Dear Wakefield MAG member,
Welcome to the Wakefield MAG e-newsletter. If you can't attend our Wednesday meetings regularly, it's the next best thing to keep you up to date with what we are up to.
CONTENTS
1) Wakefield MAG Biker Quiz Nite
2) Remembrance Sunday Report
3) Christmas Do Report
4) Stolen Bike
5) Wakefield AGM
6) Post Christmas Auction
7) October Rideout Report
8) New Impact Assessment begins into EU Regulation
9) Our Birthday !!!!
10) Christmas Meetings
11) Forthcoming Events (for December and beyond)
1) Wakefield MAG Biker Quiz Nite
Check out the event report Here
Check out the event report Here
Check out the event report Here
*** Wakefield MAG Member's motorcycle stolen ***
Red Honda CBF125M, Registration Number: YD11 KXC. Has 2 green monster stickers on both sides of the tank and scratch marks on the right rear panel. Stolen from a front garden in Eastmoor, Wakefield on Thurs 18th November in the early hours of the morning. Perpetrator captured on CCTV footage pushing the bike past Wakefield Fire Station, but the footage isn't clear enough to positively identify the thieving scumbag.
Please keep them peeled folks. Remember that the MAG Theft Reward Scheme applies (anyone who provides information to the police which results in a positive conviction of the thieving lowlife of a MAG member's bike, is eligible for (up to) a £500 reward, courtesy of MAG - Just one of the very many benefits of MAG membership).
Our 10th branch AGM will be held in the Grey Horse, on Wednesday 11th January, starting at the earlier time of 8:00pm (prompt). All members are invited to attend this special meeting, so please try to attend if you can. At this meeting there will be a review of the year, elections for the branch committee and the prize giving for our branch heroes. As this meeting is effectively a MAG political meeting, it carries with it a whopping 75 branch points for everyone who attends (a normal branch meeting only carries 5 points). As all the points are tallied at year end and go towards the branch heroes presentation, points really do mean prizes !!!! What better boost to your branch heroes tally for the new year !!!
The Annual Wakefield MAG mailshot will shortly be posted to all eligible Members, i.e. current or recently expired MAG members with a WF postcode, to formally place notice for the meeting. The meeting is also advertised in the events section on the main MAG website (www.mag-uk.org), on our own website, and in the latest edition of The Road magazine. Last years AGM minutes will shortly be posted (alongside all our other previous AGM minutes) on the branch website (under the AGM's menu item, spookily enough !!).
N.B. Motions for the AGM should be submitted the week before the AGM (Wednesday 4th 2012).
Our 8th Post Christmas Auction will be held on Wednesday 25th January 2012, at 20:00, at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, and if previous years events are anything to go by, an event not to be missed. The idea is that you bring along all your unwanted Christmas presents, together with other stuff you no longer want, or have the room for, donate them to the branch, and we auction them off to the highest bidder.
The 2011 auction raised £460, which we rounded up to £510, so that it split nicely into 3 (we advertised a split of the proceeds of 2/3 to MAG and 1/3 to a charitable cause). This gave us a fantastic 2011 auction donation to the MAG fighting fund of £340 !!!!. That was pretty staggering, especially as the bidding on a lot of items started at 50p. Of course, we want to beat that for 2012. We know times are hard at the moment, but that's all the more reason to come down to the auction, grab a top bargain, and save yourselves considerable amounts of money. We already have lots of stuff that has been donated, including quality one piece leathers (a reserve price will apply to these due to their value), several helmets, computer printer, monitor, and lots of other stuff (and we still have almost 2 months to collect more donations !!!!).
The auctions are always hugely entertaining and there are always some real quality items donated, and hence, some real bargains to be had.
Proceeds from the auction will again be split (2/3 to the MAG Fighting Fund, 1/3 to a charitable cause(s).
I hope to see you there. Be there early, with viewing from 07:00 onwards, and the auction starting at 08:00 prompt (and don't forget to bring your unwanted Christmas pressies !!!).
Check out the rideout report Here
8) New Impact Assessment begins into EU Regulation
The 23rd of November saw the start of a new Impact Assessment into the EU Type Approval Regulation. This has been granted due to the incredible amount of work which has been done by MAG and FEMA and everyone who has written a letter or who rode on the 25th of September Demo.
We knew that the 22nd November IMCO vote (Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee) on the Regulation would be delayed again, as MAG, FEMA and the UK Government (amongst others) battled to secure another, more robust Impact Assessment (IA) of the Regulation that could see an end to the modification of power-trains and compulsory ABS for all.
The vote had already been postponed twice (17th October & 22nd November), before it was rescheduled for the 5th December. The IMCO vote looks set to be taken BEFORE the MEPs have gathered the information that they may need to make an informed decision. An Impact Assessment is currently being undertaken into aspects of the proposed Type Approval Regulation, regarding the speed at which new emission criteria should be introduced or whether Euro 6 levels of emission control should be introduced at all, as well as good old ABS for all.
Regulations aren't usually delayed this long and it's a testament to the lobbying so far that so much attention is being given to this piece of legislation, but it would severely undermine the credibility of the EU legislative process if a committee were to make a decision that effects us all, and the motorcycle industry, without first considering all the available information !?!?!?!
It will be embarrassing if it has to be postponed yet again, but with weight of feeling, it may be. Questions have now been asked in EU Parliament about the quality of the original impact assessment that the Commission did as part of the original proposal, and a complaint to the Ombudsman now has to be answered by the Commission, so the case continues to build.
