- LARGEST COLLECTION OF CLASSIC JAGUARS EVER IN SPAIN
- 73 FABULOUS JAGUARS CLEANED AND POLISHED AND 151 ENTHUSIASTIC JAGUAR OWNERS
7.4.2015.- After months of planning The Big One as it became to be called actually happened. A joint meeting between The Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, Spain and The Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, France, plus a few guys from the Jaguar Club. The result was 73 fabulous Jaguars cleaned and polished to “within an inch of their lives” and 151 very enthusiastic Jaguar owners. The main event took place on Saturday 28th March and Sunday 29th March 2015 but many of the participants took two or three days to travel to and from their home to the event in Northern Spain.
Cars and owners came from all over Spain and France and congregated at the fabulous Parador de Sigüenza. A 13th Century castle that has been converted into a glorious luxury hotel. An outstanding collection of Big Cats graced the cobbled grounds of this iconic building. It made “an old man” very happy, what an amazing sight. I am not going to try and mention all the cars, there were so many that deserved a special mention but, to do them justice would take up too much room in this article. If you want to see just some of them, visit our web site www.jec-spain.com and visit the Events pages and the Gallery pages where you can see examples of “just the best motors in the world”!
On the Saturday evening we all gathered for the “Black, White & Bling” Gala Dinner, held in the medieval hall. A selection of exquisite “tapas” starters then either beef wellington or a fish dish, accompanied with some stunning wines. Dessert and coffee was preceded by the Grand Draw, prizes included bottles of 40 and 20 year old Cognac, an Ibérico Cured Ham, a gold plated Jaguar fob watch, a 7” Android Tablet, HD DVD Car video recorder, display and camera, various bottles of superb wines, a cheese and many other items. At the end of the evening we held a Grand Auction. All the items in the auction were donated by some of the members. Many, many thanks to those who donated items to this fantastic auction. We made just slightly over 1,800.00 Euros, of which 600.00 Euros will be kept for club funds and the remaining 1,200.00 Euros will be donated to Cancer Research UK.
Sunday started early, breakfast then “start your engines” was called at 09:30 and 73 glorious Jaguars snaked through the little town of Sigüenza and then squeezed in to the town square. I am not quite sure how we got them all in but we did. I have never seen a site quite like it, a phenomenal photo opportunity. A meeting with the Mayor then at roughly 11:30, start your engines was called and the Big Cats cruised out of the town and into the Spanish country side on their way to another Parador hotel in Soria, where a very special “posh tapas” lunch had been organised. That brought the organised parts of the event to a close. People made their own way back to Sigüenza in their own time.
May I take this opportunity to offer a very special thank you to all those that attended, I know many of you travelled many hundreds of kilometres to attend this event. A very special thank you to Graham Searle, General Manager, JEC UK who came all the way from England to give us his support. Special thanks to Chris Park and Tim Sankey from JEC France, without their help and support The Big One would not have been such a tremendous success. As always a big thank you to Ian McMenemy, our dedicated Events Director for all his help and his hard work organising our normal events which allowed me the time to conceive and organise this event, and a special thank you to David Shea for his sterling work on our Facebook pages. Last but not least Alfonso Cuervo-Arrango, the events Press Officer who helped in so many ways not only with the press but with the organisation and arrangements through the day.
I am already getting requests to “do it again”, just Bigger & Better, April 2017 is the target date. For our next meeting will be on 10th May 2015 when we will be visiting Restaurant, La Cova in Campello again, a firm favourite with our members and a beautiful location. Ian our Events Director is planning something special for September and we will be “cruising” down to Malaga for our “Trip Down South” in November. Why not come and join us. Our Costa Del Sol region has just been launched and is holding their first meeting on 19th April just outside Nerja, details can be found on our web site under Regions, check it out.
The Jaguar Enthusiasts Club is the largest of the worlds Jaguar Clubs, apart from joining in the fun at the meetings, full members also benefit from a glossy 140 page A4 monthly magazine, Jaguar spares department and a technical advice service second to none. If you live in Spain and own a Jaguar you should be a member of The Jaguar Enthusiasts Club. The JEC in Spain is organised by Eric Arnold and Ian McMenemy. Eric can be contacted by email or by phone on 609931647 or alternatively check out the JEC Spain website. Our Events Director, Ian McMenemy can be contacted by email. Our Costa Del Sol Region is organised by Phillip Wray who can be contacted by email.
Come along and join us, you will not be disappointed!.
Text and photographs by: Eric Arnold
