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History of Area 57

In the January 1986 edition of the Jaguar Driver, a small ad. appeared in Area News, inviting people interested in forming a new JDC area in Enfield to contact Chris Engeham. Thus was Area 57 born. Shortly afterwards the first meeting was held at the Bald Faced Stag pub at Buckhurst Hill. This was found not ideally suitable for regular meetings, (it wasn't in Enfield for one thing), and by August of the same year a new meeting place was found, at the Royal British Legion Club in Holtwhites Hill, Enfield, where we continued to meet until July 2012, when the RBL Club was closing down.  In August 2012 we changed our venue to the Whitewebbs Museum of Transport, until September 2023 when, due to the expansion of the London ULEZ, we moved again, to the Robin Hood pub at Botany Bay which is conveniently just outside the charging zone.

During its first year Area 57 attracted a substantial number of members, and was able to put on a display at the Enfield Pageant of Motoring, one of the premier Classic Car Shows in the country, organised by the Enfield & District Veteran Vehicle Society. In fact, the Area regularly puts on a club display at this event, and has taken several prizes over the years in the awards for "Best Club Stand".

In August 1988 the first edition of the Area 57 Newsletter, written by Wendy Shipman, was published, and this has been distributed every month since, keeping members abreast of what  has happened at shows meetings etc. and giving advance notice of upcoming events. In this way the newsletter helps to keep the Area together, as members who attend infrequently are still kept in touch with the activities of the club.

Over the years, the Area has been very active, attending not only JDC shows, but many other classic car shows and charity events. There have also been other activities, such as our regular early Sunday morning "Breakfast Runs", indeed it seems that many of our pursuits involve food in one way or another, prompting the comment that we should perhaps be known as a branch of the "Jaguar Diners' Club".

We meet at 8 p.m. on the 1st Monday of the month from March to December, and a measure of the Area's success socially is that our members continue to attend meetings, even when some of the cars are tucked up for the winter. If you are interested in joining, please email us and we will send you an application form, or why not come along and meet us, where you will be made very welcome.