January 2006 saw the introduction of our monthly newsletter, paid for by our advertisers and put together by Mike Read and Ivan Hardy.

Click on the links below to download a pdf of the newsletters. (around 1-3mb in size, Adobe Acrobat required). All newsletters have an Editors intro, diary dates, exchange and mart, information on becoming a friend and nominating a child.

For information on subscribing or advertising contact Mike Read (ma.read@tiscali.co.uk)

August 2007
Contents include: Stock Car Racing, Convoy 07, Radio Norwich, Forum Millennium Plain Collection Day, Party for the Members and Partners, Chet Valley Festival

April 2007
Contents include: Mulbarton WI, Cruiser's Corner, Golden Gift, Support from Eastern Evening News, Crowfield Truck Rally

February / March 2007
Contents include: New Printer, Treasure Island Panto, Gerry Webster, Meaning of Being a Member, New Committee, Members & Their Families

January 2007
Contents include: Gift Aid, Great Yarmouth Circus, Cruisers Corner, Situation Vacant, Slogan Ideas

December 2006
Contents include: Father Christmas brings gifts, Christmas Party, ECT Awards, Events News

November 2006
Contents include: Line-dancing Spectacular, Cruisers Corner,Tharston WI, Fund Raising & Donations, Laughs at Loddon

September/October 2006
Contents include: Convoy Report, Police Gala Day, Fund Raising Report, Help Required in November

August 2006
Contents include: Stock Car Racing, Fishing Competition, Convoy Notes, Africa Alive, Gorleston Fair.

July 2006
Contents include: Trailer Launch Party, Convoy Application Forms, Dun Cow Family Fun Day, Docwras Rock Factory, Attleborough Carnival

June 2006
Contents include: Little Acorns, Bag packing, Trailer launch party, Belton Cricket Club.

May 2006
Contents include: First outing for the trailer, Bag packing at Asda, Attleborough Young Farmers, Sheringham Woodfield School., Bingo report, Doing your bit.

May 2006
Contents include: First outing for the trailer, Bag packing at Asda, Attleborough Young Farmers, Sheringham Woodfield School, Bingo report, Doing your bit.

April 2006
Contents include: Trailer update, Party at Cobholm, What people say about ECT, Letter from Cruiser, Memorial bench.

March 2006
Contents include: Your new Committee, New exhibition trailer update, Bag packing, Promoting our charity.

February 2006
Contents include: Attleborough pantomime, Trailer update (with photos),

January 2006
Contents include: Children's Christmas party, Bag packing at Sainsburys, Christmas light spectacular

ECTC Tymes Newsletter - From the Editors
Following the dedicated work put in by Pete Longman on the first 4 issues, we agreed to take on the editor’s job to make sure edition 5 of the ECTC Tymes was produced.

The “Tymes” is a well worthwhile promotional aid for our Charity. Having a well produced, good quality magazine does enhance the status of East Coast Truckers in the minds of the general public.

Your trustees have decided that they wish the magazine to continue provided it is self-funding. They are not looking for a profit but it must not cost the charity a single penny. We, the editors, thoroughly agree with this. However, this decision must be included with several other issues that will determine the future success or failure of the “Tymes”.

In order to keep the issue price at a sensible level, each edition relies very heavily on advertising revenue. Chasing up potential advertisers is a time consuming exercise that also adds, in the form of fuel for office visits etc., to our production costs.

Fuel costs will be reimbursed willingly, but we really do need a few people who would be prepared to approach some new advertisers. We will organise advertising copy and photos etc. if required, once we have a new customer on board.

Secondly, it is very important that, having committed to a print run, we do sell all the copies. Everyone must be able to encourage the proprietor of one of their stopping points to have some copies of the Tymes on the counter to sell. Some sites move dozens of copies. If they can do it, so can others. But these café and snack bar owners need to be approached in the first place. Please try and find the time, or the courage, to ask potential outlets to stock a few copies for sale at the counter. Promoting a worthwhile charity can only add prestige to their business operation.

Laying out the magazine for the printer does take Ivan quite a while. Neither of us are publishers, but we do have to produce a page-by-page finished product in the form that can go straight to print. The photos are properly sized and edited and are resolved at the required dpi quality. The articles are in good English and notes submitted to Mike are tidied up, hopefully without losing the individual quality and style of the original writer.

In this way, we end up with a magazine that would grace anybody’s coffee table and confer credit on the charity.

Mike Read

We have identified where our little “duo” has got to evolve into more of a “team”. Selling advertising space, recruiting selling outlets and, finally lending a hand with compiling the layout, (For this last item, a knowledge of MS Publisher and Adobe Photo-shop is a must) are the areas where extra help is essential. A few more hands on board to create a working team would make the production of the “Tymes” more of a pleasurable task. Remember this is your magazine and without your help it will cease to-be.

Our thanks to all the Member and Friends who have submitted stories, letters etc and introduced new advertising clientele.

Mike Read and Ivan Hardy
Joint Editors