NANO MEETS CANCELLED/ DUE TO Covid 19
 

Hello all members / R40 owners.

It is with great pleasure to say we are once again this year having our great meets at the Four Ashes with the new manager ( Damon).

The first meet of the year is forth coming and is going to be held on these dates, March Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd 2020.

You are all welcome to attend so hopefully we will see quite a few of you at the 1st meet of the year if not, one of the future meets throughout the year, you can find our calendar on our Nano forum, the link is also at the bottom by my signature.

There is free camping on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st for those that want it, either bring your tent, caravan or sleep in the car.
https://i.imgur.com/0rCXN6jl.jpg1


Also there are plenty of local B&Bs/ hotels at reasonable prices, details on the links page of our website below for those that do not fancy camping.
http://www.midlandsnanomeets.co.uk/links.html

There maybe a full English breakfast with tea/coffee on both Saturday & Sunday mornings 10.00, this as of yet not been established we will announce this closer to the day.

There will still be a choice of a Saturday evening meal if you wanted to join in the social part of the meet, Saturday evening last orders for the meal should be around 19.00pm again we will announce this nearer the time.


As always there will be advice & help for those jobs you would like to tackle and have not got round to, we also have free T4 sessions sometimes we have two T4 which helps cut down the waiting time.

I will be carrying the usual free plenum spy hole mod trays, intercooler bends with added Viton O-rings, Viton coolant cap O-rings.

Inline stats, PCV filters, Shannon tubes, amongst other items etc.

Also at the first meet I will have a two ( Manifold, EGR, MAP sensor ) Exchange overs ready, diesel cars only, you would need to PM if you would like one of these.

Let the fun begin & hopefully make this season as good as the last seasons meets when we had well over 40 cars at one stage.

All the best & hope to see you there Arctic.
" You do the work , we supply the expertise "

Count me in. :)

NANO Meets
 

Can you tell me what NANO stands for please.

Only for curiosities sake, as your write up explains exactly what goes on.

Thanks

Mike

In general terms, "nano" means very small.

Well done guys.
 

Great news ... well done getting the arrangements organised these last couple of months guys!

Really enjoyed the last Nano ...my first ... even if a bit of a drive from Stevenage and to find out both my VIS motors were cooked (new ones from Dave Stocktake now fitted!)

Can I reserve a T4 session for the Saturday please? ... and get some hands on advice how to fit my replacement Powerfold cogs (drivers side)
We ran out of time at the last meet.

Thanks in advance ... see you next month

John

Hi Mike.
regarding the meets it started as a small affair which snowballed but the Nano as stuck, it also as other meanings which can be found using google ;) little bit of reading below for you cheers Arctic.

http://www.midlandsnanomeets.co.uk/history.html

Hi John.
Glad you enjoyed the last meet 2019, as always once the white board is out please add your name & reg number to it for a T4 session, Rob (trebor) would be the man to talk to about the power fold cogs, he and myself should have some if you require them.

81 views already great I am sure the first meet will be a great success as always ;)

nice one steve count me and raj in

I can't make this one. It's the weekend my caravan opens!

[QUOTE]]

Hi Dawn.
Never mind, I am sure you will make one of the at least before the end of the season ;)

Hoping to come up and have a look to see what goes on, only had the ZT a month now so not started fettling!

I take it children are allowed? I have an excited 8yr old who loves looking at cars and in particular, keys!

Can't make this one, on call all weekend.

AFAIK Kids are indeed welcome. :)

Must make an effort to attend at least one this year.

Hi Tony.
Yes please do come the kids are allowed climbing frames are on the grounds, as are bouncing castles in the warmer months, you can get an health check on your car Via the T4, you will then know if your vis motors are working as they should be ;)

Just had a look and the may one is the bank holiday weekend because its now on the Friday 8th? If that's correct I won't make that one either. :(

Yes Dawn it is on that weekend Sat 9 & Sun 10 May

That's brilliant, I'll book the day off and bring him!!!

And yes, would be good to check the vis motors as I'm not feeling that 'ooomph' at about 3k revs people talk about 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Hi folks.

Sorry I'll be missing in March as we're away with family.

Aiming to be there in May, wet & dry & polisher in hand for those headlights :D.

