28 Sunday Oct 2018
Posted in General
The 2018 AGM was held yesterday at York Racecourse. Great to see so many club members and colleagues attending.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
06 Saturday Oct 2018
Tags
#motorhomes, Beaulieu, Black Knowl, Brockenhurst, camc, caravan and motorhome club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Christopher Macgowan, Hampshire, Ian Fleming, motorhome, motorhomenews, National Motor Museum, Roald Dahl, The New Forest
A delightful stay in The New Forest this week at the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Black Knowl site near Brockenhurst; as you can see, the autumn colours are now well advanced.
A visit to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and a glimpse of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the soon to be opened 50 years Celebration Exhibit. Ian Fleming will always be remembered for James Bond but he wrote the story for his son Caspar with Roald Dahl – and the film’s director Ken Hughes authoring the screenplay. (Blogger David Bird kindly sent me a photo of Chitty towing a caravan so the car is even more famous than you might think!)
A lovely week indeed!
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
25 Wednesday Jul 2018
Posted in General
Tags
#motorhomes, Big Little Test Festival, camc, caravan, caravan and motorhome club, Christopher Macgowan, motorhomenews, motorhomes, tent, tenting, touring, tourism
As with many other organisations in the tourism industry, the Caravan and Motorhome Club is always finding ways to engage with young people, young families and those who one day will take up tenting or owning a caravan or motorhome.
The Big Little Tent Festival is such an initiative. As an existing motorhome owner subscribing to this blog, you do not require persuasion. Like me, you know what fun it is! But do take a look at the video if only to admire the highly unusual venue!
Click HERE or insert link below into your browser.
https://vimeo.com/onsightuk/review/281481620/00800a2fa7
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
01 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in General, Motorhomes
Tags
#motorhomes, california, Christopher Macgowan, Hannover, Hanover, leisure vehicles, motorhome, motorhomenews, T6, Volkswagen
Hannover, 01 June 2018: Just three years after production of the sixth-generation Transporter began, the 500,000th T6 has rolled off the line in Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ main Hannover plant. The 500,000th vehicle is a Multivan with two-tone paint finish in Candy White and Curcuma Yellow. In total, since production of the series began in Hannover on 8 March 1956, around 8.8 million Transporters have been made.
Dr Eckhard Scholz, Chairman of the Brand Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles said: “This milestone is, above all, the result of consistent customer focus. We are gearing our production more than ever to the wishes of our customers and with intelligent solutions we are creating added value for their everyday routines and leisure activities.
At the same time the excellent production figures are indicative of committed employees and thus of a highly efficient site. This story of success is one that we will continue to write together!”
Plant Director Udo Hitzmann commented: “The sixth generation T-series has been thrilling our customers ever since production began three years ago. Continually modernised, more flexible working processes and a top team performance are the stand-out features of this ongoing ‘Made in Hannover’ success. Throughout this time the Hannover plant has repeatedly coped with changing challenges. That benefits both the T-series and our customers.”
Bertina Murkovic, Chair of the Works Council, explained: “The T is the core of our brand. The consistently high production figures underline its importance to Hannover: we are the Bulli site! Thank you to all our colleagues, who have made this fantastic growth possible.”
The T-series is produced on a three-shift basis both in Hannover-Stöcken (Multivan, California, Kombi, Caravelle, Transporter) and at the Poznań plant in Poland (Kombi, Caravelle, Transporter, pick-up). In the past year alone, 208,427 T6 vehicles were produced at the sites in Hannover (175,290) and Poznań (33,137) – in total the highest number of vehicles of this series produced for 44 years. Compared to last year, which was itself a record, the new figure means an increase once again of 4.5 per cent.
About the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand:
“All around the globe we offer the best transport solutions for our customers.” As a stand-alone brand within the Volkswagen Group, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is responsible globally for the development, construction and sales of light commercial vehicles, producing the Transporter, Caddy, Crafter and Amarok ranges. In consultation with its customers, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles draws up appropriate vehicle concepts, telematics and logistics solutions for the sparing use of resources at the highest possible level of efficiency. In 2017, the brand sold around 498,000 light commercial vehicles, which were produced at its sites in Hanover (D), Poznań (PL), Września (PL) and Pacheco (ARG). Globally, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles employs over 21,000 people, including around 14,000 at the Hannover site.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
27 Sunday May 2018
Posted in Exhibitions and Shows, General, Sites
Tags
#motorhomes, camc, caravan and motorhome club, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, East Yorkshire, motorhomenews, National 2018, rodney lambert, Sledmere, sledmere house, The National, walled garden, Yorkshire
The Caravan and Motorhome Club National 2018 is at Sledmere House in East Yorkshire and I have to say it is an impressive setting – certainly yesterday and today Sunday bathed in continuous sunshine. We visited the house and the wonderful walled garden and loved every minute of it.
