Holding Stables, 9-11 July
We arrived in warm weather to be greeted by our Stewards Sue and Colin. We were pitched with a lovely view over the equestrian centre and soon had our chairs out in the sunshine. It was a shame as only 9 units were booked in, but it was good to see new people as well as old friends. We were invited to take our chairs to Colin and Sue's van for the evening and a lot of people took up this offer to socialise in the evening sunshine. Saturday dawned, another nice day and we walked into Wilmcote past Anne Hathaway's Cottage, which was unfortunately still closed, to the station and caught the train into Stratford and had a great time browsing in the shops and ended up in the local Wetherspoons for lunch. Saturday evening was another open invitation to socialise and it was lovely sitting listening to all the different bird songs which we could not identify! Sunday dawned and we took our own coffee to the stewards van and listened to the answers to the quiz, needless to say we failed miserably!!
Thank you to Colin and Sue who stepped in at the last minute to steward this meet, we had a lovely time.
Eddie & Sue
Riverside Gardns 20th April 2021
We were greeted at the gate by our host Colin Chester who showed us where to pitch. A lovely small site actually next to the river Meden. Grass site with picnic benches over the river where there is good fishing and use of the site kayaks
The weather was against us with strong winds and light to heavy rain (no fault except nature}. The stewards had organised some ball games but hurriedly changed their plans due to the weather. Bowling in the marquee with a bottle of wine as target. There were even “Hot Dogs” to eat cooked by the Catering Officer Glynne assisted by his team There was a quiz given for the duration and the winner was announced at Sunday Coffee morning. The rain came again so some left early due to this and personal reasons. Shame about the weather as the site is a good site and the meet was a good one, our thanks go to Colin and Sue Chester for organising the events and the meet. Look forward to seeing Riverside Gardens again, in the good weather.
Barry Doddie & Tweedy
Moira Furnace 16th April 2021
Hi my name is Peanut, my owner called me this because my reg. ends in KPN. I’v sat very lonely on my owners drive for months and not been anywhere; they normally take me to lots of places including Spain for months. I can’t catch COVID but apparently humans can so they have been very cautious. When they started to clean me and put food and water in I thought we must be going away.
What joy, we left our house on Friday and called to pick up my other mate with his owner and Freddie. We had been to Moira before so I knew the way, oh what joy to meet up with all my friends. For everyone safety strict rules were adhered to, I was parked by the stewards who had done a fantastic job and marked out the spaces in compliance with ‘the rules’, yes, even motorhomes and caravans have rules.
By Friday evening the field was full with forty pre booked units sited. The youngest a new six wheel Rapido, his owner had only had him for a few day and the oldest was a beautifully restored Volkswagon with pop up top and was forty seven years old. I don’t think I’ll last that long or if I do, my owner wont !
The sun was shining brilliantly all weekend with frosts at night but my owners put a thermal jacket on my front screen and had the heating on, so I was nice and cosy. Some of my friends had a few problems but these were soon sorted. Everyone was happy meeting up with friends they hadn’t seen for months and meeting lots of new people. Everyone followed the guidelines and some sat round in small groups within the required distance with no more than six people. It was like watching musical chairs to see people in one group move on to another. Others walking round and talking to other people at a safe distance. But as usual I had to stay put.
Moira is a lovely venue, the ground was dry and hard and the field is surrounded with trees and bird song.. Mine and other owners walked on the many paths through the woods. Along the canal or further afield, with the Coop being a few hundred yards and Conkers across the road. Due to the dreaded COVID the Furnace museum was not open but they had a takeaway shop selling coffee, ice creams ect and the boat trips were still running. Some, including my owners had booked a meal at the Lakeside Bistro, a ten minute walk down the road. They said they had a lovely meal and ate outside under gazebos with safe distances whilst overlooking the fishing lake.
Oh what a wonderful weekend, it was so lovely to hear all the chatter fun and laughter. Obviously, no organised games, coffee morning or raffle, but wow, how good to be out. Sunday was soon upon us and time to go home. It sounds like we can meet again soon my I hear my owners and my friends are going to Shardlow at the end of the month. Hooray !!!
