Leaderboard

The vaccine issue was very complicated. Macron was pushing the French Vaccine they were developing to the EU as being the one the EU should use. Unfortunately and I mean this, it did not work so there was a big supply issue now. On top of that there were many false stories about the AZ one being not good enough but once the French one was out of the picture to try to get everyone to accept it was harder. Being in the EU meant that vaccines should have been shared out equally but the UK had ordered theirs well in advance and paid a lot up front as well as ordering others just in case the AZ one didn't work as well. I think others could have done the same but chose not to do so. I think being in or out would have not changed this aspect, however the expectation of France to produce one was what delayed everything. Politics played too big a part for the EU as it wanted their vaccine to be the one which it was not. Had it have been anywhere good enough the uptake might have been better across the EU and helped to stop the spread. Brexit is one of the most divisive things that ever happened to the UK, regardless of how you voted. It was a democratic vote, both sides lied and exaggerated. Sadly there was almost 13 million who did not vote and approximately 18 who did not bother to get on the electoral register, so some say the leave camp did not actually have a mandate to leave, but the facts remain that of those who voted leave won the day. We will never go back in the foreseeable future so instead of rerunning everything we need to get together, move forward and try to make the country better instead of waiting for things to go wrong so they can say told you so.

A run round the Moray coast of Scotland

Lyn Geiriontdd today in the showers after a nice run up Ogwen Valley.

Pleased to hear John has won the Sprint Leaders championship in his 2nd year in the Force. Well done John and well deserved . Good show for another home grown westfield competitor .

And by the same definition, Remain had no mandate to remain, unless they spin it as the entire bloc of non voters would have voted remain. Thankfully, elections, here in the UK at least, are not often subject to "what if" for very long. Votes are counted, a result anounced and more often than not the vast majority of us consider that to be fair enough and most of us will accept defeat as graciously as we celebrate victory, with a metaphorical "well played" and a promise to do better next time. Anything else and we risk letting ourselves down quite badly.

I can WSCC courier this closer to civilisation next week (jct 30 M1) if it helps.

Superb work, well done John.

Thanks guys. It was a fraught last few events as my engine blew up at Blyton in September with 6 rounds left. Whilst I had a spare engine I didnt have time to fit it before 4 of the last 6 rounds at Curborough 2 weeks later so withdrew and fitted it over that weekend in time for the last 2 rounds at Castle Combe this weekend. As it turned out, results went my way at Curborough and I need not have bothered but I cemented the championship with 2 more maximum points anyway. Its been a good season as I finished 8th in the British Sprint as well to cap it off. Big thanks to Troy at sponsors Northampton Motorsport for making a slot for me to have the spare engine mapped 2 days before the event and to @pete g for letting me drive his incredible Ecboost Mygale at Anglesey in between Blyton and Curborough. Club member love 😍

Well done John, congratulations.

Well done John

from birch to cherry

Well done John! 🏆 👏👍

yes well done john

Ewell done John and thats a great result

Very interesting chat with a chap who works for one of the big pharmaceutical companies supplying the covid vaccine. As neither of us voted for brexit it was effectively an impartial statement to say being out of the eu definately helped the uk vaccine situation.

What a great day we had. Thanks Julie for organising this and it was nice to meet you. Shame about the weather, but still managed to have a lovely drive back home, having to stop and take some photos on the A537 towards Macclesfield, what a cracking road that is. Thanks again and hoping we can meet with you for a run sometime in the new year. Nick.

Sorry for my late reply, hereafter an overview of my weekend activities 🙂

Relatively new to the Westfield family, having wanted one for many years, can only thank Chris for his foresight and drive to produce some fine cars over his time. Pretty sure that along with the other members & indeed owners of these wonderful little things, we owe you a massive debt of gratitude for all the pleasure (and pain I’m sure, my knuckles will testify) your cars have given us.

