Quote:
Originally posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball
Kinda seems that way, eh? I never planned it this way, but what the hell... 
Chris, with various of us now staging events throughout the province (separate from OMVA), do we not already have a defacto club in operation, but without the bureaucratic hassle? The only thing we're lacking here is some kind of printed newsletter and a physical "headquarters", but the way I look at the latter is that it's anywhere two or more of us choose to get together with a case of beer to talk about trucks... 
Keith's right in this sense... this has been going for five years now, and it's pretty amazing how widely it has expanded. 'MLU' really belongs to all of us, because it's been all of you who have made it what it is.
In terms of 'artifacts', I'll be spending the winter developing MLU stuff to market (shirts etc) so we'll even have a wider ID to spread around
Having said that, I agree with your point... and I mentioned this in the other thread -- this grassroots thing is wonderful! We'll set something up in the greater London area for next summer as well, to compliment your and John's work.
Well done!
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Strange that this thread should appear now,
Some of the Oxford CMP crew were sitting at a show last weekend chewing the fat about a CMP based club here in the UK. We also came to the conclusion that MLU was the world stage for CMP collectors. Our thoughts then moved onto the fact that under that banner we could all have national branches (I think you call them chapters in the US and Canada?). These would have to operate under strict guide lines form the central source (I think that means you Geoff) to avoid bad press and disrepute being attracted to the whole, in short it means all the baggage of a full blown club.
When you start to do this it all becomes hard work for a few and can lead to dissension in the ranks from the many (I speak here with experience).
Having said that I do like the idea of some physical manifestation of MLU be it T-shirt, flag, banner etc, it would for example be good for those of us in UK and Europe to have a MLU meet at a major show once a year (not at you know where however).
One point for discussion is this:
In the UK based vintage vehicle press there has been some limited discussion on the detriment to the hobby of single mark clubs, in the classic car and commercial world single mark clubs are not uncommon here in the UK. The discussion went along the lines of single mark gatherings could/can detract from entries at larger mixed class shows and there is some evidence that this view has substance. If this happens the number of venues will decrease to the overall detriment of all, collectors and public alike.
What do others think?
Pete