Chair’s Chatter

Hello everybody, and welcome to this month’s Chair’s Chatter. I hope all are well and that you are all enjoying the freedoms restored to us after the 19th of July.

For everyone who joined LAM just before or during the pandemic, thank you for sticking with us. Whilst some of you have been out on OR's as the various stages of lockdown have eased, it was lovely to see so many of you moving from the Zoom screen into what my 19-year-old son calls IRL, at our first in-person meet at Tatsfield and again at Banstead.

Many thanks to The Ye Old Ship @ Tatsfield, who hosted us and provided bacon sarnies. A special thanks to Jane (Harle) and Mark (Coltman), who made it all happen. Likewise, a huge thank you to Adele Hawes and Norton who went shopping in the early hours of a Sunday morning to purchase essential supplies so that they could provide us with tea and coffee at Banstead whilst also joining me in a quick game of hunt the key for the car park – which was fun!

That said, we did find Steve Trinder, who had been locked in a filing cabinet since February 2020, surviving on a diet of Penguin biscuits, PVA glue and powder paint. He kept himself amused by wearing his black-soled bike boots on the badminton courts whilst playing table tennis and fencing at the same time, avoiding pregnancy and cannabis and producing a colourful artwork on the joy of Easter. Confused? Come to the next Banstead group meeting and you will see what I mean.

So we are back and hopefully can continue “for real.” but it might be too much of a stretch to say we will continue an uninterrupted service.

More thanks, and then I will shut up! Thank you to all of the Committee who have steered this oil tanker known as LAM over the past eighteen months, often making decisions with very little information, whilst always struggling with their heads and hearts.

Thank you all for your help and sagacity. We have all struggled to do this concurrent to our own personal COVID landscape, which was at times unfolding rapidly and rather unpleasantly. We are all volunteers, none of us are paid, and you did and continue to do, a fantastic job.

The above is not just from me; it comes from several people who have written or spoken in-person to say thank you, in particular to Trevor, who has written to a number of associates. As a result, they have now re-engaged with their IAM journey.

It’s now August (yeah, it really is!) and then into September, where at the time of writing, there are just seven spaces left for Wales (sharing rooms only). This is an opportunity to ride some of the best roads in the country, generally car-free, set in the backdrop of the most beautiful landscape and usually ending with fabulous cake and/or fish & chips by the sea. What better way to leave autumn than to go to Wales, come back, book your test and pass. Our Training Weekends always sell out quickly. If it's sold out, pop your email in the 'waiting list' box and you'll receive an email notification if there are any returns from people who's plans change and can't make it. However, jump on the email quickly, as it's first-come, first-served. 

Ride safe and enjoy any summer holidays or trips. If you do manage to go away, please take pictures and share your great roads with the group, as we love seeing your adventures.

Paul