So is that it seems. The only items that require a Carnet are non-road registered vehicles and that includes race cars. If the race car is road registered it doesn't need a Carnet, just a green card (proof of insurance). Cars and cars towing caravans now require a green card (IE proof of insurance) but that's nothing new to most of us, and maybe a £5.50 IDP (International Driving Permit. I have two as there are different specs for different EU countries, which is NOT the fault of the UK government. Cost me about 12 quid all told including pics from the photo machine) from the post office. So that's why the tunnel is full of caravans, 'cos almost nothing has changed and if there is extra cost, it's much less than a full tank of fuel. We always had to carry proof of insurance, it's just that now we have gone back to a green card. Big deal. As per the guidance we have received via GBCC and their governing body: – If your race car is road registered and going to Europe for racing purposes then as long as it has insurance and a V5 it DOESN’T need a temporary movement certificate. (ie ata carnet) – BUT this has yet to be tested! If your car is NOT road registered and you don’t have a V5, or it is being transported by someone else – like your team – you WILL need an ATA Carnet or temporary export note. (See Below) – But once you have purchased your Carnet it will last 12 months. If you are UK race or rally licence holder you can access a special arrangement Motorsport UK has secured with the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) for Motorsport UK members of a fixed price processing/arrangement fee of £240+VAT PLUS an additional payment which is the Premium. The premium can either be a refundable deposit of 40% of the vehicle’s insured value or a non-refundable insurance premium to cover the 40% proportion of the premium - from here: https://www.autoaddicts.co.uk/brexit-rules-drive-race-europe/ Caravan stuff here: https://www.salopleisure.co.uk/press/articles/touring-caravans/towing-a-caravan-in-europe-after-brexit/12321#:~:text=What you need to know,t recognised on its own. Euro-tunnel guidance here: https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/post-brexit-travel/ As for towing the non-road registered race car with the additional expense of a Carnet for the race vehicle, whilst I agree it is a new expense, if it's actually a deal breaker, so would almost any trip in to the barriers at any race circuit at any sort of speed. But that can't be blamed on Brexit I guess. No I think the issue at heart is that by your own admission you found out the hard way and now you want to vent and blame all the evils of the world on Brexit. I'd feel the same way, but I wouldn't feel so ready to go blamethrowing before gathering some actual facts rather that spewing out anecdotal "evidence" The Oilive Oil rant was bogus too. There are no restrictions on food, meat, veg or processed products coming into the UK for personal use from the EU. I have no idea what the limits are but a massive suitcase full of olive oil, half a pig and 10 bottles of Rioja probably won't pass the personal use test. Don't just read the first page... https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-into-great-britain The NHS numbers were dealt with by Jim_i and driver shortages by many others. Which leaves us with what? Well remainers still feel aggrieved and at the moment they are having an "I told you so" era and it's easy to see why. But we are at the very start of the UK's new relationship with Europe and the rest of the world. Nothing is forever, especially in politics. Many things will improve. Some will not and some will have to be worked around in some fashion. Attitudes will change, opinions will change. I agree with others. Lets come back in 5 years and re-assess what we said here because here and now, it's waaaaay too soon to be drawing conclusions and passing judgement on Brexit and declaring a failure.

I voted for Brexit. I've worked in Brussels and seen the empire building, unaccountability and monstrous waste first hand. Whatever you think is wrong with the UK government then multiply it countless times. At least we can vote our lot out. And, life is short. To paraphrase Anthony Hopkins - eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you're carrying in your heart like like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There's no time for anything else. Certainly not for arguing with strangers about politics on the internet.......

We have got what we wanted no i should say deserved. We didn't know what it was to be but didn't like what we had. We didn't know how to get there. We had an incompetent setup with parliament - all of them. It rumbled on unresolved for 5 yrs. Negotiating power diminished. Exact example of how not to deal with a highly complex situation. And now its done. Not going to be undone. What have we learnt. Nothing. People still whinging on about whats wrong. Is there anyone out there worth listening to. When you have all done with saying whats wrong maybe you will focus on what needs doing.

I voted to stay in the EU then, but having seen and read how the EU have behaved since I'd be tempted to change my mind. Would I vote to stay in a "Club" with France when they threaten to blockade us pre-Christmas just because they take the hump over not wanting to comply with our perfectly reasonable request for evidence over established fishing in our costal waters? Probably not. And the same applies to the bizare attitude of certain EU Countries over the use and distribution of covid vacines. Also levying (so Maurici tells us) 30% charge on temporary import of used cars to EU. Crazy behaviour, and not something I would want our Country and its government to be associated with.

Maurici, I voted against Brexit, but the attitude of some of the politicians from mainland Europe since then has me thinking that maybe I was wrong, and that we will be better out of it. The way the French politicians in particular have gone on about the negotiations would suggest that this Country has committed some terrible crime, but you know what? All we as a Country did was to excercise our right to leave in accordance with the Treaties. If they had left things as a common market (and don't forget that is what we joined) then none of this would have happened. Instead, the powers in Brussels have been determined to try and creat some sort of federation of states. And don't get me started on the bureaucratic nonsense and waste of Strasbourgh and Brussels. How many Countries in the EU contribute what they are supposed to (per capita) towards the defence of Europe? How many of them give as much (per capita) in overseas aid to the third world as we do? When wll the commission finally get their accounts audited, after all these years? The fact is that they (particularly the commission are on an uncontrolled gravy train. And much of the problems you complain about particularly relating to the cost of taking your car into Spain are down to the Spanish government, not this Countries government. Oh, and remind me, what is the unemployment rate in Spain? and why is that the fault of this Country?