The MG Bug

By MG Car Club members Lesley and Chris Miles

Back in 1968, when I first met my future husband Chris, his first car was a ‘Tartan Red’ MGB that he had bought second-hand from a doctor. We then went on to buy a brand new ‘Blue Royale’ MGB with chrome wire wheels, which was absolutely the ‘bees knees’ in 1970.

We went on honeymoon to the New Forest in this car. I still remember the awful smell when we got into the car from the wedding reception as some kind person had put a very ripe piece of Stilton on the engine bay!

This car was followed by yet another ‘Tartan Red’ MGB, and the very last MGB was a White GT (chrome bumper version). We had great fun with all of these Bs and they all did the annual pilgrimage to the South of France for holidays.

After eight years, Chris decided he wanted to follow his favourite sport of road and special stage rallying, and was very ‘taken’ with a brand new Ford Escort RS1800 sitting in the showroom window of Bristol Street Motors of Bromley in Kent. It ended up in our garage and we bade a fond farewell to the BGT.

It wasn’t until 1999 that I happened to be passing an MG dealership called Barretts of Canterbury, and began to fall in love with the MGF. I took the demonstrator out for a long run, did fall in love with it, so it was ‘au revoir’ to my little Peugeot 106 GTI.

I went to my first MG meeting at The Hop Farm at Paddock Wood in Kent, where I met Elaine Osborne with her beautiful red MGF. After three years of great fun with this car, I ordered a brand new MG TF 160 from Barretts, and took delivery of one of the first that came out in 2002. I remember having only had it for a few weeks when I took it to Silverstone, entered the Pride of Ownership and won my class!

I still have this beautiful car, although last year she spent most of her time tucked away in our garage, as time ran out with other interests that came along in the summer months. Hopefully she will come out to some of the MG South East Events this summer; we have ‘ear-marked’ the European Event in Denmark.

I must just add that if it hadn’t have been for a super salesman called Tony Keeler who originally sold me my MGF and automatically made me a member of the MG Car Club, I would probably have kept the car for a few years, traded it in and never have known the friendship and camaraderie of the MG Car Club and all the British, French, Belgian, Swiss, German and Italian friends we have made.

Long Live the MG Car Club!