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Last year our new Chairman Malcolm Bailey advised on the day that he was
unable to come to this meeting because that very morning he had tested
positive for having contracted Covid. There had been a new outbreak of
Covid amongst the local 'oldies' which fortunately was relatively mild.
This year our new President Bozi Mohacek advised on the evening before
that he was unable to come to the meeting because that very morning
he had tested positive for having contracted Covid. Neither officers
missed much as the the weather was equally unpleasant at it usually is
here with a muddy car park interspersed with large puddles of water.
Normally it snows/hails when we visit. This time the snow held off until
the next day; - and closed Scotland for a bit.
Mogador is a small hamlet nestled on the edge of Banstead Heath and with
an elevation of 660 ft is one of the highest settlements in South East
England.
The Sportsman is an eatery type of pub which is difficult to
find being at the end of a road leading to nowhere! The nowhere then becomes the
Downs and is therefore very picturesque and popular with the 'outdoor types'. The car park
is normally crammed as it was this year with an apparent charity walk having
taken place. It is believed that the name of the area came from the family name
of Richard Maggot, a local landowner in the fifteenth century, combined
with "haw", an enclosed piece of land. By 1618 this had
developed into "Maggothaw" before gradually mutating into its
present form. The Sportsman pub also has an interesting history, the core
of this historic building is said to have once been one of Henry V111's
hunting lodges in around 1532. Surrounded by heathland it is popular with
ramblers, horse riders and dog walkers, also, for the past few years the
location of our SVVS March lunchtime gathering. Last year it rained, a
lot, but this year the weather was kinder to us and we saw a modest
turnout of thirteen "proper" cars and a handful of
"moderns".
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