Peanut owner
Maria & Richard
Lawns and Lakes 30th October 2020
The meet opened on Thursday 20th October. Linda and i arriving on Friday to find 16 units on site. Pitched by Colin and Bill, on hardstanding with electric hook up, appreciated both with the wind and wet weather.
Colin took some people down to the bus stop, They caught the bus into Kings Lynn.
Managed a cycle ride on Saturday morning in extremely windy conditions. Got back just before an afternoon of heavy rain showers.
Saturday evening took a spooky walk around the rally to judge the Halloween themed decorated motorhomes, The prize for the best decorated van went to Jan & Ian and her bubbling cauldron. Well deserved and well done. Thank you to all who took part.
Once again Sunday was a day of rain showers. Walked to the farm shop, scary crossing the A17, but the fruit and veg well worth the effort.
A relaxing weekend, good to see and chat with friends , socially distanced of course.
Thanks to Colin & Sue and Bill & Linda for making the weekend possible.
Paul, Linda & Billy
Moira Furnace 18th September 2020
The weather held out all weekend for us.
First time for us at this venue but what a great venue with walks and things to see and do.
Eddie and Sue won the best van lit by fairy lights (well done to all who took part)
Every one kept to club rules on social distancing and hygiene.
Big thank you to stewards Martin and Doreen.
I think they both need new shoes after all the walking to and from the barriers.
Ian, Jan & Teddy
Moira Furnace 29th - 2nd May
Arrived early (for us) on Friday morning, Linda, Bill, Sue and Colin had already put the signs up ready to guide the campers in.
25 units arrived for the Bank Holiday weekend, with rain forecast for all day on the Sunday!! Excellent turn out, as it happened on Sunday…a little dribble!! And that was it.
Friday evening, we all gathered around the so called camp fire, where we took it in turns to find out and tell about the person on our left, must say we found out some very interesting things about our fellow campers.
On Saturday a song title was given to each unit and you had to draw the title and put it in your window, for other campers to try and guess the song title, some very good drawings with the prize for best picture going to the Hamilton Family
And the winner of guessing the titles going to Anne and Trevor. Saturday evening, we gathered around the so called camp fire!! For a good old natter but as the chill moved in it was an early retreat to the vans (crack a bottle and get the cards out for us)
Sunday morning, we were off to the car boot sale, had to keep Jan away from the plant stalls (no plants purchased) and then a wander back through the very well attended craft fair.
Sunday afternoon we all gathered for afternoon tea/coffee and a selection of homemade cakes, must say the chairman’s brownies went down well, raffle tickets went on sale ready for the draw on Monday.
In the evening the so called campfire turned into a real one with one of the new members supplying marshmallows’ to be toasted.
Monday morning the car boot sale was on again with items old and newish being purchased, Coffee morning and the raffle (which raised an excellent £76)
Then the farewells, as the meet closed at 2pm.
Looking forward (as are the new members) to the next meet at Smeaton Lakes.
Jan, Ian & Teddy
Market Bosworth 15th - 19th April
East Midlands MCS Easter Meet 2022 Market Bosworth Rugby Club15-19 April
Richard and Maria with Derek and Maz were our stewards for this 4 night meet over the Easter weekend, our first rally this year after the previous
ones were cancelled due to various reasons beyond the groups control. A very well supported rally with a total of 34 units attending.
Friday had gorgeous sunny weather and lots of folk managed to soak-up a few rays on the warmest day so far so far this year.
Having use of the clubhouse all weekend, Fridays evening’s entertainment was an Easter egg/egg related quiz which was great fun resulting in various fun comments being generated. Those that didn’t know, learned that the world’s heaviest Easter egg weighed as much as an elephant and a chickens egg takes just 26hours to develop before it’s laid.
More sunshine on Saturday morning and some people walked into Market Bosworth to explore and possibly complete the treasure hunt questions.
The AGM was held at precisely 3pm with Ian the chairman and the committee each presenting the various reports etc as detailed on the agenda before the usual ratification and acceptance.
Following the close of the AGM, tea, coffee, cakes and hot-cross buns were served to the members.
