"Pride of the Big Cats"

Sunday the 27th July saw the 4th annual Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club, Grampian Region, Regional day at Drum Castle , Drumoak, Aberdeenshire. A fine display of Jaguar and Daimler cars were supported by a quality selection of cars from guest clubs drawing an even bigger crowd than last year, with nearly 1,200 visitors on the day. As well as cars on display there was plenty to do and see including enjoying the castle grounds with a few select stalls for the ladies and entertainment for the children. The Kintore Pipe Band supported our event and it was a splendid sight and sound with the Castle as a back drop. Once again the weather was kind to us with only a small shower in the afternoon. My thanks go out to all the committee and helpers on the day to make this event a great success.

The gathering together with the JEC Grampian Region “Celidh” which took place on the evening before our event at the Tor na Coille Hotel in Banchory raised £600 for Northsound's “Cash for Kids” appeal, while £90 was raised for the Willow foundation, a cancer charity for which footballer Michael Owen's Jaguar X-Type is the top prize. The draw for the X Type will not be carried out until November this year so anyone wishing to purchase some of these £1.00 tickets please get in touch.

This year saw the addition of a themed trophy. The newly renamed Jaguar dealership on Lang Stracht, Aberdeen , Rossleigh Jaguar donated the trophy which, this year, was for the best XJ Jaguar to celebrate the launch of the new car. Colin Watt of Bucksburn took the award for his 1971 XJ6 Series 1.

The Drum Gathering prize winners were as follows:

• Best 50's Roy Burnett 1957 XK150
• Best 60's Tom Shanks 1962 E Type Series 1
• Best 70's Robert Manson 1974 E Type Series 3
• Best 80's Ian Forbes 1983 XJS-HE 1
• Best 90's R. Stewart 1998 XJ8
• Best 2000 Kenneth Murray 2000 XKR
• Best in Show Ian Forbes
• Furthest Traveled Brian MacLennan 1988 Daimler from Dingwall
• Highest Miler in Daily Use Norman Allan 1989 XJS
• Best Visitor Bill Rae 1968 Ford Escort Twin Cam

I would also like to thank our sponsors for this year's event and our thanks go out to, Rossleigh Jaguar , National Trust for Scotland , CNR International, DNO, Salamis , Sparrows, Aramark, EDS, FMC Energy Systems, Signs Express and UVS.

Tom Taylor