Discourse 18

THE MAGAZINE OF THE DISCOVERY OWNERS CLUB

Number 18 December / January 04/05

Range Rover Sport Sport Is Rudolf redundant as Santa eyes new Rangie?

Rangie?

Normandy Landings Taking on Pegas Pegasus us Bridge, Discovery Style

www.discoveryownersclub.com

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The Small Print For the purposes of this notice, ‘Discovery Owners Club’ and ‘Club’ are interchangeable and assumed to mean the same thing.

Discourse Articles The Club reserves the right to edit or refuse articles received from members. Views expressed by members contributing to this magazine are those of that member and may not necessarily be those of the Club. Every effort is made to verify the contents of member’s articles, but the Club can not accept responsibility for the veracity of its content.

Caveat Emptor Every effort is made to ensure advertisements are bona fide. The Club can not accept responsibility for the quality of goods or services advertised. The moral is “buyer beware”.

Public Liability Insurance The Club has Public Liability Insurance for registered Club events of a non-competitive nature. Cover is provided for full Club members, their spouse or partner and children residing at the same address.

Family members as defined in the Club rules travelling in a separate vehicle are also covered. Road traffic accident risks are not covered by the Club’s Public Liability Insurance. It is the responsibility of the member to ensure that they have proper and legal Insurance cover for themselves and the vehicle from leaving home until returning home.

Club Events Activities in particular but not excluding off-roading and green-laning are undertaken solely at the participants’ own risk. Vehicles should be suitably insured and prepared for the undertaken activity.

Participation in any Club organised event is on the understanding and acceptance that safety is the responsibility of the participant.

Green Lanes All ‘green lanes’ are highways as defined by the Highways Act 1980. Green laning events require the same level of insurance, road tax, MOT and driver’s licence as normal roads.

Association of Rover Clubs The Club is a non-competitive member of the Association of Rover Clubs (ARC), an organisation bringing together all member Land Rover clubs for organising events (both competitive and non-competitive) and providing many essential services to member clubs. The Club’s ARC Representative is Alan Smart.

GLASS The Discovery Owners Club supports GLASS (Green Lane Association). GLASS is a national rights of way user group representing the interests of motor car users on unsurfaced minor highways or ‘green lanes’ in England and Wales. GLASS promotes responsible off-roading and the Club endorses this.

Club Web Sites & DOC Forum www.discoveryownersclub.com and www.discoveryownersclub.org are the Club’s website addresses. www.doc-forum.co.uk is our forum address. For instant access, all you need is a valid membership number to register on site. Once registered, you can log on anywhere in the world to catch up with your favourite club, post replies and help fellow Discovery Owners.

Subjects range from Caravanning to Humour. There’s optional email notification for individual postings, entire topics or forums.

Back Issues Two ways for members to obtain Discourse back issues: Printed copies at £2.50 ea together with a self addressed A4 envelope stamped at 41 pence, or CD-ROM at £5.00 including postage (this would have all back issues).

Cheques should be made payable to ‘Discovery Owners Club’ and sent with your order to the Membership Secretary.

Advertising in Discourse Advertising space will be available in future issues of Discourse. Advertisements can be whole page, half page and quarter page in either black and white or full colour.

Suppliers and dealers wishing to advertise in Discourse should contact Alan Smart for a Rate Card and details of space available.

Small Ads for DOC Members Members can place small ads for Discovery stuff in Discourse for free.

However, if you have a cottage to let or anything else that would bring in some income, then you’ll also be able to advertise in the small ads section but will be expected to make a contribution to the production costs of Discourse.

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Complimentary Show Tickets From time to time, the Club receives complimentary tickets to shows the club is attending. The Club’s policy is to make these tickets available to those members willing to help on the Club stand during the event. If you are willing to help at the event on the Club stand and / or allow your vehicle to be displayed, please contact the Club’s event organiser (listed in What’s On) whose decision on the distribution of those tickets shall be final. Surplus tickets shall either be destroyed or returned to the event organisers.

Data Protection The Club recognises its responsibilities under the 1998 Data Protection Act. The Membership Secretary is the Club’s Data Controller. The membership database of current and past members shall be for the Club’s exclusive use and shall not be made available to any third party. Elected Officers of the Club may have access to member information having shown good reason. Ordinary members may request contact information of another member. This shall only be through a Committee member who will contact the member to first ask permission.

Committee Meetings Under the rules of the club, members may attend, but not participate at committee meetings. If you plan to come along, please let the Club Secretary know in advance.

Articles for Discourse When submitting articles for inclusion in Discourse, please save the document as a text file without embedded images. Images should be separate and sent either as photographs or digital images in .jpg format on CD. All files should be sent to the Club’s Editor for selection. They should only be sent to the Publisher directly by prior arrangement. Photographs will not be returned unless requested.

Contents REGULARS Land Rover News Recent Events Club News Your Say Puzzles & Games The Glove Box Merchandise Merchandise Order Form Committee Corner Local Section Meets Events Diary

4 6 7 8 9 11 25 26 26 27 27

THIS ISSUE Range Rover Sport Cotswolds Lanes 2 Rhino Charge UK 2004 The Normandy Landing Salisbury Lanes Day Off Road in Éire National Green Lane Day London to Brighton Weekend The Red Shed Chronicles Fitting a Safari Snorkel [200 TDi] Changing Face of a Discovery Part 2 Blinkey’s Journal

10 12 13 14 16 17 18 18 19 21 22 23

Committee & Representatives

Executive Committee Neil Brownlee Chairman 9 Lindisfarne Way, East Hunsbury, Northampton, NN4 0WG. Tel: 07768 366 157, Email: chairman@discoveryownersclub.org

Paul Walker Vice Chairman, North Worcs LSR 17 Ditchford Close, Hunt End, Redditch, B97 5XT Tel: 07939 411995, Email: vicechair@discoveryownersclub.org

Alan Smart Secretary, Archivist, Wessex LSR The Bales, Cow Lane, Kimpton, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 8NY. Tel: 01264 772851, Fax: 01264 773300, Email: secretary@discoveryownersclub.org

John Francis Treasurer 32 Lichfield Road, Halewood, Liverpool, L26 1TT Tel: 0151 486 9910, Mobile: 07766 168869, Email: johnfrncs5@aol.com

Lee Jones Membership Secretary, Sth. Staffs LSR 73 Tottenham Crescent, Kingstanding, Birmingham, B44 0ST. Tel: 0121 603 3632, Mobile: 07759 299031, Email: memsec@discoveryownersclub.org

Management Committee Tim Arnold Events Co-ordinator 9 Sunstar Lane, Polegate, East Sussex, BN26 5HS Tel: 01323 489003, Mobile: 07801 292024, Email: events@discoveryownersclub.org George Glover Publicity & Press OfďŹ cer 158 Malcolm Drive, Duston, Northampton, NN5 5NH. Tel: 01604 582252, Mobile: 07721 559456, Email: northantslsr@discoveryownersclub.org

Horness Spencer Discourse Editor 16 Bishopstone Close, Redditch, B98 0AT Tel: 07967 205 071 Email: editor@discoveryownersclub.org

Claire Spencer Club Shop Officer 16 Bishopstone Close, Redditch B98 0AT Email: clubshop@discoveryownersclub.org

Camping & Caravanning OfďŹ cer, Situation Vacant

Local Section Representatives Don Hoaglin Kent LSR 23 Springcroft, Hartley, Longfield, Kent, DA3 8AR Tel: 01474 707531, Mobile: 07714 696270, Email: kentlsr@discoveryownersclub.org

Mark Hooghiemstra Scotland LSR The Cottage, Wood of Aldbar, Brechin, Angus, DD9 6SZ Tel: 01307 830441, Email: scotslsr@discoveryownersclub.org

Kim Hollings North West LSR 15 Knowsley Crescent, Offerton, Stockport, Cheshire, SK1 4JB. Tel: 0161 480 7096, Email: k.hollings1@ntlworld.com

Malcolm Bourne Cheshire LSR Tel: 07746 028833 Email: malcolm@bourne8.wanadoo.co.uk

James Wood Yorkshire LSR Tel: 07801 923563 Email: DragonOak@aol.com

Roger Spencer Nottingham LSR Tel: 07766 222386 Email: rspencer-airedales@ntlworld.com

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Land Rover News

Delivered in Style

Discovery 3 Scottish Award

FIRST DISCOVERY 3 DELIVERED IN STYLE

DISCOVERY 3 WINS SCOTTISH SUV OF THE YEAR AWARD

Land Rover devotee, Tommy Rogers, knew he was in for something special when he was among the first to place his order for a new Discovery 3 earlier this year, but nothing could have prepared him for the arrival of the new vehicle, which was brought to him by an RAF Puma helicopter.

Tommy’s local Land Rover dealership, Charles Hurst in Belfast, arranged this unique delivery with the 230 ‘Tiger’ Squadron at RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland.

RAF flight lieutenant Andy Cornes, said: “The people at Lookers plc, which owns the Charles Hurst dealership in Belfast, approached us with this idea, and we were more than happy to support local business and the community with an exciting event like this.”

Tommy Rogers, who is the managing director of TR Shipping in Northern Ireland, said: “This is a very fitting way for the new vehicle to arrive in the province, with the world’s best pilots using some of the world’s best equipment to deliver the latest example of Britain’s best – the new Discovery 3.”

The Discovery 3 goes on sale from 1 November, starting at £26,995 for the TDV6 and rising to £46,995 for the range-topping V8 HSE. The costs of this initiative to the RAF have been covered

by Charles Hurst Land Rover, and a donation to the RAF’s chosen charity will also be made

The Discovery 3 has been crowned the Scottish SUV of the Year for 2004. The title, given by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers (ASMW) was awarded to the Discovery 3 over some of its toughest rivals in the sector, including BMW and Mitsubishi.

Ally Ballingall, President of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers said of the award: “Off-road vehicles usually provide on-road compromises but our 4x4/SUV of the year proves that there’s an exception to every rule. This machine provides the ultimate mix of fashion and functionality, and is a winner in every sense.”

