2023

The first event of the year, Club Night at The Gallow. Brian presented a cheque for £1505 to Clarissa of First Focus, the Club’s sponsored charity for 2022. Helen and Laura,Geoff Coley’s daughters, also attended and were thanked for donating Geoff’s book collection which resulted in proceeds of £513 for the charity.

This was the Club’s second visit to the Chrysalis Café for breakfast and 28 of us enjoyed their fare.  The food was efficiently served, no mean feat considering the number of people attending.  Thanks to David for arranging the get-together. Brian drew our attention to the EDP’s piece about our charity donation to First Focus.

This year’s winter walk was centred around North Elmham. Fourteen of us started at the Kings Head Hotel, then walked through the village, along the disused railway line and the back into the village via the church and adjacent Anglo Saxon Chapel. We returned to the Kings Head and were joined by other members for…

The Club Night and AGM was attended by 20 members including three newly elected committee members. Brian was elected Chairman, Mike vice Chairman, Dennis Treasurer, Jim Social Secretary, David Events  ontroller, and Tony Membership Secretary. Ray was thanked for his long spell as Membership Secretary and for managing the Website and Facebook.  The chairman thanked…

Breakfast at The Goat Shed, Honingham, this morning was enjoyed by 35 members. A wide variety of food was on offer and the pancakes with maple syrup and either crispy bacon or fruit proved very popular.  It was an interesting venue with a large selection of produce for sale.  Thanks to Jim’s usual meticulous planning,…

Twenty-four members had a private tour of Happisburgh Lighthouse, two tour groups of 12. Our volunteer guide gave us a fascinating talk on the history of lighthouses before we set off to climb the 112 steps to the lantern room and hear more about the continued operation of the lantern. To cap it all, the…

The first Fakenham Marketplace gathering of the year and, despite the chilly morning, 22 cars turned up as well as two prospective new members. The A-Board was updated to show our sponsored charity for this year: FitzRoy (www.fitzroy.org).

The Fakenham Market Place gathering was a great success, with twenty-two cars attending including two new members. It was also a good opportunity to assess the Market Place for parking on 7th May for the 01328 Coronation Rally. Jamie Francis and three friends have kindly agreed to do most of the marshalling for us.  Fingers…

Contrary to weather reports earlier in the week, we were blessed with a dry and mostly sunny day at Earsham Hall. It was an interesting show with numerous makes and ages of cars, motorcycles, tractors and military vehicles. Fourteen members attended and enjoyed the drive from Thickthorn Services, where we all met, to Bungay. Thanks…

The inaugural 01328 Coronation Car Rally took place today, starting at The Gallow, Fakenham, where, thanks to the friendly and efficient staff, participants enjoyed a hot drink and a bacon baguette after registering and obtaining their rally plaque. By 10:15 all 60 cars were on their way around the 01328 telephone area on route to…

Twenty of us took advantage of Lyn and Dennis’ careful planning and enjoyed a few days in North Yorkshire, based at the Inn on the Moor Hotel in Goathland. Apart from the endless possibilities of exploring the spectacular moors and welcoming villages, there were train trips to Whitby, boat trips around the harbour and beyond,…

The Sandringham Pageant of Motoring enjoyed a fine day this time, unlike last year which was plagued with heavy rain early on.  There were some 2000 cars on show spread over many separate displays all over the estate.  We had twelve members’ cars on our stand plus four more on other stands.  Some unusual cars…

Twenty-one members enjoyed an excellent visit to The Bircham Windmill last Sunday. It was really interesting and many intrepid climbers scaled it to the top. Lunch was very good and efficiently served. Many bought pasties, scones, bread and, of course, flour.

Our monthly gathering at Fakenham Marketplace, this time with a twist: this was the first appearance of the newly formed the Farmers Market. With twenty member’s cars in attendance, it was getting a little cramped in places, but a good get-together nonetheless.

