Alderwasley

Congratulations to John & Flo' Lowther on another very successful rally at Alderwasley, near Belper, Derbyshire. The site is a 5 van site for C. & C. Club and has a field adjacent which we took over very nicely - thank you. This year because of the growing numbers we were located in a larger barn than previously and Jon busied himself most evenings keeping the camp fire going with logs, and everyone kept the entrance door closed to retain the warmth. The weather was a little mixed but there were plenty of bright spells and people found lots to do in the area, including Bakewell for the tarts, Geoff didn't find one! Some braved the Heights of Abraham cable car and a trip down the Caverns there. Not far away is Crich Tramway museum and plenty of shopping in Belper.

Saturday evening we all met in the barn for our meal together - a BBQ prepared outside, and afterwards, Geoff led a take on Play Your Cards right with winnings going to young Keaton Shaw, after he had invested heavily in trying to win. A second game was run in which Keaton, Jordan and Danielle - our junior attendees all shared the winnings.

On Sunday evening Flag was held and presentations were made by Steve Lickley to ‘First time’ ralliers, Syd & Phyll White from Lincoln and Jane & Graham Milton with Giles; from Llanmartin, Newport (Lyndon’s country). Also a 50th Rally plaque was presented to Chris & Janet Jones. Finally, Steve presented a plaque to the Assistant Rally Marshal’s, Geoff & Sue Jones for all their hard work and of course, to Flo' & John as Rally Marshal’s.

A special presentation was made by our Chairman, Jim, to our new Vice President, George Rickels for services to the club as Equipment Officer for many years. Well done to all. After the ceremonial bit - folks chatted and a few light jokes were read out until that witching hour of 9pm. after this the jokes got - shall we say - heavier! A lovely evening where Elddis members proved once again, you don't have to pay money for a good evening’s entertainment.

Oh and thanks to Flo' who took time out from a stressful weekend to take the juniors on a little ramble to see the tadpoles! Appreciated. A great weekend, look forward to next year.

Well, its May Day Bank holiday and we’re on our way to the 3rd Annual Peashooter Championship at Wimblington. We arrive to find that we are not alone – some twenty or so vans have gathered on a pleasant, flat site to while away the Bank Holiday. Jim and Janet James provided the usual warm welcome at the Friday night flag and outlined the weekend’s events, the highlight being the pea shooter championships.

The free day on Saturday started early thanks to the neighbouring building site and saw many ralliers leaving site to visit the local area, including ourselves, taking a good look around Ely, and the surrounding countryside. On Saturday evening, we all gathered in the gazebo for the pea shooter championship. The chairs were all laid out just like the cinema, which served to make some even more nervous about their performance. However, once you’ve tried it (pea shooting that is), you know there is nothing to worry about – everyone seems as bad as each other, with one or two exceptions. Eventually the evening draws to a close, and the winner becomes obvious. Yes, Ken Wootton strikes again, so he will be running the rally again next year – a dubious honour indeed.

Sunday evening heralded another social evening with cheese and biscuits for all. To entertain everyone, various rallying games were played, including June Pool’s favourite, which I’m sure only she will tell you her name for it.

Those returning home for work on Monday had the lovely task of packing away in the rain or at least those of us who packed up in the morning did. The sensible ones waited for the rain to stop. For us the rally was over, although several units were lucky enough to stay on for another day. Thanks to our Marshal’s for all their hard work which I’m sure was appreciated by all attending – the championship continues!

Tom Stobbs’ rally at Ancrum, Jedburgh started off well on a lovely sunny day with beautiful views from the rally field and clear skies, we had two nice days and then the weather reminded us we were in Scotland with heavy showers [very heavy showers] and plummeting temperatures. Tom and his back up team Matty and Lily Wilkinson, and Roy did a great job of creating two excellent meals under appalling conditions, unfortunately the social and barbecue had to be abandoned and we had to collect our meals from Tom’s awning and dine in our respective vans but well done Tom and Co.

Another more serious mishap was the accident involving Bernard Wilson being knocked off his bicycle and being badly hurt by an impatient driver overtaking a caravan; Bernard suffered a broken vertebra in his neck and at the time of writing is in Galashiels hospital with his head and neck in a brace. His wife Sheila was obviously devastated by the incident but thanks to everyone on the rally the blow was softened a little by all the help and support she received. I am sure Bernard and Sheila won’t mind me thanking everyone on their behalf for their help and assistance and on behalf of the club I would like to wish Bernard a full and speedy recovery. It just goes to show the benefit of being in a club like ours and having caring friends around in times of need.

Nineteen units attended the rally and the Assistant Rally Marshal’s were Matty and Lily Wilkinson.

Three vans followed on from Jedburgh and five more came from near and far to be joined by one motorhome later in the week. Dovecot Caravan Park proved to be a well kept and run site with immaculate facilities and a games room at the our disposal, even a laundry room and washing lines handy for those away for a while. Rally Marshal’s Sue and Trevor served tea, coffee and biscuits in the games room on Tuesday evening. Trevor welcomed us all to this lovely site and introduced ‘First Time’ rallier (and caravanner) Granville Cooper.

There were many houses and castles to visit, and a tour in the mountains to Banchory and Braemar brought you to Balmoral (no invite to tea though!) and for those who wanted the shops there was Dundee and Aberdeen an easy drive away, as were coastal towns of Arbroath, Montrose and Stonehaven.

Unfortunately for Sheila and Doug Leitch the rally came to a sudden end on the Wednesday when through no fault of theirs they had an argument with the wheel of a large tractor and although badly shaken were unhurt. The same could not be said for their car so they decided to let the breakdown assistance take the caravan and themselves home the next day to think and reflect. We have since heard that a replacement vehicle has been found and they will be back on the rally field very soon.

The weather was mostly kind to us if a bit chilly at times and very windy on Friday and Saturday when one well known lady rallier was seen chasing her newly laundered “smalls” across the site. Most ralliers made use of the games room one evening to play table tennis, pool, table skittles and dominoes. The room was used again on the Saturday evening when the Marshal’s put on an excellent three-course meal, enjoyed by all. Flag followed with Vice Chairman Len Stoneman thanking Sue and Trevor for an excellent rally and presenting them with their plaques, also presenting new rallier Granville with his ‘First Rally’ plaque and hoped he had not been put off by all of the frivolity and would attend future rallies. He assured us he had enjoyed his first outing with the Club and would be joining the Thornhill rally the following weekend.

Well done Sue and Trevor for another excellent rally site.