Biker News - Regularly updated

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  1. British Motor Museum to play host to a live musical theatre performance!

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    The British Motor Museum will play host to a new innovative production ‘Voices of the West End’ which will be performed live in the safe and beautiful grounds of the Museum on 25, 26 & 27 September. The outdoor production, which is a collaboration between Ginger Boy Productions and Birmingham Hippodrome, will showcase music from the West End’s greatest musicals.

    Some of the theatre world’s most illustrious singers will perform award-winning hits including Earl Carpenter who played Javert and John Owen-Jones, who played Jan Valjean in Cameron Mackintosh’s 25th Anniversary Tour of Les Misérables. They will be joined by two of the best female Voices of the West End: Kerry Ellis and Katie Hall. Kerry Ellis is one of the top leading ladies of Broadway and West End musicals. She originated the role of Meat, in Queen’s We Will Rock You and was the first British Elphaba in the West End smash, Wicked. Katie Hall recently starred as Fantine in Cameron Mackintosh’s international tour of Les Misérables and has played Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera's UK tour and London's West End. She also played the role of Cosette in Les Miserables' 25th Anniversary Concert at London’s O2 Arena.

    The performances are 90 minutes long with no interval and will take place on Friday 25 September at 7pm, Saturday 26 September, when there are two performances at 2pm and 7pm and on Sunday 27 September at 6pm. Gates open 2 hours beforehand.

    The box office for the concert is managed by Birmingham Hippodrome and tickets can only be booked via their website at www.birminghamhippodrome.com. Roped pitches are £114 - £169 for a 3 square metre pitch that can accommodate 4 people from no more than two households or support bubbles.  Car spaces are £189 where performances can be watched from inside the car or set up next to it. There is a maximum of 4 PEOPLE ONLY exclusively from two households or support bubbles per pitch.

    The chefs at the British Motor Museum are making picnics and luxury hampers which can be pre-ordered along with a selection of wines to enjoy in style. These must be pre-ordered via the Museums website and orders close on 16 August. On the event day there will also be a small food and drink area serving gourmet burgers with vegetarian/vegan options, coffee/teas, ice creams etc and a bar selling alcoholic and soft drinks along with a Pinnock’s Artisan Gin Bar.

    Jeff Coope, Managing Director at the British Motor Museum said “We are delighted to host Voices of the West End in a safe and socially distanced environment. We are always keen to support the arts especially in light of COVID-19 and we hope to attract an audience that might not have visited the Museum before to enjoy some superb musical theatre”.

    For more information about the event please visit 

    www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/voices-of-the-west-end

    The Museum and event organisers will continue to monitor the Government advice and keep visitors informed of any changes.

  3. 50% OFF when you dine at the Ace Mon- Wed!

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    Ace Cafe London has registered with the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, and offers diners 50% off meals when eating in on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from Monday the 3rd of August, and throughout the month.

    The maximum discount available is £10 per person when you eat or drink in, and apply to both adults and children! There's no minimum spend and you don't have to order food to be eligible but the discount cannot be used on alcoholic drinks. The discount is only available on food and drink that you intend to consume on the premises, and can be used as many times as you like. There is no limit on how many people can use the discount in one party, and you do not need a voucher to use this scheme.

    With guest safety and comfort still being our main priority, please be reminded of our shorter opening hours:
    Mon-Fr 08:00 – 18:00
    Sat & Sunday 08:00 – 19:00

    Our scheduled meets will not take place for the month of August, and parking will be available for both motorcycles and cars.

    See you at the Ace!

    www.london.acecafe.com

  4. British Motor Museum - all geared up for summer visits and gatherings!

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    The British Motor Museum reopened its doors on 4 July on a Friday to Monday basis. Following great support from visitors the Museum is delighted to announce that from 1 August, it will now be open every day of the week throughout August.

    The Museum has been awarded the ‘We’re Good to Go’ industry charter mark by VisitEngland which means everything is in place to ensure a safe and enjoyable visit. Numbers are limited per day, with pre-booking a timed arrival slot essential. This also includes those with annual passes. There are 10am, 11am, 12noon and 1pm slots available. Once at the Museum visitors can stay as long as they wish until closing.

    To adhere to the Covid guidelines the Museum has had to make a few changes to the visitor experience which are detailed on the welcome back web page at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/news/welcome-back. The Museum has received some very positive feedback from visitors about the measures it has in place and how safe people feel about their visit. There is still plenty to see and do with over 300 British historical cars to explore. The outdoor play area is also open for younger visitors who need to let off some steam and the ever popular science shows will also be running 4 days a week!

    The Museums Café has registered for the Government’s ‘Eat out to Help out’ scheme.  Those visiting the Café on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday can get a discount of up to 50% when eating or drinking soft drinks, with a maximum discount of £10 per person.

    With outside gatherings given the go ahead by the Government, the Museum has decided to host as many of its events as possible. With safety in mind, the shows will be more  informal gatherings, with reduced numbers.

    The Gaydon Land Rover Show will take place on 1 & 2 August as an informal ‘bring your Land Rover’ gathering for those that have pre-bought tickets and want to meet up with other Land Rover owners. Existing Land Rover Show tickets will be valid for those that wish to attend and camping is available on the Saturday night. The Gaydon Land Rover Show hopes to return to its normal format on 8 & 9 May 2021.