Seven FAC cars were included in the 500-odd classics exhibiting at Holt as part of the North Norfolk Railway Vintage Transport Day.  There were vehicles of all descriptions on show including a ‘depot’-full of vintage buses providing free transport to and from Sheringham via Holt Marketplace. Steam trains were also available to ferry people to…

The eighty cars taking part in this year’s Charles Clark Rally set off as usual this morning  from The Goat Inn, Skeyton, after entrants enjoyed the bacon roll, tea/coffee and purchased raffle  tickets.  The drive to our final destination, Northrepps Aerodrome was dampened a little by the odd shower but the sun was out by…

The Overstrand Village Fair was very popular, with many attractions and lots of classic cars including eight from the Fakenham Auto Club. The event was blessed with good weather, which was in short supply in other parts of Norfolk. Thanks to Jack for organising our get-together.

The Festival of Classic & Sports Cars at Helmingham was interrupted by three sharp heavy showers but the crowds were plentiful, and there were loads of exotic cars. The club area was more spread out than previous years and the 40s exhibition dancing and the falconry displays were there as always. The driveway run also…

Fourteen of us met at the Chrysalis Café for coffee this morning before heading off to the Caister Castle Car Collection. Our journey took in the colourful and beautifully manicured village of Filby, looking its best in the glorious sunshine.  The museum has a tremendous range of vehicles on show – some 120 cars, 100…

As an alternative to Brisley, Nine of us attended the Shuttleworth Bedfordshire Vintage Airshow and what a day it was!  The weather was perfect and the pilots made the most of it. There were many attractions in addition to the aircraft: steam engines and organs, classic cars and motorcycles, vintage buses and coaches, the Swiss…

The Brisley Classic Car Show was held, as usual, at Brisley Hall. The superb weather conditions played a part in attracting almost one hundred classic cars, eight of which were from the FAC.  The entry fee for classic cars was £10 which went towards essential repairs to Brisley’s St. Bartholomew’s Church. There were refreshments available…

There was a good attendance, 39 in all, for the Mike Tomlin Run today which started atthe Gallow and wound its way through the sunny morning to The White Pheasant at Lenwade for a carvery lunch.  Entry fees and raffle tickets produced £325 for our charity, The Fitzroy Centre in Fakenham. Winner of the ’Best…

After displaying their cars at Fakenham Market Place, twenty members enjoyed a very interesting afternoon at The Langham Dome. This restored Dome, one of only five surviving, was vital in WW2 for training gunners to shoot down the hordes of Nazi planes crossing the Channel and North Sea to wreak havoc on Great Britain. Privates…

A great visit to the The Crown at Banningham for an evening meal. Twenty-seven of us went and enjoyed the excellent food, especially the steak and kidney pudding – just ask Jim! As well as the food, The Crown’s car park had lots of space. Thanks to Jim for organising the event and to Geoff…

The Reepham Classic Car Festival was back after a three-year absence and was well attended.  Amongst the eclectic range of cars on show were nine belonging to FAC members.  The Market Place was closed to traffic and food and drink was available. Thanks to David for organising the event and to Brian for the photos.

We were treated to a talk at the Gallow on Hot Air Ballooning by Tony Symonds. Tony, who has thirty years of experience flying balloons, explained in fascinating detail how balloons are constructed, inflated and flown. His talk was accompanied by a large selection of very colourful photos illustrating his flights and travels. Altogether a…

The final gathering of the year at Fakenham Market Place was reasonably well attended, considering the miserable weather, but was good to see some new faces taking part in the display. There were no market stalls in evidence this time, and we gather that the market has now ceased to be.

Another enjoyable Quiz Night at Q’s in Fakenham with Tracy comparing as usual. She lulled us into a false sense of security with the first round, but soon made up for it! Eight teams took part and the evening raised £268 for our charity, Fitzroy. The winning team, MGTR, comprised of Dennis, Lyn, Frank and…

The Club’s Christmas dinner, as last year, was held at The Railway Arms in North Elmham. The food was up to their usual high standards and the service was faultless – no mean feat considering that there were 53 of us attending. Heather’s raffle raised £150 for Nansa, our newly sponsored charity for 2024, and…