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You're not joining the forum, it's the whole club. I joined 6 years ago and knew no one or anything about Westfields. I joined in, went to meetings got involved met some great people and somehow ended up being an AO! I still blame Martin van Zeller @Rory's Dad.

About 2000 years ago the Romans invaded and conquered England. The Romans had regular orgies so for convenience they were scantily dressed in togas. This attire proved unsuitable for the Scottish climate so they went no further than Northern England were, to keep out the icy northern winds, an engineer called Hard Ian built a wall across the country; a sort of medieval draught excluder. After many years of unpleasantness and anti-Romantic comments from the English the Romans went home. After the Romans left the Scots and English could concentrate on fighting each other which continued for centuries. By 1700 an agreement was reached between England and Scots ‘noblemen’ to stop fighting and sell Scotland to England for £20K ( £4 Mn in todays money; and a snip). Although this was a dramatic Nationalisation, luckily citizens didn’t have to endure endless debates on the subject nor vote as democracy hadn’t yet been invented. In 18th century Scotland there was a sort of closing down sale called the Highland Clearances, but with no bargains for the locals it caused much bitterness which continues to this day. Scots were usually shorter than the English as Scottish water had less bone-building calcium. Avoiding water, Scots had two orange-coloured drinks; fizzy iron-brew for warm days and fiery spirit Skotch for cold days. Over the centuries the consumption of these drinks turned the entire nation’s hair ginger. As well as having warming effects Skotch had hallucinogenic properties making imbibers think everyone was their friend. This made it globally popular and was Scotland’s 4th biggest export after people, football and shouting. In Scotland an official heatwave is any sunny day with a temperature of 16C or above when sunbathing and sunburn are mandatory. Poverty, diet and harsh climate affected longevity and male life expectancy in some poorest inner city areas was 59 which shocked many an Amazonian tribesman. A major political force in Scotland was the SNP (Skotch, neeps and porridge party) whose leader in Commons House was Ian BlackPud, a powerful orator. Party policy required SNP politicians to say Scottish or Scotland on average every 5th word in speeches thus:- ‘the Scottish people demand that Scotland’s voice must be heard and Scotland’s interests taken into account’. This bored the @r5e off the English MPs who promptly fell asleep delighting the SNP who could (correctly) claim that Scotland was being ignored. The SNP claims were many and varied including claims on land and sea, fish, offshore oil, oily fish, fracking gas (which is more polite than it sounds because I checked) etc.. The most recent claim was that Scotland wasn’t getting its fair share of global warming. This had been highlighted by a schoolgirl scientist who travelled the World checking temperatures. The facts were indisputable; while gardeners in Southern England appeared on TV flaunting the avocados they’d grown, the only thing that grew in the Frozen North were beards; and even then only sparsely and mainly on men. SNP Leader, Nicola 1 expressed concern about a UK Brexit as Scotland didn’t like it. She viewed it with as much concern as someone watching an old televison set drop from a high-rise flat heading for a baby’s pram below, merely being able to hope it would turn out well. In the Dec 2019 General Election SNP got 45% of the vote in Scotland, which was exactly the same as they got in the failed Independence Neverendum of 2014. This coincidence clearly indicated it was time for Indy Nev 2, although England wasn’t keen as were still trying to finalise the Brexit after 42 months. The 2014 Indy Nev was supposed to be ‘once in a generation’ but as it was only 5 years ago they must’ve meant dog generations. A Mass-tricked Treaty loophole allowed new entrants to have budget deficit above 3% and SNP hoped to get into EU if Independence was granted. The Conservatory PM said he wouldn’t allow Indy Nev 2 so it looked like there would be plenty arguing ahead-----'twas ever thus. =========================================================

I didn’t see the DONT PARK ON THE GRASS signs, so parked as normal with the tow car on the grass and the trailer on the hard standing. Seeing as I can’t reverse a trailer, as I pulled forward to drive off, after about 10ft the lawn was like a lake. Got stuck. Disconnected the trailer and was still stuck. Mr Mugglestone saved me with his 4x4.

Correct!

