We are pleased to welcome Jane & Ruel Wiley and their 1953 MG TD to the club, our 125th member family.

The Club's July monthly meeting, held at Mo's Irish Pub in Katy, was a hot one.  Our weather returned to typical Houston July heat and humidity but this didn't stifle a great turn out.  We had over 50 club members and guests joining us for great fellowship, good food and a splash of cool refreshing ice tea or a wallop (look it up, wallop is a British term).

  

We heard from Pete Sandy of the Austin Healey club and Steve Bauserman with the Morgan's on the Coast (the local Morgan Owners Group), who shared about their organization's activities and how they are keeping the spirit of the British car culture alive in the Houston area.  We were also pleased to have Nick Pappas from the Texas MG Register join us.  Nick was in town to help a friend work on his car.  We received updates on both the upcoming Gathering of the Faithful, October 17-19th, and the 30th Annual Houston All British Car Day, September 21st, where the featured marquee is the Jaguar.

Mo's Irish Pub are fantastic hosts, taking great care of us with food that has a touch of the British Isles and was bloody good.  We also had the opportunity to speak with the Regional Manager and he could not have been more happy to have us in the house.  We will be returning to Mo's for the September club meeting.  Don't worry, we have already arranged to be inside on the lower level, well out of the heat and where we should have much better acoustics.  

Stephanie Woodward is introducing the next generation to our LBC's

Steve Bauserman looks ready for the Tour De France

The Fall GoF train is picking up speed and we all look forward to a great time in Katy, TX, Oct 17 to 19th.  The theme is built around Katy’s long history as a railroad stop on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railway.  We will be enjoying the small-town atmosphere of local restaurants, old railroad sites, Antiques, beautiful country sides and an old-fashion town square.

Our festivities will kick off on Thursday night with a margarita reception at Los Cucos’ Mexican Café.  The first margarita is complimentary.  On Friday we will start the morning early with a drive into the country-side touring through the area’s ranchland and rice farms, returning to the Katy for lunch at Mo’s Irish Pub (we had to sneak a little of the UK into the weekend ).  On Friday afternoon we will be headed out to visit the hemi-Hideout one of Texas’ best kept automotive secrets. 

The HH is a 21,700 sq. Ft. ultimate man cave that is full of classic Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars, antique tractors, classic motorcycles, neon signs and other memorabilia, all restored to their original glory.  The facility is surrounded by beautiful landscaping with pecan and weeping willow trees.  The $10.00 donation will be given to a local charity and matched by the owner of the Hemi-Hideout.  This is one you won’t want to miss.

Friday late afternoon/early evening we will be at the iconic No-Label Brewery a local craft brewery located in the historic Katy rice silos, situated along the tracks, where we will kick the tires and swap stories of our MG adventures.  No Label will have food trucks available for those who just want to relax and enjoy the fall evening.  There is plenty of space, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring a bag chair along as the tables can fill up quickly.  For those of you who would like to head out to a restaurant, there are plenty of options. 

On Saturday morning we will be holding the car show downtown Katy around the newly renovated town square.  The show will be in conjunction with Katy Market Day, a monthly outdoor market with over 65 vendors, food trucks and live music.  The vendors will be offering jewelry, original artwork, handmade goods, home décor, furniture, clothing and so much more.  And if your passion is antiques (which it must be or why else own an old car), Katy is home to many fine antique shops.  Lunch will be from Jason’s Deli.   On Saturday morning, on our way to the show, you will have the opportunity to have your car photographed in front of the MKT Caboose. 

Saturday night we will head to the Midway BBQ to celebrate the show’s award winners.  Starting as a small shack in the 1990’s, Midway has grown to be one of the 314 most popular BBQ restaurants in the Houston Area, truly a local favorite.  We will be hosting a social hour from 6 to 7 pm with dinner starting at 7pm, cash bar throughout the evening.

Host Hotel

Hotel space at the Holiday Inn is going fast, if you haven’t made your reservation please do so soon.  You can call the hotel at 281-712-2363.  The room block is under “Texas MG Register.”  You can also register online by clicking HERE.  Make sure when registering online to use Group Code TMG.  The rate is $85.00 per night for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.

