From the Chair: October 2022
We certainly didn’t have it easy trying to run the Western Group Driving Day for the first time since before the pandemic… But by all measures, I think we can claim a success. Not only did we need to revive an event that has been valued by our PR colleagues for...
From the Chair: Driving Day 2022
The Western Group of Motoring Writers Driving Day will continue as planned on Wednesday 14th September. The unexpected death of Her Majesty the Queen last Thursday caused us to discuss whether it was appropriate to continue with the arrangements, given that the date...
New WGMW Member takes two Newspress Awards
One of the Western Group’s newest members Mark Smyth won no less than two trophies at the Newspress Awards, staged at Bicester Heritage on Thursday 21st Jul. Mark was called up to the stage by the Voice of Strictly Come Dancing and the Voice of the Balls in the...
From the Chair: July 2022
After the Western Group had to make the decision to abandon our annual Driving Day, a blow to us all as it would have been the first to be staged since 2019, I’m pleased to say that we have been able to re-schedule the event this year. The 1 June date fell victim to...
From the Chair: 22 May 2022
Unfortunately, our plans to hold the first WGMW PR Driving Day since 2019, have hit a hiccup. We were due to hold the event at Castle Combe Circuit, where the event has been held since it began over 30 years ago. Now that events are up and running again at...
Obituary – Leigh Robinson 1948-2022
Leigh Robinson was a Cumbrian, born in the Lake District on 30 March 1948. In his early years he drove trucks for a living as a driver for BRS. Writing was clearly what motivated him though and he made his break into the local press in the 1970s, initially in the...
From the Chair: February 2022
I recently carried out an interview with the Chief Technology Officer of the Volvo Group – not the car manufacturer but the truck, bus and off-road equipment manufacturer. In the course of the discussion, the subject of autonomous vehicles came up. I was quite...
From the Chair: December 2021
With the AGM behind us, From the Chair comes from a new Chairman this month. Many thanks to Robin Roberts for his many years of hard work for the Group as chairman and deputy chairman. The Government’s stated intention to ban the internal combustion engine from...
Newspress Awards making the news
Newspress staged its first awards evening in London –
From the chair: November 2015
With the Group AGM just under two weeks away, it is hard to believe it’s two years since I first wrote this column. In truth, I wrote the first one over 10 years ago, but was interrupted by an unexpected chairmanship of the Guild of Motoring Writers. I couldn’t...From the chair: October 2015
Former WGMW treasurer Mike Orford probably won’t want to be reminded that he takes up his new job as head of PR for VW in the UK this week. To say it has been a turbulent time for VW is probably something of an understatement but the group really wishes him...
From the chair: September 2015
September already? The summer seems to have come and gone with alarming rapidity, not least the sun or absence thereof. Just the same, the grass does not grow under the WGMW and September and indeed the rest of 2015 is already looking pretty busy. I...
From the chair: August 2015
I didn’t keep a running check of the showroom value of all the cars that I drove at the recent JLR driving event at Bowood, but it must have been well over £500,000. Given that the Range Rover Hybrid was listed at £107,000, that was not a particularly difficult...From the chair: July 2015
Western Group PR Driving Day, the Guild Classic, Le Mans, The Festival of Speed… June is a month that accelerates almost as quickly as Jensen Button up the hill at Goodwood and the British Grand Prix will be the next fixture in the automotive calendar this weekend....
From the chair: June 2015
Blue sky, balmy breezes, guests relaxing in the sun… Not quite the way that our annual PR driving day began at Castle Combe on 2 June. Heavy showers washed the circuit and those on “zapping” duty, checking cars in and out, until after lunch....