Citroen XM Forum

More great photos Franklin that do very nicely capture the event. The XM highlights for me were meeting the mandarin 'G' plate 2.0i and very nice father and son owners who confirmed the car was registered in October 1989 and therefore probably the oldest in the UK! It was also good to see Neil's very nice early champagne 2.0si again and catch up with the owners of the black 2.5 Exclusive 'project' car and sable Oynx (Tom). I also enjoyed meeting Mike (from NZ) with his lhd S2 24v and Paul Smith whose very late S1 24v was sadly damaged at a London garage. With regards, Matthew T.

CitroJim wrote: .
The pub evening snack was a complete disgrace. Overpriced and rubbish even for a buffet. I want my money back.
Derek did a brilliant job in the kitchen. I totally agree Jim. It just wasn't good enough for £15.

I totally agree Jim. It just wasn't good enough for £15. I spoke to many and agreed £5 was more like it.
I have some photos of the convoy in action from Matthews LHD. Excellent view out having a LHD! I'll post them up in a mo.


Will's smile say it all in the last picture driving the DS. is that Robert pulling a face in your Activa?

Some more excellent pics Frankin. It was certianly great meeting more people and putting names to faces.
I said that that Mandarin 2.0i would be like bees round a honey pot. It is quite a lovely example. It only needs very minor exterior tweaks and it is spot on. A shame he stuck the Renault badge back on... It fell off apparently and he thought it was original!

Some convoy pics from Matthew's LHD 24V. Sorry about the back end of the Ford MPV. We were right behind Neil for most of it!

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I've just been having a chat with dad and told him about the opinions expressed regarding the Saturday evening meal - we welcome this constructive criticism as otherwise we will turn into mushrooms (kept in the dark!) and it's helpful for us to have people's views. We both agree that the evening meal was not as good as we were expecting, and that there were quite a few people that also felt this way - on the other hand, some liked it and were happy.

The thing with these rallies is to try and find the best way to run them and in most cases we've cracked them - one such example are the location and convoy drives. Our convoy route extraordinaire Jim always puts in a fantastic effort and in lots of people's opinions they get better and better each year. The one area we haven't quite perfected is the food situation, and this is one that we would, of course, like to get right.

Regarding the suggestions from Will and Matthew, for a bit of history, back in 2011 the pub's previous landlords had sold up not long before September and when the rally was going to be held - due to this as a Section we decided to bring in an outside catering firm to sort the meal out in the club house. We got let down at the 11th hour, lost money and had to quickly sort a Hog Roast which was at £12 per person with folk saying that was too dear too.

For 2012 the pub was taken over by the current management, and we organised the set menu whereby folk could choose in advance what they would like. Luckily, most of the people pre booked and got their orders into me which was great. However, on the day folk were turning up saying they would also like to take part (which is fair enough I suppose although they had adequate warning to prebook). Some folk sat in the non-Citroen area of the pub and didn't receive their meal. All in all, most folk were quite happy for the three courses at £15 however others weren't due to the wait and they didn't get there meal with everyone else.

So for 2013 we thought we would try to simplify everything - no pre booking, no set menu, just a simple buffet at the pub. This completely took the weight of our shoulder's in terms of organisation - nobody saying that they didn't get their meal etc. I must admit that I didn't enjoy the 2012 set meal due to some folk not getting there's and being on edge that everyone got fed etc - the meal itself I thought was very nice, just wasn't relaxed enough for me. Back to this year's, it made our lives easier however wasn't fully enjoyed by the majority, which we do not want of course. We agree that it wasn't as good as we were expecting, and not value for money either.

So, where does this leave us for next year?

Well we have got another year for that however that doesn't mean we cannot start making enquiries and discussing as a committee what we can do for next year. Dad and I have been having a chat and come up with one possible suggestion - Fish and Chip van on both the Friday and Saturday Night, with Derek and helpers in the kitchen selling drinks/deserts etc too. If you don't fancy Fish and Chip van for two nights, then you are more than welcome to go to the pub and choose from their menu, however they get busy so could be in for a wait.

As a committee we will discuss different avenues however this is a potential, however comments and suggestions are as ever very welcome. Don't forget it is the 25th Anniversary of the XM and 40th Anniversary of the CX next year too.

For me Franklin, it wasn't the idea but the execution. I enjoy a good buffet meal as there's wide choice for someone like me who's a bit picky...

The idea was good but the execution was awful. Unless I missed it a reasonably good apple pie but no cream as a typical example of poor execution.

I hesitate to post this, most probably as I know what I am letting myself in for, but I would be happy (subject to the necessary facilities, basically enough gas rings and a helper or two on the day) to do a curry supper - about 2 - 3 meat of different spiciness, veg and rice with trimmings. I am only an hour away and can get catering done in advance, and warmed up on the night. While I make no claims to match most takeaways, I can cook authentic curry well, having Southall and Slough just down the road makes supplies straightforward.

Given the significance of next years dates, I can do French too! (not curry that is, French curries are not good).

That's a sincerely kind offer Charles which we're very grateful of - certainly we will bear it in mind and perhaps might be in contact...

Could be linked in with the fish and chip van too for those that aren't curry-fans...

Once again many thanks, we will definitely consider that at our next committee meeting...

CitroJim wrote:For me Franklin, it wasn't the idea but the execution. I enjoy a good buffet meal as there's wide choice for someone like me who's a bit picky...

The idea was good but the execution was awful. Unless I missed it a reasonably good apple pie but no cream as a typical example of poor execution.

Your spot on there Jim. Even no Custard either! A buffet is a great idea, and the way it was set up was absolutely fine. It worked well table by table. It was simply the quality of the food was not good and not worth the £15. Half frozen soggy rolls not nice.

The DSM rally had a curry evening and that went down very well indeed. So it could be a very good idea to copy.
I think the fish and chip van on both evenings is overkill personally. What about a good pizza van? Proper wood oven baked pizzas. The obvious is a massive BBQ, but that is weather dependant I suppose. Look what happened on Saturday!
I am in favour of Will's suggestion to make more of the on site facilities. Then the evening can continue around the cars too.

Will have a think as what could be done.

Without wanting to be all doom and gloom this is all starting to sound a bit complicated, the more people are involved the higher the chance of failure to a point. The chip van is there, the pub is there, neither of them stand any chance f loosing the CCC money, this is good.
I would love a BBQ but this cannot happen, partly because im not sure the land owner would be over the moon about fires on the pitch, any cook would need to have a hygiene cert or the risk to the CCC would be substantial, it would be near imposible to have all the food ready for a group sit down and lastly and most importantly is weather dependant and thus uncertain.
The hall kitchen isnt really set up for large scale cooking imo, certainly nothing to rival the pub could be achieved in there.

My opinion of the whole thing is we are there for the cars and the atmosphere, not 5 star gourmet dinning and dragging the organisers into a complicated and possibly expensive dinning plan, its another workload on a group of people (working for free) who have enough to do.

The current options are cook your own with your own facilities, Pub, chip van and hot dogs, crisps, coffee, tea etc from the canteen, this is a fare spread for an event feeding 20-30 peeps one night and 50 the next.

Are there any local takeaways, any who deliver? that could be the ultimate solution in my view.

D

Franklin, I've read your first post. Your comments are noted.