Charente MG owners club
The Charente MG Owners Club is an "Association Déclarée" established under French law by a group of MG enthusiasts living in the Charente area of France, and in the nearby Départements. From small beginnings the Club has grown and today we have about 50 members owning almost 40 MGs between us.
We meet socially once a month for a lunch or dinner (except in January), we organise and participate in "runs" through the beautiful countryside of our area and we display our cars at village fetes and other local gatherings. In September the Club participates in the "Le Rallye International de Charente" which forms part of the famous Angoûleme "Circuit des Remparts" weekend. |
Le Club de propriétaires de MG situé en Charente (CMGOC) est une association régie par la loi de 1901. Elle est animée par un groupe de passionnés qui habitent en Charente et dans les départements environnants. Le Club a grandi passant à maintenant à plus de 50 membres qui possèdent en tout 40 véhicules MG.
Nous nous retrouvons une fois par mois pour un dîner convivial (sauf en Janvier). Nous organisons et participons à des balades dans notre magnifique région, nous exposons nos automobiles dans les fêtes de village ou dans des rassemblements de voitures anciennes. Au mois de Septembre, le Club participe au “Rallye International de Charente”, qui fait partie du célébrissime weekend du “Circuit des Remparts.” |
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A year in the Charente (MG owners club)
The Charente MG owners club (CMGOC) covers an area of south west France, with members from the neighbouring departments too – Charente, Charente Maritime, Dordogne, Limousin, Deux Sevres, Haute Vienne and the Vienne with about 70 members and over 40 cars. Some members live here in France full-time, some are seasonal whilst one or two live in the UK and just visit when they can.
Like most clubs we hold regular gatherings and runs around the locality – more of that later, but the camaraderie and sharing of information on all things car related and expat life is the essence of the club.
When writing this article, a major theme was identified for the gatherings and runs – food!! I guess this is not surprising as we live in one of the gastronomic centres!!
This year we have continued to hold monthly meetings at a restaurant roughly in the middle of our geography. Most are not overtly formal with a short resume of the month’s activity and future plans, followed by a meal (of varying quality!) and the opportunity to catch up with friends. Obviously over the last couple of years British politics has preoccupied us!
Many of our members have organised runs and events – some have been to support other fetes, events etc but many have been for the benefit of our members only.
Amanda and I organised a Cream Tea run in April….a run through the lovely local countryside, on great driving roads without traffic (living here traffic is something we never see!) arriving back at our home for Cream Tea on the lawn. Friends had recently returned from the UK so the clotted cream was from Cornwall and fresh and the mountain of scones made that morning disappeared rapidly! Fantastic weather made up for the year before “damp!” We had a collection in aid of the South West Childrens’ Heart Circle, based in Bristol, a particular charity of relevance to ourselves.
A major highlight of the year is the short break away, in its third year, this time, organised by the fantastic Brian and Mary, we visited parts of the Correze. The routes planned between sights were fantastic, the towns and villages so different in architecture to that that we see in our region but very picturesque. The 3 days were a great social event with members enjoying each other’s company from breakfast though to digestifs after evening meals. Many laughs enjoyed, and memories made by all.
We’ve had a couple of runs organised too that have ended in visits to artisan breweries – both were run by passionate teams looking for more British type ales rather than continental bieres! The first organised by John took us to a Dordogne brewery. We met mid-morning, with a run to a lunch stop (food again!) in glorious sunshine before the short trip to the brewery. A private tour and sampling followed (glad we’d had a good lunch before) and an opportunity to buy some great beer. The Charente brewery visit was a “pick-up” run with cars collected on route from the south east of our region to the brewery in the north-west. On arrival we were welcomed by the owner/brewer, enjoyed a BBQ before the tour and sampling and run home.
For the last few years Brad, Jeannine (and this year Paul S) have organised a picnic in the woods with a theme. This year’s was an Army Bash, with WW2 Bell tents and equipment, attendees are invited to come in fancy dress with many in camouflage outfits and army surplus kit. One of our male members came as Klinger (from the TV series MASH)!
Then came The Italian Job…organised by Deryk and Jackie, a fantastic scenic run in the north east of our area, along roads few had travelled before. We stopped by a warehouse selling everything from bolts to Baked Beanz before running on to a lovely Italian Restaurant. It was exclusively ours for the day and we were made to feel very welcome, the food was excellent.
