MiniWorld January 2025

“Time,” as Ford Prefect wisely pointed out in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.” The expansive oeuvre of the Mini is so rich and pan-generational that, while there are core similarities between a 1959 Mk1 and a run-out 2000 model in ethos, there’s not a whole lot that’s interchangeable between them. So this passionate and vibrant hobby of ours is a necessarily accepting and all-encompassing one: take a wander around any show on the Mini calendar and you’ll find 1980s City Es and Mayfairs rubbing shoulders with early 850s, 1275 GTs, Countrymans and Mokes. It’s a broad church. So it’ll be interesting to see how our feature car on p.78 goes down – a Mk1-style build that’s actually based on a Mk5… what do…

Bruce Minchin believes that the timeless appeal of the Mini is due to so many of us remembering them as part of our childhood or formative years. “Most Mini fans either had one themselves in their early courting years, as indeed I did, or our parents owned them for the school runs in the late ’60s and early ’70s. How we remember those lovely days!” Bruce has worked in the motor industry for over fifty years. He owned a new car dealership and now trades in classic cars. “I was introduced to Minis when my late mum bought a white 1967 Cooper, PLM 108E, in 1971. She’d just passed her test at age 42. I was 12 years old and we had such fun, we went everywhere in that car.…

Mini Cooper Register (MCR) has been reviewing its governance structure, including how to better engage with its overseas regions which encompass Australia, Benelux, France and Japan. While a number of options are still being evaluated, it has taken steps to grant a license to create a super region to allow expansion of the club into Europe and the rest of the world while still operating under MCR rules and regulations. Chair Peter Barker signed an agreement with Bart Theelen and Jim Wirtz of the Register’s Benelux region to use the club name in the creation of a new autonomous Mini Cooper Register for Europe. Since Brexit in 2016, it has been difficult and expensive for the MCR’s members in Europe to access the monthly magazine CooperWorld and other benefits from…

smallcarBIGCITY, the innovative travel company renowned for its classic Mini Cooper tours, is spreading holiday cheer with a uniquely festive Christmas Lights Tour of London. As the city comes into its own with lights and decorations in practically every area, there’s no better way to experience the magic than from the cosy interior of a Mini. “London really comes to life at Christmas, and we're thrilled to offer an unforgettable experience that captures the essence of the season,” says Robert Welch, Founder and ‘Chap in Charge’ at smallcarBIGCITY. The Christmas Lights Tour of London promises a two-hour journey through the city’s brightest and most beautifully decorated streets. Guests will be chauffeured in a Mini Cooper with a passionate local guide at the wheel, down iconic London thoroughfares including Oxford Street,…

While you can never guarantee the weather, the one thing that you can be certain of is a warm welcome at the Dales Mini Run. Held over the last weekend of August, the friendliest Mini event in the north returned for its popular outing across the Yorkshire Dales. Making a return to the Woodhouse Farm Holiday Park near Ripon, the event drew Mini owners from across the north and beyond for a weekend of taking in some of the region’s most spectacular roads. Saturday’s run, which came with some of the most detailed run notes you could ever hope to follow, took the Minis out into the Yorkshire Dales National Park to enjoy some spectacular scenery, before parking up for a show-and-shine and the all-important voting for prize-winning cars. This…

2024 DECEMBER 5 Mod ’n’ Mini Night Ace Café, London https://london.acecafe.com 8 Takona Coffees & Cars Pizza Squisita, Sawbridgeworth www.takona.co.uk/pages/coffees-and-cars 15 Weekends in the Yard - Caffeine & Machine Ettington, Stratford-upon-Avon caffeineandmachine.com/whats-on/weekends-in-the-yard-2024 22 Cross Hands Breakfast Meet Cross Hands Hotel, Bristol www.carevents.com/uk/events/cross-hands-hotel-breakfast-meet-8 26 Classic Drive & Ride Lakeland Motor Museum www.facebook.com/LakelandMotorMuseum 2025 JANUARY 1 New Year’s Day Classic Gathering Brooklands Museum www.brooklandsmuseum.com/whats-on/new-years-day-classic-gathering-1 2 Mod ’n’ Mini Night Ace Café, London https://london.acecafe.com 5 Southside Hustle Wimbledon Common Southside instagram.com/southsidehustle.carmeet 6 Classic Car Gathering The Hatch Gate, Reading www.carevents.com/uk/events/classic-car-gathering-6 9 Petrolheadonism x Caffeine & Machine The Bowl, Houghton Conquest https://caffeineandmachine.com/whatson/ 12 Old School Re:Fuel Five Bridges, Cullompton www.takona.co.uk/pages/coffees-and-cars 18 Weekends in the Yard - Caffeine & Machine The Hut, Petersfield caffeineandmachine.com/whatson 26 Classic Cars at the Carpenters The Carpenters Arms, Ilkeston www.carpentersarmsdaleabbey.co.uk/events…