It is an astonishing event put together almost entirely by volunteers headed up by Vice-Chairman of the Club and Events Committee Chairman Rodney Lambert. During the event the small village of Sledmere goes from a population of 300 to 5000 with all of the electric, water and waste infrastructure demanded by a population of that size. It is quite an undertaking and yet to all the attendees like myself it seems to work like clockwork which in turn makes a visit to the National such an enjoyable experience.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
29 Sunday Apr 2018
Posted in General
Tags
#motorhomes, camc, caravan and motorhome club, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, motorhome, motorhomenews, sledmere house, The National, Yorkshire
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
22 Sunday Apr 2018
Posted in General
Tags
#motorhomes, chrismacgowan, Christopher Macgowan, Donald Sutherland, Florida Quays, Helen Mirren, macgowan, motorhomenews, motorhomes, The Leisure Seeker, Winnebago
Think Spring is giving way to Summer this weekend. Either way, I decided the climatic conditions were not right for me to run the London Marathon.
Am also preparing for a couple of trips at the moment so have been at home. One evening Faye and I decided to pop out to the cinema and see “The Leisure Seeker” starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.
An ageing couple decide to jump into their very old and much loved Winnebago and travel down the Florida Quays and get to Ernest Hemingway’s house.
We loved it but it is not a film for the faint hearted and it is far from an easy watching light entertainment night out.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
31 Saturday Mar 2018
These Hawaiian islands have to be seen to be believed.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
04 Sunday Mar 2018
Posted in General, Uncategorized
Have been trapped at home this week but in comparison with motorists stuck in cars for hours on end I have nothing to complain about.
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
27 Saturday Jan 2018
Posted in General
Tags
#motorhomes, Brian Morgan, camc, caravan and motorhome club, Caravan Times, Christopher Macgowan, Glasgow, Jamie Taylor, Manchester, Matt Allwright, motorhome, motorhomenews, NEC, Nick Lomas, William Coleman
SOURCE: Caravan Times
Interview Exclusive With CAMCs Head Of Communications And Events
By William Coleman
Last week I ventured up to Manchester to the Caravan and Motorhome show to speak first hand with senior members of the Caravan and Motorhome Club about what they had in store for their members during 2018.
So with both the Scottish and Birmingham NEC Caravan and Motorhome shows only a handful of weeks away I wanted to speak with The Club about how they prepare for the show and what it means to them to have such a presence. As an industry leading holiday provider I feel they do a great job with communicating with their customers, and the public in general. So here is my interview with CAMC’s very own Brian Morgan.
The Club always have such an impressive stand and presence at the shows. How far in advance does the planning start?
It’s an ongoing process, we exhibit at both NEC shows, Manchester and Glasgow, as well as a number of outdoor shows and events throughout the year. We are always in ‘show mode’!
What goes into making sure you have something for everyone at the show?
We make sure we have details of all Club products and services available for show visitors, we can help them from the very first stages with inspiring them to choose the right leisure vehicle for their touring group, to sharing ideas of where they could have their adventures and giving them help and advice along each step of the way and, of course, make their actual holiday bookings for them. Our show staff have such a vast amount of knowledge and experience and they love being at the shows and talking to people. We really do have a great team, not only at the shows but at head office and throughout the site network.
It is quite clear that The Club invest heavily in listening to their members, how can members communicate with you so they are heard?
It’s really important for us to listen to our members to hear about what they want and need from us. We have our Club Together forum with over 400k registered users, our social platforms are a great way for members and future members to interact with us, we carry out regular research and surveys with our members to hear from them – first-hand – about their views. Our Magazine is also a great source of information for members. And, most importantly, we act upon this information we receive. We provide over 60 relevant member offers (everything from discounts on outdoor clothing, fuel discounts, unbeatable ferry offers), our ongoing sites investment programme, we represent the members views through parliamentary channels and other associated bodies such as Transport for London and the FIA to name but a few.
As Matt Allwright said at the Manchester show, ‘there’s nowhere our members haven’t been’ and we are keen to provide the platforms for members to share their knowledge and experiences as they, in turn, inspire others to have great adventures.
At the Manchester show you had Matt Allwright open the show and do a acoustic set with his band ‘The Walnuts’. Will we see Matt again in Birmingham this February?
Yes! Matt will be with us on Club Day (Tuesday 20 February), he will again be hosting a series of informative forums for show visitors. Matt is a Club member and really enjoys getting away with his family in his campervan.
The shows are a fantastic way for members, new and old, to have face to face interaction with key members of The Club. What aspect of meeting the public do you enjoy the most?
You will always find me at the front of the stand, encouraging people to come and say hi to our team. I really do enjoy that aspect of my job. It’s so important to get to meet and talk to people, face to face, you can’t beat it.
And lastly what can we expect from you guys at this years Glasgow or the NEC shows?
We are heading to Glasgow soon, it really is a terrific show. We will be opening the show on Club Day with our Director General, Nick Lomas, the show Director, Jamie Taylor, and there will be a performance for show visitors by a really talented local quartet called the Capella String Quartet, so if anyone is in the area, come and say hi. And then we are at the NEC, Matt Allwright will be with us and we will have an exciting announcement to make, so make sure you are there on Club Day!
Source: Caravan Times
Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews
