Norton 100

Please can we get some good videos for those not attending, preferably with enough time showing close up features of unusual machines/mods.     They can be posted on youtube with a link!

The Committee, Branch Members and Friends of the Leicestershire and Northampton Branch would like to thank everyone who turned up either on or with a Norton motorcycle today.  We had a fantastic turnout of around 120 Nortons from all ages.  There were 26 961 machines, the largest ever gathering of the Dreer/Garner/TVS iteration of the Commando.  There were also many Commandos, Dominators and Singles and many specials, with, at one point, a straight line of 8 overhead-camshaft machines.  On the edges were Rotaries and a Lightweight, and Antony Curzon kindly brought along the 650cc Unified Twin and a very rare 500cc Nomad.  We really could not put on this event without the input from so many quarters so if you came along then a really big 'Thank You' from all of us.  Results for the prizes were; Best Single - Phil Wilson with his immaculate 1924 Model 2 [won £30 of vouchers from RGM (thanks, Roger) and Best Twin - Les Atkins' 1948 Model 7 [won £50 of vouchers from Andover Norton (thanks, Karl and crew).   T-shirts were a limited edition of the Energette logo on a pale yellow with a run of only 25 shirts, some of which were sold directly by James' grand-daughter, Judith Morris, from the Branch stand.  The initiative has generated a £200 donation for The Salvation Army; Pa Norton worked extensively with the charity, even giving up his valuable time in the evenings to teach under-privileged men and women Maths and English to improve their chances of finding better jobs.  The Salvation Army also provides support for our annual wreath-laying ceremony at the end of April each year. Mike Daly filmed 24 members with their machines and the edited version of the films will be placed on the Club's You Tube channel.   With so many people gathered with just one thing in common - the enthusiasm for Norton Motorcycles - we are certain that Pa would have been very pleased. Many thanks to all involved.

Colin, A big thanks to you and the rest of the team for organising a great event. 

Alan Elstob (Bristol Branch)

A great effort and by the organisers and volenteers making  for a memorable event . Wonderfull location and weather . We had a great run up on clear empty roads from South London . But got well and truly clobbered by a pile up on the Mototway on the way back !. Phil Hannam rode his cafe racer all the way up from the south coast and still looked  lively  on arrival , Iron man !. A good day .

Just to re-iterate what others have said; my first 'outing' for months and thoroughly enjoyable! The biggest turn-out I have seen for years and great selection of Nortons. It was great to meet-up with so many members we hadn't seen for ages.
Many thanks to Colin C. and members of the Northants and Leicester and Warwickshire Branches for their hard work in getting this event to fruition - you should be well chuffed!.

Mark and Jill Woodward.

That was a great day out. For clarification though it was down to the Northants and Leicester branch not Warwickshire, we just turned up and wore the T shirts. I was interviewed 3 times! Well done all. Brian Peers Secretary, NOC Warwickshire

I have received very many kind emails and text messages congratulating the Leicestershire and Northampton Branch on our event yesterday.  I feel that I must point out that our team who turned up on Saturday and Sunday - Keith Ashby, John Westwood, Mark Lepkowski, Tim Roberts, Dick Stevens, Geoff McNulty, Robert Berry, Steve Brown, Kevin Yeates, Sharon Ward, Ken Lay, Andy Smith and Tony Harris - were dedicated throughout the day.  Our Chairman, George Farenden, was terrific with assisting riders to their spots, welcoming everyone.  The whole team were highly enthusiastic in dealing with the many issues which arose during the day.  Judith Morris assisted with selling T-shirts and speaking with many Norton owners about her grandfather.  At times, Judith admitted that she was drawn to tears by the reverence for the Norton name.   However, this event could not have taken place or been delivered so smoothly without our man in charge, Ian Saker.  Ian planned most of the event, drawing up the layouts for the various types of Norton motorcycles, building the stages, organising the placement of the gazebos and feather-flags, liaising with The Wharf Inn staff regarding food, sorting out the parking arrangement for the vans, cars and trailers, liaising with the Gliding Club for temporary parking and organising the shuttle car, making all the signs and placing them in their respective locations, buying the banner and dealing with the tricky task of briefing all the helpers regarding their roles on the day.  Ian loves a project, and any success is down to the team and especially Ian's drive and commitment - he even managed to ride his own Mercury to the event after bringing almost all of the equipment in several journeys in his Honda CRV.  I merely telephoned a few people and sent some emails.  So, I would like to add my thanks to Ian and all the team; hopefully we have given everyone an extremely memorable day. 

… only sorry that an ongoing gearbox rebuild meant I had to come on my Ducati.

I think that was my first actual Norton Owners Club meet, so I have to say....its set the bar pretty damn high for future ones! Huge thank you to the organisers and volunteers! And apologies if I didn't get to talk to everyone who wanted to bend my ear over something....at one point I had questions fired at me from multiple directions haha

Does anyone know who was recording digital images with a drone at Welford on Sunday?  It was such a large event and difficult to capture with an ordinary digital camera.  There will be major articles in Old Bike Mart and The Classic Motorcycle and in each case the journalists have asked for some aerial images; please could you contact me if you know who the pilot/cameraman was.  Thanks, Colin.

Jonathan Furminger (white 961 with panniers) flew his drone at the start of Sunday & posted a Youtube video on his site - search for Norton Unofficial to see his excellent stuff on the 961.