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Monday 28 May 2012

The Cub Mag Computer is broken!

GBC's main pooter is currently down and out and not working, apologies to anyone waiting for a response to Cub Mag enquiries or waiting for a magazine. Don't let that stop you emailing her tho if you would like to subscribe to the mag = gbc AT thecubmag.com, but don't expect an instant reply! She should be getting a bit to fix it today or tomorrow but you know how these things go. After dealing with Cub Mag things when she's back online I'm sure she'll get those pics and vids up on the blog!!! Mrs BC.

Sunday 6 May 2012

The Launch of The Cub Mag, April 2012.

The Cub Mag Team would like to say a big hello and an even bigger thank you to all who stopped by the stall at the Stafford Motorcycle Show last weekend (April 28/29th 2012). The plan was to have a bit of a launch party with free imitation bubbly and Celebrations, but even the best laid plans can go slightly skiffy. Read on. Arriving in Derbyshire to stay with friends on Friday night, the Cub Mag Team had a couple of hours to relax after a long drive from Aberdeen, before setting the alarms for a 5am start the following day. I wrongly imagined that I would need at least half an hour to drag myself out of bed, but, hey, you only launch a new Tiger Cub magazine once! I was up and ready in record time and we downed toasted crumpets and orange juice to set us up for the day, and arrived at the Stafford show ground a little before 7am. It was grey, miserable and freezing cold. Still, we rattled the framework of the Greystone Enterprises stall and forced Adrian and Derek from their beds, so that we could find out where we were going to set up. The bunting was hung, the tables placed strategically out of the wind, with tee shirts and mugs on display and the mags, forms and paraphernalia all laid out. It was still perishingly cold.

Now, I'm not going to tell you anything about tracking down Denis the Frenchman, a motorcycle trader who had a very rare little Triumph Terrier for sale at the October 2011 show, and concluding a deal that had been on hold for several months. I think this part of the story deserves a write up all of its own - watch this space!

So moving swiftly on, the public began to trickle in and a nice steady stream of Cub enthusiasts visited the stall to sign up for The Cub Mag. Numbers are looking good and after a bit of a count up, its fair to say that we've nearly hit three quarters of the target for year 1. The Celebrations went down well, but quite frankly, it was too chilly to be bothered about any bubbly - imitation or not; we'll save that for summer.

With chilled and achy bodies, eventually it was time to head off to our digs for the evening, but with the weather forecast of high wind and plenty of rain for Sunday, we packed most of the stuff into the truck and left only a couple of boxes and the tables tucked away under the Greystone's tarpaulin. Some stallholders had chosen to evacuate and were packing everything up and going home - and when Sunday dawned foul, wet, windy and very, very cold, I can't say I blamed them! The Team, which now had a little helper (thanks Pete) quickly packed the rest of the gear away as soon as we arrived at a more leisurely 8am, and headed for the sanctuary of the Classic Dirt Bike Hall, followed by a stroll around the main hall, lunch in the on-site cafe (which was far better than the £4.50 burger on the previous day) and back to the Dirt Bike Hall. Oh, that is where the fun began! A certain editor of the aforementioned CDB, Tim Britton, saw fit to haul Gorgeous Biker Chick up to the stage for a one to one trials tips session with multi-world champion Yrjo Vesterinen, multi-Scottish Six Days Trials winner Mick Andrews and multi-British champion Sammy Miller. Ah ha. All on film. All showing The Cub Mag logo of course. Just give me a day or three to put the video up and you can all learn a thing or two from the champs. All three of the guys were a laugh to be around, and the set up was very informal and chatty, providing you ignored the two video cameras pointing at the scene, and I picked up a heap of useful tips about off road riding. All I need now is a trials Cub and I'm all set - that's a hint for another "watch this space" as things are planned for something muddy and Cubby in the near future.

All in all, a fantastic weekend of meeting fellow Cubbers and enjoying the atmosphere of the show, despite the weather. An enormous 'thank you' must go to Derek and Adrian from Greystone Enterprises for their help and hospitality (the hot chocolate was much appreciated), and also to all those who signed up, thanks for supporting this new venture. A big old thanks to Mrs BC for packing me off down south while she coped admirably with the last of the lambing in the inclement weather, and thanks to Pete and the Man from Muckle Flugga for helping with all the show stuff. I think that’s it, pics and video to be posted this week, hopefully...