Land Rover lead designer, Andy Wheel, who collected the award, added: “The Discovery 3 is a bold piece of design, and this reflects the bold thinking that runs through the whole vehicle, from the smart solutions that have delivered a class-leading vehicle in terms of space, through to its refinement and technology. We are all proud of the Discovery 3, as will be all those who drive it.”

Making a Difference Land Rover is helping to tackle some of the pressing social concerns in its home town of Solihull. Business in the Community has asked the company to make a difference to education achievement by participating in their ‘Seeing is Believing’ programme. This supports a 25 year plan to regenerate the five wards that make up the north of the borough: Chelmsley Wood, Smith’s Wood, Kingshurst, Fordbridge and Castle Bromwich.

The ‘Seeing is Believing’ programme challenges senior business leaders to come along and see how their companies can help with issues such as education and youth unemployment.

Land Rover’s director of manufacturing, Steve Coultate, along with members of his management team and trade representatives, visited two schools in Solihull to see for himself how Land Rover can get involved with local development.

Steve Coultate said: “Land Rover is delighted to have been given the opportunity to participate in the ‘Seeing is Believing’ programme. We look forward, as one of the largest companies in the West Midlands, to be able to contribute to the regeneration of North Solihull and assist in making a positive impact on generations now and in the future.”

Land Rover has established a reputation for community support through its Corporate Citizenship programme.

Over the past 12 months, the company’s been involved with work experience placements, acting as advisor to an arts company, redecorating residential care lounges and constructing activity playgrounds and sensory gardens.

This adds up to over £250,000 worth of employees’ time in making a difference to the community.

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Land Rover News

Global Challenge 2006 LAND ROVER PREPARES GLOBAL ADVENTURE CHALLENGE FOR 2006 The Land Rover G4 Challenge recce team is breaking new ground every day, having already covered over 10,000 miles of remote terrain across southeast Asia seeking out a trailblazing route. Trekking from Thailand to the Vietnamese border, taking in Cambodia and Laos, the mountains, jungle and valleys of the region have been combed in order to locate the most rigorous tests for the competitors and their near-standard Land Rovers in the opening stages of the 2006 Land Rover G4 Challenge.

“With a competition of this magnitude it takes a lot of time to work through all possible locations and routes before you can get on with planning the competitive activities,” said Niki Davies, Project Director. “In the end, we have focused the action of the early stages in the wilderness of Laos. It’s a beautiful part of the world, taking you from northern Thailand to the borders of Cambodia and Vietnam, with offroad routes that go on for hours at a time. The valleys around the Mekong River are a particular favourite, where the mud, water and river crossings can seem endless.”

competitors as they bike, climb, kayak in their global quest for victory. They also form an integral part of the competition, with tough, daily 4x4 driving challenges in a fleet of vehicles in their distinctive orange paintwork. The ultimate victor of the 2006 Land Rover G4 Challenge will claim a brand new Range Rover at the end of an unforgettable experience.

As one of the world’s four remaining communist states, Laos remains largely untouched by the outside world and the arrival of a fleet of Land Rovers has certainly not gone unnoticed. “Already the presence of the Land Rover G4 Challenge is generating a lot of local interest,” added Niki Davies. “We have received a tremendously warm and enthusiastic welcome, led by the Lao National Tourism Authority.”

Once the Land Rover G4 Challenge has completed its opening stages in Southeast Asia, it then moves to South America, arriving on the world-famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro. The climax to the event comes on May 20 with a final showdown on the high plains of Bolivia.

Would-be competitors can apply online at www. landroverG4challenge.com.

The four-week event, which Land Rover has confirmed will begin on 23 April 2006, starts with an urban challenge in the thriving metropolis of Bangkok, capital of Thailand, before venturing out into the mountainous hardwood forests of Laos. With forested mountains making up much of the terrain, through which the Mekong River flows (known as the ‘Sea of Laos’), the competition will be played out amid a stunning setting with elephants, beautiful temples and ancient ruins all nestling in the jungle.

When the 2006 Land Rover G4 Challenge gets under way there will be 18 men and women representing their home nations in the month-long global adventure.

Near-standard Land Rover vehicles, including the new Discovery 3 and a soon-to-be revealed new product, will carry an array of equipment that will aid the

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Recent Event News

Grouse & Claret HALF TERM WEEKEND FUN ‘It’s all your fault’. I was to hear this several times during the DOC caravanning event at the Grouse & Claret Hotel.

Most of the time it was in fun because I had wanted to try out our new (second hand) Lunar caravan before storing it away for the winter. Steve and Sue agreed to meet us for a short break, so I posted on the DOC forum to see if any other members wanted to join in, and they did. We ended up with seven caravans and one tent, so it turned into a busy weekend. The Notts area was represented by Steve, Graham, Andy (a new member) and myself. Kim, Malc, James and Jon from all parts of the country made up our numbers while Dyf and his very young son (well done Dyf) came with us for the day on Saturday.

We were there from the Thursday afternoon (first on site) until late Saturday. There had been some very heavy rain all that week and during the time we were there. The site was damp to say the least, but that was the only fault with it. The Grouse & Claret is on the A6 outside Matlock, close to Chatsworth House, Haddon Hall and right next door to The Peak District retail Village. It’s a small site with hook-ups and hard-standings for around 28 vans behind the hotel, with a smaller camping ground by the children’s play area. Behind our pitch was the river Derwent, well used by ducks, which walked around the site. Photo 1(by Dyf) shows a view of the site, our Lunar is on the right with the grey awning, my Disco T2 is parked behind it (with the four spots on the bonnet).

First the bad stuff, on our way there the unused grey plug on the Lunar came adrift and was broken up by the road by the time we arrived. On parking up Helen asked ‘shall I move the car’ when I said yes she moved off and tried to take the van with her via the break away cable. So we now have a clip on the end which is ‘S’ shaped. I then had a few problems getting water to flow/heat up, gas rings to light, wheel clamp on with the van with it sunk in the mud and the toilet to work (remember your first time with a caravan?). Now the good bits, after all this we were ready for a good evening meal in the hotel, which lead to a hangover Friday morning. By late afternoon that day the others started to arrive with it be-

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ing well after dark before we were all on site. A few drinks lead to a few more which lead to yet more by way of a night cap by Jon’s tent, which meant another hangover!

Kim had planned a route for us, so late morning (after we had our van packed away), we set off for a days driving on the green lanes in the area around Matlock and Bakewell. Photo 2 (by James) shows a few of the Discovery’s in the car park before the start. Kim had picked some good lanes for the day, all of which were in good condition given that there had been so much rain of late. Only once did the convoy wait while Kim tried out a section to check if we could all get through.

I did once back down a steep hill section to help Malc get moving again but he had sorted it himself and came up behind me. The result was not one recovery all-day, and everybody stayed clean and dry. Photo3 shows us at the start of a lane below Monsel Head.

Lunchtime was spent in Tideswell in the George Hotel (photo 4 shows my daughter with two of Jon’s four daughter’s on the roof of his Disco there) and the chip shop across the road.

After just three more lanes Andy and his wife had to leave early so we left the convoy with them so as to get the van back to the storage compound in daylight. Everybody else set off to drive a few more lanes before the end of the day, and then left during Sunday. Photo 5 shows Thunderbird2 loaded up ready to leave the hotel car park with the Lunar (aka ‘Pod 1’) on the tow hitch.

If you are thinking of staying in the area next summer, this is a great site with good clean toilets, hook ups and a picnic table on every hard standing. Just make sure you book in advance during school holidays. The phone number is 01629 733233 in case you want to pay a visit at £12 per night. Many thanks to all, who helped make our first caravan break such a memorable one.

Happy Discoing Roger Spencer DOC #840 Discourse Hero #2

Club News

Best of British Festival A spectacular new event called ‘The Best of British Festival’ is planned for next year at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire on 29 May 2005. The festival celebrates our Great British heritage, with a wide selection of ‘made in Britain’ produce for sale and plenty of historical British marques on show.

The festival promises to be a remarkable day of entertainment, displays and demonstrations, from steam engines to Shire horses. There will be stands showcasing British food and drink and all the entertainment will also have a traditional British theme, including traditional skills from weaving to morris dancing.

The Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire is an ideal location for a thoroughly British event, as it is home to the world’s largest collection of historic British cars, including many of Britain’s famous national automotive names: Austin, Morris, Riley and Triumph to name but a few. And on this day (29 May) over 200 Triumph vehicles – cars and motorbikes – will be at the Festival to celebrate the annual Standard Triumph rally.

There will be plenty of indoor and outdoor activities for visitors of all ages. Outdoor activities include the Land Rover Experience for off road rides. Visitors can also pitch their own driving skills on the twists and turns of the go-kart track. And for children aged 3-7 years, there is a miniature

roadway. Indoors, there is a well-stocked Gift Shop and a relaxing Café to take a break and have a bite to eat.

The Heritage Motor Centre is open daily from 10.00a.m.5.00p.m. (except 24-26 Dec), conveniently located close to junction 12 of the M40. It is situated on the B4100 between the market town of Banbury and historic Warwick.

For further information contact the Heritage Motor Centre, Banbury Road, Gaydon, Warwickshire CV35 0BJ. Tel: 01926 645120 or e-mail: enquiries@heritage-motor-centre.co.uk or log on to: www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

Beaulieu 4x4 Show Award Discovery Owners Club received an award recently for runners Up at the Beaulieu 4x4 Show.

It’s engraved glass about six inches high, as promised, here is the photo.

Engraved on the front we have “BEAULIEU 4x4 SHOW, Runner Up, Best Club Stand 2004”.

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Your Say

Members’ Letters Allfootstompingpraisegivingpointmakingerrorfindingholediggingadvicegivinghelpwantingdifflockingoffroadinggreenlaningtarmaccruisingtrailortowingclubmemberletterwritingdiscodrivingpeoplewelcome.

