Magazine of the Thames Valley HOG Chapter
FEBRUARY 2016
Hotline: 01753 578616 www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Come on, you know you want to have a go… Don’t be shy, just have a word with me. I’ll co-edit the first couple of issues if you like… Not a lot happening in these quiet, winter months so it’s a good time to be laid up. My hip op was a great success and I was home in less than 48 hours. Back to work in 9 days and all was going so well until I developed a DVT. Nothing to do with my activities, in fact they often occur through inactivity. Just bad luck, but I found it quickly because my son described a friend’s leg, who had the same. Any pain in the leg post-op like bruising or cramp, check it out straight away! I’m really looking forward to the riding season, not long to wait now. The first club ride is to Guildford’s Open Day on 19th Mar. The calendar is filling up with lots of good things to come. The ladies, particularly, have a lot to look forward to, with a coffee and cake morning, a ladies team on the coast to coast challenge and other activities in the pipeline. The days are getting longer now, It’s after 6:00pm before the sun sets. So get on those bikes and ride ‘em!
Sue
Inside this issue… Front cover
Mick, waiting for the ice-cream season to start..
Febryary/March Birthdays
Page 2
Editor’s Thoughts
Page 4 - 6
Director’s Update
Page 7
Coffee and Cake - Gill
Page 8, 9
LoH - Sue’s Page
Page 10
Dawn to Dusk Ride
Page 11
LoH new Year Meal - Linda
Page 12, 13
Hoggin’ the Spotlight
Page 14, 15
Calendar
Helen Fouche
26th Feb
Page 16, 17
Boys’ Stuff - Mike and Ralph
Louise White
2nd Mar
Page 18, 19
Thelma on a Bender-Thelma Bryant
Di Earley
4th Mar
Page 20
JustGiving –Lee
Grant Oxtoby
4th Mar
Page 21
RTTW 2016 overnight info
Ralph Ward
5th Mar
Page 22, 23
News and Events
Michael Benson
5th Mar
Page 24, 25
Photo Gallery
Phil Brown
6th Mar
Page 26, 27
Just for Fun
Back cover:
The New 2016 committee
Happy birthday to you all!
A bigThank You to ALL who have sent copy for this month’s magazine: Don, Sue D, Chris Smith, Mike, Thelma, Pat A, Gill, Linda and Lee
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Hi Everybody,
Welcome to the February edition of Tales from the Riverbank. First I would like to thank all the committee of 2015 for their support and commitment to the chapter, and hard work during their term of office. Sue, our Editor, and Toni, our Activities Officer, have decided to retire this year from office. I would like to thank them personally for their work over the last year. I would like to welcome Malcolm to the committee as our Activities officer, who has already been busy with the planning of the 2016 calendar. Sue has very kindly offered stay on as Editor to produce the magazine until we can find a replacement and on that note, would you like to become editor of our clubs magazine? We need your support to continue producing an excellent magazine every month. After announcing at club night our committee for 2016, many of us have been busy organising the ride-out and events calendar for this year and I am pleased to say the calendar is on the web site and available to the members. We still have a few places available in the calendar for extra rides if you suddenly hear of an event you think the club may be interested in. Nick has taken on board some additional road crew which will be training with us on many of our rides to get them ready for a weekend Road Crew training at Oxford H Q. Great to have you on board. As well as the rides this year, we had organised to attend 3 HOG Chapter Rallies, the Cider Rally, Wake the Lakes and Blazin’ Rally which, sadly, has had to be cancelled due to the rising costs demanded by Haven Holidays. A real shame as this was a favourite for many chapters. If you have any ideas for a weekend away in September we could do with a replacement for the Weymouth trip. 4
The Coast to Coast sponsored charity ride announced last month has taken off with great guns, with 12 members confirmed as taking part and a few still trying to make their minds up. June 25th is World Ride weekend in the HOG calendar and the mileage covered getting to Lowestoft on Friday, riding to Lands End and home again on Sunday will certainly up Thames Valley’s efforts. All the riders are now collecting sponsorships for the ride. If you would like to sponsor an individual rider please contact them directly or if you feel you would like to sponsor more than one rider how about using our JustGiving page and sponsoring the Chapter.
