Jaguar Drivers Club - April Sunday Lunch - The Cricketers, Clavering

and visit to The Great Dunmow Maltings

Yet again we were favourably wined and dined at this veritable venue of Jamie Oliver fame. It was unfortunate however, that only 8 members managed to make it to The Cricketers no doubt due to conflicts of interests on our very full Events diary this year; but it was a pleasure to welcome Alan & son Jonathon back with their XJS.

As the sun shone on the terrace outside we were able to sip our aperitifs before venturing forward to our meal; the tranquil settings only being disturbed by a distant neighbours car alarm. As it was a Sunday we were all silently praying that the offender’s battery would discharge quickly to reinstate the peace and quiet; it seemed we were in luck as peace and quiet returned just as we ventured forth to our tables.

Inside we were met by friendly waitresses, Gabriella & Helena who asked, “Did you bring that nice old gentleman with you again, the one who has 90 Jaguars?” “Unfortunately not” we replied, as poor Alan is still resting at home, “He was a real Joker” they replied! Clearly Alan you made two very nice friends last year and a speedy return I think is called for!

Needless to say, the menu tempted each one of us with so many favourites that it was difficult to make a decision. Fresh oysters followed by plain grilled Lemon Sole were sufficient to satisfy my appetite, while others savoured Fresh Asparagus & Cherry tomato tart. Delightful deserts included an excellent Rhubarb & Crème caramel or an enormous piece of Lemon Meringue tart.

Our plan after lunch was to visit The Maltings at Great Dunmow for a tour followed by light afternoon tea & biccies.

Outside The Cricketers we decided the best bet was to follow Terry& Caroline in their XJ using the modern Jaguar Sat Nav. I duly passed them the post code and we set off. Quite a nice country route was followed until we got to Dunmow; here we digressed into an, albeit quite nice, residential estate outside the private house of The Maltings curator!! That’s what Post Codes do for you!

As I was supposed to be leading this event, I offered to find The Maltings and set off in the lead; fortunately I spotted some “old Dunmoweins” and decided to ask for finite directions; duly updated on the exact location Linda & I set off in the lead again only to finish yet again in a new Dunmow housing estate called of course “The Maltings”. Time was now against us as we had taken an hour from Clavering and were supposed to be at our tea stop by 3.30pm.

Tony being the elder (E Type that is!) decided that he knew exactly where it was and ventured the final mile through the main car park as shown on the guide map.

The Flitch tradition is still carried on today to find the married couple who, via a Dunmow Flitch Judge & Jury, can prove they have not quarrelled for the previous twelve months. Well, that excluded all of us as I can assure you, just in finding our way here today!

Upstairs in The Maltings, Pat & Terry and the staff, including Pat & Steve (who had given us the museum tour), Elphin (who explained all about malting barley & the traditions captured within the museum) and Cynthia, had laid on a nice pot of tea and hobnob biccies to refresh us.

This was highly probable as normal closing time is 4pm but by special arrangement to the Jaguar Drivers Club they had arranged an extension which we had almost fully used up just in getting there.

If anyone is intending to visit the Dunmow Maltings it does lie behind the left hand corner of the main car park in Mill Lane & behind the high street shops; it’s really tucked away!

Having apologised for our late arrival we were duly welcomed in by six friendly staff eagerly waiting to give us the full Monty guided tour.

What an amazing museum collection we were shown; ranging from the 75^th Scout Anniversary display including original certificates signed by Lord Baden Powell; through Dunmow local memorabilia; photographs of the WW2 75^th Squadron USAF during their stay at Easton Lodge and finishing with a splendid explanation of the Dunmow Flitch.

The Great Dunmow Maltings is a rare example of a 16^th century timber framed maltings from the early brewery trade and was known to be operational until 1948 providing traditional malt production for the local Dunmow brewers. It has since been fully restored and is clearly a prime example of building techniques and traditions from five hundred years ago.

We had certainly had a full guided tour of the museum and many thanks to Terry and the staff of The Great Dunmow Maltings for taking their time to show us and give us such a splendid afternoon event. We also found out that straight after our visit they were due to welcome Dunmow dignatories as part of the 75^th Scout event referred to earlier; clearly dedicated staff.

See you at the next Sunday Lunch

Eric Hoile

01702 522436