Hi, welcome to the club
Registers are primarily run by club members with an interest in a particular type of Minor eg series MM, ex -police cars, series II, custom etc and have members from all over the world. The exception is the new 'young members' register which is aimed at those aged 30 or under rather than a particular type of Minor. There's a thread in the young members forum explaining how the register came about. Not sure if all registers work the same but by registering your details you'll usually be in touch with other members with the same type of Minor and maybe have specific events organised such as the Minor Million events. The Dorset 'register' isn't a register as such, it's a branch of the MMOC - there are numerous branches all over the country and by joining you'll be able to get in contact with and meet up with other Minor owners in your local area, hear about local events, get recommendations about local garages etc. It's entirely up to you really, you can join a register, join a branch, join both or not join any! Personally, my '68 bog standard 2 door doesn't fit into a particular Minor register, I'm just a little too old for the young members register, my local branch closed down years ago and due to work commitments and frequent travel I don't have much free time to visit or take an active part in my nearest branch. So you don't actually 'need' to do anything if you don't want to - just do what ever suits you!