www.justgiving.com/tvhog-coast-to-coast-2016/ The 2016 Mileage Chapter Challenge kicks off on February 27th with a trip to the dealership to get your bike’s mileage verified by our team who will be on duty with clip boards ready. Let’s make 2016 our best year for not only getting every member to sign up but also covering some great miles over the season. If you are unable to make Saturday the 27th we can catch up with you at club night or on one of our many ride-outs planned for 2016. Saturday February 27th is also our LoH Charity Coffee and Cake day at the dealership. Many of our ladies will soon be busy baking to donate cakes and savouries for the charity cake day to raise funds for The Alexandra Devine Children’s Hospice Service. We will have visitors from other chapters joining our ladies for coffee and cakes during the day. Let’s have a great gathering of Thames Valley members to support our ladies on their first charity event. 5
This year’s SofER Rally is again going to be one of the biggest rallies in the country and we are looking to exceed our ticket sales of last year, Tickets will be on sale at our March club night from myself. If you know of any Harley riding groups that don’t have a rally of their own or would like to join us at Hickstead and have their own club area marked out please get in touch with me, we can arrange this for them. This year would be a great year for Thames Valley to enter the Chapter Challenge games for the 1st time. We need an enthusiastic team leader to organise a crack team of Thames Valley massive members to show these other chapters what we can do. Anybody up for a challenge? On our May club night we have Hogsback visiting our chapter at the Grenadier Club and we are hoping to put on a BBQ for them. Do we have a couple of BBQ Chefs who would like to show off their expertise on the BBQ on the night and a few helpers to dish the food out? Please contact Pat, Nick or myself if you can help. Chapter Chill Out Weekend The chapter chill out week end is now booked for May 3rd at the Severn Valley Railway the site we used last year with all accommodation now fully booked. Pat and Barry do have plenty of camping space available for tents and motor homes. Contact them to book your space. The 2016 end of season party this year is going to be on the 17th September. We are looking to arrange a Barn Dance on the evening with a Fish & Chip supper, at Sportsable. Can you please show your interest in attending the evening by putting your name on the list at club night. I’m looking forward to getting that bike out and enjoying another great riding season with you all. Regards,
Don Director 6
Save the date! Saturday 27th February 2016 from 11.00am to 3.00pm the Thames Valley Chapter Ladies of Harley will be serving coffee/tea and cakes at the Reading Harley Davidson dealership! 660 Wokingham Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 7HN http://www.lindhd.co.uk/pages/reading/reading.htm
We are supporting The Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service, Maidenhead http://www.alexanderdevine.org/index.html
Hi Ladies,
Owwhhh, it's getting lighter night by night ...love it !! I know we're not quite out of the woods yet for a cold snap but, if your bike has been standing, there's still time to start doing those post winter checks - tyres/oil levels/batteries etc (yeah… like I'd know… LOL.) We've been so lucky these last 2/3 months...I've been out on my Low Rider several times since November, I can't recall such mild weather. Looking back - well, back in Jan, the LoH thoroughly enjoyed themselves at The Fox & Pheasant pub in Stoke Poges - 27 of the girls met up for our LoH "New Year" evening meal. Sorry that a few of you weren't able to make it...you were missed x The club has been to this pub on a few occasions & the food was very good. I must remember to take photos !! We're so lucky to have Linda with us on virtually all the LoH outings … thanks, Linda! A Road Crew meeting was held in January to plan this year's ride-outs (led by Nick West & Malcolm P) Nick has a great idea for new riders/confidence ride-outs, so check the TV notice board at Reading HD or the TV calendar on the website in the next few weeks, to see what's happening in the upcoming months. You don't need a log-in for the calendar. Just as a reminder, all TV members should have access to the website, if you are a family member and would like your own log -in to contribute/read what's happening on the forums etc, speak to or email Lee webmaster@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk I know he'll be happy to help. 8
