RogNeedham

With everyone now home safely from the above, and despite some monumental, but rare deluges, we experienced not one 7 related malfunction. Reflecting on the last week of dramatic scenery, entertaining roads (mostly) and more importantly new friendships made, I would like to personally thank everyone that took part and who made the whole event such a joyous experience. Organising tours / Blats with friends you know well can be a challenge, but doing the same across a wider group, most of whom have never met before (with a couple of exceptions in this case), is much more nerve wracking. Whilst the tour had to have an overall schedule, everyone was able to do what they wanted to; whether that be early morning pre-breakfast Blats over a newly discovered pass, local sightseeing or just a chilled out few hours exploring the local town. Such a great group of people both singles and with partners all linked by the love of these “komisches kleines Autos” as one of our Austrian hosts put it. Every day concluded with tales around the dinner table, many of which centred on certain participants ( they know who they are 😁) blaming TomTom for navigational hiccups. There is now a high level plan for Destination 2025 more of which I hope to share in the coming weeks…. all I’ll say at this stage is “Iberia”. And with that I will share a few photos from the wonderful 2024 Alpine adventure. All the best Rog Needham Tours Lead

We are now starting day three of the Tour. All participants having finally met up at our first full overnight stop in the Austrian Alps. Two long, mostly dry days (despite the ominous forecasts ) allowed everyone to get to know each other and we’re now looking forward to a day exploring the dramatic alpine passes. More to follow in the coming days all the best Rog

It seems a long time ago now when we were first promoting the 2024 Tour to the Alps. Thankfully places filled up quickly and as is so often the case nowadays, the inevitable WhatsApp group was created to allow participants to virtually get to know each other and also to share touring hints and tips. And now we are less than a week from our departure. You may recall that we have partnered with Scenic Car Tours who have done a great job in leveraging their Alpine hotel contacts to allow the Tour to be promoted at a relatively late stage in the season. SCT operate 200+ tours for individuals and all manner of car clubs across Europe and part of their standard is a car plaque, which is great but we're struggling to decide where to locate them on a 7 🙂. See pic :) With some cars having both driver and passenger, we have also seen some pictures covering the fine art of getting a quart into a pint pot.😄 Rest assured that whilst the imminent tour to the Alps is clearly taking up most of the Tours team's time at the moment, we are nevertheless developing plans for 2025......Watch This Space All the best and safe travels to all those taking part. Rog

In what has now become almost an annual pilgrimage to the glorious scenery and wonderful roads of the North Pennines, a group of 11 cars from across the North Midlands Areas braved the perfect weather and headed north on Friday morning. Having collected an injured participant, who being unable to drive, blagged a series of lifts in various 7s and out group’s outlier…a GR Yaris. We reckon it was just a way of saving on the fuel bill! First muster point was the obligatory pre-Blat breakfast at the Yondermann. We then headed north dodging some horrendous Mancunian traffic and the numerous equine based visitors to the Appleby Horsefair, arriving in Hexham bathed in warm evening sunshine. Saturday began with a quick freshener Blat to our breakfast stop at the Falstone Tearooms https://www.falstonetearooms.com/ (superb… thanks Carl) The rest of the day was spent enjoying the Kielder road, A708 and Dalveen Passes to mention a few highlights. A cracking Italian meal in Vercelli’s of Hexham rounded off a great day. And then we did more blatting south on Sunday 677 miles for me and not a drop of rain

Good morning, with the weather warming up nicely and cars now ready for the blatting season, it is time once again for the Mid Staffs group meeting on the 16th from roughly 1900hrs onwards. As I’ll be holidaying with my elderly parents, I won’t be able to attend, but the regulars will welcome any newcomers, so please feel free to pop over if you’ve never been before. If you could let me know asap if you’re attending and eating, so I can advise landlady at the Swan with Two Necks (WS15 4PN) ….. many thanks .. Rog 👍👍

The fantastic bank holiday weather, (well at least across Staffordshire and Derbyshire) resulted in another impromptu Blat across the Peak District on Monday May 6th. As usual it was organised at the last minute to accommodate our ever changing weather, so 6 cars took part, with Club members from Mid Staffs, Leics Notts Derbyshire, and YoSDeNs making up the small convoy. If any other club members from nearby areas would like to be added to the “Sunday Blatlist” please do get in touch at midstaffs@caterhamlotus7.club We do start early, usually meeting 0700-0715 in the Uttoxeter/ Ashbourne area, to take advantage of the quieter roads and before the day trippers venture out. Happy Blatting Rog Needham

