Wakefield MAG January 2013 Newsletter

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.

I hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas and has a fantastic New Year. In addition to getting some Christmas pressies that you really wanted, hopefully you also got some that you gladly want to give away !!!! WHY ? ....... because the Wakefield MAG Post Christmas Auction is rapidly approaching (See below for details).

CONTENTS

1) Wakefield & District MAG 11th Annual General Meeting
2) Post Christmas Auction
3) 11th Birthday Party
4) New Years Resolutions
5) Test Pass
6) Manchester Motorcycle Show
7) Christmas Do Report
8) Ethanol Campaign Update
9) 2013 Rally Dates
10) Forthcoming Events (for January and beyond)

1) Wakefield & District MAG 11th Annual General Meeting

Our 11th branch AGM will be held in the Grey Horse, on Wednesday 9th January, starting at 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 was emailed, posted or hand delivered to all eligible Members, i.e. all current MAG members with a WF postcode, in early December to formally place notice for the meeting. The AGM is also advertised in The Road magazine and on the MAG (UK) website, together with our own Wakefield MAG website.

The previous AGM minutes are posted on the branch website (under the AGM's menu item, spookily enough !!) and will be available at the AGM itself. If you want your own copy, please let me know and I'll send one on.

The AGM is your opportunity to have your say in the way your branch is run. It is also the ideal opportunity to take a more active role in running the branch - it's certainly true that the more you put into MAG, the more you will get out of it !!!!

Hope to see you at the AGM, and don't forget your membership card to vote !!!

2) Post Christmas Auction

Our 9th Post Christmas Auction will be held on Wednesday 30th January 2013, 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.

Proceeds from the auction will again be split with 2/3 to the MAG Fighting Fund and 1/3 to a charitable cause(s). The 2012 auction raised a record £400 for the MAG fighting fund, with £200 for charity. That was pretty staggering, especially as the bidding on a lot of items started at 50p. Of course, we want to beat that for 2013.

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 had lots of stuff donated (and we still have nearly another month to collect even more auction donations !!!!).

The Wakefield MAG auctions are always hugely entertaining and there are always some real quality items donated, and hence, some real bargains to be had.

Already, we have lots of people keen to attend. Be there early to guarantee a seat, with viewing from 07:00 onwards, and the auction itself starting at 08:00 prompt (and don't forget to bring your unwanted Christmas pressies !!!).

All welcome and I hope to see you there.

3) 11th Birthday Party

Our 11th Birthday Party will be held on Friday 8th February 2013, at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield. Raffle, Buffet (small charge will apply), Disco, Party Games, Fancy Dress (strictly optional but prize for best outfit), Having a great time (strictly mandatory) !!!

We were formed on the 9th of January 2002 and we have certainly come a long way since that inaugural meeting at the White Hart. We still have a good number of regular meeting attendees who were at those first fledgling meetings eleven years ago (so we must be doing something right !!!).

Come along and help us celebrate, from 7:30pm onwards. All Wakefield MAG members and friends most welcome. Good Company and lashings of Ginger Beer guaranteed !!! Hope to see you there !!!!

4) New Years Resolutions

Hands up how many people have made a New Years Resolution or two? Give up the fags .. drink less .. exercise more .. lose weight .. get out on the bike more, whatever the weather? How many can honestly say that they will be able to keep it up for the whole year .... probably not many.

Want a New Years Resolution that is easy to keep, will make you feel better about yourself, and your contribution to others, will save you money & make the world a better place? Sounds too good to be true? Almost, but not quite ....

One of the best NY resolutions you can possibly make is to join MAG this year, rejoin if you have recently lapsed, or ensure you maintain your membership throughout the year if you are already a member !!!

This resolution is dead easy to keep (just £25 will guarantee that), you will be positively contributing to the on-going maintenance of your chosen lifestyle, both for you and everyone who rides a bike, you are joining a union of 10,000 like minded souls, and best of all, you will be able to save money by taking advantage of the many benefits and deals only available to MAG members.

You can join MAG at:

The Direct Debit (DD) Facility for MAG membership is now up and running and is a great way of joining, as you won't have to remember to renew every year as it will be done automatically for you. The DD mandate is at this link: http://www.mag-uk.org/files/Renewal_DD-1_page.pdf. If you currently pay by Standing Order, convert it to DD as it's a lot easier.

Membership fees are: Single Membership - £25.00; Joint Membership (two adults) - £37.50; Family Membership - either single or joint adult membership with children added to the membership at £5.00 per child. New members between the ages of 16 and 25 years old receive a £5 discount on first year of MAG membership.

Make this one New Years Resolution you will honestly say you have been able to keep ... Don't put it off ... Join MAG now !!!

