TOC Christmas Lunch 3rd Dec 2023

The TOC Christmas lunch proved a very jolly affair at the Cartwright Hotel, Aynho, selected by Andrew Jolliffe. We had a good crowd, but the traditional award for the Member attending from the furthest distance remained unclaimed due to the cold, wet weather which discouraged any form of Talbot motoring!

After the meal, Pat Laverack, a Member of the TOC and Awards Secretary of the STD, presented the Club with a large framed photo of the 1935 TOC Annual Dinner at the Dorchester Hotel in London– very much a ’society’ event, when Talbot customers were drawn mainly from among the very wealthy. This picture had been used as a trophy by the STD, but their Chairman, Paul Wignall, felt that its rightful home would be the TOC and we are very grateful for the gift. 

A full description of the photo and an identification of some of the key personnel was featured in the TOC Magazine, issue 105, so it’s wonderful to have the original in the Club. We will need to think of how this might be awarded in the future.

For the second year running, Howard Day awarded a bottle of wine and a provisional  ‘P’ plate to a Member who, in his view, had made significant progress in driving a Talbot. 

This year, Howard recognised a Member who had, he said, had ‘mastered the crash gearbox’, firstly on the TOC Irish Tour, then on the London to Brighton Run and finally on the TOC West Country tour. 

To my surprise and great embarrassment, that Member was me! Thank you, Howard.

David Roxburgh