ENERGY RELEASE The original five speed LT77 manual gearbox of the early Discovery’s (up to 1994) can suffer from poor internal lubrication, and therefore has to be filled with ATF oil which is very slippery indeed, but not sufficient. For prevention or remedy of gearbox trouble simply add a ratio of 5% “ER” (Energy Release Additive) to the ATF Oil. ER will smooth the surfaces of the gears and helps protect against lubrication failure. ER is not an oil or lubricant like other additives, it works on an entirely different principal. ER is a heat activated chemical that used the basic oils and lubricants to carry itself to points of heat and friction. ER contains a ferrous based ion that actually becomes a part of the molecular structure of the ferrous metals and so seals the rough pores and smoothes the asperities of the metal surface without changing any tolerances.

TDI COOLING, ROVER 825i STYLE We all know Land Rover fit engine driven cooling fans because they can and do operate anywhere in the world, but here in Europe do we really need this power sapping, gas guzzling and, quite frankly, archaic form of engine cooling?

So many modern engines, both petrol and diesel, are cooled by thermostatically controlled electric fans. These cooling systems are incredibly reliable. So soon after getting my hands on our Discovery (“POSH”) I set the grey matter to work … yes, I know there are at least two well known makes available, tailor made for the job, but hey! this is cash we are talking about.

I have used ER for the LT77S manual gearbox of my 92 Discovery TDi 200, the front and rear axle differentials, the swivel pin housings, and (as ER-grease) on the propeller shaft. It is not a wonder, it is a reality that the compartments treated with ER work like new ones. ER is applicable aslo for the engine (5%), automatic transmission (1.5%) transfer case (5%) and the power steering (4%).

I have bought this helpful product in Germany as it was exposed at the annual general meeting of the Deutscher Landrover Club two years ago, but it is available in the UK also. ER is unknown because the producer does not make any publicity. For details see the website “www.energyrelease.com”

I have wired both fans together and they are operated by a relay and a centre console push-pull switch. I will eventually fit a temperature sensor in the thermostat housing which operates the system automatically – but always with a manual override switch.

I was able to get my paws on a Rover 825i which was due to meet it’s maker (shame really, they were a very nice motor). Well the 825i had twin electric fans and, guess what? With a fair bit of careful measurement and metalwork, I constructed a frame for both fans which cover both radiator and intercooler; each having a 1 Bolt fixing and using the original Rover 820i plugs and sockets. It takes about 2 minutes to remove both fans for getatability.

Rover 825i Fans in Nick’s Dicovery

Diether Hofmann DOC #115

TRADING POST FOR SALE (1) Genuine Discovery Series 1 rear step with gas strut (LRN 9505) AC/AW - £40 (2) Non-genuine accessory side steps, quick detachable, 10 minute bolt on or off, clamp mounting to outriggers £40.

(3) 2 Beige inward facing rear child seats, for Discovery Series 1. £60 the pair.

Contact: Dell Paddock (#722) on 01789 778816

Performance: The fans have been installed for 3+ years with something like 45k miles, used on many different routes around Europe, such as ‘Hot Mediterranean’ to ‘Gorge du Verdon’ … long autoroute high speed cruising with no problems. I think I have used them twice as a precaution and test them about once per month.

Our main test run is any late evening, Portsmouth to Bromsgrove .. on cruise control “POSH” goes like **** off a Teflon coated shovel, usually with a small load of French alcohol (dream on!). Don’t tell the Police – 140 miles in 2 hours, 10 minutes is the record – a thoroughly enjoyable drive with sparse traffic. The point being, not having the engine driven fan makes no difference under normal conditions. The temperature gauge never moves above normal.

Nick Evetts

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Puzzles & Games Discovery Owners Club Word Search ARTICULATION DIFFLOCK DISCOVERY GEARBOX LANDROVER LIGHTS LODELANE LOWRANGE MODIFICATION MUD ONEHUNDREDINCH RADIO SEVENSEATS SNORKEL SOLIHULL SUNROOF TOWBAR TURTLEWAX TYRES WINCH

MILEAGE COMPETITION (Courtesy of Daren Reid) Here’s a chance to keep yourself busy for an hour or so, and should you win, the kids quiet for days. You will need to pull that dog-eared road atlas from the back of the drivers’ seat or turn on your whizz-bang mapping software for this one.

Earlier this year I went on a tour of Scotland. The journey began in Bedford (that would be England) and I drove through, or close to, the towns listed below.

Bedford; A1; Harrogate; Skipton; Kendal; Windermere; Keswick; Workington; Keswick; Carlisle; Galashields; Edinburgh; Dunfirmline; St Andrews; Dundee; Arbroath; Stonehaven; Aberdeen; Aviemore; Invergarry; Loch Ness; Inverness; Wick; John’ O Groats; Durness; Lochinver; Ullapool; Kyle of Lochalsh; Invergarry; Fort William; Glasgow; Prestwich; Galloway Forrest (byway); Glentrool; Bargrenan; Newton Stuart; Castle Douglas; Dumfries; Carlisle; Cockermouth; Workington; Keswick; Windermere; M6; M1 (J13); Bedford. The trip lasted 5 days. The question is; how many miles did Hector clock on his journey from door to door. You may want to add some mileage to cover wrong turns and running around various homes of family in Workington.

You are allowed 1 guess per membership number and the first three persons to give closest to the correct mileage will win the Crayola goodies in the pictures. The closing date for entries is 21st February 2005. The winner will be announced in Discourse 19 and, if I am in a fit state, via the club web site on new years day. Prizes will be handed out at one of the spring Land Rover Shows (to be announced), alternatively, the prize can be collected from Bedford or I may be able to deliver if you’re really nice and I’m heading your way. If you are unable to collect and are willing to cover the cost then prizes can be posted if you wish.

Answers via email to Dexx@Tesco.net or via Text message to 07810-855-552. Your answer must come to me in the following format; Name, Membership Number, Mileage.

Daren Reid

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Range Rover Sport

Range Rover Sport The Range Rover Sport, an all-new sports tourer SUV from Land Rover, is the best-performing and best-handling vehicle that Land Rover has ever built. Powered in top-line form by a supercharged 287kW [390hp in North America] V8 engine, the Range Rover Sport is designed to combine invigorating dynamic ability with outstanding comfort and refinement.

“The Range Rover Sport is an additional, fifth nameplate for the Land Rover brand,” says Matthew Taylor, Managing Director of Land Rover. “It takes us into the growing performance SUV market but is different from all rivals. We see it as a less frenetic, more refined alternative to existing performance SUVs. It is ideal for fast, comfortable, long-distance driving and practical enough for everyday use.

Yet it is also exceptional offroad, offering better all-terrain ability than any competitor.

Like all Land Rover products, it offers the broadest range of capability in its class.

The spirit of the Range Rover Sport was embodied in the much-admired Range Stormer concept vehicle, first seen at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The top-line Range Rover Sport uses a specially-developed version of Jaguar’s acclaimed 4.2-litre supercharged V8 engine. Maximum power is 390hp and maximum torque 410lbft/ 550Nm with an electronically-limited top speed of 140mph/225km/h.

Two further Jaguar-derived engines are available: a normally aspirated 300hp, 4.4-litre petrol engine and the all-new 2.7-litre turbocharged V6 diesel. Power and torque are delivered to all four wheels through a ZF six-speed ‘intelligent shift’ automatic gearbox featuring sport programming and Land Rover’s CommandShift™, which offers manual control of gearchanges. Low range is electronically selectable. One of the most aerodynamic of all SUVs, the Range Rover Sport combines a smooth shape with powerful stance, muscular wheel-arches, a raked roof, and tailgate-mounted rear spoiler. Recognisable Range Rover styling cues include the ‘floating’ roof

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(created by the black roof pillars) and clamshell bonnet.

But in the interests of improved airflow, the bonnet castellations have been smoothed away and the windscreen given a faster angle.

The Range Rover Sport has a five-door body style, with a single-piece rear aluminium tailgate that includes an opening rear glass for easy access.

“It is the best ‘driver’s vehicle’ that Land Rover has ever made,” says Matthew Taylor. “There is the traditional Land Rover Command driving position, yet the cockpit is more cocooning than the SUV norm.

We believe the emphasis on the driving experience will make the Range Rover Sport an attractive proposition to those who currently drive luxury executive cars (sedans), as well as the more sporty 4x4s, thanks to its overall refinement and unmatched breadth of capability.”

Although developed with greater emphasis on on-road performance than any previous Land Rover, the Range Rover Sport is exceptionally competent across all terrains.

Its off-road capability is boosted by Land Rover’s highly effective Terrain Response™ system, which is standard on all models.

Land Rover’s new Dynamic Response system senses cornering forces and acts to optimise body control and handling performance.

Dynamic Response, making its debut on the Range Rover Sport, is standard on supercharged models, and optional on the others. The system decouples off-road, to allow greater wheel articulation during tough all-terrain driving.

Practical technologies available on the Range Rover Sport include adaptive cruise control (its first Land Rover application), bi-xenon adaptive front lighting, and latest generation satellite navigation. Audio systems by harman/kardon® and a twinscreen DVD rear-seat entertainment system are available.

The Range Rover Sport makes its world debut in January 2005 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The vehicle will be available from mid-2005 in Europe and North America, and later in other markets.

The Glove Box A 4x4 is Born DVD (review) Mark Evans has come out and after building planes and helicopters and rebuilding cars and bikes he has now built his ultimate Land Rover. Using an elderly Range Rover and a selection of panels from a 110 truck cab he has built a replica of the 100 inch prototypes the where the basis of the 90 and 110 we know today. There is a twist of course as Marks 100inch is a fully kitted out off road weapon. The two DVD set is compiled from the material originally broadcast on the Discovery channel but with some additional material and the featurettes that where shown during the original screenings separated out.

8/10 as it’s not about Discovery’s but well worth putting on the Christmas list.