What's coming up next for LoH ? LoH are serving coffee/tea and cakes at the dealership on Sat 27th Feb, from 11am to 3pm, to raise funds for The Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service. If you can kindly donate home-made cakes, biscuits, flap jacks & haven't already been in touch, please let Di Earley & I know, so we know what to expect on the day. Many thanks to those that have already offered to bake. Thanks to Gill Major for the advice & of course the lovely cake poster x Sat 27th is also the date for the Hog Mileage Challenge Registration. Don will be capturing all of our mileages, so Thames Valley HOG can hopefully smash the greatest number of miles accumulated for 2016 TV LoH members ..On June 25th, there's the One day Run, Coast to Coast Ride - http://onedayrun.co.uk/home, where we ride from Lowestoft to Lands End, setting off at 4am, visit 4 specified Harley Davidson dealerships & finish at Lands End by sunset. It's approx 460 miles. You need to send off the application form, plus cover the cost of accommodation both ends. It is a long ride but it's gonna be a great challenge If you are interested in joining a "girls only" ride & haven't already confirmed, please get in touch asap. Eeeeeek...can't wait !!! Just a question.... would any of you be interested in a bowling night ? ..I'm up for it..it doesn't have to be boys v girls..but it could, HA HA !! Please let me know your thoughts. So very glad to hear that Sue K's hip replacement operation has been a great success & Sue is making good progress (now).. there'll be no stopping that lady Sue - we all hope you continue to recover well & send you warm get well wishes, & look forward to seeing you very soon. The timing of the operation couldn't have been better...perfect with the new riding season in mind ! xx Happy riding ladies
Sue Dodds
LoH Officer Thames Valley Chapter sue.dodds1@tiscali.co.uk 07775 913562
WELL BEHAVED WOMEN RARELY MAKE HISTORY
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Lowestoft
Lands End to
Hi Everybody As many of you may know by now Thames Valley UK Chapter have taken up the challenge to ride the Coast to Coast, Dawn to Dusk, charity ride to raise funds for this year’s chosen charity, the Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service. The new hospice is currently under construction just outside Maidenhead. The challenge is to ride from Lowestoft to Lands End on June 25th leaving at Dawn, visiting four Harley Davidson dealerships on route and arrive in Lands End before Dusk on the same day, a mere 460miles. We need to raise funds for the final push to complete the new hospice which is due to open in 2017/18. We would love your support by way of sponsorship for this challenge. If there is an individual rider you would like to sponsor, talk to them and add your name to their sponsorship form or, sponsor the Chapter by using their JustGiving page. www.justgiving.com/tvhog-coast-to-coast-2016/
Don Director 10
The Thames Valley Ladies of Harley are on a roll, carrying on into the New Year with another great evening out, this time at The Fox and Pheasant, Stoke Poges. Linda
Hoggin’ the Spotlight
Two minutes with
John Phelan
Sales Manager, Reading Harley
1. WHERE WERE YOU BROUGHT UP? I grew up in Hornsey, North London 2. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 FILMS OF ALL TIME? Liam Neeson's "Taken" would be my number 1 film and in my top 10 would be movies like Despicable Me and Shrek, because I'm a big kid at heart. 3. WHAT MOTORBIKE WOULD YOU BUY NEXT IF YOU COULDN'T BUY A HARLEY? It would have to be a BMW R1200R. 4. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN RIDING MOTORBIKES AND WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST BIKE? I’ve been riding since 1971, and my first bike was a 200 cc Yamaha YCS3E. 5. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? “A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian” Wickedly funny.
