In this issue of your favorite MG literature you'll find announcements for many driving events. This is the time of the year to use your MG and get on the road. June and July are filled with local club events including the GOF in St. Charles that is run by our colleagues of the Vintage MG Car Club of Chicago.  And there are the long distance events, Champaign British Fest in Bloomington, IL and the conventions of the North American MGB Register in Dillon, GA and the North American MGA Register in Dayton OH.

Although we had only 4 or 5 driving events so far this year, there are already a few interesting observations to be made. First the Auto Cross program which was sort of forgotten for a few years. Joel Brossard has picked up the baton and appears to be on a mission, talking at meetings and writing articles in the Driveline. If you have never done an Auto Cross I encourage you to give it a try. There is no other way to get your MG adrenaline going in such a safe and controlled manner. MG engine rev'ing high in second gear on an enclosed course, marked with cones on a large parking lot. No other cars and no obstacles to hit. Just you and your MG. Safety Fast, as it was meant to be when they put our sportscars together back in the factory in Abingdon, England. Feel free to call Joel at 708 784 0789 if you have questions about the Auto Cross program.

The second observation is that I've seen new members and new MG's at every event I visited. And the good thing was that the new Midgets and MGB's and their drivers seem to fit right in. No problem at all and everybody got along just fine.  The NATO guys and the protesters can learn a lesson from us. We should've taken them in our MG's for a little tour and

some lunch with a few beers before they started. Maybe the MG friendships would have made the heated discussions inside and protests outside McCormick Place obsolete.

And thirdly, the driving instruction for the Garage Tour and the Chicken Tour. Both followed the so-called Tulip System. Little sketches of each situation where you have to take a turn. The system originated in the Tulip Rally in the Netherlands in the late 50's. And it is still the system that is used by every major rally in the world. Pictures say more than words and are the same in all languages. We hope that it will become the standard in our club so that you, the participants, will never get lost again. No more missing a turn, no more back tracking, no more u-turns, no more guessing what the rally master means, and most importantly, no more driver-navigator arguments. Please let me know what you think after you tried it, we love to hear your feedback.

Before I close this column two short notes on the calendar. The Orphan Auto Picnic is the same weekend as the University Motors Summer Party. We would like to see as many club member in Grand Rapids as possible and therefore we will skip the Orphan Picnic as a club event this year. And, related to the Summer Party, is the Grand Lake Tour. There is absolutely nothing like driving your MG, through the UP with the top down in the middle of a warm August night, in a non-stop trip of around 1,000 miles around Lake Michigan. Give Mike Michalak a call at 773 858 6968 if you have any questions about this very special challenge.

And of course, please feel free to call me at 847 342 9804 or reinout.vogt@gmail.com with suggestions, concerns, and questions.

"The more you drive, the more you smile".

-- Reinout Vogt