Members News

‘Join us at Teversal in January to celebrate Barry Brown’s 90th Birthday. Barry is SOC member number 005! He is the longest member still rallying with the SOC. Bookings will be available on this rally from the 1st of November when the next edition of Going Places should land on your doorstep!

Allen has not had firm confirmation that Joan’s funeral will be on Tuesday September 15th @ 2pm but it is highly likely to be that date and time. This is why the information has not been published beforehand.

However as the legalities are hopefully due to be confirmed within a day or two Allen needs to know now the numbers for catering asap.

Dress code is optional of black tie or smart casual.

Family flowers only.

There will be a collection box available at the Wake for those who wish to give.

The money will be split between Alderhey Children’s Hospital and the children’s ward at Whiston Hospital. Joan worked as a nurse at both of these.

If you are attending the Southport Rally then please reply to Sue’s email of this afternoon.

If you are not going to the rally and wish to attend the funeral then please contact me by any of my usual available methods.

Location :

St Helens Crematorium
Rainford Road
Windle
St. Helen’s
WA10 6DF

Val Brailsford

07711 263395 / val@thebrailsfords.com

Sadly the Burns Night Rally scheduled for January 2027 has been cancelled due to lack of initial interest. Unfortunately as a lot of planning has to be done well in advance for such an event, this decision had to be reluctantly taken.

 The GOOD NEWS is that the marshals David & Yvonne Lovett will now run the rally in 2028. You will find full details in your 2027 Rally Venues Book towards the back of the book. Remember that January 2028 rallies can be booked when rallies open for 2027 at the agreed date in January.

There will now be an alternative rally on that January 2027 weekend so watch this space and see October Going Places.

Webmaster

Sadly Angie Moxon passed away on August 20th. There are probably not too many members still in the club who remember Bill & Angie and their daughter Becky. But those of you who do will remember that she always had a smile on her face. They were marshalling rallies in the early days of when we joined the club and were always friendly. They attended hundreds of rallies at home and abroad and always joined in the fun.

Those were the days when we had the “Works” rallies (the visit to the factory and a great weekend totally provide by the Swift Group when no other clubs were under the Swift umbrella). On those occasions the SOC men played cricket against the Swift men. The ladies played rounders against the Swift lady employees. I was the captain of the rounders team and always remember Becky as a teenager getting most of our rounders as she was left handed and their fielders were in the wrong place. 😀

We lost Bill about 3 years ago and now he can be reunited with Angie  again.

Our thoughts are with Becky and her family at this sad time.

RIP Angie.

Val Brailsford

If you enjoy being a member of our friendly club then why not tell a friend, relative, neighbour or colleague who has a Swift Group Touring vehicle about us? This time of year is the perfect time to encourage them to join as after September 1st their membership runs right through to the 31st December 2027 and they will also receive a £5 voucher towards their first rally. Please direct them to the public area of our website where they can join easily online with a debit card, credit card or by PayPal. http://swift-owners-club.com

A lot of our members joined by recommendation from existing members while they were on their travels at home and abroad with or without their ‘van at the time.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO PROMOTE OUR CLUB.

As we no longer accept online card payments via PayPal for renewals, the website just provides details of the alternative payment methods and a link to GoCardless if you wish to set up a Direct Debit Mandate. (See the Membership Renewals for 2027 section of the Members’ Home Page and click on the alarm clock image).

For further information I have reproduced the Treasurer’s message from the Summer Edition of Going Places below:

It was agreed at the AGM that we would raise our membership fees next year to £20,
to combat rising costs.
You can pay your membership fees from the 1st September. Last year I asked you
to put your fees into our Admin Account. This year I am requesting that you pay your
fees into the Rally Account please. This is Account number 79362068 and Sort Code
30-99-50.
The reason for this, is I hope to eventually close the Admin Account. It is the least
used, and Lloyds Bank charge us £4.50 per month service fees. So it will save us
money.
If you have a standing order with your bank to pay your membership fees, please
ensure you are paying into the correct account, and with the increase to £20.
Those who pay through the club direct debit (available on our website), need to do
nothing, as I will make the changes. I will still accept cash or cheque for those
wishing to pay this way.
Thanking you for your support, and sorry for any inconvenience. Hope to see you all
in the field.
Steve Nobbs
Hon Treasurer

Webmaster

We have received the very sad news that our dear friend Joan Howard passed away peacefully this afternoon with Allen and their son Andrew at her bedside. Joan had been waiting a long time for a heart operation which eventually took place in February; however other complications set in after the operation, so for the last few months Allen has been nursing her at home. This sadly led to their decision to reluctantly sell their caravan.

Joan and Allen attended their first rally along with their son Andrew at Manchester Airport. This was a rally that we were marshalling and they were invited into our awning during a rainy BBQ. There were probably at least 20 people finishing their meals in our awning that evening. So Joan and Allen got to know many fellow ralliers right away and as I recall it turned into a late night too.

It wasn’t long before they were marshalling rallies themselves. Weekend rallies and holiday rallies too. They, along with their very close friends Jonny & Pauline Brown, ran the children’s Christmas party rally at Southport for many years too. They would source and wrap presents for about 40 children each year and Father Christmas would always make an appearance.

Joan was a very conscientious ACM for Area 1 for very many years and was always a much loved person by adults and children alike. In the last few years she was elected by the committee to be a Trustee of the club.

As they had attended well over 350 rallies in their almost 40 years (from 1987) in the club they had made very many friends from all over the country.

We have very many happy memories of happier times spent with them both in our caravans or on the rally field over the years. There was always fun and laughter when we were in their company and I’m sure many of you can relate to many happy rallies spent with such a lovely couple too.

Our thoughts are with Allen and Andrew at this very sad time.

R.I.P Joan you certainly will never be forgotten.

Allen will provide funeral details in due course and I will publish them here.

John Brailsford, President

 

The Executive Committee held discussions over the weekend following the government’s emergency alert and until further notice can we respectfully ask that all members seriously consider not using BBQs, Naked Flames, Open Fires or Smoke Outdoors while the current conditions continue.

We would also repeat our earlier request for you to place a bucket of water outside your caravans.

We need to take every precaution we can, not only to safeguard ourselves but also to protect those around us and the properties we are visiting.

I’m sure you will all understand the need for this action and appreciate the importance of everyone doing all they can to prevent a fire.

Rose Wasley, Chairman, on behalf of the SOC Executive