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6. HAVE YOU GOT ANY PETS? Not anymore. We lost our 17 year-old cat Malcolm just after Christmas. 7. IF I WAS SPEAKING TO YOUR OTHER HALF, WHAT WOULD SHE SAY IS YOUR WORST HABIT? Falling asleep in my armchair – and snoring! 8. FOOTBALL OR RUGBY? Neither 9. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR IDEAL HOLIDAY ? An RV tour of Europe, taking in a couple of Moto GP rounds. 10. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TIPPLE? Either whiskey or Valpolicella. 11. TELL US AN OBSCURE FACT ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WE MIGHT NOT KNOW? I sold Jeremy Clarkson a new Mercedes SL55 AMG – and didn’t give him any money off! 12. DO YOU HAVE ANY CHILDREN? Two sons and two step-daughters
13. THE ALARM WAKES YOU IN THE MORNING, HOW DO YOU GET READY FOR WORK? I get up at 5 to leave by 7. My first hour involves 2 mugs of coffee and either the BBC News or an hour surfing the web. Then its breakfast, shower, get dressed and out the door. 14. APART FROM YOUR WEDDING DAY AND THE BIRTH OF YOUR KIDS TELL US ABOUT ONE OF YOUR FONDEST MEMORIES? I won a 5 day trip to Las Vegas in 2001 when I worked for MercedesBenz. For me the highlight of the trip was a flight in a 1953 de Havilland aircraft to the Grand Canyon. The flight out was spectacular, but the flight back in the dark was amazing as we flew in over the hills to see the city lights glowing bright in the middle of a dark desert. stunning. Thanks a lot John & Sandra it was nice getting to know
If anyone else would like to volunteer to be put under the Spotlight contact Chris Smith
you and your family.
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February
March
Club Night Thurs 18th, 7:30
Committee Night Tues 1st, 6:00 Reading H-D
Saturday Social Sat 20th, 12:30 The Frog and Wicket Hook, RG27 0NS
Lou White is 40! Birthday Party Cowboy/girl theme Sat, 5th 7:30-1:00 am
Ace Café Harley Night Thurs 25th, 6:00pm
Saturday Social Sat 20th, 12:30 The Three Frogs Wokingham, RG40 1SW
LoH Cake Day Sat 27th, 11:00-3:00 Charity event,
Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice,
Club Night Thurs 17th, 7:30
At Reading H-D
Guildford H-D Open Day Sat 19th, from 9:00am Meet S’Able for 9:30 depart 2nd pick-up lay-by A322 Lead: Don
Mileage Programme Sign-up for 2016 Sat 27th, 11:00-3:00 Reading H-D
Parade Ride Sun 20th, 3:30 American Legends Meet S’Able 3:30 to Wimbledon Stadium Lead: Malc
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Dates, events, ride-outs and activities Details correct at time of going to print. Check the website for updates and amendments www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Rallies 2016
Club Nights March
17th
April
21st
May
19th
Wake the Lakes 7th -10th July
June
16th
SofER 12th -14th August
July
21st
Cider Rally
25th anniversary, theme: Silver
29th April - 2nd May Eurofestival St Tropez 28th April - 1st May
Thunder in the Glens 26th—30th August
Mag contribution Deadlines
European Bike Week Faaker See 6th - 11th September Blazin’ Galaxies 23rd - 26th September
Events May Club Night—19th BBQ with Hogsback as guests Dawn to Dusk Ride Coast to Coast Charity Ride, June 25th
March
10th
April
14st
May
12th
June
9th
Check website for details on all events 15
There’s “fun” and then there’s just plain nuts! For some bikers “having fun” means doing wheelies and burn outs. I like to watch but I’ve never been tempted to have a go myself. But for a few in the biking fraternity these playful antics include a more serious element – world records. I did a bit of research and, would you believe it, there are actually world records for each of these laddish pastimes. And I have to say that I’m pretty impressed at what the world class exponents of these fine arts can get up to. In the usual tone of the Boys Stuff bits I’ve listed a few statistics below – you never know when they might come in handy for settling the odd disagreement (wink, wink). BURN OUT RECORD - SMOKING HOGS I got a bit excited about this one because the first record I picked out was achieved by Harleys – in 2006 the largest motorcycle burnout was 213 bikes set by Harleystunts and Smokey Mountain Harley-Davidson in Tennessee. But, as ever, someone soon comes along to go one better and the World Record for the biggest simultaneous motorcycle burnout was set by 300 people on Saturday, 11th April, 2015, in Tagaytay City, Philippines – not a single Harley-Davidson was involved as far as I know – so I don’t think that counts – do you?. LONG-HAUL RUSTY While we’re on the subject of records set by someone on a Harley I thought I’d include this one - farthest ridden in 24 hours.
