May 2026 | Issue 790 | Page(s) 3 | Gaynor Cauter
What should have been an upbeat welcome to the May issue has been overshadowed by the loss of Bryan Mander, our Commercial Director and great friend to us all. Please read Chairman Tony Merrygold’s page in Club News and our appreciation of someone who worked tirelessly for the Club and for the pursuit of perfection where Jaguars are concerned.
For the rest of us, life goes on, and May is a special month for the JDC because on May Day 1956, the Club was officially recognised by Jaguar Cars and you need to have been stalking jaguars in the Amazon rain forest not to know that on 11-12 July, it’s the JDC 70th at Brooklands. If you have missed it (or were, in fact, in Manaos rather than Milton Keynes), turn to the double-pager or go to www.jaguardriver.co.uk/book2026.
On 1-3 May, Nigel Dodman, head of our new Area 45 Cumbria & Northumberland, is hoping to see you at Lakeland Motor Museum, so please support him – email nigeldodman@aol.com. On 30 May, we will be joining the Breakfast Club at the National Arboretum for what should be a very special day. Moving on, the JDC roadshow will be joining Area 15 Cheshire at Tatton Park on the 6-7 June for what will be a first for us. In fact, the new Club van will be piling on the miles this summer because on 20 June we will be back at Silverstone Museum to support the Breakfast Club’s hugely popular Supercharged Saturday and if last year is anything to go by, we have a 620-car target to beat.
There’s no peace for the wicked, because a week later, on 27 June, we will be up in Yorkshire to support Area 62’s huge Northern Jaguar Day at Galtres Park near Pickering. Last year, Eric Uttley attracted an impressive turnout to Jaguars of Yorkshire and I gather this year’s show will be even bigger. We will also be at Shelsley Walsh for Classic Nostalgia on 18-19 July and for anyone who has never been to this amazing old hillclimb, steeped as it is in motorsport history, it’s guaranteed to be a great weekend.
And talking of great weekends, we will obviously be at the JDC 70th on 11-12 July, but on 8 August, we will be at another huge Jaguar event for the JDHT’s Jags at Oulton Park ‘Cheshire Cats’. There will be track action, some of the Trust’s finest cars, and all the Jaguar clubs will be represented. See the link at www.jaguardriver.co.uk/ events, book your ticket and then email me at editor@jaguardriver.co.uk to let me know you want a display space at the show.
There’s still loads to come and you will find everything in the Calendar pages and/ or at www.jaguardriver.co.uk/events. As I write this, the dreaded Strait of Hormuz is still closed and Brent Crude is up and down like a yo-yo, so who knows? We have to assume we will get to our events, even if diesel costs £2 a litre. Sadly, unlike our longdeparted Peugeot 405 GLX, the Club’s posh new Crafter won’t run on cooking oil (and if you don’t believe me…). See you soon!
Gaynor
Breaking news: Coventry City (JLR’s ‘local’ team) has not only been promoted to the Premier League but has also won the Championship (see Club News)!
