Saturday 7th February 2009

“Morgan Sports Car Club Annual Dinner”

The Annual MSCC Dinner takes place at the Abbey Hotel in Malvern.  Morgan Motor Company provides special champagne for the toast.  Further details can be obtained direct from the Morgan Sports Car Club at www.mscc.uk.com

History of The MSCC Dinner Dance

The one social function that has been with the club since the start is the annual dinner.  The first of these, although it was reported in the March 1952 edition of the magazine as “The Christmas Gathering”, was at ‘Ye Olde Woolpack’ in Warwick on the 15th of December 1951.  “A party of around 50 met for a good but rather expensive buffet followed by dancing to a somewhat erratic disc-jockey.  The Evening finished at 11.30 with guests going their many ways riding their Morgans”.

The following April saw the first AGM and Dinner combined.  This was held at ‘The Royal Hotel’, Leicester.  After the meeting had finished at 7.15, the dinner was described as “being far better than can be expected in these days of ‘hard times”.

By April 1955 the AGM and Dinner were still held together. This time at 'The Warwick Arms Hotel', Warwick. The cost of the meal was 10/6d (52p).

Ten years later and the event now called ‘The Annual Dinner and Dance’, was held at ‘The Star and Garter’ at Upton-on-Severn on Saturday 20th November 1965.  40 members and their friends (total home membership then 120).  It was considered a poor state of affairs that only 3 of the 30 trophy winners were there to receive their awards from Mrs. Morgan.  The evening progressed with a cabaret consisting of Nick Capaldi with his accordion followed by some ‘astounding magic’ from Billie Magee.  A little light dancing rounded the evening of at 11.30.  This, of course, is what was meant by the ‘Swinging Sixties’!!

The first dinner to be held at ‘The Abbey Hotel’ in Malvern was on the 7th of February 1970.  There was a four course meal in the ‘New fully air conditioned Elgar Suite’.  The guest speaker was John Bolster, who was technical editor of ‘Autosport’.  There was space for 250 at a cost of 35 shillings (£1.75p) bed and breakfast was available at 1 guinea (£1.05p) normally 55 shillings (£2.75p).