Tim Arnold

LAND ROVER TRAINING ACADEMY Members of the Discovery Owners Club have been invited by Adrian Birch, Land Rover Dealer Training Manager, to a two day Discovery Overview training course.

This course also includes the chance to go off-road (maybe in a Discovery3).

Dates set aside are 15th-16th March 2005, and the cost per member is £250 for the two days.

Advanced bookings are currently being taken, so act now to confirm your place.

Better still, photocopy this page and post it to Santa. You never know what you may get in your stocking this year!

CROSSWORD ANSWERS FROM ISSUE 17

This training course can only be booked through the club by contacting either Alan Smart (secretary@discovery ownersclub.org), Paul Walker (vicechair@discover yownersclub.org) or Lee Jones (memsec @discoveryownerscl ub.org).

The Glove Box. DEAD DRUNK Nearly a quarter of drivers and more than 40 per cent of pedestrians killed on the UK’s roads are over the drink drive limit according to the RAC Foundation.

Late on Friday and Saturday nights that figure is much higher - almost six out of ten drivers and more than nine out of ten pedestrians killed had consumed enough alcohol to fail a drink drive breath test.

New research shows that in 2002 among the 797 driver fatalities with a recorded blood alcohol level, 23 per cent were above the 80mgs limit and, of those, nine per cent were more than two and a half times over.

An evaluation of last year’s Festive drink drive campaign showed that being banned from driving was seen as the most effective deterrent given the financial and personal implications. It also demonstrated however, that over 90 per cent of drivers said that they would risk drinking and driving if they thought they were unlikely to be caught Remember, for the safety of everyone, don’t drink and drive.

Mechanical Terms #3 Back again with more real life explanations of text book terms.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air ... that travels by hose to a pneumatic wrench ... that grips rusty suspension bolts last tightened 10 years ago by someone in Solihull ... and rounds them off.

HALOGEN LIGHT: A worklight that lights up your garage with the incandescence of a football stadium, causing you to cast a heavy shadow over the area you’re working on so that you need to use a flashlight anyway..

Discourse 18 - Page 11

Members’ Stories

The Cotswolds Lanes 2 Well it was that time again, and part of the “worcsdoc” group decided to put them selves at risk and come lanning with me. Fools.

No really, it was about this time last year that I planned out route 2, having planned route 1 and done it in both directions. It was now time to do the return trip of 2. Ar-

runways were ploughed over so caution was needed not to slip in the farmers field or too cause to much surface damage to the track, at the end we found ourselves on the B4425. The next lane, which is just south east of Aldsworth was taken as a gamble for the sign at the beginning said farm access only…I never trust these…so on we pressed, we came across some ramblers who were cheerful as we passed, but just about 200yds past the ramblers there was a gate in the corner of the field, I got out to inspect the lane the other side, and noticed that the ramblers had stopped and were now looking our way, probably thinking that we would have to turn round as the lane was nowhere in sight) I walked up what looked like the track and promptly found wheel ruts in the long grass, having checked on the map and GPS we were in the right place we continued on. By now lunch was calling so after a quick stop to discuss food & drink wants, we decided to stop in Coln St Aldwyns, but plans change and we passed through and headed to another lane north west of the village, this is an old Roman track known as the ‘Saltway’ we did the first half and called it quits for lunch, which we had at “The Catherine Wheel” a nice little pub in Arlington,

After lunch it was back to the ‘Saltway’ and heading north west again after finishing the lane at “Oldwalls Farm” the ‘Saltway’ is then a proper tarmac lane until it joins the A429 just south of Northleach, here we did a lane called “Helens ditch” which is where the only bit of damage took rangements were made for a start point on top of ‘Fish Hill’ place, Derek who had been following me all day caught his near to the famous town of Broadway…there were four cars ready for this trip, “Jono” with his daughter, “Andy T” with his two sons, “Derek & his wife”, and then me and Molly my border collie. After a quick chinwag about the coming route we set off for the first lane, or the last lane as it were. While on the way to the lane I had this nasty feeling that, as the other three drivers had not experienced “Cots 2” the first time and knowing how bad a couple of the lanes were, I thought it wise to alter the days lanes to cover easy ground that I know well. So the list of grid refs for the lanes was thrown into the back seat and I headed to the first lane. This is north of the village of Condicote, next was the old Roman road south of the village, this had overgrown since my last visit back in March with Holger after the Clubs AGM. From here was a 5 minute drive south west to the next lane, at the start of this lane is a ‘long barrow’ or burial mound, again this lane was now overgrown but nothing to hard.

The next lane starts in the middle of a farm-yard near the village of Hazleton and finishes near to a place called Cold Aston, the lane is very easy to drive and follows the valley floor, it is split in the middle by the village of Turkdean, care is needed here as the lane passes through a farm-yard again. Moving on we then did a lane that starts on the A429 south east of Cold Aston, then a muddy track across some fields lead us to the gap in the hedge, which put us in a field with a crop of Kale, nice and easy around this one. Then into the village of Sherborne for the next lane, crossing over the A40 (t) found us on a lane that passes across an old World War Two airfield, the tracks after the

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front nearside tyre rim on a hidden concrete block, putting a dent into it, a few blows later with a hammer had him on his way. The group drove though Northleach and turned right heading for home on the A429.

I was trying to think of lanes to drive near to home when a lay-by came into view, I pulled in and the group had a chat about how much time we had left and if we were ok to do some more lanes, it was a this point that “Jono” let the cat out the bag by saying, He had never driven greenlanes before, he’d driven forest tracks in Ireland, but this was completely new to him, the term virgin laner springs to mind here. Anyway we all agreed on a couple more lanes

Members’ Stories back near to Broadway, So of we went, as we were getting close I decided to do a lane which has lots of gates along it, just so that Andy’s sons could get some fresh air, anyway just as we got to the first gateway a car that had been travelling towards us decided there and then to pull

been a great day out and decided to get a group shoot of the four Discoverys at a big lay-by nearer to home, I mentioned the big lay-by up by Ragley Hall, this would be the best one to use as it would then allow Jono to go to Worcester and Derek to drop down into Arrow and head for home, while Andy and me would follow the Ridgeway back into Redditch.

Of the lanes from Cotswolds two, how many did we do?… none! I’ll save them for another day.

Cotswolds 3 are now being planned for next year, as there are so many lanes within the “Cotswolds area” it will be a few years yet before I have them all logged down, If you fancy joining us for one of these trips just drop me an email and I’ll put your name on a list.

Paul Walker Vice Chairman/LSR North Worcsestershire p.a.walker@blueyonder.co.uk

into the gateway to let me & the following three Discoverys past, what the old dear driving the fiesta didn’t realise was that behind her were another two cars and a horse box, I got out the car and explained to the old dears in the car that they were in-fact now blocking my route, and would they mind just backing up onto the road so we could get into the field, After a few grindings of her gearbox she reversed out and let us proceed into the first field, to be confronted by hundreds of sheep. We drove across six fields having to dodge sheep in every one of them.

By now the Discoverys were a bit muddy and as we hadn’t crossed a ford yet I decided to find one quick, it just so happens there was one near to the end of this lane, now back in March I had driven this lane down to this ford and had followed the signs round to the right, this time when I got to the bottom of the hill and turned right on the grass triangle I just happened to look left a caught sight of another ford sign, I checked the map and sure enough the village of Kineton had two fords. And by carefully driving around the village you can do both fords, which is exactly what we did. Mind you we did do the second ford a few times to get the prefect photo.

The last but one lane of the day was to be a stone track that runs though a wood just south of Snowshill, this was the only lane that we had to put the cars up onto the verge to allow a horse rider past, and she acknowledged this feat with a cheery thanks.

The last lane I had planned was a stone track down hill into a farm yard by the village of Buckland, however it was not meant to be, because in my haste to get us there I missed the turning and found our selves in the middle of Snowshill village, it was here that I decided to call it quits, I drove down into Broadway and found a lay-by so enabling me to chat with the other drivers. We all agreed it had

Rhino Charge UK 2004 This years Rhino Charge was held on Saturday 16th October at Pippingford Park in East Sussex. This is a fun event which is open to all 4x4s; all entrants need to raise sponsorship which goes to fund the building and maintenance of a fence around the Aberdare’s National Park in Kenya. Brian Hartley and the Club Off Road marshals set the teams a variety of tasks designed to test navigation, observation, communication, general knowledge and driving skill. Those who wanted something more testing could try the Tiger Lines, trials sections that pushed the limits for some extra points, The Tiger Lines Award went to Richard Moller and his team in a Discovery sponsored by Roberts Country vehicles. An all girl team led by Lucy Darch in a Willeys Jeep loaned to them

by Gumtree Enterprises won the ladies award. The Victor Ludorum Award went to Mark Jeffery and his team, The Victor Ludurom is based on points scored plus sponsorship raised, the winner gets to use a fully prepared vehicle in the Kenyan Rhino Charge.

The site used could easily accommodate more entrants, the competitors this year covered 12 miles on the navigation exercise without leaving the site! So if you are interested in entering check out the website at www.rhinoark. org/uknews or give John Bowden a call on 01444 241455 Tim Arnold Events Co-ordinator

Discourse 18 - Page 13

The Normandy Landing

The Normandy Landing WORCSDOC VISIT NORMANDY & PEGASUS BRIDGE As many well know, events and outings with the Discovery Owners Club is not all green lanes and large helpings of mud. Earlier this year a few members of the Worcestershire group arranged a visit to Normandy, and to the legendary Pegasus Bridge. Led by Nick Evetts, driven by 3 Discovery’s, and fuelled by Calvados, the group headed out for another great DOC event.

The battle plan was finalised at the Disco Warriors’ Skittles Night 2003 – Location DDS&S - the “other” Normandy Landing was on.

Date of Landing: Friday 17th September 2004 Route: from Portsmouth to Caen via Brittany Ferries

ings had to be accurate, therefore Group 3 was formed at 0730 hours precisely.

The Disco Warriors were ready for the Assault ahead.

