Wow! What a trip - one that brought about feelings of both joy and sadness. The obvious joy of being around fantastic people, a fantastic car and in parts fantastic weather, and the deep sadness at loosing one of the F owners while on the tour.

Bill Sharp (father to Paul Sharp who posts on the MG BBS) fellow F owner and trip member sadly passed away early on Friday 22nd September. These pages from the Treffen are dedicated to the memory of Bill.

The petrol crisis was supposed to be coming to an end, but the petrol stations were still bone dry. The country was in chaos with essential food items such as bread and milk being rationed because the delivery lorries didn't have any fuel and in the middle of this, a number of MGF owners were embarking on a 2000 mile journey, petrol or no petrol. Were they mad? Some had to siphon fuel from other cars; some had to divert to ferry ports that were closer to home. It was not easy, but each and every one of them found a way.

The story below is about a fantastic trip around Europe, organised by Ted Newman, Paul Sharp and Fabrice Bihay.

Work commitments prevented me from joining the first part of the tour, but I do understand that it was eventful. Firstly the visit to the Nurburgring and the high speed drive around the circuit. It was there that Ted's and Andy P's cars overheated and leaked a little cooler fluid out of their radiator caps.

And then Pete locked Sylvia's keys into the boot of her car - luckily Andy P had a complete tool kit with him and they managed to open the boot without too much damage. Within a few days there had already been a few moments that bonded the Treffeners together.

I joined the Tour on the Tuesday night, just in time for dinner. I'd never met any of the gang before and was a little nervous about what the others would be like. You have this image of a typical enthusiast of old British cars - that same person might find a thrill standing on a railway platform in the freezing cold rain writing down train numbers. Well, it's just not true!

The people on the trip were fantastic - funny, talkative, interesting and above all great company. There were people from all over Europe and from different walks of life. They were all different, yet you could see immediately that there was a common purpose. We were all there because we love driving the MGF, but that was not all; we had purchased an F because it is an exciting little car and that's what we were after - a fun time. The wine might have helped a little, but it wasn't long before the nerves had gone and I was talking and laughing along with everyone else. I had made some new friends.

Wednesday morning started sunny, but a little cold. We lined up outside the hotel, ready for the tour around the Black Forest. The first stop was the petrol station and the sight of 12 MGFs was something else. It took a while, but eventually we were all tanked up and after receiving a good luck wish for the weather from the cashier, we were on our way.

The Black Forest covers some 3000 square miles and is made up of dense woods, mountains and rivers. It is a beautiful place with ski resorts in the winter and wonderful mountain walks in the summer. The landscape is filled with mountains and valleys and as a result, the roads are twisty and windy - perfect for the F.

We headed for Triberg, home of Germanys highest waterfall at 153m. After a bracing walk to the top and then a stop by a pond for a hot chocolate it was time to head to Titisee, one of thirty or so mountain lakes in the Black Forest.

Unfortunately, by the time we left Triberg, the mountain mist had rolled in, and the temperature had dropped. The beautiful countryside was hidden from view for the whole of the hours drive. At times, you could only just see the car in front! The lake was no better, with a fraction of it's 2Km length being visible. Just before we left, it started raining and the remaining drive to Kandel was abandoned. What a shame, and what a contrast to the day before, where there had not been a single cloud in the sky.

The following day, the weather looked even worse, so Ted suggested that we abandon the planned route. Rob, Yimmy, Gen-am, Andy P and I decided to go shopping and headed for Freudenstadt in the three cars that we had between us.

It was cold but the rain had stopped, so the roofs came down. It was still chilly when we got to Freudenstadt, so after a wander around, the vote was to go and get some apfelstrudel and hot chocolate. Boy did it taste nice! Not that good for the figure, with the cream both in the cup and on the plate, but mouth watering none the less.

Although a large place, Freudenstadt did not have the sort of shops you would expect in a large town, so some of the group decided to head for Baden-Baden. With it's springs discovered as early as Roman times, the town became a popular spar and health resort in the last century. Many of the magnificent buildings date back to the early and mid 1800's and the ruins of a castle, which dates back to 1100, can be found on the top of a hill overlooking the town. We headed to the top and took some wonderful pictures of the church and old spa buildings below.

Once suitably shopped out, it was time to head back to the hotel, along the excellent Schwarzwald Hochstrasse. The road (56Km long and at an altitude of between 700m and 1000m) is reasonable fast, yet still very twisty. Following along behind Rob we reached speeds approaching 3 figures and with the by now dry roads, a clearing sky and the backdrop of the forest, the drive was a real buzz. We even managed to stop and take some breathtaking pictures.

Orders were to fill the tanks with fuel that evening, so we sailed past the hotel in search of a petrol station. On the way back for dinner, we followed a local who knew the roads very well - it was great fun! As we thundered along these tiny twisty country roads, S bends turned into straights, and corners might just as well not have been there. Fantastic!

