TaffMog - South Wales

West Area 

Phil and Lynne plus Haydn and Diane attended the MSCC 75th event. Invitees were the current and previous Centre Secretaries. The attending group were initially martialled into the Morgan factory car park to form a cavalcade to drive onto the event field where details of who we were was announced before we were welcomed by Jann Robinson. As the group drove into the field Phil spotted Geof Tipler who had entered his Roadster in the concours event. Charles Morgan gave a speech and presented both trophies and Life Membership awards. A number of potential new members came to us to have a chat and are looking to join us at future noggins. It was a hot but very good day!

For the July Noggin, a new venue was tried. This was the Welsh House between Gowerton and Penclawdd on the North Gower. Six of the ‘regulars’ attended - Phil and Lynne, Derek and Jacky, as well as Neil and Helen who came in their now repaired Plus 6. It had been a hot day and the air con in the Welsh House was greatly welcomed. The food was good and the chat as great as ever. It is hoped that some future Noggins with drives will be organised as the previous June one was very much enjoyed.

Bridgend Area 

The Noggin on the 9th July was organised by Barry and Lynne Avery and started from The Costa on A48 near the Coldra Roundabout, Newport. A drive then followed up to The Lion Inn in Trellech for lunch which was very good. The day was very hot and a further run up towards Usk and Abergavenny up the Wye Valley following lunch somewhat cooled the group down. This was greatly helped with an ice cream at the end of the trip!

Details of future Bridgend Area Noggins are below.

• 13th August - details TBD

• 10th September - Dyffryn Gardens for coffee and Porthcawl for lunch

• 8th October- details TBD

• 12th November- details TBD

• 10th December- details TBD

Usk Area 

A massive number of 21 people attended the Usk Noggin on the 15th July, at the Chainbridge Inn to enjoy good food and drink where we welcomed back Tim and Jean, as well as happily meeting Phil, and John and Linda for the first time!

John and Val, and John and Glenda took part in the Two Rivers Tour on the 19th July. The event was hosted by the Forresters Car Club and consisted of a three-stage course around South Wales which each car had to navigate using ‘Tulip’ diagrams. The course started and ended at the David Broome Event Centre, Chepstow where a breakfast butty was enjoyed in the morning and a Sunday lunch welcomed us in the evening, with further stops for tea and cake, and lunch, in-between. We gladly report that both cars successfully completed the course although the low clearance height of the Morgans made some of the roads a bit challenging. A great time was had by all with the added bonus that the Morgan belonging to John and Glend won the ‘Best Presented Car Post 1980’ Award!

Many thanks the Forrester Car Club for organising such a great event.

The dates for future Usk Noggins are below. All will be held at the Chainbridge Inn (NP15 1PP) starting at 7pm.

• 19th August

• 16th September

• 21st October

• 18th November

• 16th December

Gregynog Hall Trip – 23rd to the 25th of June

With the weather set to be hot for our three days away, the trip to Gregynog Hall (pronounced “greh-gun-og”) started on the morning of the 23rd June where we excitedly assembled in Waitrose carpark, Abergavenny. Eventually 7 Morgans and a support vehicle set off along the winding Welsh roads to the Lake Country House Hotel and Spa where we stopped for a scenic lunch and met up with our 8th Morgan. After our sandwiches and a drink or two (non-alcoholic for our drivers!) we then headed off on a second winding drive to arrive at our destination, Gregynog Hall, at 3.30pm.

Following check-in and unpacking we gathered in the courtyard to enjoy a glass or two of Pimm’s before having an early evening meal at the hall. Post meal drinks and much laughter were enjoyed in the courtyard late into the evening before we all called it a night.

The morning of the 24th started with a fortifying full Welsh breakfast followed, in the shade of the courtyard, by a very interesting talk that Steven gave covering a brief insight into the significant history of the hall, its notable owners, including Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, and their contributions to Welsh life. We then gathered the troops and drove our cars round to the front of the hall for our ‘official’ trip photographs before heading off on our adventure for the day. A glorious morning drive out in the growing heat of the day’s sun eventually led to an issue when we found out we couldn’t have our intended picnic barbeque around the lakeside of Lake Vyrnwy, but lunch was saved due to the kindly intervention of Gwyn and Jane who invited us to use their garden. A scenic drive over Snowdonia and around Lake Bala led us to their home where we enjoyed burger and sausage baps, and a good strong cup of tea. We continued to enjoy the scenery and good conversation (along with a flypast of a Hawk aircraft) into mid-afternoon before heading out for the second part of our day. The drive once again took us through the stunning sunny Welsh countryside before arriving at The Nag’s Head Inn in Garthmyl for our evening meal. After returning to the hall, drinks and nibbles were held in the courtyard as the sun slowly set behind the hall.

Before our final hearty full Welsh breakfast of our trip, a number of us availed ourselves on the kind offer by hall staff for a brief tour of the stunning library and the common room. After breakfast we then returned to our rooms to pack whereafter a few of us took the opportunity to take a brief walk in the extensive gardens around the hall before returning to our compatriots to depart for our final road trip. The drive, once again, was glorious, helped by the stunning weather on the hottest of the three days we were away. A brief stop was called for by Steven to get fuel for his Aero 8, where, through an issue of miscommunication, neither he nor his wife Denise paid for the fuel, and so they had to turn back part way on the journey to our lunch stop in order to cover off their debt!

We all eventually met up again at The Boat Inn where we enjoyed our final lunch together overlooking the River Wye. Unfortunately, as all good things do, our 270 mile trip had to end and as we departed The Boat Inn one-by-one, Andrew and Veronica, Dave and Kay, John and Jacquie, Lyn and Annie, Simon and Jan, Vince and Christine, John and Dianne, and John and Glenda eventually peeled off heading to their respective homes.

Many thanks to everyone for making it such great fun, but especially to Steven and Denise for arranging such a fabulous trip and to Andrew and Veronica for being our support and supplies vehicle!

photo 1 photo 2 photo 3 photo 4 photo 5

Glenda Bragg

Taffmog Centre Scribe.

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