If you haven’t yet, it is time to get onboard the MKT.  Register for the event HERE

                  

Here are the current standings for the Driver's Award. Thanks as always to Greg for preparing the report.

By Dwight Dawson

Our June 29 driving event provided new reasons to visit the Richmond area…and to participate in Club events.    

To get started, our gathering at the Hickory Barn BBQ ensured a hearty Texas lunch. Then, driving just a short distance in town, we discovered the Dry Creek Social Club for beverages and social repartee in the ice house and on its comfortable patio. These events are always a great place to get to know newer members. Once again, Alex Laverock was there with his 1980 MGB LE. Dana Woodruff, a member for just a few weeks, braved the heat in her modest British auto, a smart-looking 2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed. (Haste. Rapidity. Precipitousness. With another 48 horsepower extracted from the twin-turbo W-12 to make 600 net, and another 74 pound-feet of torque making 553 net, and a 60-mph time of four seconds flat, they should have called it the Continental GT Whupass. Car and Driver Apr 1, 2008)

Our organization has always been an “open-marque” car club, and Dana’s car will be a very welcome addition to our All British Car Day in September. Peter and Maria Ferrer trekked in one of their Jaguars; the Jaguar will be the Featured Marque at the September show. Who knows… anyone can “move up” to an MG once they have owned other British marques.  

The skies were threatening that Saturday and the radar maps were quite colorful. But we drove 80 miles total and our MGB did not see a single drop of rain. The Texas climate truly enables year-round excursions. Thanks, Jim Early, for arranging a very fine event. As the photos illustrate, there were 14 attendees and 6 MGs.  

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

We are pleased to announce that the 30th Annual All British Car Day will be held Saturday, September 21st at the Wild Stallion Vineyards in the Woodlands.  Registration will be opening soon.  For more details go to the event's page.  

Registration for the 2019 Katy GoF is now open, click the image below to be taken to the event page to register and book your hotel rooms.

Wayne Hardy drove his 1958 MG ZB as the pace car for the Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing held at MSR Houston the weekend of May 4 & 5th.

Above is a photo of a member Wayne Hardy's 1958 MG ZB Magnette doing a different kind of outing..serving as the official pace car at a vintage sports car races south of Houston at Houston Motorsports Ranch, early in May.  Wayne says "this is our 1958 MG ZB Magnette sedan, winner of a trophy or 2 of it's own in various HABMVE and HMGCC evnts over the years. It's still running great, gets driven almost every weekend up here in the Piney Woods, and also participates in an annual Antique Auto Club of America (AACA) Tour Texas event, which is a 3 days driving and visiting interesting places, followed by a shiny car show judged according to Antique Auto Club standards where originality counts for a a lot."  Wayne and his family have been Houston MG Car Club members since 1988.

There were no Mini's present but the July meeting was a smashing success with Italian flare.  We gathered at the Grotto, an Italian Bistro in the Woodlands, with more than 35 people in attendance.  We even had a Ferrari Mondial in the parking lot owned by new member Ed Hesling and his wife Judi.

 

Sneed Adams provided an update on Keels & Wheels and John Bowyer shared with us the happenings and member benefits of the Rolls Royce Owners Club. 

Sneed Adams

John highlighted how valuable the technical bulletins and knowledge sharing is to keeping his cars running well.  If you are not a member of the MG National organizations we highly encourage you to join.  They also have a wealth of information about our cars with lots and lots of great advice.  You can get more information on joining on our resource page.

John Bowyer

We were also joined by new members Scott and Trish Hardy who just moved from Calgary.  They have a 1972 Teal Blue MGB that is back in Canada waiting for them to bring it to Houston.  I suspect the weather will be a bit of a shock to its system.

With the addition of the Helsing's and the Hardy's our membership now stands at 120 families.

Other reports included an update on the Katy GoF, financial report and news on other club events and happenings.  We were pleased to learn that Ron was able to secure the City of Katy's support for the GoF as an official event of the Katy Convention and Tourism Bureau.  

We even had a few club members brave the heat and join us in their cars.