MAG activists whose MEP's are either members of the IMCO (internal market and consumer protection committee) or substitute members have been asked to contact them to urge them to consider the impact that this will have, not only on their ability to make an informed decision, but also on the credibility of the European legislative process, which will appear to be one that carries on regardless of the interests of those citizens most affected and any evidence that may appear to the contrary to that presented by the Commission.
Let's hope the vote is postponed again, given there is no realistic way the IA can be completed, a report prepared, and the IMCO committee members given time to read it, before the 5th December.
Remember, every delay is a minor victory, as it ensures more time and effort is being expended examining this proposed legislation.
We suspect IMCO won't have sufficient time to vote before Christmas, meaning the Plenary Session won't have an opportunity to vote until the Spring. The full EU Parliament only meet to vote about 5 or 6 days in every month and at this rate it is unrealistic to assume they could be presented with 'our' Regulation until the Spring, at a Strasbourg meeting. That'll be our time to write more letters and perhaps get out on the streets again, because it'll be all our UK MEPs who are voting, whether they sit on IMCO or not. We hope every rider and the bike press will ensure they hear our opinions before that crucial vote.
The great news is that we hear from IMCO that the more outrageous amendments to the proposals, like giving the police the powers to stop and check bikes, have now been thrown out. There is even a chance that because there is so much debate around article 18, the dreaded 'anti-tampering' of power-trains, that the whole article may be thrown out. This would be a massive victory, but is still something for which we have to wait and see. Fingers (and Toes) Crossed !!!
The 9th of January is a very important date in history:
1799 - British Prime Minister William Pitt introduces income tax to raise funds for the war against Napoleon
1806 - Lord Horatio Nelson is buried at St. Paul's Cathedral in London
1816 - Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery
1861 - American Civil War: The 'Star of the West' incident occurs near Charleston, South Carolina. It is considered by some historians to be the 'First Shots of the American Civil War'
1900 - The Italian football club, Lazio, is founded in Rome
1905 - Russian workers stage a march on the Winter Palace, which ends in a massacre of the workers, signalling the beginning of the 1905 Russian Revolution
1941 - First flight of the Avro Lancaster
1951 - The United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City
1957 - British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigns
1959 - In America, the first episode of the TV series Rawhide, starting Clint Eastwood, is shown
1972 - Cruise Liner Seawise University (formerly the Queen Elizabeth) Sank in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, after a serious fire whilst under conversion to a floating university
1976 - Sylvester Stallone starts filming 'Rocky'
1986 - British defence secretary Michael Heseltine resigns from the Cabinet of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher over the 'Westland Affair'
1997 - Round-The-World yachtsman Tony Bullimore is rescued after spending 4 days in the Pacific Ocean after his boat capsized
2002 - Wakefield MAG holds its inaugural meeting ...........
Which means the 9th of January 2012 is Wakefield MAG's 10th Birthday !!!!! To celebrate this most momentous occasion, we are having a 10th Birthday Party on Saturday 14th January, in the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield. Come along and help us celebrate (Rock Disco, Karaoke (for those brave / drunk enough), Buffet, Good Company and lashings of Ginger Beer !!!). 7:30pm onwards. Hope to see you there !!!!
There will be no formal meeting on Wednesday 28th December, due to the close proximity to the Christmas bank holidays (although it's likely a good few of our meeting regulars will be at the Grey Horse, for a social gathering, and a change from repeats on TV and turkey sandwiches !!!!).
Meetings as normal for the previous week (Wednesday 21st December) and the following week (Wednesday 4th January).
11) Forthcoming Events (for December and beyond)
Wednesday 14th December - Leeds MAG Christmas Toy Run to Lineham Farm, Eccup, Leeds
Assemble at the Cardigan Fields Leisure Complex Car Park from 6pm, Leaving Cardigan Fields, LS4 2GD at 6.30 prompt, arriving at Lineham Farm Childrens Centre LS16 8AZ at 7pm. The Children will be ages 8-11 and bring presents wrapped and marked for girl or boy. To make it fair, please spend approx £6 on each gift - bring as many as you like!
Friday 16th December - York MAG & York Bike Night Christmas Party
At the Post Office Club, Marygate, York. 7:30 onwards. Live Music. Proceeds to Yorkshire Air Ambulance. £5 entry. More details from Ant (0753 233 9823) or Trev (0786 787 7277)
Wednesday 12th January - Wakefield MAG Annual General Meeting
As Detailed Above. 7:30pm for a prompt 8:00pm start at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield
Saturday 14th January - Wakefield MAG 10th Birthday Party
As Detailed Above. Come along and celebrate this most momentous occasion !!!
Sunday 22nd January - MAP Meeting
The next MAP meeting will be held at the Breighton Ferry Pub, Breighton, Nr Selby, North Yorks, YO86DH, starting at 13:00 prompt. Magic Action Promotions (MAP), is the events arm of Yorkshire MAG, which hosts the ITV, FYP & YPR bike rallies, which contribute so enormously to the MAG fighting fund. Every MAG member is more than welcome to attend the meeting and see how the MAP events are run, its more the merrier and MAP welcome you taking more of an interest or active role. 13:00 start at Brieghton Ferry, Nr Selby.
Wednesday 25th January - Wakefield MAG 8th Post Christmas Auction
As Detailed Above
February 2011 - Leeds MAG Fred Hill Memorial Run
Details TBA (and Weather Dependant)
That's all for this month, have a great Christmas, hope Santa brings you lots of biking goodies, and I hope to see you all soon.
Ride Safe
Steve Travis
Chairman
Wakefield MAG
0772 078 4734
Wakefield MAG meet at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield at 8:30pm every Wednesday. New (and Old) faces are always welcome.