Mog007 – last update on this blog

Thanks to those of you who’ve come to this blog over the last week for your Mog007 updates.

Thanks also to those regular readers who’ve put up with the interruption in your normal service.

Now we’re back in the office, we’re updating Mog007.com [2012 edit - mog007 is now a completely different site, since we didn't renew the name after the event, and someone else is now using it.]  with the photos of the event, including links to several attendees who’ve uploaded their own photo galleries to somewhere on the Internet (thanks guys.)

If you have a Mog007 photo gallery, please email me a link, or include a link as a comment on this blog post, and I’ll link to it from the main site.

If you  have some digital photos, and want to upload them to the Internet, then I have had a great experience with flickr (which is free.)
The combination of flickr, WordPress, and a cheap Internet mobile Internet access package from T-Mobile UK (£7.50 a month extra on my contract) worked very, very, well.

Mog007 – Gymkhana

The Mog007 Gymkhana, organised by our sister Centre in the Thames Valley, TVMog has been taking place today. TVMog have stepped up to bar, with a series of Bond-themed tests, including:

The golden crossbow (shooting at a target from your Morgan):

Thunderball:

Mog007 Exclusive – MSCC Chairman’s latest project revealed

During the “make a Bond gadget” competition, some tables were trying very hard to disguise their creations from enemy operatives.

Fortunately, our intrepid agent (fine, honourable, devoted fellow) was able to elude the enemy spys (evil, twisted, cowards) and take a photograph of Peter Johnson’s creation, code-named “Aero 10″.

Mog007 – Bond-themed Gala Dinner

This evening saw the Bond-themed Gala Dinner.

Guest of honour was Charles Morgan, the third generation of the family to head the Morgan Motor Company, who drove down specially from the factory in Malvern to attend in his stunning series three Aero 8. Seen here chatting to Morgan Sports Car Club Chairman, Peter Johnson before dinner.

The “table game” was to produce a Bond gadget out of an eclectic selection of materials, ranging from old CDs, to kitchen rolls – with table pitted against table, the results were, well, imaginative.

With well over 300 people attending, the event proved popular, with guest dressed as a mix of Bond, Bond villains, or more casually as they preferred. The ladies were, of course, all dressed to kill.

The evening finished with a “fun money casino”. Sadly, your undercover correspondent had to retire before the end of the evening, shaken but not stirred, having failed miserably to win a million.

Mog007 – Concours entrants

One of the treats of the bigger Morgan events is the number of cars shown in the concours.

The concours judging team ready for action:

The oldest entrant – a 1925 Grand Prix:

A 1935 three-wheeler prior to its restoration by Alan Sharpe:

… and after:

And, newly back in the UK, the original Plus 4, built for the 1950 motor show. Gerry Wilburn of California has just completed the restoration for UK Morgan enthusiast David Little: 

Mog007 – Concours track lap

To prove that cars are in running order, concours entrants have to do a short run. Being at Goodwood, we arranged for the run to be a couple of laps of the track. The good news is that the cars managed, from the 1925 three-wheeler through to the brand new models.

The safety briefing for track day entrants is interrupted:

The line-up on-track:

Mog007 – Friday evening Hog Roast

Well, just before 10pm, and we’re back from the Hog Roast.

With over 480 booked, this was always going to be the largest event from a catering point of view (although the Gala Dinner tomorrow is more complex, so probably involves more food by volume!)

Up on the South Downs, Goodwood (horse) racing course provides a stunning view down to the English Channel.

The car park beforehand:

The caterers (with Hog #1 of  5 at the ready):

The crowd from the roof of the grandstand:

Mog007 – free track laps at Goodwood for attendees!

Our friends at Brand Hatch Morgan sprung a pleasant surprise on us this morning.

They are organising the track day portion of Mog007, and they’d brought along a brand new Roadster to give attendees a free lap (as a passenger) round Goodwood Circuit.

Rod Coe of BHM rises to the occasion as James Bond:

Coming back in from his free lap with Rod, Mark Harrison! :

Mog007 – the Friday Track day has started

Morgans from as far afield as the Netherlands have come for our Friday track day (well done, Julf and Elaine!)

Signing in for the day:

Safety Briefing:

Noise check:

Lining up:

And the first car is of…

Mog007 – we’re set up and ready…

Mog007 is the 2007 national event for the Morgan Sports Car Club, and it start tomorrow.

This year, it’s the turn of the Sussex Centre, and Mary, I, and the rest of the committee have been working on this for 3 years.

The event’s at Goodwood – a good venue for a sports car event, I hope you’ll agree.

It’s just gone 10pm on Thursday, and we’re set up – over 600 cars have booked in advance, 484 booked for dinner tomorrow. Eek.

Anyway, photos of the setup are now on-line at my Mog007 gallery on Flickr

Oh, and I’m also amazed at how well this is working:

• a sub-£10 Bluetooth card bought from Comet this morning (after the previous one went missing, presumably the culprit is my two-year-old)
• a £7.50 per month Internet package through T-Mobile on their “Web’n'Walk”

It’s not as fast as the home broadband, but I’m sitting in my hotel room, grabbing piccies off the digital camera, uploading to Flickr, and blogging about it for, well, zero usage cost!

Getting started:

Goody bags for 600 people:

Alan’s three-wheeler going through the tunnel at Goodwood: