The Mk1 Golf Owners Club History 2023
Planning for the 2023 show season started early this year with a Team meeting in Walsall to thrash out all the details for forthcoming events.
First show as always was Ultimate Dub on 12th March and as always, the Club was present. We managed to secure a MASSIVE 50, yes, 50 car outdoor stand!!!!
Indoors we had cars belonging to Anthony Muskett (red cabby), David Bond (FLP761T), Lindsay Pritchard (OWO214Y), Josh Edwards (A708TYW) and Alan Keepence (A798JTT). We also launched our very own 'How Will You Build Yours? model car kits.
Next up was Elsecar At The Races on 16th April.
David Bolton secured himself a Top 20 trophy.
'Drive It Day' is held each year in April. This year it was on 23rd April - St Georges Day and the East Midlands Club members turned out for a meet. 'Drive It Day' is held nationally for classic car owners to get out on the roads and show off their cars, why not take part next year with your local region?
Stamford Hall in Lutterworth is one for the 'Standard' owners - but modified cars are also welcome. Priding itself as one of the top-notch shows for originality it brings out the 'Best Of The Best' in the Show n Shine categories. If you think that YOUR car is in excellent condition why not enter in a category and see how you fair? Not to be outdone, the Club brought out loads of cars for their stand on 30th April!!!
Edition 38's Early Edition at Sywell Aerodrome was held on 7th May. Despite the rainy weather the day before cars were cleaned and prepped ready for action the next day!!! There's just no putting some folk off!!
They needn't have worried because show day was sunny, dry and 20+ cars turned out!!
Some owners weren't worried if it rained, snowed or was baking hot - they were indoors.
Tony Carini and David Bond were two Mk1 Golf owners who enjoyed a prime spot.
Bristol Volksfest (9-11th June) was held at Birches Farm, Long Aston, Bristol and celebrated its 30th birthday. A regular event for a large turnout and this year was no different. 25 cars, Lindsay Pritchard picked up a Show & Shione award and the Club won Best Club Stand… but they ran out of trophies so no picture of it!! Thanks to Club members Richy Hill & Scott Brimble organising the stand so the pressure was off our Events Manager and she could sit back and relax for once!
Cars In The Park was next up on 2nd July. Held at Beacon Park, Lichfield we attended to support the Rotary Club & Round Table. A large event which attracted 20,000 visitors and 2000+ cars.
One for the more Northern owners, Tatton Park is always a favourite. Held on 6th August in Cheshire, it's a mixture of air and water cooled cars, old and new(er).
Well, it was the weekend in the year that everyone had been waiting for! The Annual Gathering at Stratford Upon Avon Racecourse. We returned over the weekend of 11-13th August.
Some owners set off on the Thursday trailering their cars great distances, others boarded ferries or even planes to get there but however you travelled it was great to see you all!!!
An addition to the weekend was the Friday night quiz. We were a little usure whether members would embrace the idea but we needn't have worried, plenty of people organised themselves into regions and there was a degree of rivalry going on.
Chairman - Simon Berry - 36th Crazyfist
Treasurer - Richard Stringer - Beany
Secretary - Greig Harvey - Macca
Events Manager - Anna Bebbington - Cabrioanna
Events Support - Andrea Keepence-Keyte - Andibeagle
Regional Host Manager - Amy Bird - Amy
Membership - Richard Dale - Wmk1rickdale
Website Manager - Adrian Daniels - Lhasadreams
Social Media Manager - Ansar Mahmood - Ans4r
Social & Marketing Manager - James Satchwell-Orme - Jimbosatch
Design Manager -
Merchandise Development - Nick Weir - Nickveedub
Merchandise Manager - Anthony Muskett -Anton_cabrio
Club Historian - Dan Perkins - Dano
New members joined the Team this year. Greig Harvey aka Macca as Secretary, James Satchwell-Oram as our Social & Marketing Manager. We appreciate you giving up your time.
The Saturday AGM was held as usual and the Chairman announced that the Club had formed a partnership with Peter James Insurance to provide PAID MEMBERS with bespoke car insurance. Dave Hayley introduced himself and what PJI could offer in terms of a policy. The membership fee just got a lot more attractive!
The paid membership stood at 1443 at the time of the meeting with 7 'Life Members'.
The Drivers Briefing for the drive out was held and at 1pm the owners formed up. While waiting for the 'off' some impressive dedication was shown by 4 lads from Israel. Gilad, Shimshon, Amit & Nir loved the drive out and bought lots of merchandise!!! We think that they are the furthest travelled members to come to an Annual Gathering. Thanks for coming over.
Shortly after and off we went to Broadway village for mooching.
The tally for the drive out was -
Hatchbacks - 40
Cabriolets - 32
Caddys - 3
Mk2 Golfs - 1
Beetle 1
Total for Mk1 Golfs this year = 72
Heads cleared, time for business on Sunday morning. Polishing and cleaning began in earnest but was spoilt by a heavy downpour midmorning which had owners drying off again!
Results of the Show & Shine can be found here -
View topic: Annual Gathering Show and Shine Winners 2023 - The Mk1 Golf Owners Club
Trophies were sponsored by Peter James Insurance.
Winners of Best Region - Wales, Valley Dubs
Peoples' Choice Award - Dave Baker
Best In Show - Toni Carini
You can find all the Annual Gathering 2023 pictures here.
If you haven't been to the Annual Gathering, please, please make the effort to come, if only for 1 day just to sample what goes on. We love to see you next year when we celebrate the Club's 20th birthday, the more Mk1 Golfs the merrier!
The next show for the Club calendar was the German Car Show held on 10th September at Silverstone. Drifting was the order of the day and Club member Jamie Briggs was on form.
September saw the club take its annual trip to Ireland for its 10th Anniversary tour.
We headed south to the Ring of Kerry and despite the Irish rain, a great time was had by all.
Amazing organisation by the local team, Hugh and Adrian. Roll on 2024's trip.
The NEC Classic Cars Show in Birmingham is the yearly show season closer. 8 halls of classic cars, motorbikes & scooters, merchandise, food stalls, VIP presentations, "how to's" and the opportunity to catch up with old friends.
This years' theme was "Perfect Partners" and the Club interpreted that by displaying Standard and Modified cars while showcasing the newly launched insurance partnership with Peter James Insurance. Plenty of visitors enjoyed looking round Jamie Briggs' drift car, Jack & Craig Robinson's standard 1100cc, Matthew Richardson's 1981 cabriolet and Justin Teece's unrestored Rivage leather.
5pm on Sunday night and it was all over and to signal the end of the weekend all the cars sounded their horns!!!!
From us all at the Mk1 Golf Owners Club we'd like to thank you for your continued support. 2024 will be a BIG year for the Club when we mark the 50th anniversary of the Mk1 Golf's launch, the 40th anniversary of the run-out model, the 'Campaign' and the Clubs formation on 28th October 2004!!!
As the forum closes for the year the membership shows 1465 and 39,847 recorded members since the Club formed in 2004.
How will we celebrate? Keep an eye on the forum and Facebook to find out. Until next year - See You!
First show as always was Ultimate Dub on 12th March and as always, the Club was present. We managed to secure a MASSIVE 50, yes, 50 car outdoor stand!!!!
Indoors we had cars belonging to Anthony Muskett (red cabby), David Bond (FLP761T), Lindsay Pritchard (OWO214Y), Josh Edwards (A708TYW) and Alan Keepence (A798JTT). We also launched our very own 'How Will You Build Yours? model car kits.
Next up was Elsecar At The Races on 16th April.
David Bolton secured himself a Top 20 trophy.
'Drive It Day' is held each year in April. This year it was on 23rd April - St Georges Day and the East Midlands Club members turned out for a meet. 'Drive It Day' is held nationally for classic car owners to get out on the roads and show off their cars, why not take part next year with your local region?
Stamford Hall in Lutterworth is one for the 'Standard' owners - but modified cars are also welcome. Priding itself as one of the top-notch shows for originality it brings out the 'Best Of The Best' in the Show n Shine categories. If you think that YOUR car is in excellent condition why not enter in a category and see how you fair? Not to be outdone, the Club brought out loads of cars for their stand on 30th April!!!
Edition 38's Early Edition at Sywell Aerodrome was held on 7th May. Despite the rainy weather the day before cars were cleaned and prepped ready for action the next day!!! There's just no putting some folk off!!
They needn't have worried because show day was sunny, dry and 20+ cars turned out!!
Some owners weren't worried if it rained, snowed or was baking hot - they were indoors.
Tony Carini and David Bond were two Mk1 Golf owners who enjoyed a prime spot.
Bristol Volksfest (9-11th June) was held at Birches Farm, Long Aston, Bristol and celebrated its 30th birthday. A regular event for a large turnout and this year was no different. 25 cars, Lindsay Pritchard picked up a Show & Shione award and the Club won Best Club Stand… but they ran out of trophies so no picture of it!! Thanks to Club members Richy Hill & Scott Brimble organising the stand so the pressure was off our Events Manager and she could sit back and relax for once!
Cars In The Park was next up on 2nd July. Held at Beacon Park, Lichfield we attended to support the Rotary Club & Round Table. A large event which attracted 20,000 visitors and 2000+ cars.
One for the more Northern owners, Tatton Park is always a favourite. Held on 6th August in Cheshire, it's a mixture of air and water cooled cars, old and new(er).
Well, it was the weekend in the year that everyone had been waiting for! The Annual Gathering at Stratford Upon Avon Racecourse. We returned over the weekend of 11-13th August.
Some owners set off on the Thursday trailering their cars great distances, others boarded ferries or even planes to get there but however you travelled it was great to see you all!!!
An addition to the weekend was the Friday night quiz. We were a little usure whether members would embrace the idea but we needn't have worried, plenty of people organised themselves into regions and there was a degree of rivalry going on.
Chairman - Simon Berry - 36th Crazyfist
Treasurer - Richard Stringer - Beany
Secretary - Greig Harvey - Macca
Events Manager - Anna Bebbington - Cabrioanna
Events Support - Andrea Keepence-Keyte - Andibeagle
Regional Host Manager - Amy Bird - Amy
Membership - Richard Dale - Wmk1rickdale
Website Manager - Adrian Daniels - Lhasadreams
Social Media Manager - Ansar Mahmood - Ans4r
Social & Marketing Manager - James Satchwell-Orme - Jimbosatch
Design Manager -
Merchandise Development - Nick Weir - Nickveedub
Merchandise Manager - Anthony Muskett -Anton_cabrio
Club Historian - Dan Perkins - Dano
New members joined the Team this year. Greig Harvey aka Macca as Secretary, James Satchwell-Oram as our Social & Marketing Manager. We appreciate you giving up your time.
The Saturday AGM was held as usual and the Chairman announced that the Club had formed a partnership with Peter James Insurance to provide PAID MEMBERS with bespoke car insurance. Dave Hayley introduced himself and what PJI could offer in terms of a policy. The membership fee just got a lot more attractive!
The paid membership stood at 1443 at the time of the meeting with 7 'Life Members'.
The Drivers Briefing for the drive out was held and at 1pm the owners formed up. While waiting for the 'off' some impressive dedication was shown by 4 lads from Israel. Gilad, Shimshon, Amit & Nir loved the drive out and bought lots of merchandise!!! We think that they are the furthest travelled members to come to an Annual Gathering. Thanks for coming over.
Shortly after and off we went to Broadway village for mooching.
The tally for the drive out was -
Hatchbacks - 40
Cabriolets - 32
Caddys - 3
Mk2 Golfs - 1
Beetle 1
Total for Mk1 Golfs this year = 72
Heads cleared, time for business on Sunday morning. Polishing and cleaning began in earnest but was spoilt by a heavy downpour midmorning which had owners drying off again!
Results of the Show & Shine can be found here -
View topic: Annual Gathering Show and Shine Winners 2023 - The Mk1 Golf Owners Club
Trophies were sponsored by Peter James Insurance.
Winners of Best Region - Wales, Valley Dubs
Peoples' Choice Award - Dave Baker
Best In Show - Toni Carini
You can find all the Annual Gathering 2023 pictures here.
If you haven't been to the Annual Gathering, please, please make the effort to come, if only for 1 day just to sample what goes on. We love to see you next year when we celebrate the Club's 20th birthday, the more Mk1 Golfs the merrier!
The next show for the Club calendar was the German Car Show held on 10th September at Silverstone. Drifting was the order of the day and Club member Jamie Briggs was on form.
September saw the club take its annual trip to Ireland for its 10th Anniversary tour.
We headed south to the Ring of Kerry and despite the Irish rain, a great time was had by all.
Amazing organisation by the local team, Hugh and Adrian. Roll on 2024's trip.
The NEC Classic Cars Show in Birmingham is the yearly show season closer. 8 halls of classic cars, motorbikes & scooters, merchandise, food stalls, VIP presentations, "how to's" and the opportunity to catch up with old friends.
This years' theme was "Perfect Partners" and the Club interpreted that by displaying Standard and Modified cars while showcasing the newly launched insurance partnership with Peter James Insurance. Plenty of visitors enjoyed looking round Jamie Briggs' drift car, Jack & Craig Robinson's standard 1100cc, Matthew Richardson's 1981 cabriolet and Justin Teece's unrestored Rivage leather.
5pm on Sunday night and it was all over and to signal the end of the weekend all the cars sounded their horns!!!!
From us all at the Mk1 Golf Owners Club we'd like to thank you for your continued support. 2024 will be a BIG year for the Club when we mark the 50th anniversary of the Mk1 Golf's launch, the 40th anniversary of the run-out model, the 'Campaign' and the Clubs formation on 28th October 2004!!!
As the forum closes for the year the membership shows 1465 and 39,847 recorded members since the Club formed in 2004.
How will we celebrate? Keep an eye on the forum and Facebook to find out. Until next year - See You!