Past it MCC
Zimmer Frame Rally
22-25 August. 2003..
This was a bank holiday weekend, with the club split in
several different directions, as there were a lot of options
open. Fourteen Moonshiners and friends decided the Zimmer
Frame Rally was the choice for them; Pete, Olly and Linda
travelled the short distance to The Farmer's Boy on Kempsey
Common, just south of Worcester on the Friday evening, as did
Gilly and Joy.
I travelled down on
Saturday, leaving at about 2.30, after an hour-long hunt for the
keys to Luigi, which left my house looking as if burglars had
paid a visit! Three bikes to choose from but couldn't find the
keys to the only one which allowed me to carry my tent, such is
life. Keys located and Nigel and myself were on our way, meeting
up with Mr. And Mrs. Hornet (Steve and Sue) in Lye. Nigel led the
way as far as Worcester (for reasons we hope never to have to go
into again!) and then I picked up the lead, taking us onto the
A38, which passes right through Kempsey. After a grand total of
around 34 miles we arrived at the site, which was beginning to
look very busy, we soon found Gilly and Joy, conspicuous by
owning a tent the size of a small European country, and lo and
behold there were also Gord, Sizzle and Di and Kim and Geoff all
in various states of tent erection.
Once all tents were fully erect, the evening started in true Moonshiner tradition, with everyone sitting around, consuming whatever had been bought or created for tea, and graduated to enjoying slightly warm beer and slightly ridiculous conversation. As the evening progressed folks wandered down to the marquee, which purveyed expensive beer to those who hadn't the forethought to bring their own, and entertained us with 2 bands. In my humble opinion the first band were musically very good and would have been top notch, had they not been slightly let down by weak vocals from their female lead singer. Having wandered up the field to the pub (which also sold expensive beer!) we found that the 2nd band, which was still playing on our return, sounded pretty good too.
When Sunday morning rolled around it brought a few
hangovers with it, leaving one Moonshiner unable to leave the
confines of her tent, and others choosing to indulge in a ride
home, to get a shower and some shuteye, before returning fully
refreshed and ready for the Sunday night extravaganza. In the
meantime Sizzle and Di, Gord and myself chose a steady stroll
into Kempsey, which took just under an hour, as we were picking
blackberries, damsons, elderberries and conkers on the way, as
well as stumbling across one of Edward Elgar’s former homes
(not literally, you understand). Once in Kempsey we treated
ourselves to a pub lunch, and very nice it was too, washed down
with 2-3 pints of cool ale, and then a meander back. By the time
we returned to our tents quite a lot of people had packed up and
left, poor buggers must have had work to go to or something, and
not long after, our stragglers returned, squeaky clean and
hangover free.
Sunday evening, and the highlight
of the rally, both for others, and myself was when the Hamsters
hit the stage, and boy did they rock. The Hamsters never
disappoint, and this was no exception, I would call it a feather
in the cap of the Past It MCC to secure their services for this
rally.
To sum up: a jolly good time had by all, thanks to the Past It
MCC, and just a little constructive criticism – the catering
was a little inadequate and the beer a little too dear, I
understand that the pub isn't going to lower its prices, but at
most rallies the beer sold in the marquee is usually better value
than it was this weekend.
Your roving reporter
Kath3dooks
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