Evening all, who knows what the weather will do, but in any event I’d like to extend a cordial invitation to regulars and newcomers alike to attend the Mid Staffs group on the 18th from roughly 1900hrs onwards. If you could let me know asap if you’re attending and eating, so I can advise landlady at the Swan with Two Necks (WS15 4PN) ….. many thanks .. Rog 👍👍

On behalf of the Club, I am a delighted to outline below the package for the tour to the Alps, starting on Saturday 22nd June 2024 over 7 nights. Please note that some of our preferred hotels were full on the dates we had originally indicated, being at a peak time for them, in popular locations. You will note, for this reason, we have had to change three of the hotels, meaning a slightly higher price than we had originally estimated. With this said, we still feel the slightly higher price represents good value for money, as the hotel near the Stelvio is a far superior upgrade to the Stocker that we had originally planned on and the hotel in Switzerland is also an upgrade versus the original. The Stocker is an entry level 4* hotel, 30 mins drive to the Stelvio. The Alpin hotel is a superior 4*+ property, just 15 minutes from the Stelvio. Likewise the Alexander Hotel in Weggis was rated 4/5 on tripadvisor and 8.5/10 on booking.com, the Seethotel you are now provisionally booked into is a 4*+ rated 4.5/5 on tripadvisor and 8.9/10 on booking.com. Tour Inclusions · 8 days/7 night tour from Saturday 22nd – Saturday 29th June 2024 · Return LeShuttle Crossing from Folkstone to Calais · 1 nights accommodation at the Lorraine Nancy · 2 nights accommodation at Naturresort Fernsteinsee · 2 nights accommodation at Alpin Hotel · 1 nights accommodation at Seethotel Waldstatterhof · 1 nights accommodation at Golden Tulip Troyes · Breakfast included each morning at the hotels · 5 dinners included 1 at Lorraine Nancy 2 at Alpin Hotel 1 at Seethotel Waldstatterhof 1 at Golden Tulip Troyes Dinner Evening meals provided will be a 3-course meal with at least 2 options per course – if everyone is dining together each evening, the hotel may propose a fixed menu i.e. the same menu for everybody, if they feel it will ensure a good standard of service Dinner at Naturresort Fernsteinsee Hotel is paid directly to the hotel in the evening. We have made a group reservation for everyone to dine together, but sadly for 2024, the hotel no longer allow groups to pre-pay via a third party agent, such as ourselves. · 1 Road Book, per car, which will feature details and maps on attractions and places of interest · 1 rally plaque, per car – tailored for Caterham and Lotus 7 Club Alps Tour · 24 hour out of hours helpline whilst on the tour · Full financial protection via ABTOT – we are ABTOT registered number 5405 – see https://www.abtot.com · All administration taken care of – SCT will handle all of the bookings, collecting money, supplier payments etc · Ease of booking - members book everything with Scenic Car Tours rather than having to worry about booking many different elements themselves with various suppliers · This quote is based on a minimum number of 10 paying persons booking the tour (approx. 5-6 bedrooms) – a supplement may apply if numbers fall below this · All bookings are bound by our conditions of booking, which you can find HERE · 20% deposit required to confirm a space, full balance payable 10 weeks prior. IMPORTANT NOTES Please note some hotels may have a German/Austrian style room, whereby the rooms will have 2 mattresses, 2 duvets on 1 bed frame or 1 mattress, 2 duvets on 1 bed frame. This is regardless of if members have booked a double or a twin bedroom. If anyone in the group is sharing a twin room, they may therefore wish to consider requesting a quotation to have their own room for these locations. Pricing £1519 per person in a car and bedroom (based on 2 persons sharing in a car/bedroom throughout the tour –£3038 per couple) £1965 per person in a car and bedroom on their own throughout Please feel free to contact me tours@caterhamlotus7.club or call on 07990 865869, should you have any specific questions. Regards Rog Needham Tours Lead Caterham and Lotus 7 Club