Ol' "Dusty Rusty" Vaughn, took his hog and rode 2,019.4 miles in 24 hours in August of 2011. He kicked back and rode for freedom on the Continental Tire Test Track in Uvalde, Texas, with an average speed of 84.14 MPH for 24 hours straight. I don’t know about you but I have a question – how, HOW, did he have a pee? - makes you wonder... 16
WORLD CLASS WHEELIE - LONGEST Not surprisingly, the record for the longest wheelie doesn’t involve a Harley! Yasuyuki Kudo of Japan rode a wheelie on his Honda TLM220R for 205.7 miles at the Japan Auto Research Institute proving ground in May of 1991. Can you imagine how tired his arms were afterward? I don’t think anyone has tried to beat this stunt – can’t imagine why… WORLD CLASS WHEELIE - FASTEST On Sunday August 16th, 2015, crowds gathered at Elvington Airfield, North Yorkshire, to take in the 10th Motorcycle World Wheelie Championship. The goal of riders is to keep the bike on its back wheel for a kilometre, going as fast as possible. The rider crowned king of the day was Gary Rothwell hailing from Liverpool who took top prize, reaching 197.879 mph. Now I thought that was pretty impressive and then I found he’d beaten his own record just one month later. On the 19th September last year Gary Rothwell went even faster. Believe it or not he hit 209.8 mph doing a wheelie for a kilometre on his 540 bhp Turbo Hayabusa. The clue as to why there are no Harleys in this particular hall of fame is, I think, in the 540 horse power needed to do it! HOT SEAT!! And finally - Now there’s doing stuff for fun and there’s just plain nuts. So I couldn’t leave this one out because it just makes you think “Why on earth would you even try doing that??” It’s riding through a tunnel of fire (yes that’s nuts, right?). These 2 gentlemen, Enrico Schoeman and André de Kock (both South African) rode the longest motorcycle ride through a tunnel of fire in Parys, South Africa, on 5th September 2014. They managed to cover 120.40m (395 ft 0.15 in) without bursting into flames!
Seriously folks – DON’T TRY THIS STUFF AT HOME! Ride safe – the Boys Stuff boys. 17
Thelma on a Bender… For those that don’t already know, it was just over two years ago when my journey began. There I was, having never ridden a bike in my life and firmly convinced that I was getting my licence so I could ride a vintage Lambretta. Little did I know that Candy, a 2013 Candy Red '72 Sportster 1200 was going to change all of that and would be where my “lady biker” riding life was to start… Candy was a great “little” bike. So easy to handle and looked fab, but, with lots of fuel stops (peanut tanks only get 70ish miles!) a bigger bike beckoned and I upgraded to Betty, my Stage 2, 103ci 2007 Softail Custom, beautiful, brutal, beast of a bike (those who have ridden her know)! At least, after Michael fitted an EZ Clutch kit, I didn’t have to spend my life in the gym to get the clutch pulled in… Adjusting to Betty didn't take too long as the Softail Custom is a very balanced and a joy to ride with Michael and our friends in the TV HOG massive. 2015 ended with discussions about early retirement (I wonder who started that trend??) and sharing the riding as we cruised the highways and byways around Europe with enough space for luggage; not being well known for travelling light...
After chats with fellow TV HOG members, we came to the conclusion that our current bikes would not be practical. So, we embarked on a process of looking for a new addition to our 'stable'. Being only 1.65m tall, the right bike needed to be low. 18
After sitting on many bikes we settled on the 2015 Road Glide Special as it is low enough for me to feel comfortable with my feet flat on the floor and also at a weight that I felt able to handle. Then, keeping up our track record of never test riding any of our bikes before buying them, we bought Bender (for those wondering why, google 'Bender Futurama') from the helpful folks at Reading Harley; a great team effort! On delivery day Michael rode Bender home. Then, choosing the right day, off I went on my first ride… nervously manoeuvring it out of the garage I sat there for a while just looking at the size of the bike in front of me. OMG what had I done! Then, with some reassurance from Michael, I started up and pulled away. On the road Bender is very comfortable, stable, powerful and certainly eye catching (as noted by the “thumbs up” from motorists, fellow bikers and “white van men” alike). The ride is light and the bike is nimble and easy to corner, even easier than the Softail Custom in some ways. My first few stops were a little tentative while getting used to the ABS brakes and foot boards. And yes, there was also the weight of the bike at a standstill,. But what a ride! Wow! So this season I move to riding Bender (no Lambretta again) and getting comfortable carrying a pillion passenger. Will it be a challenge? Of course it will, but that's part of the fun isn’t it? The new Road Glide Special is a great bike to ride and for those of you out there thinking you would never be able to manage one, just read my story again!
