Wakefield MAG January 2014 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 and biking filled 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 12th Annual General Meeting
2) Post Christmas Auction
3) 12th Birthday Party
4) New Years Resolutions
5) SORN
6) FEMA Press Release
7) Christmas Do Report
8) Ethanol in Petrol Update
9) Ferg's Second Book
10) Forthcoming Events (for January and beyond)

1) Wakefield & District MAG 12th Annual General Meeting

Our 12th branch AGM will be held in the Grey Horse, on Wednesday 15th 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 a few copies 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 !!!

The deadline for motions is the week before i.e. Wednesday 8th January

2) Post Christmas Auction

Our 10th Post Christmas Auction will be held on Wednesday 5th February, 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 2013 auction raised £300 for the MAG fighting fund, with £150 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 2014.

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) 12th Birthday Party

We will be 12 years old on the 9th of January, and like all 12 year olds ... we are having a Birthday Party !!!

We still need to set a date but it will be sometime in February, in our HQ, The Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield. This years party will be Mandatory Fancy Dress, with the outfits being something related (however tenuous) to 'M', 'A' or 'G'. Don't worry if fancy dress isn't your thing ... simply come as you are, as a motorcyclist, and you will still be keeping with the theme 'M' ... Simples !!!

As per previous years, this will be a FREE PARTY, as it's a thank you to all our loyal members. Party highlights will include a Buffet (small charge will apply), Raffle, Disco, Party Games etc. There will be a prize for the best (and worst) Fancy Dress outfit !!!

The Wakefield MAG Branch was 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 twelve years ago (so we must be doing something right !!!).

Come along and help us celebrate - All Wakefield MAG members, fellow Yorkshire MAG Groups 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 a non-member to MAG this year (or join yourself if you are not a member, rejoin if you have recently lapsed, or ensure you maintain your own 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) SORN

Good news if you have a 'long term' project in your garage that you have a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) for. Previously this had to be renewed annually, however, since the 16th December last year, the rules regarding SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) changed, which made life a whole lot simpler.

Now, a SORN will remain active indefinitely - you simply tell the DVLA once, and you only have to get back in touch with them when the bike is finally going back on the road. As part of the same changes, it will no longer be necessary to provide proof of insurance when you re-tax your bike. That's because a while ago it became illegal to own an uninsured vehicle (that isn't SORNed), and insurance is automatically checked by computers on a rolling basis, eliminating the need to produce paper 'proof' when applying for road tax (or Vehicle Excise Duty to give it's proper title).

A slight word of warning though - SORN doesn't pass with ownership, so if you sell or buy a project, the new owner will need their own SORN on it, and the same applies to things like changes of address, but otherwise it's one little annual job that's no longer needed.

P.S. For those of you with long memories, this was the recommendation MAG made to the DVLA right at the start ..... it has just taken the DVLA several years to realise we were right all along !!!!

6) FEMA Press Release

On the 18th December, the Lithuanian Presidency announced agreement with the Parliament on the controversial road worthiness package. Millions of powered two-wheeler (PTW) users in Europe see the spectre of harmonized periodical inspections fading away.

Member States and the EU Parliament finally reached agreement on the road worthiness testing package: 'heavy' motorcycles will be subject to periodic roadworthiness tests from 2022. However, Member States may exclude these vehicles from testing if they have put in place alternative effective road safety measures, taking into account in particular road safety statistics of the 5 years. If heavy motorcycles are included in the scope of periodic roadworthiness testing, specific testing methods, inspection areas and frequency are decided at the Member State level (Source: Lithuanian Presidency website). Ed: In short, the UK keeps our present MoT, which is good news as there is nothing wrong with it and if it ain't broke, why fix it !!!

FEMA, the Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations, welcomes the compromise reached, and happily notes that common sense has prevailed in the end despite heavy corporate lobbying from the testing industry. FEMA has heavily criticised the Commission's proposal to harmonise periodical technical inspections for L-category as useless and expensive while based on a testing industry biased impact assessment.

More Details at the FEMA campaign website: http://www.fema-online.eu/technicalinspections

7) Christmas Do Report

Check out the event report Here

8) Ethanol in Petrol Update

Finally, some good news on the introduction of 10% Ethanol (E10) into Petrol, which was scheduled to be bestowed on us in 2013. A huge thanks to all of you who followed the Yorkshire MAG campaign, signed the e-Petition, contacted your MP / Transport Minister and responded to the recent Government consultation. All this campaigning has paid off as the Government has now postponed the E10 introduction until 2016.

Whilst undoubtedly good news, this is a postponement and not a cancellation, so the campaign is to stay on the 'back burner' for now, but MAG is watching developments carefully, and as and when required, a new National Campaign will be launched. Watch this Space for developments !!!

If you are reading this and wondering what E10 is, details are on the Yorkshire MAG web site (www.yorkshire-mag.co.uk/ethanol.html) - The background and the issue is explained, with links to reports and more information.

9) Ferg's Second Book

The late great Fergus O'Connell has had a second book published - a hilarious compilation of his pages from The Road magazine.

The book is available as a download for the ridiculously cheap price of £2.56 and is available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fergs-World-Fergus-OConnell-ebook/dp/B00H29VE8E

Whilst on the Amazon site, why not buy Ferg's first book too - Is That You Angus?, for the even ridiculously cheaper price of £1.02. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/That-You-Angus-Fergus-OConnell-ebook/dp/B009X1JYUY/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1

)

If you don't know who Ferg was, check out our news report (Fergus O'Connell R.I.P) ... and obviously ... buy the great man's books !!!

10) Forthcoming Events (for January and beyond)

Thursday 9th January - Meeting With Jason McCartney MP (Hosted by Huddersfield MAG)

Meeting starts at 20:30 prompt at the Field Head, Quarmby, Huddersfield. Email rep@huddersfield-mag.co.uk in advance of any questions you may wish to ask Jason.

Saturday 11th - 12th January - Manchester Motorcycle Show

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

Wednesday 15th January - Wakefield MAG Annual General Meeting

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

Sunday 19th January - Yorkshire Region / MAP Meeting

The Regional meeting will start at 10:00, finishing no later than 12:00, with the MAP meeting starting at 13:00 (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 - this will be the first of the planning meetings for the 2014 rallies. Every MAG member is more than welcome to attend the meeting and see how the MAP events are run, it's more the merrier and MAP welcome you taking more of an interest or active role). Both meetings are being held at The Breighton Ferry, Breighton, Bubwith, Selby, East Yorkshire, YO8 6DH. Complimentary tea and coffee will be available and food can be purchased at the pub as well.

Wednesday 5th February - Wakefield MAG 10th Post Christmas Auction

As Detailed Above.

Date TBA - Wakefield MAG's 12th Birthday Party

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

Sunday 9th February - Leeds MAG Fred Hill Memorial Run

More details to follow. 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.

Tuesday 11th February 2014- Leeds MAG Valentine Curry, Cupcakes and Comedy night

After the resounding success of their first Curry, Cupcakes and Comedy night in the summer, Leeds MAG are delighted to announce the second CC&C to be held at the Cross Keys Britannia Road Morley LS27 0AR. Tickets are once again £5 and include Curry and Cupcakes as well as Comedy. The unique Patrick Devine will once again be their MC for the evening and he will be introducing another four great comedians: Lou Conran, Lovdev Barpaga, Marshal B Anderson and Harriet Dyer. Everyone is giving their time for free to help the fundraising for MAG and for NABD. Who cares if it's a school night? This is one night not to be missed! Tickets will be available from the Cross Keys and Leeds MAG meetings from mid-January and you can pay on the door - but get there early if you want a seat - it was standing room only last time round!

Saturday 22nd February - Huddersfield MAG's Early Spring Camp, Dent

Great countryside, real ale, farmhouse breakfast and an opportunity to ride your bike in the Dales. Email rep@huddersfield-mag.co.uk for details. Bring your thermals.

That's all for this month, hope 2014 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.