August 2026 Newsletter – The Club comes of Age

XJS SOFT TOPS CLUB NEWSLETTER – AUGUST 2026

 

Hello,

Somehow we are already halfway through August, and quite a lot has happened since last month's newsletter — even if much of it has been taking place quietly behind the scenes.

We have moved the Club's newsletters to a new provider, used the opportunity to tidy almost ten years' worth of membership records, launched what I believe is the final major piece of development planned for the Club website, and our 10th Anniversary gathering at the Avro Heritage Museum is now almost upon us.

The very last of the remanufactured XJ-SC Targa Roof Seals has also now found a home, bringing that long-running project to a close.

So, make yourself a drink and have a quick catch-up with what is happening around the XJS Soft Tops Club.

A New Home for the Club Newsletter

One of the less glamorous parts of running the XJS Soft Tops Club is keeping an eye on the cost of everything that sits behind it.

The website, domain names, software and newsletter service all have ongoing costs and, apart from the very welcome donations occasionally made by members, those costs are currently covered personally by me. I therefore try to make sure that whatever is spent actually gives the Club something worthwhile in return.

One area where I knew we could do better was our newsletter service. After some testing, I have now moved the Club across to Brevo, which gives us everything we need at a considerably lower cost.

From your point of view, hopefully very little will change — other than receiving this email from a slightly different system.

The move also seemed like the perfect excuse to tackle another job that had been waiting far too long: cleaning up almost ten years' worth of membership records.

Please check the information we currently hold for you Town / City: xxx County / State / Province: xxx Country: xxx If any of this is wrong or incomplete, simply reply to this newsletter and tell me what needs changing. If you have received this newsletter more than once, please let me know that too and I can tidy up the duplicate records.

There will inevitably be a few gaps and oddities after information has accumulated across different versions of the website over so many years, but the new database is already vastly cleaner and more useful than the one we started with.

Your review of the information and replying with any changes should only take a few seconds, but it will help make the Club's records accurate for the future.

Just Two Days Left to Let Me Know…

Our 10th Anniversary gathering at the Northern Jaguar Show, Avro Heritage Museum, Woodford, Cheshire is just over a week away, on Sunday 23rd August.

In just two days I need to give the organisers a final list of names of the XJS Soft Tops Club members and cars to expect in the area they have kindly reserved for us.

This is our main Club gathering to mark ten years since the XJS Soft Tops Club began, and I'd really like to see a good mixture of XJ-SC Cabriolets and XJS Convertibles together on the day.

Whether you have been a member for years or only joined recently, please don't feel that you need to know anyone before coming along. For many of us, this will be the first opportunity to finally put faces to names we have only previously seen on the website, Facebook or in emails.

Read the full event details on the Club website

PLEASE Let Me Know You're Coming

Just reply to this email if you can join us.

It should be a relaxed day amongst fellow Jaguar enthusiasts, with plenty of cars to see and the fascinating Avro Heritage Museum to explore as well.

The End of an Era

The final remanufactured XJ-SC Targa Roof Seals have now been sold.

I'm delighted that the remanufactured seals have helped so many owners keep their XJ-SCs quieter and drier, and that all of the final batch have now found cars to protect.

However, as I mentioned last month, there will not be another production run. Manufacturing another batch requires a substantial quantity to be ordered and paid for in advance, tying up too much of my own money for too long while waiting for them to find owners.

So, after several years, this really is the end of the Targa Roof Seal project.

To everyone who bought one over the years — thank you.

Introducing Activity Reports

One of the most useful responses to last month's newsletter came from members who said they would like to share short reports and photographs showing what they have been doing with their cars.

At the same time, several people felt that the Forum's Out and About section wasn't quite the right home for this sort of news snippet and I can understand that. A forum discussion works very well when someone wants to ask a question or start a conversation, but it doesn't necessarily feel like the natural place to preserve a little story about a day out.

So I went back to the website and built something specifically for the job – something I've had in mind was the last missing piece of our Club's website.

Activity Reports are now live.

They provide a simple way for members to create a lasting record of the enjoyable side of owning an XJ-SC Cabriolet or XJS Convertible.

It might be:

• a classic car show you've attended;
• a Sunday drive with the roof down;
• a holiday or weekend away;
• a meet-up with other owners;
• a completed repair or improvement;
• or simply a photograph and a few words from somewhere interesting you stopped along the way.

Most importantly, it does not need to be a magazine article.

A handful of photographs and a few paragraphs are more than enough. The whole point is to make sharing something quick and approachable rather than creating yet another task that gets put off until "one day".

Over time, these reports should build into a wonderful permanent record of the cars, the places they visit and the things Club members have been doing with them.

These complete what I believe is the final major piece of development I originally wanted to build into the Club website. The tools are now there; what will make them interesting is seeing members use them.

Explore Activity Reports

Already have something to share?

Create an Activity Report

I'd love to see the first few member reports appearing over the coming weeks.

Take a Fresh Look at the Club

While working on the final pieces of the website, I also took the opportunity to completely refresh our About the Club page.

Its priority job is to tell everyone who visits the story of how the XJS Soft Tops Club came into being, why it exists and how it has developed over the last ten years.

I wanted something that someone who was discovering the Club for the first time would be be able to see in one place, what is available to them — and but I wanted something that existing members were also able to perhaps discover something they haven't used yet.

I'm hoping that my efforts have achieved that, but I'll only know that if existing members tell me it's helpful and if we get new members join our Club.

Car Albums, Gallery Photos, Forums, Club Events, Activity Reports and the other parts of the website only become genuinely valuable when members contribute to them.

If you've not looked at the page recently, please have another look. And if you know another XJ-SC Cabriolet or XJS Convertible owner who might enjoy being part of the Club, it's probably the best page to send them.

About the XJS Soft Tops Club

Thank You

Looking back over the last couple of years, it is quite satisfying to see how much the Club has evolved.

Members regularly now:

• ask questions and share knowledge in the Discussion Forum;
• upload Gallery Photos;
• create a permanent Car Album for their own XJS;
• share Activity Reports;
• and register for Club Events.

Our Club won't have much value without the members who contribute and make use of it.

Whether you've answered someone's technical question, uploaded photographs, shared a story, registered for an event, made a donation, or simply taken the time to read one of these newsletters, thank you.

Every contribution helps keep the Club active and preserves the knowledge and history surrounding these increasingly rare Jaguars.

As always, if you'd like to comment on anything in this newsletter, correct your membership details, suggest an improvement, or simply say hello, just reply to this email.

Cheers,
Laurence

XJS Soft Tops Club —

http://www.xjs-soft-tops.com