If we had a Mini club that wasnt 2000klms away, id probably join it.....

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

Two words Hanra...Start One...don't forget the Inc for tax purposes

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"Show me the Mini!"

yeah, i'm the fonder of the club up here, although i'm the only one that has met every member, and the others don't know eachother, we haven't gone on any cruizes yet but there are 7 of us and 5 of us have minis registered, 2 of us with registered minis but one over heated and may need the head re-machined the other is coming up to rego and brakes don't work neither does speedo.

they all joined after i chased/found them and asked if theyed want to go on a cruize with other minis, help with getting parts and doing repairs.

i only had 1 refusal cause it wasn't their moke, but i had an acceptance from some-one else and it wasn't their moke.

hopefully one day we'll all meet up on a cruize and name our "club"

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

Thats a very intersting statement. And one that i would like to understand more, as it is a common attitude of many people on this forum.

Events are organised through ausmini and they are great, but to get them on the big scale (such as MDU for example) or tohave the resources, and REAL LIFE approach, a club is there to back up everyone that thinks they dont need on.

Thats not having a go at you Adeee or anyone at all. just something to bear in mind next time you think a club is not useful. whether you need it for a cams license or just for the events, car clubs are a very important part of keeping the classic car scene alive.

( I do agree with Mr Clarksons opinions to a certain degree)

Apart from that people always want a sence or feeling of belonging to something *general rule of thumb* , I have been a member of NSW Mini Car Club for one year and owned my LS for almost 4. Although I haven't exactly attending many event or meetings I've found it a good source of knowledge, yarns and you meet some friedly people along the way.

And by no means is Ausmini a 'club'.
It is an online forum, where discussions are held about black clubbies beating BMW Minis.

no worries

I should have added further comments..... I found that Clarkson quote on a BMW forum the other day and it was timely.... I don't necessarily agree with it - the joys of a medium where we can't look each other in the eye when we say things

While I said I am only a member of VMCI because I can get a CAMS license through them, I think I'd be a member of some mini club anyway... I could get a lot out of my club membership if:

a/ the club did events up this way sometimes, so I didn't have to drive 3 hours to get there
b/ I got off my arse and got more involved
c/ my family were interested in being involved

My father is the president of the Morris Minor club in Ballarat, and has been very actively involved in that club, and the Ballarat Vintage and Classic club for over 25 years. The vast majority of his friends he has made through the club, and they share a common interest in motor vehicles, but get along well on many levels - you're more likely to meet someone you can be friends with through a common interest than by just bumping into them in the street, aren't you!

There wouldn't be a mini forum like this unless there was a Mini club scene to begin with, because Minis wouldn't have survived if there wasn't a club scene.... the first mini clubs were formed within a year of them being made in 1959, and they helped with the marketing and support of the cars when they were being made new, and since they stopped being made, they've served as a resource for owers to keep their little cars going. Events like Hay certainly would not exist if those clubs hadn't been formed in the early days - like minded people doing things that share their common interest....

The internet has given us a new way of forming a club, and I believe Ausmini is definitely a club - a club is a group of like minded people coming together and sharing a common interest - what are we doing here?? some might say just talking crap and argueing, but there's a common thread that we all like minis of some description

As Chris said, big events like MDU etc. just wouldn't happen without clubs, even Watto's big day out last year was assisted by VMCI, and I bet he wouldn't have run it without their help, but I'm 99% sure the magazine wouldn't exist without the club scene in the first place, and neither would our little cars...

[edit]put your hand up if you have made a friend through Ausmini that you talk about things other than Minis with (Matt & Cass?? ), now put your hand down if you think you would have met that person if Ausmini THE CLUB didn't exist.....

now imagine the internet didn't exist, Ausmini didn't exist, but you were a member of a traditional car club - there's a pretty good chance you'd still meet that person somewhere along the line - there are a number of married couples in VMCI that met through the club

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

very good points Simon, I will have to disagree though, Ausmini is not a club Its great for what it is, but not a club.

I understand that the clubs are useful, and neccessary, but after recent bad experiences with the politics/treatment of certain people of one (non mini) club, ive beome a bit biased.

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Introducing 'LITE'. The new way to spell 'light' with 20% less letters!

I don't know my name anymore.

i understand that more than u probably think!

But I joined comitee to change that, and I think that if you ask most peoplein the MCC NSW it now has quite a good vibe to it. It has become very friendly and welcoming. Not that the people werent before, but now there are procedures in place to not let new people feel left out!

I'm a member of the VMCI and was in the MCCV before that. That covers half my life basically. At various times I have been heavily involved, hardly involved at all or, like now, turn up to meetings and help out at the SRS and Classic and not much more. I'm amazed at how relaxed the club is when you consider that it is one of the largest clubs in Victoria and is involved in such a wide variety of events. Somehow everybody seems to get on easily and I honestly can't recall there being any time where hostility has erupted.

I'm also a member of the Bolwell Car Club which is very small but has lots of long term members. Its also a very easy going sort of club with no egos or kill joys to piss people off. A bit of an old farts club, mostly 40 - 60 age group and only two female members (i.e. have a car of their own, not just wives/girlfriends). Not many people race any more, but given the size of the club it is probably the same proportion as in the VMCI.

There doesn't seem to be any clubs around Newcastle unfortunately.
Ziff

Central Coast
Historic Car Club (NSW)
PO Box 719
Gosford
NSW 2250
2250
Contact: Margaret Gale
Phone: 02 4369 3496
Fax: 02 4369 3024

CNTRL COAST ANTIQUE & CLASSIC M C (NSW)
PO Box 1316
Gosford S
NSW 2250
2250
Contact: P Cornish
Phone: 049 761 664

CNTRL COAST BRITISH CC (NSW)
PO Box 7127
Toowoon Bay
NSW 2261
2261
Contact: John Francis
Phone: 0411 129 040
[email protected]

MAITLAND CLASSIC MOTOR ASSOC (NSW)
PO Box 326
East Maitland
NSW 2323
2323
Contact: Jeff Skillen
Phone: 02 4932 3271

SINGLETON CLASSICCC (NSW)
POBox 508
Singleton
NSW 2330
2330
Contact: Rob McPherson
Phone: 02 6577 3365

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"Show me the Mini!"

Ziff, you are right, there aren't any solely Newcastle Mini clubs, but the runs you yourself have been on have been organised by the Mid North coast chapter of the Mini Car Club NSW.

The active members of this chapter are trying to get the mainly Sydney biased MCC to consider more of the rest of NSW. So many thanks to these people (they know who they are!)

Oh and before I get shot down in flames! I think the tide is turning! I am happy about that and it is resoring my faith in the MCC NSW. Although financial assistance is a long way off, I think what Chris Czerial and some of the newer / younger MCC NSW commitee members are trying to do is excellent.

We would not have seen the Dyno at MDU 2007 without the likes of Bob and Chris's efforts, well done guys!

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Sir Alec! we are not worthy!

Sounds like a step in the right direction. It just becomes pretty hard at times when you have to travel a fair way to get to anything decent. Especially when you have four other people in the family that have their own needs and wants. It would be great to see a few more Mini events around these parts. I suppose it's all clubs in general but people seem to be more busy these days and unfortunately all the effort seems to come from a select few.

I've seen it time and time again at work and social clubs that I have been involved with. Those few that put the effort in all the time end up falling by the way side as they never get the thanks they deserve and the rest take it all for granted. Then when things don't keep happening the others ask why not. Go figure. I wish I had more time for Mini stuff.

Bleat, bleat, I've had a gut full of work at the moment. I think it's time for a transfer. Where's that bottle of Bundy
Ziff