Might be in the Passat though as I'm thinking of giving her a good once over of stuff like brake pipes/fuel tank strap etc. etc. while I still have another car so no excess pressure to get her back on the road.

Have a good one.

Andy.

Trikey and myself may attend this one depending on my shifts

Hi Deb
You & Andy are always welcome, if not this first meet maybe one later in the year, all the best Arctic.:}

I'll have to try to make some this year nas been away to long from the guys... I still have my 75 and waiting for a date to get body work done

[QUOTE]]

Hi Steve.
Yes would be good to see some old faces coming back into the fold :D

Hopefully one of the two days for me, probably Sat.

Got date for car going in. 1st April most likely to be finished for the meet :-) I forgot to add the other night the gas strut Fd up at night and damaged the body work by the strut. Oh hum.

To anyone who has not been to one its a chance to meet fellow members and have a look around at other peoples cars. You will see various cars with door cards off, facias apart and engine parts scattered with people working together and chatting and giving advise of their experience doing the job.
If you are thinking of doing a mod or upgrade or have a query, the many chaps will help you out with advise and how to go about the job.
Go on fill your boots and pop along!:}
You can spend half hour or the whole day there plus you can nip in and have a drink in the pub and maybe grab some lunch.:smilie_re:

https://i.imgur.com/1L5RvTCm.jpg

The Four Ashes has a new tenant and is now back up running and open for business, and the 1st Midlands Nano meet of the year will take place on Sat 21 & Sun 22 March 2020, there is now an attendance thread on the Nano site via the link in my signature below and I would encourage anyone coming to put their name down so we have an idea of numbers, it is free to register on the nano site

I'll try to keep the Sunday clear to pop round. :}

You're more than welcome Pete

:iagree::welcome: Pete I am sure you will enjoy it cheers Arctic:}

Can't Register on the Nano Forum (?)
 

Hi all

Although I've posted on here to say I'll be there on the Saturday 21st, I also tried to Register to confirm my attendance on the Nano Forum too, as suggested.

My registration on the Nano Forum failed .... "IP address blocked... blacklisted.." with a reference to spamming :eek: One suggestion was that my ISP may be the reason.

"3. Your ISP is well-known for a lot of spamming customers and is not fighting against spammers enough."

Anyone else had the same issue? I use Talk Talk as my ISP :shrug:

("Computer says No" .... but I'm still attending! :D:D )

Regards

John

Hi John.
Yes still attend I don't know what's going on with your IP address Rob or Mick may take a look at it, I will let them know you problem cheers Arctic.

Hi John,

It is not the ISP that is blacklisted, only some of the IP addresses it uses, many of these addresses have previously been used by spammers and have found their way onto various blacklists. IP addresses are dynamically assigned to a users router each time it is switched off then restarted so you could try this in the first instance.

Failing that, the quickest solution is for me to register on your behalf as a new user using your e email and username, I will then tell you what password I use to register and you will be able to change it once logged on if you wish.

Its not just Talk Talk at fault here but they are however one of the worst offenders. In an ideal world they would regularly check the status of ip addresses and de-blacklist them if they are clean

I have also sent this message to you via PM in case you dont pick it up here

Popped into the Ashes today, it has only been open since yesterday ( 28 Feb ) and is only open for drinks. The reason that there is no food is because the previous tenant left and took the fridges and freezers with him so new ones are on order and food will be available within the week. Apparently the outgoing tenant also swopped out some of the better chairs etc and replaced them with older ones from his other pub.

Had a decent chat to the new tenant Damon, he has persuaded the owning company to spend some money upgrading the kitchen and changing the entrance to the pub as there is currently no access for wheelchairs as steps have to be negotiated. I gave him the dates for our meets and he is keen for us to keep going so if you attend any of the meets please support the pub as much as you feel able to do so as we get use of the field for free.

Apparently the lounge side of the pub is a listed building but the bar side has been added on at some point in the past and is not listed. The company who own it all NewRiver have in recent years bought in another company to manage some of their pubs including the Ashes but they have not performed well and as a result a number of the pubs they managed have had more of a downturn than expected partly due to them letting new tenants without any experience take over and profits have tumbled. As a result the managing company have gone out of business and a new one taken over.