The Extended Crossing Embarkation under an empty mezzanine deck went to Plan. The ship slipped out of Portsmouth harbour under the cover of dawn. Cabins were allocated. Groups would meet on the mess deck for a last Blighty fry-up. Marching on a full stomach would take place some 6 hours later.

There was to be some temporary disruption as the engine rooms failed to deliver full power, delaying the landing.

Following cabin R & R we re-grouped to take briefings from Moose Moose and Bob O’Marley (code

Three of the best 4 x 4 by Far Land Rover Discovery’s were commissioned for the mission ahead.

Group 1 -

Nick Eve Jackie Derek

Group Commander The Navigator The Look Out Rear Guard

Group 2 -

Paul Evie Gwen Barry

The General The Matron Standard Bearer The Medic (well, he had a bad finger!)

Group 3 -

Simon 1st Engineer Beej Translator Vicky The Entertainer (especially after Calvados!)

Chris The Explorer

Day 1 – Rendezvous Portsmouth It’s 0430 hours on Friday 17th September – the Plan was executed. The Commander and The Navigator rendezvoused with The Look Out and The Rear Guard at pick up Base Bromsgrove. Group 1 was complete and began the journey to Normandy but there was to be one more pick up at Redditch. The Explorer was to travel with Group 1 until Handover to Group 3 at rendezvous Portsmouth.

The General and The Matron were to pick up The Standard Bearer and The Medic. The Entertainer also fell in with Group 2 until handover to Group 3 at rendezvous Portsmouth.

The Engineer and The Translator grouped with the Entertainer and The Explorer at rendezvous Portsmouth.

The Commander’s tim-

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names for The Commander and The General).

The rations of rum (Heineken) would expose The Matron’s fetish with a wooden whistle, a horse and a cockerel (code names ‘Orse and Cock). This must have been top secret because no one understood the reason why!

The Landing Recovery from the delayed landing was swift due to The Navigator’s prompt attention to detailed map reading of the area (well, she does have a house there!).

Pegasus Bridge greeted us with its magnificence. Alongside this resized replica was a gun post with an actual gun in place. Was this gun in action 60 years ago? The three markers where the gliders landed made a thoughtprovoking site. Over the road, in the museum, lay the actual Pegasus Bridge. The Commander and The General had met earlier and decreed the omission of the Museum visit to make up lost time caused by the failed engines of the landing ship. After locating the whereabouts of The

The Normandy Landing Explorer, group photos were taken with Pegasus Bridge in the back shot. Then

ble was served ¼ hour earlier than The General’s. Group 3 went AWOL but The Navigator rounded them up! Just as well because we were pulling out.

Pointe du Hoc Over the original Allied bomb craters on top of sprawling German built bunkers, The General and The Matron could be seen, faces locked .. snogging! All Group members put two fingers to their mouth and groaned with horror!

The Explorer was again missing!

another taken with someone else’s camera, then another camera, then another camera …….

It went on until The Commander ordered The Matron to stop getting excited. The Explorer disappeared again!

Café Gondrée The Standard Bearer and The Look Out were now chanting “Bar” so we all piled into Café Gondrée. Wow, this place is steeped in history. It also sold beer so we had some history with links with Bromsgrove whilst we drank.

Had this beer been on the shelf for 60 years?

Hotel Le Mountbatten The General liased with the French connection for allocation of rooms. All was not as Brittany Ferries were paid for but The General’s persistence and ability to converse in the native lingo saved the day; however The Engineer, The Translator and The Explorer would be snoring in the basement until proper accommodation became available.

By now The Explorer and The Entertainer had gone for walkabouts.

Colleville Cemetery So many war graves; over 9,300. The Commander set a task to find a special grave with gold lettering. This was found with the secret help of The Matron.

The stunning views over Omaha Beach provoked deep thought of “What chance did these boys have against the dug-in Germans?” Group photos were taken.

The Navigator had to regain posture following a singlehanded attempt to scale the lower bunker pathway and regain composure after The Matron leaned across the wall and in a loud voice and in her best ‘brummy’ accent shouted “Orright?”

Ohama Beach The Matron came alive with the sound of crashing waves with threats of skinny-dipping. To the relief of all, her trousers would only roll up as far as her knees. The Commander called for photos of The Matron posing in the sea amidst shouts of “Go out further, it’s not so deep”.

The General had a wide grin.

Nothing could overshadow our thoughts of what

Nightfall brought with it many drinks and an evening meal at a local watering hole. The Entertainer entertained us all by slipping under the table after downing copious quantities of Calvados brandy.

Then, on to Mulberry Harbour in the darkness of night ……… Mulberry Harbour seemed haunted with those huge concrete structures silhouetting the night sky.

Day 1 – Mission a complete success!

Day 2 – Sainte-Marie-du-Mont Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and Utah Beach were approached to the sound track from “The Longest Day”. Later that day Brécourt Manor residence must have thought the invasion was happening again but for the ‘Band of Brothers’ arriving via Collins Road in Discovery’s, not armoured vehicles!

St-Mère-Eglise Private John Steel greeted us with his 60-year old trick – “I will dangle from the cloister – look! There is a hole in my foot!”

Groups 1 & 2 had a French lunch - The Commander’s ta-

happened 60 years ago that gave us the freedom to enjoy this beach!

Impromptu Supermarket Visit Group therapy time – provisions obtained for the Redditch contingency, The Standard Bearer and The Medic’s holiday 2004.

Back at base that night The Commander provided drinks for all – cheers, Mate!

Evening Meal The entire first floor of an Arromanches Bistro, complete with worrying pictures of ‘The Titanic’ was to be the venue.

The Commander and The General commis-

Discourse 18 - Page 15

Members’ Article sioned this the previous evening. Like the wolf in Red Riding Hood, Nicole’s (the waiter from the previous evening’s encounters) eyes widened as his jaw dropped on our arrival. The Matron’s screams could be heard in Arnhem (where the 2005 meeting was agreed to take place)!

The fatigued General took to quarters early so the Group dispersed.

Day 2 – Mission a complete success!

Bayeux A refreshing burst of historical old English facts complete with pornographic embroidery. 1066 and 1945 war-like activities captured.

The Look Out and The Rear Guard’s place of matrimony was depicted by the inclusion of Pershore Abbey in these ancient scripts.

Museums Summarised Brilliant display of wartime memorabilia and a privilege to have been there. We entered the cinemas talking and joking but by the end of the short film with actual footage, we left the cinema in silence.

Cemeteries British and American Cemeteries viewed by all in sombre silence. God bless them all.

Return to Blighty The ferry port was reached on time. The Commander and The Navigator succeed.

First class weekend topped with first class Company celebrated by first class closing meal. (The Medic shows off his bad finger!)

Special thanks to Paul and Evie Jones.

Nick and Eve Evetts.

Salisbury Lanes Day 3rd October As the London to Brighton run seemed to be in turmoil, we decided to explore some of the lanes around Salisbury based on one of Total Off-Road magazine’s road book.

The day was wet and dreary as we set off with four Discoverys, Stefan’s 90 and our trusty One-Ten. Memsahib and I had been ‘elected’ to lead the pack as on the previous outing Stefan and Donna had done so with the inevitable diagreements!

The morning’s run started at Stonehenge and took us onto the southern part of the Plain around Larkhill.

We didn’t always a g r e e with the tulip diagrams or the mileage but by lunch we had covered quite a lot of tarmac, two deep fords and a few interesting lanes. We stopped at the car park on Pepperbox Hill where, on a clear day, the view across Salisbury is spectacular, but not this day!

The rain kept falling as we crossed the busy A36 only to be greeted by two illegally erected gates (not locked) which have since been reported to Wiltshire County Council’s Rights of Way Officer. The surface by now was getting greasy as the hard chalk offered little traction but the views through the rain were fantastic.

We came across a couple of idiots in Ninetys whose idea of how to get out of the ruts was turn the wheel hard over and gun the throttle! No wonder people want us off the lanes. The route took us past the Whitsbury gallops where Desert Orchid was trained and the route took many twists and turns, a couple of which needed a shunt to get round.

By now our CB radio was playing up and communication with the rest of the pack was difficult. Much headlamp flashing told us there was a problem behind us. Stefan’s Ninety was dead. By now (fortunately) it had stopped raining and after much head scratching it was diagnosed to be the recently fitted ignition switch (Can’t get that one anymore but this is the equivalent part – oh yeah?). Stefan proceeded to dismantle dash to get to the back of the switch. Once done, he could start it with a screwdriver. If you want to know how to hot wire a Nintey….. but you’ll have to be quicker than we were!

We pressed on and by the time we got to the end of the road book it was getting dark. It was a great day out despite the weather and we’ll be off looking at some more lanes soon.

Alan Smart.

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Members’ Story

Off Road in Éire Just to give those members that do not know me a bit of background. Although I am English, I lived in the Republic of Ireland for fifteen years. I have an Irish wife, and four Irish children. I have now moved home, but I still have many Irish friends and try to get over to visit at least twice a year. Some of my friends are Land Rover nuts and some are members of Club Land Rover Ireland (http://www.clri. net/). I have been out with them before, but as my trips are usually work related, I have never managed to have my Disco with me. We thought it might be fun to organise a trip for a long weekend. Luckily I was booked into my Irish office for some router upgrades (I’m work in IT) and so a date was arranged to coincide.

I travelled up to Holyhead during the night to catch the ferry to Dún Laoghaire. After an uneventful crossing, I drove to a friend’s house in Wicklow, to stay the night. Paul O’Connell lives in what I would consider the perfect spot for a Land Rover enthusiast. Marked on the map (pictured), his house and its thirteen acres nestles neatly in 150 acres of land owned by Coillte (the Irish Forestry Commission) up in the Wicklow mountains. Ireland does not have green lanes as such. Any off-roading has to be done on private land and Coillte is the best source for the right type of land. Normally permission has to be sought in advance, but Paul has an open agreement with Coillte (as do many 4x4 clubs) that means he can use the land whenever he wishes.