Thanks to Diane, Linda and other helpers a fantastic evening meal of boeuf bourguignon with various vegetables was served, followed by a choice of bread and butter pudding, eaton mess or mixed fruit crumble with custard, but I don’t think anyone had custard with their Eaton mess.
Following a short interval it was time for Big E & Jan’s Karaoke Sing-along which was like being at the Good Old Days show from Leeds back in the 1970’s. We were then treated to Cliffs hits and more plus a solo from Jan. An impromptu duet by Richard and Paul made us all laugh.
Sunday brought us more sunshine with campers dashing off into town for Sunday lunch or completing the treasure hunt ( we later discovered that one of the clues had been removed from a garden gate due to so many people searching at the end of the drive)
The afternoon had the children and members searching for Easter eggs that Maria had hidden around the site. It was a close finish with all received various chocolate eggs. The adults were treated to tea and hot cross buns or Simnal cakes.
Results for the Treasure Hunt were announced and prizes presented. Before entertainment for the evening started with Richard giving a monologue which followed a would be trainee calamity causing zookeeper feeding various animals that ended in a punch line of “fish, chimps and mushy bees “.
The highlight of the evening was the Easter hat competition with 13 very, very good entries parading among us before the voting which had a joint winner of Sue and Lynne.
It was then time for Sue and Collins surprise entertainment with Richard Gilbert, Ian Bott and Colin Lang ‘volunteering’ to be transformed into gorgeous “ladies” with the aid of their female assistants. Our stooges “Alice, Sheila and Lucy Lastic” were up for the fun and looked amazing in their make-up, wigs and dresses and were all awarded a joint first prize.
Monday morning we had coffee and hot-cross buns/ biscuits and the raffle draw. We were fortunate not only to have East Midlands Chairman Ian Bott but Colin Lang the Chairman of the MCS and the President Edith Lang at our meet. Sue and Edith provided us with updates on forthcoming meets being organised by the East Midland, Midlands Group and the National AGM.
The collection of “shrapnel “ from people’s pockets organised by Daddy Paul on behalf of the Royal British Legion raised over £28 towards their funds. Paul also collected two huge dustbin bags of aluminium cans to help the air ambulance charity.
Monday afternoon saw some folk having to leave for work or to travel to the Midlands MCS groups follow on meet at Bakewell.
Entertainment for the last evening was a chocolate quiz and a fun time with bingo .
Many thanks to all the stewards and their helpers for doing a great job and members joining in to make it a fun great rally.
Garry
Copt Oak 11th March
We arrived about 4pm and booked in with Sue.
Lovely little meet with 9 units. Great to catch up with friends. Dave and Di left us on Saturday afternoon heading for Gosport, but was replaced by a new member.
It was a little chilly but at least we didn’t have snow this time. Friday was a quiz night, first one, we did ok but the second one was appalling from us two.
Saturday was a free and easy day and took Teddy off for a walk past the lovely church, then down to the Copt Oak Pub for lunch.
In the afternoon we were back in the hall for coffee and games, we played Motorhome Beetle Drive which was a good laugh, and a little frustrating. Ian then played a game of bingo where we had to make up our own bingo cards. Di won the corners game and Sue got the full house.
We had a lovely Bring and Share Supper and settled down for the evening signing along to Old War time favourites, which was a laugh as the tempos of the songs were a bit different to what we were used to.
We all then enjoyed a night of Karaoke with several brave souls getting up and singing. We must say that Paul (Dad) was brilliant when he sang The Court of King Caracticus and took the prize for the best act. Best duo went to Maz and Derek, everyone yes everyone stayed till the end and the evening was finished with a East Midlands favourite, Running Bear even the men joined the squaws ( East Midlands go go dancers) on the dance floor.
Well done to all of the singers, who all agreed that we must do it again soon.
Thanks to Sue and Colin and Daisy for standing in to Steward the meet.
Jan, Ian & Teddy
Uppingham 11th February
This meet was unfortunately cancelled.
Apologies if anyone turned up, But it is advisable to book or check with the stewards that the event is still on.
