April 2026 | Issue 789 | Page(s) 3 | Gaynor Cauter
There is so much going on at the moment, I’m not sure where to start! Planning is moving ahead apace for our 70th anniversary weekend on 11-12 July and the bookings have already topped anything we’ve had for a national event since the Club’s 60th 10 years ago.
We were down at Brooklands in mid- March (two days ago in terms of writing this) at one of Mark Brierley’s excellent Breakfast Club meetings and it gave us a brilliant opportunity to do a spot of pacing out, measuring and generally reviewing our plans for our Sunday at the museum.
This is going to be a very big occasion for the Club so please don’t miss it – go to www.jaguardriver. co.uk/book2026. We have also just agreed to support Classic Nostalgia at Shelsley Walsh on 18-19 July, so see the Calendar.
And talking of the 70th anniversary, I am delighted to see that our new mugs and stickers are already selling well from our webshop and our 70th polo shirts will be joining them soon. The logo looks very stylish and matches our new flags, which had their first outing at the JBC meet at Brooklands and will be out again at Easter at Gaydon on 4 April, along with the new van. We will also be at Jaguar Spares Day at Stoneleigh on Sunday 12 April.
Some of you will notice that my mugshot has popped up on the XJ Register page and that’s because I have taken over from Letitia Mace, who has stepped down. I’d like to thank her for all her hard work and all those who have rallied round with interesting stories and photos to get me off to a flying start. The XJ Register is an unwieldy beast, covering as it does cars from 1970 right through to the X351 and that’s a lot of ground for one model. So, if you have an XJ – Jaguar or Daimler – get in touch. There is always space in my new column for your photos and stories.
Finally, I hope you like this month’s cover – it’s a bit of change from last month’s X900 in the snow! Many of you will know Geoff and Sheila Mansfield from their long association with the Club, Area 11 and the 4-Hills & Sprint Championship. Sadly, age and ill health are forcing them to make those decisions none of us like to think about and their beautiful Mk V is looking for a new home. We don’t normally advertise members’ cars in the editorial section of the magazine, but I have made an exception in this case for two very special JDC friends. Turn to Classified to read more about this exceptional car.
That’s it for this month. I am off to the NEC once I’ve wrapped up this issue and I hope to see some of you there. But even if you can’t make the Restoration Show, there’s plenty more events in the Calendar, so don’t miss out!
Gaynor