There is a saying in Ireland that goes “You know when it’s the summertime when the rain warms up”. True to the saying, the weather the next day was very wet. But unperturbed we gathered together. Paul in his Defender 110, Michael Hempenstall in his Ex-Military, LWB, 1971 Series IIa, myself in my 200 TDi and Mick O’Connell (Paul’s brother) in an Isuzu Trooper. I know what you are thinking, but he insisted on coming.

I had never really taken my Disco (“grep”) off-road before.

Or at least not on this sort of terrain and so I was a little nervous. As Paul knew the lay of the land he led, with me following and with Michael and Mick bringing up the rear. The first part of the journey was gentle enough, with a slightly sloping track laid with a sort of aggregate. Although my brand of tyre claims that it is an A/T, it is in fact only a road tyre. But despite this, “grep” made her way up the mountain quite easily. Over hanging trees and ferns

were playing havoc with my CB antenna, but no other damage was likely. Eventually the terrain opened out and the surface changed to packed dirt that was rutted from logging lorries. Engaging diff-lock, I tried to concentrate on the track ahead. To be honest, I am now a lot more confident in what the vehicle can do and a little more confident in what I am able for. Low-box was called for next as fallen trees blocked our path. Very aware that “grep” has no underside protection as yet, a gentle clamber saw us through safely.

Reaching a fork in the road, it was explained over the CB that a decision needed to be made for the next part of the journey. Left would take us on a scratchy but relatively harmless route. Right would be a little more hash. I opted to watch from the sidelines as the Defender and SIIa tackled the right hand route. I am glad I did. The Land Rovers suspension was severely tested across a very rocky outcrop that I’m sure would have caused damage to “grep”.

The route was finished with an incline that would (I’m sure) have re-designed my front bumper and tow-bar. We returned to our vehicles and took the left hand route to rejoin the convoy. Although disappointed that “grep” is my only vehicle and I therefore have to take a little more care, I was not disappointed however that I didn’t suffer from a torn wheel arch.

After a short stop for food, overlooking a stunning view, we started our descent. Low range and a lot of engine breaking seemed to be the order of the day here. I blame no HDC, on my vehicle for the stiffness in my shoulders the next day. I guess my nervousness was causing me to hunch up a little too much. I needn’t have worried though, as the house came in to sight in no time. A fast flowing stream, was our last obstacle, which turned out to be easier than I expected. Although I have discovered that “grep” is not entirely waterproof.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day, and I would recommend it to anyone. However the best bit had to be my return to my tent and a nice cold beer!

Jon “jono” Hunt #1671

Discourse 18 - Page 17

Down Your Way

National Green Lane Day 31st October 2004 Once again we teamed up with Hants and Berks Rover Owners Club (HBRO) and Hampshire County Council to tackle a local lane. This one was at Shipton Bellinger BEFORE where the Hampshire border goes to Wiltshire and was about 0.7 mile and totally overgrown.

You could walk most of it and could probably drive it with a fair amount of scratches to your paintwork! The surface was very wet where the overhead canopy stopped the sun from drying it.

About eighteen of us met up on a bright sunny morning for the briefing.

The first job was to clear away some flytippers waste. We then broke into three groups – the heavy mob that would go AFTER

ahead and clear the big stuff. The next group would cut back the undergrowth whilst the third group cleared away.

From a track that barely offered foot passage, we were clearing back to about twelve-foot. A lot of the growth was blackthorn. One lady got a thorn through the sole of her boot whilst our own James Locke ended up with a septic finger and the memsahib got spiked in the face! Dangerous stuff!

We met a lady out walking her dog who praised the work we were doing. We even got a mention in the local paper.

We managed abot two-thirds of the lane and plan another visit in the New Year when we’ll complete it. In the meantime I’m making contacts with the local ramblers (the walking type, not the one who talk nonsense) who have expressed an interest in joining in.

So, if you are in the Wessex area and can join in, let me know and as soon as I have a date, I’ll contact you.

Alan Smart

London to Brighton On-off-on-off-on, no not a Land Rover with dodgy lights but this years London to Brighton run!

Internal problems with the South London and Surrey Land Rover Club caused uncertainty about this year’s event, however with a massive effort it was back on with participants signing on at Crystal Palace.

After the hot and sunny weather of last year the wet and grey day this year was not so pleasant. This did not stop around 300 hardy fans turning up at the start with every variation of Solihull’s finest.

At first things looked promising and as dawn broke it looked like a fine day as we signed in ready to set off at 9am through south London. As we made our way south down the A23 through Surrey the skies

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darkened and by the time the convoy reached Brighton the rain had set in for the day. Due to the uncertainty many traders had stayed away, but a hardy few stuck it out and a tug a Land Rover was organised using a 101FC GS. However it seems that Discovery owners are a bit soft as despite a plea over the PA we could not field a team.

Hopefully everything will be back on track next year and the good weather will return.

Tim Arnold Events Co-ordinator.

Members’ Story hefty torque, bolts that last saw daylight in the 1980s ploughed through years’ of caked-on mud as they unwound, releasing a rich earthy smell and exposing gleamBeing chucked in at the deep end of ing silver threads. Within an hour, and with the exploded anything is never a nice feeling. First, parts of the hub laid out neatly in order on the garage there’s the potential for thinly veiled floor, I was down to just the stub shaft. All the bolts were ridicule or baffling terminology from out but it just wouldn’t budge. Certain I’d missed somethose to whom the deep end appears thing I phoned a friend up North who runs a commercial quite shallow, and second, there’s Land Rover workshop… the perceived likelihood of some real physical peril.

“Are you using a big hamI’d been chucked in the mer to get it off?” asked deep end of Land Rover “I looked at the Yoda of Land Rover parts stood behind the counter in much the same way as a Dave. maintenance.

“Oh yes…” I replied, half The first time I got the Dis- Labrador would gaze at it’s owner having been expecting a verbal pat on covery home it shattered shown a cunning card trick” the back something in the drive train somewhere and subsequently refused to move. I had no idea what was bro“Well that’s ken, I had no idea how to fix it, and I had no idea how to probably why, even go about diagnosing the fault. The free Discovery (all you need a I’d had to do was go and collect it) wasn’t looking so free f***ing big after all, and before I could begin to rectify the other niffhammer” naff and trivia, I was looking at major repairs at the heavier Following end of Solihull’s spectrum. his advice, a slightly-moreEnquiries at a local parts specialist gave rise to the first than gentle tap onslaught of the baffling terminology I had feared…. had the stub “Well it could be the transfer box has shredded something, shaft hanging the half shaft may have snapped, it could be the diff…… from torn tenor then again you might have a broken hoise-boisen, a dons of dried sheared giggling pin or a bent snafu” out gasket that I looked at the Yoda of Landrover parts stood behind the had glued it so firmly to the swivel housing. counter in much the same way as a Labrador would gaze And inside I could see the broken bones of the CV joint. at it’s owner having been shown a cunning card trick. I The central gear had lost a complete tooth, and a gang of clearly needed to go home, strip the front axle and see rusty metal marbles were rolling round the bottom of the what the problem was before I could think about ordering swivel housing, crunching through what remained of the new parts. bearing race as they went. And it was all completely dry, Now as an aeronautical engineer by trade I’ve dismantled dusted with reddish brown powder. then rebuilt some highly complex machinery in the past, A little over a day later, the hub was reassembled with a but it had always been with a number of strict guidelines. fresh CV joint swimming in grease, the wheel was refitted I’d have an extensive workshop manual, more tools than and Shed stood on it’s own feet again. And more imporyou could shake a spanner at, and finally, it was all backed tantly moved under it’s own steam. by government funding, but with the Landrover this simAs I eased the Discovery forward out of the parking spot ply wasn’t the case so a more cautious approach was rewhere it stood motionless for a week, the deep end in to quired. which I’d been chucked suddenly didn’t seem so deep Having identified after all. the off side as The benefits of my sudden introduction to the guts of the the freewheelvehicle were two fold. All the time it was immobile, the ing source of the long-term future of the vehicle was, in my mind at least, damage, with the questionable. As a non-runner, there’d be no point fixing wheel removed broken lights for example, but now I felt I could contemand the car on plate the long list of small fixes that were required. And axle stands, I having stripped then rebuilt the hub, with no manual and commenced only spanners and sockets, I felt as though no obstacle on some explorathe long road to recovery would be too big. tory tinkering.

My next priority was ensuring the Shed was legal again.

I was reassured New tyres all round replaced a bizarre mix of ancient by the Disco’s American-branded knobblies, a slickened Japanese chunky nuts and bolts; it had been engineered and maneconomy tread and a European road tyre with uneven ufactured, not just put together as lesser cars are, and Continued on page 24 there’s a very subtle difference. With some occasionally

The Red Shed Chronicles

Discourse 18 - Page 19

Advertisement Feature

Page 20 - Discourse 18

Members’ Story

Fitting a Safari Snorkel.

The day had arrived to fit a snorkel to my 200 Tdi. I’ve never done this kind of job on a car before so I was a little nervous but the Safari is a simple modification to fit if you are happy using an electric drill and jigsaw. You will also need a pop riveter a couple of spanners or socket set and a pair of safety goggles.

First check all the parts are in the box as described in the instructions, making sure the template provided is the correct type and matches up with the bolt holes on the snorkel.

I noticed a slight difference in a couple of the holes, but the instructions tell you to use a 16mm drill so I decided this would give me ample room for any movement later on.

I then started to remove the plastic wheel arch liner from behind the near side wing; this is held in place with several plastic studs into the inner wing. The easiest way I found to do this was to slide a pair of side cutters under the stud head and gently lever them out from the centre, being careful not to squeeze too hard. Remove the air filter box; there is also a self tapping screw inline with the air filter holding the inner and outer wings that needs to be removed before cutting the hole for the snorkel pipe.

