The Sandra Reid Memorial Run
12 March 2021 / Words : Neil Tribe
A little bit of history:
There are many members who would be unsure of who Sandra Reid was but equally many, mainly from the Illawarra, who would know exactly. Sandra and Phil joined the Illawarra group shortly after it kicked off and quickly established themselves as "doers" taking on the role of Chapter Convenors and later, purveyors of regalia and this was despite Sandra having lifelong health challenges. They were so active and immersed in everything "Illawarra" they were voted joint Members of the Year in 2015.
Sandra was known for her love of people and her friendship list was legendary. She never forgot a birthday and many, many, of those people received cards annually without fail - they would just pop up, sometimes the only card you got that year. She was like that. If you had Sandra for a friend you had unflinching support and it was a friendship for life. Mind you, Sandra could be forthright, all part of her character, and always about helping those in need. When she died she left her body to medical science as she was so grateful for the ground breaking heart operations that enabled her to have a career, a marriage and a family. Phil and her daughter Samantha were the loves of her life but, by golly, the MX5 Club wasn't far behind.
Quite a lot of fun
As a tribute to Sandra, we kicked off the inaugural memorial run. On her birthday of course! February 27th. Led by Phil Reid, sixteen hearty souls set off from Hayward Bay for the journey up Macquarie Pass to the misty Southern Highlands village of Burrawang for a welcoming cuppa and cake at the General Store around 10ish where we were attended to by mine host Erica and her young and friendly staff. We had apologies from Chrissy and John and Diane and Brett; they couldn't help that and we look forward to seeing them next time.
Erica wanted to know, "Just how many MX5 groups are there? I'm getting confused; there's the Illawarra Chapter, the Sydney Chapter and another one comes here." Probably Canberra, I suggested. And there is also the South Coast and the Blue Mountains (RPM). She just shook her head. Not complaining of course ....and neither were we.
I had the privilege of leading the next leg so, despite the gloom and faint mist, it was tops down and a gentle sidle through the rain forest and along a quiet back lane to the intersection with Sheepwash Road (what a name!) then a beautiful scenic trundle (no zoom zoom) via Avoca and Exeter to the Bundanoon Country Club for lunch. They were busy but had roped off a great spot for us to park and had everything organised so we would be comfortable and well separated from other folk. The Bundanoon Club has bowls and croquet and is entirely run by volunteers save for a paid chef and his leading hand. We settled in, got our drinks and celebrated the life of Sandra as she would want. Plenty of fun.
The plan is to repeat this run annually, always on February 27th, as Sandra never forgot a birthday and we will not be forgetting hers!