Damon has had pubs around Telford before mainly part of large chains such as “ Hungry Horse “ so he is used to producing food at reasonable prices, he also intends to get the outside bar up and running to save customers having to come into the pub to get a drink which in the summer months should be popular.

The next Nano social meet is on Tuesday 17 March which is in the week before the 1st Nano Meet on Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 March, and hope to see some of you there.

Hi Rob.
Excellent leg work there :bowdown: great to hear he is an experienced manager at least it gives him a chance to make a go of it, sounds like a nice guy, I noted he as a Landrover Evoque so he is sort of in the same camp regarding cars ;) also sounds like Doug did not turn out to be as kind as made out to be then.

Will make an effort to be at the next social thanks again for the leg work cheers Arctic.

Yes please...
 

Hi Rob,
Thanks for the info. I've tried a couple of restarts of my router but all IP addresses get the same error message.
So I'll take you up on your offer to Register me please.
Sending PM to you in a mo.
... and more thanks in advance!
:bowdown:
John

I have sorted it for you John and replied to your pm

Rob

Quick update on the March meet at FA as far as we know at the moment it is still going ahead, but as it gets closer to the date and the coronavirus could get worse.

Post from Rob on the Nano club board.
( We will keep a close eye on things as it develops, calling it off cant be discounted as according to the news things will escalate in the UK in around 10 days and the whole country may be inconvenienced )

I would say its not wise for anyone to attend if you have any sort of virus, if not only for your own safety but for others too at the meet, it can take months for any virus to deplete in the system, at least all of us should be responsible as to attend or not if we feel unwell.

You will most certainly see me walking around with gloves on as I always do at the meets anyway, & wearing a mask at the meet without fail.


Hopefully we maybe ok to go ahead with the meet, thank you for your understanding.:}

Nano Meet update March meet YES or NO
 

I owners/Member whom attend the Nano meets, or are indeed deciding to come to their first ever meet, a post/thread as been listed on the Nano forum regarding if the March meet should go ahead or not.

If you would like to have your say, or give your thoughts on the matter then please do so by clicking the link below all the best Arctic.


http://www.midlandsnanomeets.co.uk/f...6&p=8311#p8311

Nano March Meet Cancelled Official
 

I have spoken to Rob (trebor) and it is with great regret that after many of your replies on Covid 19 sub forum on the Nano site, with your opinions taken into account on whether we feel it is safe to proceed in an open field seems to be mixed.

One thing for sure is with so many people who won’t be coming, including several crew members the meet would depleted and we won’t have a T4 present and we must also consider those who travel and it is only fair to give them an early decision.

So with great regret the March Nano Meet is now cancelled and we hope we can go ahead with the next one in May and see you all there, thank you for your support in this decision all the best from all the crew of the Nano meets.

https://i.imgur.com/0okHWQel.jpg1

Probably the right decision in the circumstances, no point tempting fate when there's no need. :o

Unfortunate, but understandable given the circumstances. :}

HI Guys,
Mutual understanding from everyone, Stay safe, hopefully it won,t last too long.

Correct decision Steve, especially with so many of us falling into the maximum risk category.

May I wish everyone a healthy next few months as after all thats what really counts.

With the potential for children going back to school end of May and the rest of us getting some freedom, is it too soon to imagine May meeting taking place?

Just a thought, no meeting takes place in August due to holidays being taken by many people. Assuming holidays will be cancelled or postponed by a significant number, could August be added to the list? Perhaps as a one off?

Good suggestion Victor, I think it's a great idea. I personally don't go away in August/school holidays anyway. Even if it's just a few of us for a day, it would also help the pub, hopefully it'll be open, in some small way. Be great for us all to catch up.

Martyn

Hi Vic.
We can most certainly look at it but I doubt very much the May one will go ahead, as it would be middle of June before they look at pubs opening in should think.

We have already mentioned on the Nano forum that August could possibly be added to this years meets, again we are far from there yet.

Also we can only have the meets if the pub is open and up and running which I doubt very much will happen in May to be honest.

keep safe out there do not let your guard drop so you can be knocked out by surprise.