Thelma Bryant
TVHOG Coast to Coast Challenge - A JustGiving page has now been set up to help club members support the ride as a whole. Individuals should continue their good work collecting from friends, family and colleagues. This one will help club members and friends of the group support the charity without discrimination. It's gonna be a big one !!!
If you can't RIDE with us, GIVE with us https://www.justgiving.com/TVHOG-Coast-to-Coast-2016/ Help TVHOG raise money for this great cause. Coast to Coast in ONE DAY. June 25th 2016
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RTTW
October 1st 2016
The Cuttle Bridge Inn Birmingham Our chapter will be staying at the Cuttle Bridge Inn this year after Ride to the Wall.
Double Standard room £60 Incl Breakfast Superior Double £65 Incl Breakfast Triple Rooms £90 Incl Breakfast
We have rooms available under Thames Valley Hog To book rooms Phone: 01675-639063 www.cuttlebridgeinn.co.uk
CALLING ALL LADIES!! Join us for our annual
Scrummy Mummy Curry Night in aid of Alexander Devine, Saturday 27th February! This is a really great night out for all ladies, delicious food, fun and giggles and for the first year ever a fabulous disco! Visit here to book your places now‌ http://www.alexanderdevine.org/scrummyreg.html
See Pat Adams for further details
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New Forest H.O.G.® Dear All,
Blazin' Galaxies Announcement
Following protracted negotiations with Haven Holidays, the owners of Seaview in Weymouth, we have not been able to come to an agreement to stage our Rally planned for September this year. We apologise for the fact that this may cause you to change your plans. Continued increases in the hire cost of the site, has made it financially impossible to stage the Rally without an unacceptable risk. We have tried to find an alternative site at short notice, but this has proved impossible with the time scales involved. However, we will use our best endeavours to locate a suitable site, with the idea of staging a Rally next year, over the weekend of Friday 29th September – Monday 2nd October 2017. We wish all our fellow Chapters success with staging their Rallies this year. Kind regards John John Monks Director, Head Road Captain & Safety Officer New Forest H.O.G.®
Lou is 40!
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Help her celebrate in style on 5th March. All welcome but only if dressed as Cowboys and Cowgirls See you there - Bird’s Hill Golf Club 7:00pm ’til 1:00am
PICTURES MOST OF YOU TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES SEND SOME TO THE EDITOR FOR PUBLICATION IN YOUR CLUB MAGAZINE
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You know it's a rough neighborhood when even the birds have ankle monitors and pack a knife.
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nickwest@chilternelectrical.com
PRIMARY OFFICERS
Don Wibberley DIRECTOR
Pat Adams Asst. Director
Nick West Asst. Director
Email: director(assistantdirector)@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Club Venue: Grenadier Guards’ Club Maidenhead Road Windsor, Berks. SL4 5EY
facebook.com/groups thamesvalleyhog
youtube.com/user/ tvwebmaster1
Colin Wilkins Treasurer
Sue Moyler Secretary
Third Thursday of every month
Email: treasurer/secretary@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
COMMITTEE
Sue Dodds Ladies of Harley
Sue Knight Editor
Lee White Webmaster
Chris Smith Membership
Barry Adams Activities
Malcolm Poulter
Linda Friend Photographer
Chris Earley- ‘CJ’ Photographer
Activities
Email any committee member at (position held)@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk