A dialogue was had with officials of RUMcar about this plan as it was not known to the committee of the Club as to how RUMcar was set up. As suggested in the discussion here found it is not a club in the way most other Microcar outfits are organised so it would be like trying to mix oil and water. At that point this option was dropped. However it has been a usefull exorcise to investigate possible common ground between clubs.
The idea was of a much more dynamic nature than bailing out a struggling club.
The idea of a Microcar Club of Great Britain is not new. It would by necessity have to aim high to be a success since it would need to prove itself worthy against the various vested interests, fair or foul, who would see it as some sort of threat. The principles behind it are that it moves the available talent into one organisation that can be far more effective than when it is dispersed between small, some struggling, organisations, especially now we have a reducing pool of enthusiasts to provide the support. It would steer clear of dealing in spares intially, leaving that to the existing organisations that were functioning. If there was a failure it would be able to catch the organisations infrastructure and attempt a resolution or replace the spares system in some way if possible. It could take on the roll of providing a well published newsagent quality magazine with space for clubs and spares suppliers inside. Bare in mind the Internet is beginning to make inroads into the club magazine. It would unify rallies etc. into one cohesive umbrella organisation, preventing clashes and offering help and have considerable impact on the hobby that is Microcars. The prerequisite for being able to do that is a reasonable supply of start up money. That is available in this scenario since the Club was pitched into a very weak position and could at the time have provided the start of the process to achieve the aim. No healthy Micro club would be threatened but the injured and mothballed along with other funds could be rolled up into a significant fund to under write such an organisation meaning these 'dead' funds move back into productive use for enthusiasts who created the deposits in the first place. At its most effective therefore there would be quite a cash injection for more new spares to be made by the appropriate clubs who would have the benefit of some of their work load being reduced so as to concentrate on their marque spares and activity. I think such a world would be brilliant. However the chances of it happening look slim as the will would seem not to be there.
Meanwhile the committee have concentrated on its own problems, re evaluated the situation in the light of information gathered, including feedback from members to present at AGM, and moved forward in setting up the club in a slightly different way. The members responsibility in this situation is to represent their concerns to the committee at AGM rather than create a discussion that can have little influence on the seat of debate at that time. It seems to have aroused little interest which is perhaps because the real thrust of the debate was not really exposed but rather an effect of it. Still as committee members we are governed by the remit of service and AGM so soon the opportunity will be missed for this Club to be the initiators of a grand scheme since the Club is re asserting itself in its own area of expertise. This will however only benefit a small group of enthusiasts rather than most of them. We always knew this was possible but as befits our heritage we look outside the box for answers rather than sticking with traditions and old thinking. I think that is where the idea of a single Microcar Club of GB lies, stuck in the mud of old thinking and eventually when it happens or is required by default it will be to late. An opportunity missed in my opinion and a reason to slowly transfer interest to areas that offer vibrant activity since they are unified in what they are doing beyond the issue of values of the Microcars against use.