Probably one of their own stock photos, doesn't really matter does it, it's got Westfields on.

Dont forget the FREE BBQ on the Stoneleigh Saturday lunch, cooked by our resident chef £27.50 for all this and more?? Too bl**** right!

I’ve been laid up for 4 wks after an op on my back and as the weather is looking sunny I’ve decided to go for a blat to CAFFINE and MACHINE. I would have loved to go to the Peaks run out tomorrow but can’t ,as it looks sunny ,and not the usual drab on Monday I’m inviting anyone that wants to come . I live off the track a bit so I’m thinking of meeting up just off Jct 2 on the M6 at McDonald’s Coventry 10.30 ,That makes this open to people in Leicester,Coventry,Birmingham and anywhere else . Ive never tried to organise anything like this before but at the end of the day it’s just a run out ,come or don’t those that will do will enjoy and those that don’t will be none the wiser .Im also on kit car blats U.K. and have a cobra owner from Solihull that fancies it so let’s see where this goes . Steve

That's good isn't it? Non regulars showing an interest, the regulars have already discussed this at the meetings. cmon new or not so new guys if you don't come why don't you come? tell us and maybe we can do something to make it more attractive to you👍 Theres a run out tomorrow, come along and meet us, we haven't got two heads you know 🤔 Details here

Informative content - 1 / 10 Must try harder! Would you care to expand?

Great day! Apart from getting the tow car stuck in the mud!

Back home now after the 6th fish and chips run to the east coast. Meeting at the Fox and Grapes were 4 Westfields, 3 Cobras, 1 tiger and a MNR, there would have been another Westfield but I was riding shotgun with Richard due to fried egg related back injury, don't ask. Leaving the pub, we immediately got separated only joining up again a few miles later. We also managed to split up again in a couple of miles. I don't know if it was some new people not used to convoy driving, but we made it to Flamborough together and one of the largest fish I'd eaten. After food, we moved on to the lighthouse for some photos until I saw the parking van come into the car park, so we made a swift exit and on for fuel in Bridlington then home.

First you laugh at the crashes, then you feel for the crew who will now spend thousands fixing or re-shelling their classic rally car. Also makes you think how easily it all can go wrong as we nip around the country lanes in our quick cars.

I blame the co-driver..... looks a bit chubby for such exploits

I'd love to but my cars half way through upgrade mode , have a good one. Tony

Excellent reminder to everyone of what a bad place the Club was in. Drastic action was needed and the right action was taken, which massively turned this club around. I was one of those pushing for pay to post and I'm pleased to see that it did work. Mind there was a lot of hard work by Volunteer members in the background @Captain Colonial being key to that. Also don;t run away that this is the only club with Pay to Post rules, there are others I am a member of and they had similar problems that drove them to having to go down that route. Again it has been very successfull.

This Moskvich was making good progress in a rally but when it landed after this jump apparently all four suspension assemblies burst out through the upper mounts!!

OOh yes ........... and free entry and free camping for helpers

...which post AGM is free for members; free hog roast and free beer, well worth £30.00 on it's own. 😉

Haha, great response @andyj007!! 😂😂 Looking forward to seeing a picture of the new car! 😁

I was wondering where my posts were going...

Its a useful thread to raise - it brings up some questions that get asked individually at meets and events, but hasn't been on the Forum for a while, so thank you for giving us an opportunity to explore it for the benefit of all, again.

Thanks Scott, far more eloquently than I could, you've provided the second half of my previous answer! I was, I don't mind admitting, one of the biggest opponents of pay to post, at first, and solidly voted against at committee meetings at the time. I was wrong, and fortunately those with better crystal balls than mine voted in the majority. That move, and the associated changes to the forums and membership processes at the time have been perhaps one of the singularly most effective and improving moves the Club has ever done, in my time with it. It was a brave path, but one that has been proven best, for us, again and again. And as Scott said, it has been a conscious decision to keep the entire technical archive, with one exception, fully open to public searching and browsing. We do keep security related topics out of Tech Talk and in members only, but that's more for every owners peace of mind.

