I have read with interest the views expressed in this magazine over the past two months regarding the proposed merger. Tony Young succinctly expressed an historic view of the two clubs, tempered with a good dose of reality. Bob Lomas encapsulated the feelings of many within the Club: the congenial atmosphere, the place where lifetime friendships have been formed and questioning the need for a merger at this time. This theme was continued at the last Club meeting at the beginning of September, when several members came out of the woodwork to come along and express their views. Other concerns have been with the speed of the possible merger and our loss of identity as a one marque club. Barry Hamilton eloquently pointed out that it is YOUR club and, if you wish, you may dissent from the proposal.

I have been in the Club since September 1966 and over this time have seen many changes. The club year was changed from annual to fiscal; the size of the committee was amended, as were several positions; the competition classes and the trophy hierarchies have been stretched or contracted like a piece of elastic depending on the support or otherwise in any given year; the constitution has been amended several times; the name has been changed to protect the innocent in case of litigation; the format of the magazine has come and gone in shape and size depending on the budget, the editor(s) at the time and the membership numbers; the annual fee has been increased to cover increasing costs. Despite all these changes, the peaks and lows of membership, and the inability of the chosen few over the years to relinquish their committee positions because of lack of support annually at election night, we have absorbed all these changes and carried on with the business of running the club.

What has remained constant? The desire to uphold the tradition of the Healey marque! Whether we continue to do this as members of a Sprite Club, or as members of a Healey Club, the outcome will be the same. Whilst I feel some sadness at the possible loss of the Club I joined nearly 40 years ago, under a new banner we can still continue our friendships, we can still compete, we can still meet and we can encourage younger people to join. Above all, we can take our position of strength with us, we can take our culture and weave it into the fabric of a new entity, we can influence the ways things are run, we can preserve the Healey marque which we hold dear and we can uphold the Sprite tradition.

Karen Postill

Life Member no. 5