Rally Report
Our 2026 Rally Weekend was an important one, as it’s the Club’s 40th Anniversary this year. As usual lots of planning went on behind the scenes, and I’m pleased to say it all came together seamlessly.
I’d been keeping an eye on the weather all week, and it was “dodgy” to say the least, with showers most days. I know a bit of rain won’t put off the diehard Minor Owners, but I really wanted the sun to shine. And it did! We had wall to wall sunshine all weekend!
Saturday saw 34 Minors gather in the Steam Railway car park ready for the Drive Out at lunchtime. Stuart kindly put together the route and led the way, with only one slight hiccup as one of the roads was clo
sed in Shanklin. However it was a tiny diversion along the next road and we were back on track without any dramas. I spotted lots of smiling faces and waves from members of the public, especially through Sandown and Shanklin. All 34 cars (plus another two who joined us slightly later) at The Old Smithy Car Park in Godshill, where many had tea, cake and cream teas, and a wander round the pretty village.
Then it was back home to get ready for the evening BBQ back at the Railway. I had onions to fry and salad to chop! We got to the event field and lit the BBQ at 6pm, and were joined by around 40 Minor owners (I didn’t actually count) who enjoyed grilled goodies, and lots of lovely desserts provided by the Club. We had entertainment from Sally Ash, AKA The Lemon Thieves, who had everyone singing and clapping along… there was even a little dancing. I may have murdered Queen’s “I Want to Break Free” with Sally on the mic; and Andrew Waltham from Kent gave us a song on the ukelele too.
Home to bed and then up very early on Sunday morning, ready for the long day ahead. We got to the event field around 8am and were soon joined by other committee members, and Mary & Malcolm, to set up the tables, gazebos etc and marshal everyone into place. Everything ran smoothly although there was a very late arrival who somehow managed to get past the Railway staff long after the cut-off part (and they also left early!). Anyway, with everything in place, Rally Day began.
I was amazed to see 64 Morris Minors parked up, along with 25 other classic vehicles! The Old Girl arrived to do the usual mystery tour bus rides, with the bus being completely full for both rides. We had music from Dave B and John Taylor, and lots of stalls including Cambria Cottage Cakes, IW Spina Bifida charity, Guide Dogs, SES Motor Factors, and TrackAdog, who also gave displays in the arena with their dogs.
Lester Elliott Mike Smith Malcolm Jones
A few months earlier we’d managed to track down the founder members of the Club, who set it up in 1986. Malcolm Jones, of course still a member, was easy to find, as was Lester Elliott who was still local and in touch with some members. More difficult to locate was Mike Smith, who we knew had left the island in the late 80s and moved to Norfolk. Searching for a “Mike Smith” on Facebook wasn’t easy as there are literally hundreds! We ran a piece in the National magazine asking if anyone knew Mike or had contact details, but that drew a blank. At that time Andy, our Membership Secretary, was trawling through old Club newsletters to try and find interesting articles and history to present for our 40th anniversary. And purely by chance he came across a “welcome to new members” article in the mid 90s, mentioning Mike and his wife Gill! Did that mean they were back on the island after all? A bit more detective work on facebook, I managed to whittle down all the Mike Smiths on the island, and had a look at each profile to see if there were any clues. I found a Mike Smith who lived in Sandown, had previously lived in Norwich…. Was this our man? I sent a message to him and not long after I got a reply. It was the Mike Smith we’d been looking for!
So with all three founder members now located, we invited them along to the Rally and gave them honorary membership of the Club. Andy conducted a short interview with all three at the Rally and got them to cut our celebration cake, which was made by Donna from Cambria Cottage Cakes, who is also a Club member. Each was also presented with a plaque thanking them for setting up our wonderful Club.
As the day went on I realised I still had the judging to do, always a difficult task as there are so many wonderful cars to choose from and each one loved and cared for by their owner. I got Stuart to help me and after some deliberation we had a shortlist
Towards the end of the day the prizes were awarded to the best cars, always a satisfying moment to see the owners’ smiling faces when they get their trophies. We took that opportunity give out a special prize to an owner from Bristol. Dave comes to our Rally every year, he travels by public transport on his mobility scooter and brings a tent and camps out with us all weekend. That’s true dedication and we felt we needed to acknowledge his commitment.
I also chose that moment to mention that one of our long-standing members, Dave Gilliam, had an important big birthday that week, so we sang Happy Birthday and presented him with a card and gift from the Club.
The final thing to do on that day was the call the raffle. As always it takes a while but we got through it. I’m pleased to say the raffle raised £233 which has been donated to the Daisy Ring Bus, who provide transport for islanders requiring cancer treatment to mainland hospitals.
I said lots of thank-yous on the day, but I’ll repeated them here, as they’re important. Thank you to:
The IOWMMOC Committee members, Stuart, Sally, Jonathan, Andy, Gary and Paul, for giving up your time to get the event running. I never need to tell them what to do, they just quietly get on with it, and that makes my life easier too! Thank you also to their families who also muck in with running the raffle, marshalling etc.
Malcolm and Mary Jones who also unfailingly turn up and help us get sorted on the day, it really does help.
Crisso Smallman who stayed on site from Friday in his camper van, with dogs Meg ad Gem, to welcome all the campers over the weekend.
Tim & Audrey Lang, who come along every year to support the Club and sponsor our Rally plaques.
Prices Garage, who sponsor our trophies.
Paul Robinson, who brings The Old Girl bus and provides the mystery tours, and also provides the PA system, meaning I don’t have to shout.
IW Steam Railway who let us use the field and the facilities for the weekend, and for their support on the day.
Donna Walker from Cambria Cottage Cakes for providing our celebration cake. It was delicious!
Dave B and John Taylor for providing the music free of charge.
Island Copier Company who printed the Rally programmes free of charge.
Wightlink for the ferry discount for our mainland visitors.
Our stallholders who came along to support the event.
And of course, all the Morris Minor and classic car owners who came along! Without you we don’t have an event, so thank you for joining us!!
Sally Cochran, Chair
And the Winners Are….
Best in Show
Convertible XLD 268G
Owned by David Robins from Reading
Best Island Car
Traveller NDL 834G
Owned by Matt Birkin
Chair’s Choice
Commercial 27 RYD Pick-Up
Owned by Andy Wells of Ryde
Public’s Choice
Pick-Up KDL 241F
Owned by Andy Smith of Ryde
Best Classic Car
Triumph TR5 LAM 666F
Owned by David Carter of Merstone
Well done to you all!
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