THE TANDEM CLUB MEET

Minta Winn

2 November 2023

As President of the British Tandem Club, Minta reports on a delightful Meet held in Kent and organised with the help of Sonny Hillier

The President’s Letter of Welcome

The present club was formed by Sallie Walrond and Lady Vivien Cromwell in 1977 with the aim of maintaining and promoting the art of tandem driving in a ‘coachman-like style’. We continue this aim today and our Annual Meet is a leading example of how traditional driving is still thriving and engaging new people – 80% of our entrants this year are prospective members. However, with such success and history behind us comes a great responsibility to uphold standards, and it is a responsibility that we all share, both on and off the box-seat. This is because driving Tandem is an aspirational goal for many, and as with any goal, if it is worth doing, it is worth doing properly. With this in mind, it feels right to set out a few expectations for the day:

While split-handed driving has its place, the Tandem Meet is not the place for it – Coachmanhand only please!
We hold the Meet on a Sunday, so ‘Sunday-best’ is the order of the day – Clean, Smart and Safe, you will be assessed at the inspection!
We have a responsibility to protect driving’s Social License to Operate. We will be driving on the public road and around a public park, so please remember that we are on show as representatives of the wider Carriage Driving fraternity.
Finally, Tandem is all about style, flair, and getting down the road. Pro-active driving, and making good progress is the way forward (and in my experience makes for an easier drive!)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our generous benefactors the Quex Park Estate for allowing us to drive over their fabulous grounds, and to our organiser Sonny Hillier for all his hard work behind the scenes – this year’s Meet has a fantastic course as a result. Our thanks also go to our Stewards and Organisational support team, without whom we cannot run these Meets.

From the President of the Tandem Club

Raison d’Etre

Membership of the Tandem Club is open to those drivers who have demonstrated their ability to drive a tandem competently and safely in public on at least three occasions. Prospective members are scrutinised during the drive at the Meet and assuming that this is completed satisfactorily are then entitled to wear the silver tandem bars badge of The Tandem Club.

The annual Meet is held in different parts of the country to enable as many members and prospective members as possible to attend. The previous Tandem Club, at the end of the 19^th -century, had rules of delightful simplicity – the entrance fee was to be nil and the annual subscription was under no circumstances to exceed the entrance fee. Any member falling into arrears with his subscription was to cease to be a member of the Club. The President was entitled to make such rules as he considered desirable, and the members were bound to obey such rules as they should think fit. The rules of the present Club echo these in that there is neither entrance fee nor annual subscription. Costs are recovered by means of a raffle at the Meet to which those attending are expected to donate a prize and to purchase a generous quantity of tickets. Regrettably, it is a sign of our times that the conditions set out on the entry form relating to the organisation of the Meet are mandatory and are there for the safety of all taking part.

2023 Meet Report

The Indian Summer brought out 10 entries for the 45^th Annual Meet of the Tandem Club of Great Britain on a sunny October Sunday. The day was hosted by Sonny Hillier and Quex Park in the seaside side town of Margate in Kent. Thankfully the weather was idea and you could not have asked for a better day for driving Tandems.

With potentially 8 new members out of an overall entry of 10, the pressure was on, but as President, I had set out in the welcoming letter the expectations of the Club. There is an emphasis on high standards of reinsmanship and correct harness accoutrements, with all taking part in their ‘Sunday best.’ This year, the standard was definitely higher, and we were delighted with the number of traditional turnouts presented.

The initial safety check and scrutiny was taken before each turnout departed on a lovely drive around the parkland and tracks. During the drive, they were scrutinised by tandem elders who watched to ensure that the standards were maintained at all times. Then there was some road work before entry into a 40-acre field with a track around the edge and returning to Quex Park, which meant wending though many roadways. It was very encouraging to see so many young drivers taking up the challenge showing good skills and a genuine interest in tandem driving.

The 8 mile route was laid out by Rupert Barnard who worked tirelessly over the period, and had attended a wedding the day before. It was pleasant yet asked some questions and was a chance for whips to drive with purpose and to enjoy a fair bit of off road in the Kent countryside.

There was a pleasant trickling of past members and interested people throughout the day and they were entertained in the marquee. Others who came had never seen tandems close up and were interested to hear about the different styles of tandems as well as the journeys the drivers had taken to achieve their bars and membership of the club.

Once all had returned safely and our superb band of volunteers, without whom the club would not run, had gathered for much earned tea and cakes, we were all invited to the coachhouse to view the oldest private Char-a-banc proudly displayed by the great grand daughter of the original owners. This is an amazing carriage which has been carefully preserved in its original condition by Fairbourne Carriages through the generosity of the group who look after this historic area. Then the rosettes and certificates of commendation for those who drove with smart, traditional turnouts where presented before those who have been successful in gaining their bars and membership in the club were called forward. This is an accolade that isn’t always achieved or awarded, but for those who did, they can wear their bars with pride.