The next thing was to mask the wing where you need to mark out for the holes, place the template into position and hold down with more tape. Draw around the six bolt holes and the larger hole for the snorkel which lines up with the air filter. After removing the template it was time to drill the holes out, starting with a small pilot drill, and then using two or three intermediate size drills before drilling the holes to the final size. I did not have a 16mm drill bit so finished with a 15mm bit.

I then wrapped the bottom of the jigsaw with some tape to help prevent scratches to the paint work, and gently cut out the pipe hole. Once having drilled the holes, remove any masking tape left on the wing.

I then screwed in the two studs and offered the snorkel up to the wing to check if every thing seemed OK. At this stage I did need to file out the stud holes a little but apart from that all looked fine. I then tried the other four fixing bolts to see if they lined up but found the two bolts near the door were a little out. With the help of a neighbour pushing on the snorkel I couldn’t quite get the last bolt to

start. So off came the snorkel again and a bit more filling to lengthen the holes a little and all lined up fine. In the end I put this down to the 15mm drill and the small difference found in the template at the start.

Once I was happy with the bolt holes the snorkel was again removed so any bare metal edges could be painted with Hammerite. After a cup of tea the paint was nearly dry but before finally fitting the snorkel I put some self-adhesive 2mm thick black foam on the snorkel were it would come into contact with the wing allowing suitable gaps in the foam at the bottom for any water to escape. The idea using foam was to seal any possible gaps between the wing and snorkel where dirt could collect in time without the use of silicone etc.

Then back on with the snorkel and all the bolts were finally tightened up and then the top bracket was riveted to the door frame.

The kit comes with a grommet to seal the end of the air filter, a new filter was used and the filter box put back in position.

The only other difference I did to the instructions was to use a three inch length of rubber inner tube from a mini wheel or similar to seal between the snorkel and filter box.

This was clamped on to the snorkel snout tight against the inner wing and with a second jubilee clip fixed to the air filter box. In the instructions this joint is sealed with silicone and a jubilee clip but on the 200 Tdi it would be hard to change the air filter with out removing the filter box and so each time you change the filter you would need to break and reseal the joint between the snorkel and filter box. Now all I need to do is undo a jubilee clip with out having to reapply any silicone.

Refit the plastic wheel arch liner using the old studs, cut a couple of millimetres off the screw removed from the top of the wing with a pair of side snips, when all is done stand back and give your self a pat on the back.

In total it should only take three or four hours to fit a Safari Snorkel and once you have built up your nerve to cut the holes in a perfectly good wing the rest is fairly straight forward.

Bill Jones. # 1435

Discourse 18 - Page 21

Members’ Story Changing Face of a Discovery - Part 2 I ended my last piece (Discourse 17) on this subject by saying that I would be adding a bonnet protector in chequer plate. Well by the time that issue came out I had done it. One of our members (Andy) on the e-group posted a dealers web site that had them for sale. Three days later I had ordered one over the phone from Motor Panel Supplies at the price of £47.00 all in. Delivery was held up due to the fact that I also ordered a Land Rover Weather Vane at the same time which were out of stock due to them selling out at the Billing show two weeks before.

So I had to wait a just over a week before I came home one evening to find a very large and very flat parcel waiting for me.

There has been a lot of discussion on the club forum between members who mount spotlights on roof racks or light bars regarding glare from the lights reflecting off the bonnet. Some favour painting the centre panel of the bonnet mat-black, while some would prefer to use a vinyl application. Bearing this in mind I really didn’t want to use the chequer plate in the ‘natural’ state it arrived in. The factory finish though not quite highly polished, is still not far off that of a mirror. Now I do not have spots on the front edge of the roof, nor do I intend to later. What I was thinking was that if left in the factory finish state, driving towards the sun would leave me blinded for life! Leaving the surface alone would result in it going dull over time but I use my Disco every day and didn’t want to only drive on dull days or wait for the plate to weather outside before fitting. Another drawback is that over time it would get darker until it looked like it had been on the car for years.

Then of course there is the fact that a painted finish can be touched up or repainted at a later date.

So the only way to go would be to paint it. The colour had to be black because my Disco has side mouldings, wheel arch protectors and a Safari Snorkel in black and I wanted them all to match, but what shade or finish? Looking round the aerosol section of B&Q gave me several choices, ranging from flat matt black (Camel Trophy like) to high gloss. I wanted something in the middle and ended up using BBQ paint! This gave just the right surface, not to flat or to shiny. I also used an undercoat/primer before applying the BBQ paint.

Now while happy with the finish I had to fit it. This is where the fun starts, as with most cars the bonnet is pressed into a double curve (one which has a curve across as well as

Page 22 - Discourse 18

along it’s length). The new bonnet protector is of course flat, which makes for an interesting fit. Trying to get a sheet of paper to fit over a football without creases will give you an idea of what this process is like. The pre-drilled holes around the edge were to far apart and allowed the plate to lift between the pop-rivets, so more holes were drilled to take extra rivets to stop this. The contrast between the painted finish and the alloy pop-rivets looks good and can be seen in the two photos taken just before and after I had added a four spot light pod from QT Services (you may remember that this extra, which was bought at the Land Rover Owner Show at Peterborough, was on my mind at the end of the first part of this article in Discourse 17).

The total costs for the new ‘Face’ of my Discovery known as ‘Thunderbird 2’ or ‘T2’ for short are: Scorpion Racing heavy-duty winch bumper £295.00 Scorpion Racing swivel recovery eyes (x2) @ £20.40 Superwinch G9 winch £299.00 Scorpion Racing Number Plate kit £17.00 Scorpion Racing Bonnet Pins £15.00 DLS Steering guard £55.00 Custom Number plate (bought at Billing) £12.00 6” spots c/w bulbs & wiring kit £30.33 Safari Snorkel £171.00 Bonnet chequer plate £47.00 QT Services Light pod c/w wiring kit £200.00 Paint (x2 aerosols) £14.00 Pop rivets £5.00 Total £1201.13 N o w that’s a fair bit of cash s p e n t over the course of less than a year, just for a facelift to an old Land Rover. The big ‘but‘ here though is that T2 is not just a car to me; it’s an ongoing hobby I intend to keep up. Those members that know me will of course know that I have spent a ‘little’ more than the above amount on T2 during 2004 but that as they say is another story. I think it’s time to stop work on the ‘face’ of my Disco now and look at other areas in need of a nip and tuck. At this moment in time I’m fitting more chequer plate down each side (in high gloss black this time) and I’m in discussion with our club Vice-Chair Paul, regarding a tank guard with a removable tow bracket, which will improve ground clearance at the rear when on green lane’s or off road sites.

Happy Disco’ing Roger Spencer DOC 840#

Members’ Story

Blinky’s Journal It may be cold and wet this winter here in the United Kingdom, but that does not mean it has to be cold and wet in Discourse. Neil Brownlee has kindly offered us some ramblings from a rather warmer climate. Welcome to South Africa.

December 21st 2003 The joy of landing in Johannesburg was somewhat marred by strike action on behalf the baggage handlers.

We queued for some considerable amount of time at immigration and when that was finally completed, we were met with no baggage! Another wait and we saw our bags pop onto the carousel. Finally we felt like we had arrived.

According to the news that night on the plane, the UK was under snow, Johannesburg was not! It was a glorious 26 degrees at 7.30am. We were met at the airport by Anke and Graham, and the supplier of our surrogate Piglet, Just Done It 4x4. We made our way over to the vehicle, quite a walk, only to be met with red tape. Our Master Card had not validated (despite there being ample funds!). There was a slight bit of complicated phoning, stopped dead at the UK because we don’t work Sundays in banking, which ended with me surrendering my Connect card to the company and paying with real money.

We finally had a Discovery, and we were in Africa. The new vehicle has been named. As it is white, and a V8, the only suitable name we could come up with was Binky II (a long story behind Binky I!).It took me about 10 minutes to scare the hire company. We were proceeding along the N1 (I think!), when we came across a lorry doing about 2kph! I had to brake hard, swerve, and then remember this was a manual….OUCH! Let’s just say 5th to 1st to 2nd without the clutch was no mean feat.

The hire company were following us to the hotel, they were in a 6x6 Defender (it was very very very nice!) which could only seemingly travel at 60mph. The reason for the tail?

Something had already fallen off Binky! Luckily it was just the nearside interior passenger door handle. They soon had it fixed at the hotel.

The morning and early afternoon soon mixed, with some good food, good beer and fine weather. The kids and Maddy had a play in the pool, and I sat and tried to read my book. At 2pm Anke came for us, to take us into town to buy life jackets for the kids and to do some Christmas shopping at a local flea market.

Every robot was red on the journey. I was rapidly learning what the clutch did, and how to use it. Driving in downtown

Sandton was an experience, and one which I’m not sure I want to repeat. However, the same rules seem to apply to LR’s in here, as they do in the UK. Avoid hitting them if you are in something smaller! After the shopping trip, we retired to the hotel, had some food, some excellent beers and put the kids to bed. We were looking forward to our firsts night sleep in 24 hours.

December 22nd 2003 Beep. Beep. Beep. It’s 6.30am and we have to wake up!

Today is a day at the Valdaam. Maddy and I are awake and have a quick shower each. We can’t wake the kids, the previous day obviously took it out of them. Maddy and I go to breakfast and return to the room to find the kids still asleep.

As we are loading Binky, Anke and Graham arrive. We pile into Binky and we are off. Binky has less than half a tank of fuel remaining and I am worried that we won’t get back without fuelling, but more of that later. Driving in South Africa is quite unlike driving in the UK, the only rule seems to be “there are no rules”, so polite UK driving is ignored!

After about 1.5 hours driving, we arrive safely at the dam.

It an awesome sight, the dam serves Johannesburg as a water supply, so you can imagine it’s size! After parking the vehicles, putting on our factor 35 suncream and opening the boat garage, we discovered that there was no-one to tow us to the launch point. We waited, we opened the drinks cooler, we drank, we waited. Finally we were towed to the launch point and we were out onto the water.

It was after five when we got back to base, and there was no-one there to tow us out. Luckily the Land Rover had a tow hitch, so I duly hitched up the trailer and reversed down the jetty. We put the back end of the Discovery into the water and waited for the speedboat to move onto the trailer. After a bit of winching, the boat was in position and off we went, well that was the idea! The bottom was muddy and we were spinning wheels, a quick flick of the diff lock and we were pulling away up the jetty. Sadly we need fuel, and the nearby fuel station was closed. I thought we could manage the 40 kilometres to the next fuel station but as we drove, the engine became sluggish, and lumpy, I hoped this was not a sign of things to come, or worse, low fuel. Luckily we limped to the fuel station, filled up and the engine picked up. I suspect dirty fuel, how wrong could I have been?

We returned to the hotel, went through our proposed routes with Graham and Anke, then retired to bed after a long and tiring day!

Continued in Discourse 19 Neil Brownlee.

Discourse 18 - Page 23

Members’ Article ...continued from page 19 wear. Then, over a slack afternoon at work, I fitted a collection of new light bulbs so that by the time I drove home, everything was illuminated again. The rear wiper was revived by re-attaching the wiring loom to the back of the switch, and whilst the dash was apart, I blanked off the switches for the front fogs and spotlights that I knew from my initial check simply didn’t work.

Going hand in hand with this I removed the lights themselves, and getting all a bit carried away with things, I took the opportunity to remove the bull bar that supported them .

A thorough clean inside and a scalding jet-wash outside complemented the new lighting and cleaned up front end.

A broken coat hangar, a Coke can, wads of pay and display tickets and for some reason no less than six of those window cleaning, ice scraping squeegee thingies were among the rotting junk I binned.

Already, after just a couple of days’ attention, Shed was looking smarter and driving smoother than when I collected it. But it was still far from perfect. Time to pop the bonnet and jump in the deep end again.

Bob Larcombe

Member’s Photo’s Got a picture that needs a caption? Or maybe you have a little artist lurking in the family? Either way, Discourse always welcomes pictures and artwork from any of it’s members. Send them to the Editors address in the front of the magazine.

The best use of the infamouse Discovery Owners Club Bum Bag. Thanks to Jon “Jono” Hunt for this picture.

Thanks to Amber for this great picture of her Dad’s Discovery.

[Ed. The Red Shed is certainly coming together. More from Bob and the Red One next issue] Amber Davidson (Age 8)

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Discovery Owners Club Merchandise

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1. T-Shirt Short sleeves, available in Black / Green.

Sizes S,M,L,XL. £10.00

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2. Sweat Shirt Long sleeves, available in Black / Green.

Sizes S,M,L,XL. £16.50

1

4

3. Polo Shirt Short sleeves, available in Black/Green/ Claret. Sizes S,M,L,XL. £12.50 4. Jacket Khaki jacket with fleece lining and zipped pockets. Sizes S,M,L,XL. £35.00

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6. Spare wheel cover Semi-rigid “Discovery Owners Club” wheel cover. State tyre size when ordering.. £20.00 (Made to order. Not stock item)

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5. Fleece Black microfleece with zipped pockets.

Sizes S,M,L,XL. £23.00

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5

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7. Baseball Cap Black adjustable cap. One size. £7.50 8. Mug Yellow with green logo £3.00

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8

10. Triangle Window Sticker White with Black text vinyl window sticker. £2.00

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9. Umbrella Green with DOC logo. £15.00

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12. Key Fob Leather with DOC insert. £2.00

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11. Tax Disc Holder Green with yellow DOC logo facing inside. £1.00

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13. Silver Club Sticker Vinyl weather resistant sticker.

33” Silver Sticker - £3.00 22” Silver Sticker - £2.00

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ORDER FORM ON PAGE 26.

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15. “Turn me over” Sticker Red vinyl sticker. £3.00 16. Discourse Back Issue CD-Rom CD-Rom containing all back issues of Discourse in Adobe Acrobat Format (PDF). £5.00

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14. White “dot com” Sticker Vinyl weather resistant sticker. £3.00

UK Postage & Packing Items

Cost

1,2,3,4,5,9

£2.95

6

£9.95

7,8

£1.95

10-15

£0.50

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Discourse 18 - Page 25

Committee Corner

Merchandise Order Form

Committee Corner Next Committee Meeting: Sunday 12 December 2004

Order Details Item No. Description

Alan Smart, Club Secretary Size

Qty

Price

TOTAL: £ Your Details Name: Address:

Telephone: Membership Number: Send this form (or a copy) along with payment payable to “Discovery Owners Club” to: Claire Spencer, Merchandising Officer, Discovery Owners Club, 16 Bishopstone Close, Redditch, Worcestershire. B98 0AT. United Kingdom. email enquiries: clubshop@discoveryownersclub.org

From The Editors Keyboard They say it goes quick. Time, your hair, and your six pack after marriage. Three issues of Discourse down, another 20,000 miles on the clock, and not enough hair left to make a childs toothbrush have left me glad the holiday season is here. Time to sit down, relax, and not touch a computer for at least 2 weeks. (Chance of success? Slim.)

A big “Thank You” to everyone who has contributed to Discourse this year, and to those who remained “voyeurs”, you know what your New Year’s resolution should be, so get writing. For future issues I am hoping to do a “GPS Roundup”, with specifications, prices, pro’s and con’s etc. of various GPS solutions, plus in another issue (probably around Easter) a “How Do You Use Yours” article on why people chose a Discovery, and how it is used in it’s daily life. So there are a few pointers, but as always, everything is welcome.

To everyone in the Discovery Owners Club, have a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. See you in 2005.

Horness, Evie, Paul, Nick, Eve & Vicky (The Editors).

Page 26 - Discourse 18

The Committee now meets every other month. For the Club to be successful, it has to grow its membership and raise its profile. It was agreed that we need to concentrate on encouraging support at local section level by ensuring there are local events for members to attend. We will still support the national shows where we can recruit but unless there are things for members to do in their locality, they will not renew. We also need to make sure those who are on the Club stand at shows are actively marketing the benefits of membership of the Club and maybe we need to provide some sort of training at the event.

With the current level of income, the Club is technically running at a loss and, as such, the Committee agreed it would be imprudent to incorporate the Club into a limited company until trading improves. As part of the recruitment drive for 2005 there will be new merchandising, a new Club flyer and more events although the idea of a Club national event has been shelved, as the numbers did not add up. We also need to get more column inches in the press and get our web site sorted out (long story).

The Club shop will have new accounting procedures for next year to ensure that it’s easier to reconcile the monies taken at events. We are also looking at accepting credit card payments on-line but not at shows.

The Committee again reviewed its expense policy. Many of the Committee members have stood for some period of time and it was felt that they should not suffer personal hardship whilst carrying out their duties on behalf of the Club. It was agreed that Committee members could, if they so wish, claim a flat travelling expense of 14p per mile for attending Committee meeting. Some of them have to complete a 200+ mile round trip each time.

Merry Christmas!

The Discovery Owners Club Committee would like to wish every member a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank You for your continued support, for which without it there would be no club.

Neil, Paul, Alan, John, Lee, Tim, Horness, George & Claire.

This issue of Discourse has been published using Adobe InDesign 2.0 for Mac. © Copyright 2004. The design and layout, use of typestyles, and source files created in the production of this publication are the copyright of the Discovery Owners Club. Special artwork, photographs and images used in this publication are copyright of the originator. No element of it may be copied in full or part in any form without the express written permission to do so.

Local Section Meets

Regional Meets

North Worcs / South Midlands (3) Contact: Tel: Location:

Cheshire Contact: Tel. Location: When: Time:

Malcolm Bourne 07746078833 Red Lion Barony rd Nantwich Ches.

2nd Tuesday of every month.

8pm onwards

When: Time:

Nottingham (14) Contact: Tel: Location:

Devon/Cornwall (1) Contact: Tel: Location:

Paul Shapter.

01752 704301 tbc

Roger Spencer.

01159 175506 Mobile: 07766 222386 tbc

Scotland (20) Contact: Tel:

Kent (12) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:

Paul Walker.

07939 411995 The White Hart PH, Evesham Road, Redditch, Worcs.

Second Tuesday of each month 8:00 pm onwards

Don Hoaglin.

01474 707531 Black Lion, Southfleet.

First Wednesday of each month.

7:30 pm onwards

Mark Hooghiemstra.

01307 830441

South Staffs / North Birmingham (4) Contact: Tel: Location:

Lee Jones.

0121 603 3632 tbc

Northampton (2) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:

Neil Brownlee.

Wessex (9)

Billing Quays, Northampton, (nr Aquadrome).

First Thursday of each month.

7:30 pm onwards

Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:

Alan Smart.

01264 772851 The Rack & Manger, Crawley, Hampshire.

Second Wednesday of each month 7:30 pm onwards

North West / Manchester (17) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:

Kim Hollings.

0161 480 7096 Mobile: 07831 541245 The Railway PH, 1 Avenue Street, Portwood, Stockport.

Second Wednesday of each month 8:00 pm onwards

Yorkshire (16) Contact: Tel: Location:

James Woods.

07801 923563 tbc

Discovery Owners Club Events 2005 Discourse 19 - Closing Date For Articles

25th February 2005

Discovery Owners Club AGM

19th March 2005

Easter Camping Weekend

25th – 28th March 2005

Heritage Run Gaydon

30th April 1st May 2005

ARC National Hosted by SROC

28th - 30th May 2005

LRO Spring Adventure

14th - 15th May 2005

LRW Show Discovery Owners Club National Event LRE Show National 4x4 Show Langley Farm Beaulieu 4x4 Show August Bank Holiday Camping Weekend

27th - 29th August

LRO Autumn Show

10th - 11th September 2005

London to Brighton Land Rover Run Discovery Owners Club Bonfire

5th – 6th November

Discourse 18 - Page 27

SANTA 1

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Printed by Hawksworth Graphics - 01889 565234 Photograph courtesy of Daren Reid