Madam, Through your pages, please may I thank the Ross Town Council for their grant of money towards the costs of organising the 2009 International Rally of the Daimler and Lanchester Owners' Club,

Ross is the place where this will take place next year. The central event is the gathering of vehicles made by Daimler, Lanchester and BSA from the end of the 19th century to the present. This will take place on the Long Meadow, between Wye Street and the river, on Sunday, June 14th, 2009. There is a special anniversary to celebrate, so the Rally will be even more attractive than usual, and will be completely open for the public to see.

Leading up to this, 300 or more visitors will be coming into the area during the previous week, to take part in tours of the area and other peripheral events. Many of these will be coming here for their first time, and I expect they will want to come again. A significant proportion of these visitors will be from overseas.

I know that two town hotels are already fully booked for the rally period, and I would be grateful if others will let me know when they are too.

From the beginning, I intended that Ross shall benefit from the rally as much as possible; the council's grant will enable me to carry this out more effectively than I was able to do before. For more information look at the website http://www.2009international.org.uk">www.2009international.org.uk