DA7C CLUBNIGHT MEETINGS

Club nights are held on the second Thursday of every month (we never close!) at the Bridge House Hotel, 2 Ringwood Road, Longham, Ferndown BH22 9AN Tel: 01202 578828.  (Click here for map)  Several members come in their Seven but it is certainly not de rigeur and most do not, partly due to the problem of getting home in the dark afterwards.  When you arrive for the first time, make yourself known either to Roger Ballard, the membership secretary or Glyn Llewellyn, the chairman, who will then introduce you to a few people to help start you off meeting some new friends.

The general format is that members gather in the function room, beyond the carvery servery, from about 7.30 pm and the official part of the meeting starts at 8.00 pm.  There are generally three types of evening: the relaxed "Noggin 'n' Natter" where members circulate, chat to old friends, make new friends, swap stories, get advice on the cars and generally talk a lot.  Recently, we have introduced the idea of "N&N plus" where there is something of interest to add to the evening.  Recent ideas have included wind-up gramophones, making an A7 model, bring a mystery object, table-top restoration pieces, a photo competition etc etc.  You get the idea.

On about three occasions each year we have a speaker.  Usually one of the talks is by a member either describing a recent restoration project or perhaps telling us about a personal interest.  Other outside speakers cover a huge range of interesting topics, not all car-related, and have included Victorian Christmases, Life Aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, Bee Keeping, Hilarious Tales from the Pulpit on so on.  These talks start promptly at 8.00 and are very popular so you need to be early to get a good seat.  Speakers are limited to 45 minutes to give time for the usual chit-chat and a couple of pints, of course!

Being a car club, we have two meetings each year put over to technical discussions.  There is usually a "Solving A7 Problems" forum which is great fun and a practical demonstration which have included in the past: changing a tyre, beating out a dent, making the engine go better etc.

During the evening there is the opportunity to buy raffle tickets, buy club regalia and ask knowledgeable members of the club questions about your A7.  They are very happy to show off their knowledge so don't be afraid to ask.

The meeting usually draws to a close about 10.15 pm although members who live furthest away may start to leave after the raffle is drawn about 9.30.