    The Classic and Vintage Commercial Show will now be a Classic Commercial Vehicle Gathering which will take place on 8 & 9 August with outdoor display parking and a smaller outdoor trade area. The indoor trade and model area will be much reduced with only approximately 10 out of the usual 160 tables exhibiting. Camping will be available on the Friday and Saturday nights. Entry will be by advance entry form or advance ticket only and existing entries will be carried forward. The #EV Electric Vehicles Festival will be going ahead on the 8 August on the Southern Arena. Attendees to the #EV Festival will also be able to view the Classic Commercial Vehicle Gathering and vice versa.

    Yakushi Car Club will now meet on 15 August and the Old Ford Rally will take place on 23 August with a small arena along with a commentator and a singing group. The Buses Festival was originally planned for 23 August but has unfortunately been postponed until 21 August 2021.

    September kicks off with a newly announced ‘Jaguars at Gaydon’ event on 5 September. Billed as a friendly, informal gathering for all Jaguar fans, owners and enthusiasts alike, it will feature hundreds of Jaguar cars and celebrate the XJS Club's national day. The National Metro & Mini Show and BMC & Leyland Show will take place on 6 September and the Great British Model Railway Show on 7 & 8 November.

    Mogfest, which was due to take place on 26 September, has been postponed to 10 July 2021 as has the Retro Truck show which will now take place on 11 & 12 September 2021.

    Tom Caren, Show Manager at the British Motor Museum stated “Whilst we’ve had to make further changes to our shows we are delighted that we are now able to bring motoring enthusiasts together at our newly formatted informal gatherings. It has been encouraging that we have had so much support and we would urge any club looking to organise an outside gathering to get in touch about using us as an approved venue.”

    The Museum will continue to monitor the Government advice and keep visitors informed of any changes. In line with the Museum’s new policy, all visitors and exhibitors to any of the gathering/event must pre-book tickets and provide contact details so the Museum can fulfil its NHS Test and Trace commitment.

    Tickets bought for any of the shows original dates are valid for the new dates and refunds are available for those no longer able to attend. The deadline for refund requests is one week before the event. Please contact [email protected]

    or phone 01926 649649. Tickets to the gatherings also include entry to the Museum & Collections Centre. To find out more about the British Motor Museum please visit the website at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk

    British Motor Museum Arden MG Gathering July 2020 v2

  5. Highway maintenance budgets at risk following pandamic cash shortfalls

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    The financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could see councils across England making budget cuts of up to 20 percent. With road maintenance budgets in the firing line the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) is calling for a new approach for the funding and governance of local road networks.
     
    According to the Local Government Association, councils will face additional costs of up to £13 billion this year due to measures required in tackling the pandemic. These additional costs come on top of over a decade in which local authority budgets have been slashed. Between 2015/16 and 2017/18, councils lost 77 percent of their funding from central government used to provide essential services.
     
    The impact of the pandemic has led to many sources of revenue, i.e. the collection of parking fees, drying up. It is estimated that councils could lose up to £1.4 billion from these funding streams, leading to many councils potentially facing a financial black hole. Other losses include £400 million in business rates, fees and charges of £341 million and council tax revenue of £288 million as many people have lost their jobs and others are utilising payment holidays.
     
    To counteract this, the government has allocated a further £3.8 billion to councils in the last two months. But this falls far short of what is required, with many local authorities still reeling from year-on-year cuts to budgets. According to the Local Government Association councils will need up to four times the funding they have been allocated by government so far.
     
    The financial crisis affecting councils post-pandemic could have a significant detrimental impact on highway budgets as councils are forced to use them to pay for social care. The government has announced an additional £2.5 billion highway maintenance funding over the next five years; however, it could cost more than £11 billion to address the current roads repair backlog.
     
    “The additional £500 million a year, although welcomed, is not enough and was allocated pre-Covid. Although following the Transport Select Committee report into local highways funding that was accepted by DfT is envisaged to lead to an announcement of longer term capital funding in the autumn, decades of under investment in the local road network has left a legacy of potholes that needs a new approach if it is to be properly addressed,” said Paul Boss, RSTA Chief Executive.
     
    Boss believes this new approach should be based primarily on prevention rather than cure. He added: “Fixing potholes is just playing catch-up. What is needed is providing councils with a range of simplified governing and funding mechanisms that can enable the development and implementation of planned programmes of maintenance that prevent the deterioration of roads from happening in the first place.”
     
    As part of this new approach the RSTA is calling for the local road network to be treated on parity with the strategic road network which, unlike local roads, has a greater certainty of funding with a 15 year road investment strategy. This contrasts sharply with the annual, often ad hoc, funding for local roads. Funding for local roads should be simplified. Councils have to access a myriad of funding pots which have different legal frameworks, different assessment criteria, business case requirements and timescales. This leads to a lack of effective planning, duplication and waste. Addressing these issues would improve outcomes and value for money. Furthermore, the Government should consider the injection of an additional £1 billion a year into a much-needed programme to address the pothole backlog by investing 2 pence per litre from the existing fuel duty to fix local roads.
     
    Boss concluded: “During the pandemic the Government recognised the essential role that the local road network has in keeping Britain moving. It is time for a new approach that enables councils to ensure that this role is properly realised.”