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40th Anniversary of Morris
Minor Owners Club is heading to the Isle of Man
AN epic journey around the British
Isles to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Morris Minor Owners Club will
include a trip to the Isle of Man. To mark the Anniversary, the club has
arranged for a standard specification 1962 Morris Minor 4 door saloon to travel
from John O'Groats to Land's End. However, instead of using the most direct
route it will crisscross Britain in an attempt to visit every branch of the MMOC
and several locations with links to the history of the car and the club.
It is expected the journey of more than 3,000 miles will take up to 5 weeks, and
at each of the 75 planned stops events will be held to raise money for charity.
The Isle of Man branch is included on the itinerary, and on 4 September 2016 the
car and driver Bruce Kelsey will spend a day here. The Steam Packet Company has
assisted with the cost of travel.
Bruce explained:- "The MMOC was founded in 1976 to promote the
preservation and continued use of post war Morris Minors and has grown to become
one of the highest profile classic car clubs in the UK, with more than 8,000
members. This celebration trip, marking the Ruby Anniversary by visiting every
branch of the club and some places which are significant both to the history of
the car and the development of the club over the past 40 years, is one of our
most ambitious projects. We're very pleased to be able to include a visit to the
Isle of Man in the itinerary, so we can celebrate with club members there, and
are grateful to the Steam Packet Company for assisting with the cost of travel
to and from the Island. We're also very grateful to B&Q which is allowing the
local MMOC to host an event in its car park on Cooil Road to welcome the car to
the Isle of Man."
As part of the marathon, the classic Morris will also be stopping off at all 9
residential hospices operated by Marie Curie, a charity the club has supported
in the past. Money raised during events on the journey, as well as other
activities planned for this year, will be donated to the charity.
As the Isle of Man doesn't have a Marie Curie hospice, the local club is
considering a visit to Hospice Isle of Man with any money raised during events
while the car is in the Island being split between Hospice Isle of Man and Marie
Curie.
Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said:- "This is a
wonderful way to celebrate 40 years of the Morris Minor Owners Club, and I'm
delighted we have been able to assist in ensuring the Isle of Man branch is part
of the celebrations. We look forward to welcoming Bruce on board and wish him
the best of luck on this marathon journey." |
