4th Birthday rally. Black Country MAG.
4th Birthday rally.
1st - 3rd June. 2001
This was the first "proper"
rally that Black Country MAG had put on. The "3rd
Birthday rally" last year was more of a camping weekend than
a full size rally, and the "Sort of Xmas rally" wasn't
exactly going to attract large crowds seeing as it was held in
the Winter.
Despite various setbacks, the rally was all
set to run. Marquee hired - toilets set up - generator up
and running - control tent set up and manned - lighting set up -
band and disco arranged - now all we need are the people . . .
and, as if by magic { well, by motorcycle mainly } people started
to appear, myself included.
We had a choice of three fields, a small one near the pub, a larger central one containing the bonfire and the marquee, and another small one containing several pigeon coops. I opted for the centre field, and fought my way through the undergrowth. There are time when tiger coloured camouflage can be very useful.
Friday seems to be the traditional
"get pissed" night, and certain people didn't let us
down. Shall we just ask who it was that was found sleeping
in the remains of the bonfire, and leave it at that ?
The darkness seems to attract all manner of strange creatures.
Friday night rolled on into Saturday
morning, folks rolled out of the pub and into the marquee, before
promptly rolling out again as the bonfire was lit. Just as
the sun was coming up, I rolled off into bed, which seemed a wise
move.
To say that I had a lie-in would be a
slight understatement - I finally surfaced around tea time.
A fair few more bikes had arrived, and, I'm sad to say, so had a
few cars. What part of "Motorcycle rally" don't
these people understand ? I can accept someone arriving by
car if they have a genuine reason, I can even understand MAG
allowing people to come by car if it is a 'fund raising' rally
but why they are allowed on the field is beyond me { and several
others who 'commented' about it }. There again, the invite
did say "4th Birthday Bash" rather than "4th
Birthday Rally" - so, as they say, it always pays to read
the small print ;-)
Saturday night saw the band "Nothing
but grief" playing out in the marquee, and most people gave
'em the thumbs up. By one in the morning, the bar decided
to close, and the rain decided to come down, but that didn't stop
the fire from being lit. Mind you, the sight of Steve,
armed with a blowtorch is enough to persuade even the most
stubborn of fires to light. This time, I managed to get to
bed before the sun came up.
Sunday, and time to pack away. The marquee fell victim to Simon, who had shifted into sledgehammer wielding maniac mode and was promptly bashing tent pegs to within an inch of their lives. The rest of us hung on to ropes, and generally managed to fold the thing up to a more manageable size. Several of the kids were whizzing around armed with bin liners and doing "Junior Womble" impressions. I loaded the lighting kit back in the 'dog kennel' and by half past twelve was ready for the epic nineteen mile journey home.
For a first rally, this
went down well - - very well. A few minor snags, such as
the generator wouldn't have coped with both the band and the
electrics in the control tent. Luckily, there was a 240v
supply out in the field, which was just in reach of the long
extension lead.
The pub coped with the number of people, even if it did get a
tad packed at times.
The grass should have been cut, but the farmer and his mowing
machine never materialised.
The cars on the field should have been shifted to the pub car
park.
As I said, minor snags which didn't spoil the rally to any extent.
Tony and Helen did a great job of
organising this rally, and all of the Black Country MAG members
chipped in and did their part, which hasn't gone unnoticed. Thanks
for a brilliant weekend - catch you on the next one, all being
well.
Cheers.
^..^
Lone Wolf
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