The food in the hotel had been exceptional since day one. Five-star cooking in a very friendly family run hotel, coupled with German wine and great company. The evening meal was the perfect end to an exhilarating drive along some of the best country roads in the world. We even had some delicious Black Forest gateau in the Black Forest! (Didn't we Tom!)

The following morning at breakfast, those of us that weren't involved in the events that took place during the night heard the sad news about Bill Sharp. With a solemn air and our thoughts with Paul and Fran, we set off for Belgium.

Germany to France was mainly via the motorway and pretty uneventful. Even the traffic through Strasbourg did not manage to split us up for long and within a few hours we all arrived in Luxembourg. We were ahead of schedule and the sun had started shining, so after a bite to eat we made the rest of the journey via the country roads. After a little while, the clouds had disappeared completely, the wind was suitably blowing in our hair and although we were weary from the long motorway miles, the sense of freedom that open top motoring brings was very welcome.

After a stop for refreshments in one of the Belgium towns, it was soon time to head for the hotel. The traffic around Liege was starting to build up as the locals made their way home from work. On a number of occasions it was not possible to see the MGF in front, but luckily there were lots of tunnels. I first noticed this phenomenon while we were travelling around the Black Forest; driving along behind some of the other Fs, they would slow down on the way into the tunnel. But why? There were no other cars in front of us. The reason soon became clear, as the 3 or 4 Fs accelerated hard and all you could hear was the lour roar from their sports exhausts. The journey to the hotel was no different and although you could not see any of the leading Fs, you could hear them!

The events from the night before and the long journey meant that just about everyone was shattered, so after blowing out the candles on my surprise birthday cake (thanks gang) and then a meal in the hotel it was time for bed.

The following morning was an early one, but the sleepy eyes soon became alert as we walked into the car park - we were greeted with the fresh early morning sun rise barely glinting over the horizon. The hotel was on a hill and the reflection of the sun in the dew covered valley below made the whole place sparkle. With no clouds and crisp air we headed for Spa to visit the MGF cup teams. After a few hours wandering around the circuit (more about Spa later) it was time to see the Belgium countryside at its best - and boy did we see it!

Some of our fellow Fers had joined us from Belgium and Germany, and Fabrice led us all on a magical mystery tour. You have to picture the scene: 14 MGFs hacking their way around roads that might only see one car a week. Some of the roads were only marginally better than farm tracks. Villages in the middle of nowhere with only two or three houses were privileged to the spectacle of 14 MGFs driving through. Schoolboys would stand at the side of the road and wave as a string of British sports cars roared past. We even got waves from a group of bikers travelling in the opposite direction. Think about the Italian job, but with 14 cars nose to tail instead of 3. If I had not been there myself, I would have thought the events that took place were from a film. But it wasn't a film, it was real, very real - thank you Fabrice, it was superb!

With so many cars in convoy, the inevitable happened - one lot of cars went one way and the other lot did not, and a number of us had to wait and be 'rescued' by Fabrice. Shortly afterwards we stopped again, this time for lunch. We sat outside in the brilliant sunshine and although wasps plagued us as we ate, the atmosphere was very relaxing. It was a little strange though, the wasps seemed to disappear every time I picked up a dessertspoon and looked menacing. All in all, I think everyone had a great day out.

That evening, a banquet meal had been arranged with a number of the German and Belgium owners joining us. The highlight of the evening was the MGF birthday cake that Dieter's wife Rosi had baked and we were able to celebrate the Fs 5th birthday in style. Singing happy birthday to a car might seem strange, but without that great little car, I would never have grinned so much and met so many wonderful people.

One of the reasons for visiting Belgium as part of the Treffen was to go and see the MGF cup race that was being held at Spa. Paul had arranged some 'back stage' passes for us, which meant that we were able to walk freely amongst the competitors, cars and mechanics. We were even invited into the official MG refreshments tent that was supplied by Rover for a coffee and biscuits.

On Saturday, we visited the Techspeed team, heard all about the cup cars and watched Dieter take lots of technical photos. Sunday was race day and time to watch racing versions of our pride and joy. The familiar shape of the MGF, flashing by on a Grand Prix circuit, fighting to be first out of one corner, scrapping on the straights - it was awesome! After the race was over, we went back to the Techspeed area to watch one of their cars being lifted off the recovery lorry. The visit to the track very interesting and a big thank you goes to the Techspeed mechanics for taking time to answer our many questions.

Half way through the afternoon, it was time for me to say good-bye to the rest of the gang and make my way back home in the warm autumn sun. I had a fantastic time, made loads of new friends, learned a great deal about my F and enjoyed some of the best driving I have had for ages.

A big thank you goes to Ted, Paul, Fabrice, all of the other Treffeners and the F for making the trip so special.