When the forums were free to post: It had good information but you often had to wade through a sea of rubbish, sniping, sarcasm, abuse and idiots to find it. Fine people were put off by the boorish, childish behaviour of a few keyboard warriors who thought they had the right to say anything because they were “entertaining “. Genuine requests for assistance were met with unhelpful replies like “do a search”, putting them off from every asking or contributing anything again. It was less about Westfields and more like a boys locker room. There was a lot of posting - and at least 50% of it was unrelated tripe. The club was losing money hand over fist paying to run a forum full of people and non-members with little or no interest in anything but being irresponsible children in a sandbox. Forum moderators were kept busy every day. The forums were littered with spam and scam. After the forum was for paid club members: Not only was the good information there, the rubbish stopped contaminating it, making it easier to get answers. Many more people felt able to post questions and give answers without fear of being abused. The idjit factor dropped continuously until we had the finest, nicest, friendliest bunch of petrolheads I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. Nobody brushes your question off with “do a search” - quite the opposite, they’re eager to help. It’s a forum first and foremost about Westfields with a bit of fun. Gentlemen, ladies and children can safely use the forums. Club membership doubled within 18 months and it’s finances improved drastically. Forum moderators rarely need to intervene. Scam and spam has been wiped out. I’m the first to accept pay to post isn’t for everyone. I was sceptical when it was first proposed. I’m happy to say I was wrong and my scepticism was misplaced. It was absolutely the right thing to do, Clubs aren’t for everyone. There aren’t one size fits all solutions. But the WSCC comes pretty damn close. Yes, membership costs £27.50 to renew every year, but I’ve saved that a dozen times over with insurance discounts, special offers, discounted parts, fixing the car myself instead of paying for garages and many other things. Membership is pretty much like putting money back in your pocket if you use it as intended. I’d also point out that the forums (apart from Members Only section) are searchable and viewable via Google or other search engines. The club didn’t have to do that... but it did. There will always be those who think everything on the Internet should be free. I’ve found that things that are free usually come at a cost, one way or another, or are free because they’re worthless. It is said that a sceptic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. I always try to do my best to prove sceptics of the WSCC wrong, and the actions of my fellow members do that loud and clear every day and in millions of ways.

Sorry only time for a "first half" of an answer right now, but for starters, the club is NOT the forum, you are not joining a forum per se, you're (hopefully) joining a club, that happens to have a forum. The Club comes with many benefits, some social, some technical and yes, some fiscal. If money is your sole measure of things, then you could recoup your nominal membership fee within minutes with a bit of online purchasing via our sponsors. You'd even have something shines to see, (unless of course you saved your £'s through the cheap insurance deals). Or perhaps you could join join us at the Silverstone Classic, where, with the early bird club discount, you effectively get a second adult ticket free, oh and possibly take part in a display lap of the course, between races. The club is run and supported entirely by volunteers, so the admin staff take no money. Some of your membership fee does go to things like insurance for the club and it's members at club events, some goes to the purchase of Club display equipment for shows and events, even including a BBQ and medium size gazebo, in addition to flags and banners - all of which are available for any Area to borrow - subject to availability of course, for local events all round the country. The forum you mention, is hosted on our own servers, on our own disc space, enabling us to offer easy, social media like, hosting and display of pictures - and when every so often, our more prolific photographers, like @Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO Run out of room to store their fantastic pictures, we usually nudge the available storage space up, because we can, and we have control. We couldn't do half of this for free. Is it good value, for very many, yes it is, for some no, I'm sure. It depends what you want out of the Club and what you want to put in. I can guarantee you the more you do put in, the more you'll get back in spades. Do we get everything right, no of course not, and we are always listening and trying to come up with ideas of how to do things better.

The fact you've used the word 'Lada' in the sentence answers your own question!

How the Hell did the white Lada suddenly shed its rear wheels at c.14min?

Have fun guys, I can’t make tomorrow , I’m afraid.

Have fun folks. I won't make it out this weekend

Sorry @Julie Hall - Peak District AO but I can’t make Sunday due to a prior commitment. Have fun!