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Area 00 - Feb 2023 News

Area 00 Assistant Rep | Published on 2/1/2023
For the past 12 months, Area 00 kept its head down while the Club politics played out.

We all now hope this is behind us, and now summarise our fun from the passing year, and look ahead!

In 2022 the New Year’s Day Parade was a static show due to restrictions so we did not participate. However, as I write we have just returned from this year’s amazing parade, delicious air crew breakfast at the RAF Club, and evening reception where some other exciting event ideas have arisen from meeting many London borough Mayors. 

In April we headed on a 2 week drive from London to Porto via the Pyrenees, where we participated in a recreation of the running of the bulls in Pamplona (7 Astons represented the 7 required bulls), culminating in the most amazing dinner at the Factory House in Porto (also known as the Cathedral of Port), followed by us blocking the central square in Santiago de Compostela, and a quick detour to the ‘End of the World’ as defined by the Romans…

In June we headed to Switzerland for the Wheels of Thrill Area 00 Alpine rally, with a tour in Reims at Taittinger followed by another amazing dinner hosted at the Chateau, plus an exclusive visit to Carage. We enjoyed a large group from across the UK and Europe. On our way home some of us made a slight detour to meet Dr Ulrich Bez and Martina, a real honour and privilege.

In October we celebrated 60 years of Bond, witnessing Dame Shirley Bassey performing at the Royal Albert Hall, attempted to secure the Octopussy Faberge Egg at the Christies auction, and finally the RAC dinner with Michael G Wilson and Chris Corbould. During this dinner we were delighted to be invited up to Norwich to visit Roger Bennington, which was a truly amazing day!

In October we enjoyed a 00 meet in Cape Town! 

Our Christmas Club Crawl dinner was held at the Army & Navy club, which was unforgettable as always! These are just a few highlights, but now we look ahead to the AMHT Walter Hayes lecture, and our Mayfair to Marrakesh drive in May… 

I would dearly like to thank all who played a part in facilitating our amazing adventures last year which are too many to mention, and wish all an amazing 2023! Our facebook group remains the best way to keep fully up to date.

Some pictures can be found by clicking Area 00 - NYDP 2023