5) Test Pass

Congratulations go to Wakefield MAG member Kane Scott, who passed his bike test in December !!!! Kane, very sensibly made sure he passed his test before the new stepped licence regime comes into force later this month. As is our long standing tradition, Kane was awarded a prize (of the alcoholic variety) for his achievement. Well done .... and welcome to a world on two wheels without 'L' plates !!!!

6) Manchester Motorcycle Show

Wakefield MAG are having a trip to the 2013 Manchester Motorcycle Show on Saturday 12th January. The show is being held at the Manchester Central Exhibition Centre, Petersfield , Manchester, M2 3GX. The promoters claim their 2013 event is going to be bigger and better than 2012, with MORE exhibitors, MORE retailers, MORE live action, MORE manufacturers showcasing their NEW models of bikes, TOP celebrities, and LOTS MORE!

Tickets are £10 in advance (+ £1 transaction fee, per order, not per ticket) or £15 on the day. Advanced ticket sale closes at 12pm on Thursday 10th January.

More details at: http://manchestermotorcycleshow.co.uk/

We are planning to go by train, so if you fancy going, meet us at Dewsbury railway station for the 09:06 train to Manchester Piccadilly, arriving at 09:49. At Piccadilly we will take the Metrolink (in the Altrincham or Eccles direction) and alight at St Peter's Square, which is within a 5-minute walk of Manchester Central.

Trains are every half hour (in both directions), so no problems getting back !!!!

7) Christmas Do Report

Check out the event report Here

8) Ethanol Campaign Update

As well as the e-Petition (epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/41913) and the full campaign details on the Yorkshire MAG web site (www.yorkshire-mag.co.uk/ethanol.html), there is also now a Facebook Campaign Page to join / like: www.facebook.com/YorkshireMagEthanolCampaign

This page is really there to catch the attention of others who may not be fully aware of the campaign on the Yorkshire MAG website. Be sure to send the link to everyone who might be affected by this issue .... there are no shortage of people, we are talking millions !!!!

If you haven't already written to your MP or signed the ePetition, do it now. Please support this campaign and it's recommendations as if these aren't implemented, there is a good chance you might be pushing your bike instead of riding it !!!

Full details are on the Yorkshire MAG website - The background and the issue is explained, links to reports and more information, details of how you can get involved and an example letter to personalise and send to your MP.

The Yorkshire MAG campaign will also very shortly be going National, as it will be covered in the next issue of Network, MAG's Activist newsletter, sent to thousands of MAG activists, up and down the country (and abroad).

The issue of increasing levels of ethanol in petrol is also very much on the agenda of environmental groups ... not because they are in favour of it ... far from it ... harmful emissions from ethanol are worse than burning the fossil fuels they are supposed to replace, ethanol in petrol reduces MPG, so you actually burn more petrol to go the same number of miles, and far, far worse ... growing crops for vehicle fuel is increasing worldwide food poverty, as it diverts valuable arable land away from growing foodstuffs (and there are already an estimated one billion people who go hungry across the world - and this fundamentally flawed environmental policy really isn't helping) ... Still think this potentially doesn't impact you ...

9) 2013 Rally Dates

As some of you will need to book holiday, or whatever it is you need to do to make time for the best bike only rallies in the UK, here are the dates of the main Yorkshire MAG events for 2013:

We will be getting our branch ticket allocation for sale at our meetings within the next month or so. Remember, sale or return tickets are now on offer to MAG branches nationally, not just those in Yorkshire. This means that the Yorkshire Pudding Rally will sell out even quicker than in other years. We say it every year, but, if you want tickets to this most excellent rally, get them sooner rather than later as they WILL sell out !!!

We'll let you know when we get our tickets, and in the meantime, give me a shout if you want some reserving.

10) Forthcoming Events (for January and beyond)

Wednesday 9th January - Wakefield MAG Annual General Meeting

As Detailed Above. 7:30pm for a prompt 8:00pm start at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield

Saturday 12th January - Manchester Motorcycle Show

As Detailed Above.

Sunday 20th January - MAP Meeting

Location TBC (check the events page on this website for updates). 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.

Wednesday 30th January - Wakefield MAG 9th Post Christmas Auction

As Detailed Above.

Friday 8th February - Wakefield MAG 11th Birthday Party

As Detailed Above. Come along and celebrate this most momentous occasion !!!

Sunday 10th February - Leeds MAG Fred Hill Memorial Run

The Run will leave Squires Cafe Bar at Newthorpe at 11.30 prompt. The Run will proceed via Sherburn, Tadcaster, Boston Spa, Collingham, Harewood and Arthington to the Sun Inn at Norwood. Wakefield MAG will meet at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield, at 09:30, leaving at 10:00, for the ride over to Squires.

Please note these runs are very subject to the weather, and may be cancelled at short notice (for very sensible safety reasons). Check the events page on this website for updates before setting off.

That's all for this month, hope 2013 turns out to be a great biking year, and I hope to see you all soon.

Ride Safe .. Ride Free
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.