Another BTT Rog

Great news! And again with apologies for the delay in being able to announce these indicative details. Given the relatively tight timescales, the Club has decided to partner with Scenic Car Tours for this 2024 Alpine Tour. Securing accommodation for what will hopefully be a good size group, in an area such as the Alps, is no mean task and above all requires 'having the right, well established contacts'. A deposit of 20% to be paid by the end of Feb is required to secure a place. As soon as confirmations for 5x rooms minimum with associated deposits are secured, the Tour is then fixed and deposits become non-refundable. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WILL BE AN 'ACCOMPANIED' EXCLUSIVE TOUR FOR CATERHAM AND LOTUS CLUB MEMBERS ONLY (member of the Club LT will be on hand throughout the Tour) Those wishing to dovetail this Tour with the Lotus Seven Club of Switzerland "Swiss Trip" will need to make their own arrangements with the organisers. Look out for further updates from Debbie Stott on BlatChat Tour Inclusions / hotels 8 day/7 night tour Depart Channel Tunnel breakfast time June 22, return Tunnel afternoon / evening June 29 PLEASE NOTE: THOSE WISHING TO JOIN THE SWISS CLUB "SWISS TRIP' WILL TRANSIT TO SCHOTZ JUNE 28 (OPTIONAL) Return Le Shuttle Crossings from Folkestone to Calais 1 night in the Nancy area OR similar 2 nights in the Dormitz area OR similar 2 nights in the near Stelvio OR similar 1 night in the Lucerne area OR similar 1 night in the Troyes area OR similar Dinner, bed and breakfast throughout – 7 x included breakfasts and 7 x included dinners Dinners provided will be a 3 course meal– if everyone is dining together each evening, the hotel(s) may propose a set menu i.e. the same menu for everyone, if they feel it will ensure a good standard of service. Others may offer 2 or 3 choices per course 1 route guide, per car, which will feature details and maps on attractions and places of interest TBC - 1 rally plaque / sticker, per car – tailored to L7 GB specification 24 hour out of hours Scenic Car Tours emergency helpline available to customers whilst on the tour, if required/applicable Full financial protection via ABTOT – SCT is ABTOT registered number 5405 – see https://www.abtot.com All administration taken care of Ease of booking for members - bookings will be via SCT using a unique booking code and quoting Club membership number This is based on a minimum number of 10 paying persons booking the tour* (5-6 bedrooms*) – a supplement may/might apply if numbers fall below this*. We have a maximum of 20 x rooms available on this tour. Members will be responsible for their own travel insurance, breakdown cover and any vignettes required PLEASE NOTE THE FIGURES BELOW ARE INDICATIVE £1419 per person sharing a car/ bedroom throughout - £2838 in total £1880 per person in their own car, cabin and standard bedroom throughout - £800 reduction vs the total 2 person price This should be a fantastic return to Continental Touring for the Club and further detailed booking information and unique booking codes will be released in due course. Could I please therefore ask that those wishing to join the Tour indicate their firm interest by email to tours@caterhamlotus7.club. Please advise single or double / twin room requirement. Given that we have a maximum of 20 rooms available, I will monitor email receipts chronologically and note names accordingly. Time to get your calendars out! All the best Rog

Good afternoon all, Firstly I must apologies for the radio silence on here, but the 3 weeks up to Xmas gave me a wonderful chest infection, so I haven't been able to do as much as I wanted to and there have also been some key admin / commercial issues to work through. Anyhow, I am in the process of finalising more specific details and costs with the Club LT in the coming few days and then I'll be able to update on here. Per my last note, the timing is intended to be last week of June thereby allowing some folks to carry on to the Swiss Club 'Swiss Trip' event if so desired. Keep your eyes on this thread and I'll update as soon as i possibly can. All the best Rog

Now this might be my age, but what I increasingly see out on the road with these very bright front LEDs is the lack of contrast between that light and the indicator, particularly if the two lights are close in the same cluster. I know the old motoring adage of ‘never trust a left signal’, but sometimes I really struggle to tell if an indicator is on because its light is dominated by the nearby / surrounding LED Rog

Hi DB definitely worth a chat cheers Rog

Just another call out on this topic cheers Rog

UPDATE: thanks again to all those who have expressed an interest in the tour. Some of you may have spotted Debbie Stott’s post regarding the Swiss Trip…. having spoken to Debbie last week, I think there is a great opportunity to try link the two events together. The high level plan would be to have the club tour towards the end of June, culminating with giving attendees the option (I stress option), to extend the itinerary to include the long “Swiss Trip” weekend (June 28-30). Clearly those wishing to head home as planned at the end of the tour would be free to do so. But at least this way, folks would have options. For admin / logistical reasons we do not want to include the Swiss Trip in the middle of the Club Tour, given the stand alone T&Cs each organisation will operate under. I hope this makes sense any questions, do please get in touch. Regards Rog