NIIMC members “watch” with envy as Jammy James scoops the TAG Heuer

Alfredo’s restaurant in The Square, Lisburn was the new venue for the NIIMC annual dinner on Friday 25 November 2016. Richard Graham, the owner had re-located from Piper’s Hill earlier in the year to open a larger restaurant and to complete the transformation the restaurant name was changed from Angelo’s to Alfredo’s.

Having catered for us in the past Richard knew that we had high expectations for the evening and we were not to be disappointed. We might have been in a different venue but we were treated to the same high standard of food and  superb service. Those attending (all 54 of us) were keen to kick off the festive season with some fine food , some good craic and maybe a raffle prize from the selection of quality items that had been generously donated by club members.

For those who weren’t driving there was a wide selection of liquid refreshments at the bar to help wash the meal down. Alastair McIlroy who had missed the dinner last year (I think he was attending a Lotus Elise convention or was it to attend an Erasure concert – I can’t remember) was back with some chums and had ditched the driving gloves for the evening so the large bottles of Peroni were destined to sell in sizeable numbers.

We were delighted to welcome as our guests  Eddie, Drew and Lindsay (sorry if this is the wrong spelling!) from Donnelly Group and Rory and Richard from Charles Hurst Specialist Car Division. We were even more delighted when they arrived in a new Alfa Romeo Giulia and a Maserati Levante which were strategically parked right outside the restaurant in order to generate plenty of discussion about their respective beauties. Inevitably they also managed to attract many admiring glances from passers by.

Mervyn Shannon from Shannon’s jewellers also joined us as a guest of NIIMC . Mervyn has long since been a fervent supporter of the club and this year he once again demonstrated his generosity by donating a TAG Heuer watch to the club for our Grand Prize Draw.

Inviting all our guests to join us for dinner was a small but genuine token of our appreciation for their support for the club throughout the year.  The turnout from club members and friends was very pleasing – our best ever –  and would have been more had it not been for illness and work commitments for some other club members. Those attending created a lively atmosphere and ensured that it was a very enjoyable and memorable evening for all concerned.

With plenty of raffle prizes up for grabs there was no shortage of raffle tickets sold as members were keen to be in with a chance of winning something. Once again this year we had a standard ballot and a second ballot for a range of higher quality and higher value prizes.  Whilst Alison Craig, Erin-Katie Strapp and myself sold the ordinary ballot tickets the Club Chairman Cyril used his powers of persuasion to encourage members to buy the pricier tickets thus giving them the chance of winning amongst other things some bottles of spirits, a stunning water colour painting of 500 Abarths courtesy of Brian Mackey, Ferrari and Maserati jackets, a beauty treatment voucher (some members would definitely benefit from this!) and a complete Autoglym valeting kit.  Richard Graham, the owner of Alfredo’s had also generously donated a voucher for a meal for two in the restaurant.

There were plenty of happy winners of prizes on the evening, none morseo than John  McKay who was clearly on a winning streak as his raffle ticket numbers kept being picked. Thankfully there was a good even spread of prizes amongst other club members and their friends and Eddie Black from Donnellys expressed particular delight at winning a snow shovel! (perhaps he knows to expect a harsh winter).

At the end of the evening we made the prize draw for the much coveted TAG Heuer watch.  Mervyn Shannon picked the winning ticket and much to his shock and surprise the lucky winner was longstanding club member James McCune. It took a few moments for the delight to register on James’ face (but that could have been due to the house wine that he had been merrily consuming) but eventually we persuaded him to have his photo taken with Mervyn as he presented him with the watch.

Sincere thanks to everyone for their support, not only in attending the dinner but also their participation in other events throughout the year. During 2016 we have successfully managed to build on the success of 2015 with another stunning display of cars and bikes at our annual show, complete with a review article in Auto Italia by editor Phil Ward, a club trip to the Auto Italia event at Brooklands and more recently a trip by some club members to the Lancaster Classic Car show at the NEC in Birmingham.

All that remains for me to do now is to wish all club members and supporters a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.

Tim Logan
Club Secretary