The largest car event in the area is the world famous Remparts of Angouleme, a 3 day motoring extravaganza – on Friday cars gather for concours and scrutineering for the racing on the Sunday. Saturday sees two huge rallies of cars – one for “local” clubs the other for international visitors. We attend the local clubs’ event, with a number of our members taking part. It involves an early start, a well-planned route around the department probably of some 150km, with breaks for coffee, lunch and afternoon drinks before returning to Angouleme for park up and display of your vehicle. Sunday is the “racing” where mainly historic vehicles from all over, ages and types thrash around the ramparts (remparts) of the old town and its narrow streets. A spectacle not to be missed. The club’s attendance was organised by John.
Our final event is our Christmas Dinner….organised with much hard work by Brian and Mary, we sit for our 3 course lunch – a French twist on the traditional, accompanied by crackers (bulk purchased in the UK) and with a superb raffle, the prizes donated by members with funds raised going to a charity supported by the club.
The club warmly welcomes new members and guests – those passing through on holiday, with or without an MG, all we ask is an interest in MG’s (and probably food!)
Paul Broom - January 2019
Like most clubs we hold regular gatherings and runs around the locality – more of that later, but the camaraderie and sharing of information on all things car related and expat life is the essence of the club.
When writing this article, a major theme was identified for the gatherings and runs – food!! I guess this is not surprising as we live in one of the gastronomic centres!!
This year we have continued to hold monthly meetings at a restaurant roughly in the middle of our geography. Most are not overtly formal with a short resume of the month’s activity and future plans, followed by a meal (of varying quality!) and the opportunity to catch up with friends. Obviously over the last couple of years British politics has preoccupied us!
Many of our members have organised runs and events – some have been to support other fetes, events etc but many have been for the benefit of our members only.
Amanda and I organised a Cream Tea run in April….a run through the lovely local countryside, on great driving roads without traffic (living here traffic is something we never see!) arriving back at our home for Cream Tea on the lawn. Friends had recently returned from the UK so the clotted cream was from Cornwall and fresh and the mountain of scones made that morning disappeared rapidly! Fantastic weather made up for the year before “damp!” We had a collection in aid of the South West Childrens’ Heart Circle, based in Bristol, a particular charity of relevance to ourselves.
A major highlight of the year is the short break away, in its third year, this time, organised by the fantastic Brian and Mary, we visited parts of the Correze. The routes planned between sights were fantastic, the towns and villages so different in architecture to that that we see in our region but very picturesque. The 3 days were a great social event with members enjoying each other’s company from breakfast though to digestifs after evening meals. Many laughs enjoyed, and memories made by all.
We’ve had a couple of runs organised too that have ended in visits to artisan breweries – both were run by passionate teams looking for more British type ales rather than continental bieres! The first organised by John took us to a Dordogne brewery. We met mid-morning, with a run to a lunch stop (food again!) in glorious sunshine before the short trip to the brewery. A private tour and sampling followed (glad we’d had a good lunch before) and an opportunity to buy some great beer. The Charente brewery visit was a “pick-up” run with cars collected on route from the south east of our region to the brewery in the north-west. On arrival we were welcomed by the owner/brewer, enjoyed a BBQ before the tour and sampling and run home.
For the last few years Brad, Jeannine (and this year Paul S) have organised a picnic in the woods with a theme. This year’s was an Army Bash, with WW2 Bell tents and equipment, attendees are invited to come in fancy dress with many in camouflage outfits and army surplus kit. One of our male members came as Klinger (from the TV series MASH)!
Then came The Italian Job…organised by Deryk and Jackie, a fantastic scenic run in the north east of our area, along roads few had travelled before. We stopped by a warehouse selling everything from bolts to Baked Beanz before running on to a lovely Italian Restaurant. It was exclusively ours for the day and we were made to feel very welcome, the food was excellent.
The largest car event in the area is the world famous Remparts of Angouleme, a 3 day motoring extravaganza – on Friday cars gather for concours and scrutineering for the racing on the Sunday. Saturday sees two huge rallies of cars – one for “local” clubs the other for international visitors. We attend the local clubs’ event, with a number of our members taking part. It involves an early start, a well-planned route around the department probably of some 150km, with breaks for coffee, lunch and afternoon drinks before returning to Angouleme for park up and display of your vehicle. Sunday is the “racing” where mainly historic vehicles from all over, ages and types thrash around the ramparts (remparts) of the old town and its narrow streets. A spectacle not to be missed. The club’s attendance was organised by John.
Our final event is our Christmas Dinner….organised with much hard work by Brian and Mary, we sit for our 3 course lunch – a French twist on the traditional, accompanied by crackers (bulk purchased in the UK) and with a superb raffle, the prizes donated by members with funds raised going to a charity supported by the club.
The club warmly welcomes new members and guests – those passing through on holiday, with or without an MG, all we ask is an interest in MG’s (and probably food!)
Paul Broom - January 2019