I agree with Steve we will be back as soon as we possibly can and fitting in an extra meet in August is a great idea, we are all champing at the bit to get going again but if you are in lockdown and have jobs to do on your 75 and have the knowledge to do it , then it’s a good time to get them done

I have a door lock to change on mine and a new aircon condenser which will be done over next few days, doesn’t even matter if the bumper stays off as car is going nowhere as I am lucky enough to be able to work from home.

We always get a good turnout at our meets and 50 cars over a weekend is normal be interesting to see if that rises further once we can all escape from our lockdown

May 9th-10th Nano Cancelled
 

I think we all knew that the 2nd meet of the Nano season would be very unlikely after the March one was cancelled, therefore its not news really saying that My event is not going to go ahead.


I think we may somehow be able to think of the July one going ahead in some form or another, maybe allowing cars to be parked 2 meters apart and if the cars need work again people would have to stand well back, then again would the cars be clean & sterile enough to work inside of if work was needed to be carried out inside the car.

Out side engine bay etc is not as bad I presume but who knows, lots to think about if we did go ahead, would the manager allow it because of the social distancing?

Only thing we can do at the moment is keep looking in to see where we stand, stay well & stay safe cheers Arctic.

I've just read that if all goes well with this week's review tomorrow, Boris may start lifting a few things as early as Monday in his Sunday announcement. I don't expect it to be much, probably just work and school related, but once we get going again if the virus stays low further sanction-lifting should be forthcoming! Keeping my fingers crossed! :)

Have a feeling that Pubs will be amongst the last to re-open.

Such a shame as was hoping to attend a couple of nanos this year.

Let’s see what Boris comes up with on Sunday unless he has gone on paternity leave and go from there, I will ring Damon at the Ashes for a chat over next couple of days and report back

FA Field blocked off.?
 

I had a drive past the Four Ashes today what I saw was quite astonishing, the carpark and been section off into to parts with massive concrete blocks the ones you see on the motorways?

I presume to stop anyone getting onto or through the gates of the field we use, just behind the fence left of the gate was piles of house hold waste, wood, fridges, beds, etc so it looks like the fly tippers have been on there so its been blocked off.

I hope it does not stop us from using the field if they open again sometime this year :eek:

PS Rob did you give Damon a ring ?

Hi Arctic,

Thanks for popping along.

Mindless, thoughtless, scum.

Just because the tips are shut doesn't mean you can dump your rubbish on any bit of convenient land you can get to.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Andy.

Looks like the Four Ashes is back on the market again as a tenancy so could be a while before we get back on there

https://i.imgur.com/KZD2Zxyh.jpg

Another drive past when testing the tourer as had a little diesel leak. as you can see large concrete barriers on the car park.

I went past today too Steve, and the scene at the Ashes is as you found, there are still concrete blocks on the car park to avoid anyone getting on and using the field which is presumably aimed at travellers, but the car park on entry is still accessible and big enough for a few unwanted visitors so I do hope someone is keeping an eye on the place, one sign of some encouragement was a sign on the door which I would like to think has been put there by Damon rather than the owning company but who knows.

https://i.imgur.com/aastMUGh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/0JQdAAyh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qkaEu2hh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/lwBSykkh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/94C6qDSh.jpg

Meets this year most unlikley?
 

We now know that the FA is back up for a tenant, therefore it is most unlikely we will have any Nano meets this year, unless we find another place which I doubt every much.

(Below is what Rob (trebor) as posted on another thread.

I have been in contact with the owning company twice in recent weeks trying to find out what the situation is after lockdown.

After first of all asking me if I wanted to take the pub on ( I said no ! ) they have now confirmed that they are recruiting so I can only guess that means Damon has left, which is bad news because it means it wont be straight back to business as usual after lockdown and without a tenant in there we have no meetings, so possibility the 1st meet of the year might be September or worst case none this year at all.

The owning company do not enter into any conversation just a few words in reply so still some mystery around it all, maybe Damon was still in a period when he could pull out of the deal, and he may resurrect it when lockdown ends but i think we can only take things at face value and plan for worst case which could be another venue on a temporary basis when we are allowed to meet again. )

June is definitely not going to happen, but keep looking in as the info comes to us it will be posted.

I'm getting extremely doubtful that we'll see any Nano meets this year, we've been lucky so far that new tenants haven't minded our meets there but there might be one that does :getmecoat:
Just my thoughts that I hope are wrong.

