(Follow on from Roslyn). The move to Thornhill went well and the weather improved in time for us to welcome two more vans. This site has been used by Elddis before but it was the first time we had been there and what a lovely place it was: mountains as far as the eye could see.

Again there were lots of interesting places to visit, so another free and easy rally. Everyone found something to interest them from Stirling Castle, Inchmahone Priory and Lake, the Trossachs, Callander, and even Glen Coe. It was a birdwatchers paradise too, some people were lucky to see Osprey feeding on a near by reservoir and others saw Red Kites at an RSPB centre.

The theme for the Saturday social was a 'Taste of Scotland' - yes we had haggis, neeps and tatties! (And very nice it was too) followed by fresh fruit salad & cream. Another gastric delight Sue, thank you. Not sure whether it was the result of too much wine or a wee dram with the meal or the closeness of 14 bodies in the awning, but things started to go downhill after Sue had done her lucky van prizes. One prize, of a vicious looking set of kitchen knives, caused more than a few laughs. I had always thought a certain rallier, who will remain nameless for the present, (but he has just moved to Louth), was really a very quiet gentle man, but by the time the social ended, I had revised my opinion and decided to call him the Louth Lothario! Safe to say a good night was had by all.

One more day left for further trips out then it was time to move on to Abington.

When we first joined the Elddis Owners Club we were told “you must do Cuckoo’s Corner” it’s a rally for kids, so we did. This year when the rally book came out we saw that it was going to be the last one ever as Wally was selling up and retiring, so we booked. We arrived at about 6pm to a warm welcome from Mandy and Drew Button, not forgetting Tiffany and Nathanial. Drew showed us where to pitch and as soon as we parked up our little one was gone.

We went to flag and a warm welcome was given to everyone. Saturday came, and at 9am Wally turned up on a tractor with a trailer and collected all the kids to go off and feed all the animals that meant peace for a little while. Benjamin McElroy was celebrating his 5th birthday and their caravan showed it with many decorations.

The afternoon was set up for activities, shooting for the adults (won by Tim Williams - Elddis Owner) and water fighting for the kids. Tim and Judith Williams brought Ben a water gun which was bigger than him but he had fun with it, the water fight went well, but not for Tim, as the kids ganged up on him and he got drenched (see photo).

The games went well, dodging the showers, to see who could get the lowest score to win, unfortunately Tim got it wrong and his team had the most scores, Kerry’s team won.

The DIY BBQ went well with the skies looking close to rain but thankfully it kept dry, except for the camp fire which was moved from the field to Wally’s garden under the pavilion, the rain never put us off and we had a great time.

Flag went well with a lot of presentations of certificates and medals for the winners. Drew, Mandy, Tiffany, and Nathanial were presented with their first Rally Marshal’s plaque and were thanked for putting on such a great rally for the last time at “CUCKOO’S CORNER”

Thanks guys!

This site was described as idyllic in last years Rally Report, but word got around that it was more than that, and so it proved. The proximity of the River Thames is not apparent as you enter the spaciously neat site. Young willow trees create avenues through its length and, when sited, we could see a stretch of the river on which there were swans, duck and coot. Narrow boats and cruisers of various sizes plied up and down. The sun shone brightly and hot, barely a breeze and the ambiance tranquil. It was - er - idyllic.

Initially there were 14 outfits welcomed by Marshals Louise and Sarah - eventually with comings and goings to up to 24.

On Monday we were invited by Geoff Jones to celebrate Sue’s birthday with drinks at their caravan, followed by a meal at the nearby pub.

Generally the weather held up very well with plenty of opportunities for lazing and sunbathing as well as visiting the local area. Most evenings were good enough for socialising ‘al fresco’ until after dark.

At the weekend most of the youngsters, and some of the oldies dodged boats and wildlife while swimming in the river (Moon River would have been the appropriate song for some who were looking for something in the water). We also celebrated John Vernon’s birthday.

Louise and Sarah, supported by Charles and Pauline, arranged two barbecues, a music festival, a fair, an air display and a guided walk along the river. There was no dissent that this was a great rally, and plaudits for their efforts were well earned.

Jade Stephenson was awarded a plaque for 30 rallies (see photo - bottom left) and Oliver McArdle was presented with a 75th Rally plaque (see photo – bottom centre). DJ Sinclair received a plaque for 130 rallies (a record not likely to be equalled for many years – see bottom right).

(Follow on from Thornhill). Again it was another good journey with the same 6 vans, and another beautiful site, once more surrounded by mountains. The area was new to us all so there was plenty to see and do. We were just a few miles from Wanlockhead, the highest village in Scotland, with its lead mine, Bigga was a typical Scottish town, as are Moffet and Lanark. New Lanark is a world heritage village and was well worth a visit, including a nature walk to the Falls of Clyde.

Wednesday night was to be a boules night, but unfortunately it had been a Scots mist day, so the boules were postponed until Thursday, but the wine and cheese party went ahead. We should have listened to Barbara and played on Wednesday night, because Thursday was a better day and all the midges in Scotland descended on our boules pitch! No amount of anti-midge spray, candles, bug zappers or general waving of arms frightened them off, but in true Brit style we played and after a round robin competition, Graham Harrison was the winner. But there were very few spectators to see his victory as they had all rushed back to their vans to escape the little biters or should it be blighters?

The Louth Lothario was quieter this week, but on the Saturday, Marion (sorry to let the cat out of the bag Doug) decided to take him home early, it may have had something to do with him wanting to go roaming in the gloaming in the bonny blooming heather with Susan, or as they said, to see how their new garden had stood up to the drought in their absence. Thanks for the fun you gave us Doug; we missed you at the social.

The meal this time was a wonderful chicken salad with huge portions of apple pie and custard or cream. Thank you seems to be a very poor way of saying how much we appreciated the work that Trevor and Sue put into these rallies, so we say a big THANK YOU. In the absence of a committee member the rally plaques and thanks were given by Graham on behalf of us all. Since Trevor planned these rallies, his personal circumstances changed but he was determined that the rallies would still go ahead. I feel he should be commended for his hard work in making sure we all enjoyed ourselves.

At each of our venues, he was getting up at 4.00 a.m. to travel back to Edinburgh, go to work and then back to the rally field. He went to bed at 9.00p.m. in order to be up to do it all again the next day. Sue took her holiday in order to be on site. If Trevor decides to run similar rallies next year, please do try to support him in his effort or we may loose a lovely area to visit with Elddis and that really would be a shame.