Fast Marina Magazine

I thought i would put this on the main page as a way to say thanks for the kind things Frank said about me,i was really touched by that it's so nice to know that in our world of ever decreasing values people take the time and trouble to say thank you..

Paul's a little down on his luck at the moment (i don't think he'll mind me saying that) and i was in a position to help him,i did this as a mate not even a fellow enthusiast,Sean told me of Paul's situation and although i had not meet or even spoken to Paul previous to this i did what i did a kind of good Samaritian deed not for cash or favour (for we never know when we might be in that position ourself) I would never have mentioned the episode if Paul had chose to keep the whole thing quiet.
And as Sean mentioned building friendships is really the way for progression.

I know i have said this many times in the past,but i have always valued the social side more than the car side.Since my involvement with Marina's way back in 85 i have made many lasting friendships,i was honored to be given the privilege to be God parent to Frank and Debbie's daughter Amber,having not known Frank and Debbie for very long,and enjoyed many happy holidays on the Isle of Wight since then,Mike Flood from the island who's wedding i was an active participant in.My fellow Beckett Brother Brian (marinabrian),who has been always there when ever called upon with 100% loyalty and Northern boy Graham (northeast marina) who i never heard a bad word from,fellow associate Northern boy's Boys...... Steve (Muskydo) Sean (ado28) Ray (the General) Paul (Elouse) Mike (Airshirelad32) Larry (5055) and overseas Northern Cousin Ken (Killroy) and not forgetting Jim ( JIM73)

So this is really What Marina/Ital ownership is all about to me, its nice to have the best Marina or Ital on the planet but so much nicer to enjoy the experience with your friends...

Russ

Beckett Bros" Say hi to friends old,new and those friendships yet to be made"

Well said Russ !!

Got it in 1 Russ my boy - there is much more to these forums than the shared interest in matters Marina.
As many probably have - I hung out on the fringes for a while before piping up - back when Ben's site was more Ben's site - but I guess I was really looking to see if people in the group shared my 'values'.
I know that Ben's attitude to modifying things struck a chord with me - so that gave me confidence - but having established an email friendship with Russ - and been impressed by the way he treated others on the forum, I was quite astounded to recently speak to him on the phone and discover that we had a lot in common.
Unexpected - but more the valuable for it.
Thanks all for accepting a 'Kiwi' to the ranks - you have been a great source of info and encouragement along the way, and that keeps me going when the rest of the general public seem determined to condemn my collection to the scrapyard.
Ben, Russ, Frank, Chris and all you others - keep it up lads - your blood's worth bottling..!
Sincere thanks,
Kilroy

Oh - PS. In case you're wondering who I am. Well - I'm going to tell you anyway. Nobody really. I'm an old Dude by many of your standards - been into British cars and bikes since I grew up with them - seems the design philosophy makes sense to me. This is me on the left - greeting an old mate on the top of a mountain pass after I had laid in wait and ambushed him - hence the mirth. I'm closer to 60 than 50 - but I simply can't be stuffed getting old...

If we didnt help each other and werent friends then even more Marinas would be lost.
I find it great how kind forum members are, I've received great help and advice about Marinas and also life in general. I can only imagine what it's like being in some clubs where owners of the higher models wont talk to owners with lower models!
The people here are all so kind, especially with me being from a younger generation it's a nice surprise for older people to be nice to me. Usually us 15 year olds get stereotyped (in reality out of all my friends I cant think of anyone who fits the stereotype hoodie who goes around with a large knife, I know of a few but that's it. A few) whereas on here people find out about you before they judge you.

8) Spot-on Russ as always, nothing was said that i didn`t mean mate, you are always first to help someone out if you can, and that is a rare quality these days it seems, it`s just nice when you do so, that someone recognises your efforts, i will always do the same if i can, as will many others on this forum...what a great advert for the type of people that the humble Marina attracts , in the short time i have been a part of this forum community i have made a few new friends, and rediscovered a few old ones i thought i had lost!, what a great way to communicate, i know we have had a few "differences of opinion" with our Scottish cousins in the past but now we all seem to get on pretty well, i talk occasionally to Larry and Ray on the phone, chat to Sean on the pm system and we get on fine now, any " banter" nowadays is just friendly rivalry, which is how it should be
At the end of the day we all have one common interest...the Marina, and as long as we are around the Marina will be around too, keep up the good work chaps!

Well said Frank and the other chaps!

Josh, I have some lighter gas if you want to try it out before you get too old lol

Don't listen to that crazy guy Josh.I'm sorting out the ASBO's and he's top of the list

Pont.skins wrote:Don't listen to that crazy guy Josh.I'm sorting out the ASBO's and he's top of the list

Aww come on Matty, I cant afford the price of a bottle of Buckfast these days and a can of lighter fuel lasts at least a day and at the same time I can go to the moon and back

On the flip side, If I do get served with an Asbo then that means that I have achieved something and that will make me well proud mannnnn!

your stupid enough without lighter fluid.

couldn't agree more with what have been said. As i'm about the only one in this country that cares for marinas this forum is excellent. both keeping the spirit up and giving good advices. I have really enjoyed the few times i have been to UK and been lucky enough to meet and chat with the people behind the "avatars" .

Yes well done Russ,top man, I to would love to be more active on the social side of Itals & Marinas, but unfortunatly apart from Paul the clubs local Rep there doesn't appear to be much Marina activity around these parts. So I rely on this forum to keep up with what's happening in the world of Marinas.
Here's one for you all :- What is the most densly populated Marina?Ital areas in the country.
It certainly doesn't appear to be Welsh Wales boyo see you then but......


Cheers
Steve

8) Thats a good question....what area has the most marinas or even what is the most densely populated area of members. We have 9 members in a 5 mile radius. The rest are scattered all over the place.

8) Good question Larry, although i`m not 100% sure, with the MMOC membership steady at around 400 these days, the main concentrations of members has always been in two areas, the Midlands and the south east inc London of course, but they are spread far and wide including the US, Australia, Canada, Cuba, Norway, Malta and South Africa, it would be interesting to have a huge map on a wall and stick pins in all the places we know of people with Marinas, if i get time i might just have a look and see for sure

If you want a rough guess at Marina concentration then checkout the MMOC website for Local Area Secretaries. For nearly all the newer Area Secretaries - last couple of years - I have tried to group the areas so that each Area Sec has around 20 members, some are more and some are less. Of course there are some gaps in the coverage - it's the old story finding committed members who want to help fellow enthusiasts, organise the odd show, get a newsletter out etc.

Concentrations vary, for my 20 ish I need 6 counties, where as Hampshire has it's 20 ish on its' own and no Area Sec since the old Sec stood down earlier this year.

All offers of interest to me as I am the MMOC Area Sec Co-ordinator - I would like to encourage area sharing so that some new blood can get involved without having to take an area on solo, it can be a bit daunting if you have not done it before.

Gentleman it's nice to know that after the demise of the Marina and the Ital and indeed the Morris name for getting on 25 years ago,we still can use the medium of a car to forge new friendships and rekindle old ones

Beckett Bros "now that more like it"