It's

This is the worldwide club for all owners and enthusiasts of Standard Cars

"Dedicated to the preservation of Standard Cars 1903-1963"

Bryan Jones arrives at Lyme Park in the 1938 Flying 12

(can anyone else send the webmaster any further photographs - please?)

This year the Manchester Group Drive It Day road run was organised by the Group’s Show Manager, Graham Hart and Alec Gatherer, Editor of the Riley R M Club’s magazine.

There were two starting points, one in north Cheshire and the other in Oldham, Lancashire. The Manchester Group were joined by friends in the Riley R M Club and the Cheshire Triumph Stag Club and in all some 25 vehicles took part in the event with some 50 plus people in attendance.

Participants starting from north Cheshire indulged in drinks and breakfast at the Bears Paw public house all organised by Graham Hart and after some minor problems (a Triumph Stag with wipers that wouldn’t stop, a Riley that wouldn’t idle, a Stag that overheated soon after starting and a Standard with a leaking windscreen) the convoy of classic vehicles proceeded on its thirty mile route through delightful Cheshire countryside to the lunch destination of Lyme Park, a fantastic National Trust establishment in Cheshire. Many a feature film has been filmed at this venue and the Manchester Group on this occasion was proud to have been included in its many public attractions.

The participants starting from Oldham and led by Alec Gatherer also had an interesting run, again some thirty miles, and all vehicles taking part in the drive met up at Lyme Park around about mid day. People visiting the Park were treated to an amazing spectacle of 25 Classic vehicles parked in a semi circle in front of the magnificent historic house and considerable interest in the cars was shown by the visiting public. A pre WW2 towing vehicle originally owner by the Hollindrake Automobile Company, the Standard and Triumph Regional Distributor for Lancashire, Cheshire and north Wales was part of our display and as usual attracted much attention. Among the Standard’s taking part were a 1939 Flying Ten owned by Graham Hart and a 1938 Flying Twelve owned by Bryan Jones.

A pre-ordered lunch was served in a reserved area of the restaurant after which many of the Group members stayed to look around the park and its interesting old house. The weather was not particularly good early on in the day but did improve somewhat in the afternoon. There is no doubt that the day was a great success and the Manchester Group is indebted to Graham Hart, its Show Manager and to Alec Gatherer for all the hard work they put into organising the Manchester Group Drive It Day event for 2008. Thanks also to Graham for compiling and submitting the details for inclusion in this report.

Bryan Jones, Organiser, Manchester and North West Group

Could someone of the 50 attending please send the webmaster some more photos please?

Phil Homer

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