a few heavy showers on Saturday failed to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. Then Sunday remained bright and clear for those on duty at Stoneleigh, and all who took part in the run. John Batchelor drove the Karrier coach around the route with a few Friends going along for the ride.

September 2012 The Museum store was open to the public on Saturday the 8th as part of the Heritage open days weekend. Throughout the day a steady stream of visitors alighted from the double-decker transporting them from outside the main Museum. Several Friends were on duty to show the visitors around and answer questions. Our Club night on the 20th was a presentation by Tim Loakes on the record breaking Metro GTi, and the Rover Gas Turbine cars at Le Mans. The 21 UK speed records achieved by the pair of Metro's have probably faded from most people’s memory. They include 5Km flying start at 127.28mph, 2000Km standing start at 120.48mph, and standing start 24 hours at 121.33mph, covering 2911 miles.

October 2012 The annual Cyril Scott lecture on the 11th replaced our usual club night this month. Being a week earlier that usual perhaps accounted for the reduced attendance, but nevertheless Quentin Willson set out to demonstrate his view that the British motor industry is the best in the world, born in the Midlands and still in the Midlands. Recounting early export achievements, the revolutionary Mini, and how our university graduates and engineers are in demand around the world Quentin stated his case clearly. Political meddling from the 70's onward came in for criticism, and the latest developments in green technology and alternative fuels were praised. A lively discussion followed as he invited audience questions, and all attending enjoyed the evening.

November 2012 From 16th to the 18th the Museum displayed several vehicles at the NEC Classic Motor Show. On the stand were; 1905 Dursley Pedersen cycle, 1914 Coventry Challenge motorcycle, 1950 Alvis TB14 Roadster, and 1952 Ferguson R4 Prototype. Friends assisted Museum personnel in manning the stand over the 3 days.

Pictured above is a general view of the stand, while left is the Coventry Challenge motorcycle. Also dotted around the show, which was spread across 11 halls, were various Museum vehicles on loan to exhibitors. Hall 6 was dedicated to motorcycles, including a 'Wall of Death' and Trials Action Arena.

For our Club night on the 22nd, Doug Hills and Graham Hood presented an insight into George England, Robert Fairlie, and the Hatcham Iron Works. Many interesting details about these pioneer locomotive engineers and their factories and products were listened to by attendees, followed by many questions asked and answered. It was back to the NEC for several Friends from the 24th to 2nd December to again help man a Museum stand, this time at the Motorcycle Live Show.

December 2012 Our Club night on the 13th was the annual Wilcox Family Quiz. Half a dozen teams of 4 gathered in the Starley room and were soon scratching their heads in search of answers. Choosing which round to play your Joker was also tricky.

And so another year comes to an end, we hope you found plenty of events to interest you over the twelve months and look forward to seeing you again in 2013.