Martyn

mad sad times we have

No one in their right mind will take on the FA this year. Will be lucky if it is not torched. I cannot see any of the barricades keeping out travellers for long.

Steve hope you have not gone completely mad as of yet :p: but I was only saying this yesterday when I was at Glens fitting him a couple of vis motor at social distance of cause, that no one will take on the Four Ashes knowing they have to sort out a 2 meter social distance in the bar, and also in the restaurant lounge.

Having said that it would not be hard as the most customers they ever got was only about 10 couples in the week day evenings to eat there.

How on earth would they make a living with these restrictions in place, it was hard enough before lock down, the only way the FA will open up I think is for the owning company/ brewery is to put in a manager themselves, that then poses would we be able to use the field as the company / brewery would not be interested I feel.

It may pay us once the lock down as been released a lot more to find another place maybe approach the lorry café further down the road I am sure they would be happy of our custom for breakfasts & dinners ?

Any news? Apparently pubs with outdoor facilities will be re-opening any day now.

I thought the "FA" was still looking for a new tenant / landlord. If that is true I can't see it reopening anytime soon.

July meet cancelled
 

It is now July in our sunny/rainy land of the UK and as we now know Covid 19 is still around, all pubs were closed but will or can reopen from the 4th July, there does not seem to be any life at the Four Ashes even if there were it would be impossible to stick to the original July 18th 19th date we would of had our meet.

I also think moving forward it will be very difficult to police such events as our meets, something to discuss i would say if and when the FA opens and the manager allows us to once again use the field.

We must really start thinking of finding a new venue maybe the transport cafe just down the road, we would need to approach the owner at a safe social distance of cause and ask, or at least put it forward to them, the land is big enough, food would be plenty, stay safe out there Arctic.


FA was like a ghost pub when i checked it out on the 4th July. The only thing happing is the weeds are growing rapid.
https://i.imgur.com/bfuApIql.jpg1

https://i.imgur.com/D4Q7VW4l.jpg2

https://i.imgur.com/1RxlP3xl.jpg3

There was something i did notice when i visited the FA on the 4th lots of cans of beer and empty bottle in the bins etc, horse dung also, which shows the car park is being used by the horse & cart people to meet on Saturdays & maybe Sunday afternoons.

I am surprised that one of them as not taken on the pub, but in the present climate you would have to be mad or very brave :eek:

News Nano meets
 

( Rob reported the below news.

Some good news at last !!

The Four Ashes has been taken on by a couple, new tenant is called Michelle.

She is in there now preparing to open and is a car and bike enthusiast so all looking good once again as she says we are fine to keep using the field.)



All that we need to do now is get it finalised as to what restrictions if any they impose on us, personally i think we need to take precautions our selves not just leave it up to the pub.

Most of us are not young and are of the age when Covid can affect us more so than the younger generation, therefore i will be wearing a mask & gloves that is if i attend the meet which will not be an hands on meet in September date which was 12th 13th but could change ? who knows.

We will keep everyone interested informed.

Closed Ashes Once Again Closed !!!!!!
 

Once again the Four Ashes is closed down, this manager never even got to open it at all, a local member saw the manager loading her personal belongings into her car.

Michelle had also gone from answering all of Rob's / our calls to leaving phone on voicemail and never ringing back, that was before said member saw her leaving, so i think the time as come to find another venue for 2021 if the restrictions are lifted for us to have a meet, but we must not let this close our meets that's for sure.

I don think they can sell the FA to a superstore etc, the Nano meets have only been disrupted by the Covid 19 rules and regulations which can not last for ever, once they are lifted the meets will rise again i have no doubt about that.

I have a couple of places in the pipe line, and Duncan as also mentioned a place, we will not let this destroy what as been built up over 10yrs or more, or end the existence of what is the very best R40 meets in the country :cheers: bar none.


I have two venues i will be looking into hopefully one or both may be ok for us, even if we have to pay a small fee to use the land, it would mean that each car may have to make a small fee of £2 or £3 we will know that once talks with the owners have been sorted out.

There will be no October meet as i can see please keep looking in over the next few months and into 2021 all the best Arctic.