Disaster in Japan

From Club Chairman Aynsley Brown:

Fellow Moultoneers,
On Monday, March 14th, I sent the following e-mail to each club member in Japan for whom we have an e-mail address.

Dear [Member Name],
I am very sorry to hear about the terrible earthquake and tsunami that has destroyed so much of north-eastern Japan.
The television pictures are very shocking.
On behalf of the members of the UK Moulton Bicycle Club, I send sincere sympathy to those who have suffered any family loss or injury.
I hope that you and your family are safe and well.

Best Wishes,
Aynsley Brown
Chairman, Moulton Bicycle Club

These are some of the responses that I have received so far.
I would like to share them with you.
Several have not responded yet.
I sincerely hope it is nothing more serious than communication difficulties.
Aynsley

***

Thank you so much your e-mail.
We are fine,because we live in KANSAI.
But Our many freinds live in KANTO-TOHOKU.
So we sorry for them as you.
Thank you and please pray to our freinds safty too.

***

Thank you for your e-mail.
We are OK, no damage, no injury here.
I think we can return to normal life fairly soon, at least Tokyo.

***

Eastern Japan was swallowed for a big tsunami.
I am safe.
Time may be necessary to enjoy a bicycle.
A rescue party came from the U.K.
I thank for anxiety of all of you.

***

Thank you so much for your thoughtful email. We in Yokohama are fine - very minor damage in the city and none in homes or school where I teach.
Because of the lack of transportation and the nuclear risk many expats have evacuated. The schools have closed all week due to the sporadic power and transportation situation, then into their Spring holidays.
I am retiring in June and hope to make the September BoA meeting. I look forward to meeting you there.

***

Thank you for your message & kindness,
Our family are safe and well,But north eastern people are very very bad situation now.
All people in Japan is me grief,But people will face reconstruction discouraged it.
Please keep that hope away from the sky.

***

I would like to express my gratitude toward your concern about Japanese citizen
as well as myself.
I am living in Osaka where is far away from the disastrous area. What we are most
concerned about at the current moment is the nuclear plant trouble.
Thank you again for your sympathy.

***

Thank you for your message.
Luckily we have not heard of any human casualty or material/physical
damage amongst the J-MBC members and their immediate family.

***

Pacific North Eastern Japan is, to be frank, devastated.
Tokyo is experiencing a shortage of electricity (we have a premeditated ,
rotating partial blackouts) and resultant less-than-normal public
tranportation or other inconveniences, but still going strong.
Obviously the country is in crisis, but Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and
westward are intact and functioning fairly normally.
Thank you again,

***

Thank you for your message.
We have been ok. We are far from there.
But started seeing indirect influences.

***

Thank you for your kind mail. The eastern half of the country has been severely damaged. We in Tokyo escaped unscathed, except a few flower vases.
My family including four Moultons are fine.
Again thank you very much for your concern, and hope to meet you.

***

It's really shocking to see such an incredible news pictures of this earthquake and tsunami.
But all my family are safe in Osaka. Thank you for your warm sympathy.

***

Thank you for kindness message.
My area is ok now.
but still unclearplant is fear of the explosion.
I never seen terrible diserster.
It encouraged it from a lot of people.
it is likely to be able to recovere.

***

Thank you very much for your e-mail. It was an unexpected surprise and pleasure to receive such a kind message from my fellow Moultoneers in the U.K.
As you must have seen through the media, thousands of people are either dead or missing. Fortunately, I live just north of Tokyo, where the damage has been minor. My family members and I ( and of course my TSR!) are all fine, although since the quakes are still continuing, one must continue to be vigilant for the time being.
I just hope that the devasted areas would recover as soon as possible, and I am thinking of ways to be of help to the affected people. In the mean time, your concern is very much appreciated.

***

Thanks a lot for your heartfelt concern.
I and my family are safe and well.
As always I have been commuting by bicycle and working in a ward office since Monday.
Operations are getting back on a recovery in my town and eastern Tokyo.

Moultoneer 91

The Moultoneer 91 Cover
The Winter 2011 edition of The Moultoneer has gone to the printers, and will be sent by post later this week. There's still time to join the club or renew your membership in time to get your copy. Some of the features in this issue include:

  • Moultons in Taiwan, KeReT Moulton project
  • Making Moultons at Kirkby in the sixties, an insiders view
  • Improving hub gears on Moultons
  • Moulton Automatic Restoration
  • Moulton rear suspension units - manufacture in the sixties
  • Touring in the US on an AM7
  • Japanese Hillside Terrace exhibition run down
  • New Japanese Moulton book
  • Observations by AM
  • Another Moulton weekend... April 2011
  • One mans meat.. Review of the new breed of bicycle in the early 60s
  • Colour sections and more pages than normal!

Twenty gentle miles around Chichester

The weather forecast for January 30th had been for white cloud so it was a great joy to put my MK3 in the car for my first MBC ride of the year with the sun rising into a clear blue sky.

Twelve of us assembled at Chichester station for a 1030 start of a ride lead by Arthur Smith around the Chichester Plain. The first stop was the café at Fishbourne Roman Palace.

On through the beautiful countryside and villages westward. The old buildings are in harmony with the landscape; timber-framing, tile hanging, mathematical tiles, ragstone, mellow brick, and flint, whichever was available, affordable or fashionable. Roof materials are equally varied: thatch, stone slate and clay tiles.

Several other clubs were out in the fine weather so Arthur decided the pub at Rowland’s Castle wouldn’t be able to fit us all for lunch and revised the route to Boaters Café at Thornham Marina where most of us followed Lynn and Arthur’s lead and had a child’s size portions, which were more than ample. Through the window I could see the Moultons getting lots of attention from people arriving or leaving. It seemed to be approving but I’m no good at lip reading.

Then back to Chichester (via Fishbourne). Along the way I saw my first daffodils of the year – just a single clump in the roadside verge. It was a lovely MBC and “café touring club” ride.

Website Changes

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