Market Bosworth New Year Meet
Unfortunately this meet was cancelled, Agreed by the committee. (Covid strikes again)
Copt Oak Festive Meal 26th November
We arrived on Friday afternoon to be greeted By a happy Elf who parked all the vans. Friday evening we all put on our Christmas jumpers and met in the hall, Santa's sack was in the corner to put our presents in ready for Santa to call on Saturday night. The evening flew by as we caught up with friends.
We woke up on Saturday morning to find a covering of snow, We have had snow at this venue before in the past, We had one van go home as they had travelled from the north and the weather conditions were poor. Saturday afternoon we had tea and home made cakes plus we played a new game made by Daddy Paul's son, The game was a board with a hole in and we had bean bags to throw in, We had two teams one team yellow and one team blue. The yellow team won.
While the ladies got the room ready for the Christmas meal, Thank you to Maria and Richard and their team for a fantastic two course meal.
Santa arrived with his helper and handed out presents.
We had a Christmas hat competition which was won by Sue, This was followed by music, games and the sale of raffle tickets, 11 o'clock soon arrived and it was time to go out into the snow back to the vans.
Sunday morning we all gathered for tea and coffee and drew the raffle.
A big thank you to Maria and Richard and anyone else who helped over the weekend, It was a fantastic weekend. Looking forward to our New Year meet at Market Bosworth Rugby Club.
Linda & Bill
Stoke Bruerne 23rd September
Stoke Bruerne attracts boats and Gongoozlers* there is little wonder with a superb canal museum, plenty of pubs a canal side cafe and ice creams. With a wonderful camping field plus plenty of good walking and cycling all located near the local amenities it also attracts plenty of campers. For those in the know there are also some very good Geocaches** subtly hidden in the near vicinity, So plenty to see and do. The woodland walk is beautiful and the boat trip into the canal tunnel is well worth it. We were delighted to hear that the meet was on this year and we couldn't wait to get there. Friday night the mobile fish & chip van came on site by pre-arrangement with the stewards, Wow! excellent value and the fish was just beautiful. Saturday lunch outside the pub in the sunshine alongside the Grand Union Canal, Wonderful. A quick check on the micro geocache** we found there a few years ago, we signed the log, all well. We will be back for more.
Sunday and the Sun continued to shine over the bring your own coffee morning, a good natter and catch up with friend old and new, 20 units enjoyed a wonderful weekend.
Grateful thanks to our Stewards, Sue, Colin and Barry for looking after us.
Andrea & Rob
*Gongoozlers - A person who enjoys watching activity on the canals of the United Kingdom.
**Geocaches - An outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and sometimes a pen or pencil. The Geocacher signs the log with their established code name and dates it, in order to prove that they found the cache. (Just in case you wondered as i hadn't a clue!! Ian)
Collingham Cricket Club 15–17th October
We arrived rather late on Friday night. We pitched and went into the clubhouse for a relaxing evening with friends old and new. We didn't stay late, as it was Teddy's first night left alone in the motorhome. Saturday, the weather was nice and sunny. The committee had a successful meeting. And then we had a leisurely day and prepared our contribution for the bring and share supper. In the evening we met up again to continue a great catch up. Raffle tickets were on sale, and with some encouragement from the chairman Ian and Paul with his begging bowl, we managed to raise about 120 pounds for the Royal British Legion. Sunday morning coffee we gathered to draw the raffle with excitement over a very generous array of prizes, we won three prizes and Bill and Linda also won three, unfortunately Sue won the last prize which was the one she put in to the raffle. We then bid farewell to all and headed for home. Thank you to Barry and Doddie and Tweedy for a lovely weekend.
PS. £118.00 raised and donated to the Royal British Legion.
Ian Jan & Teddy
Lyndon Top 23rd/25th July 2021
We arrived to be greeted by our stewards lan, Jan, Dave, Dianne and Teddy and Frazer. It was a free and easy weekend. It was nice to meet up with friends old and new. Saturday morning we walked along the water into various hides. In the third we saw the Ospreys on their nest Rutland Water was flooded in 1975 after a dam was erected and a couple of villages were left under water. Saturday afternoon we had coffee and tea (brought by ourselves) and cake supplied by Dianne. Sunday morning we had a bring you own coffee and tea morning. lan gave out notices of future meets. The results of the van quiz was given out. Winners of the logo quiz was won by ourselves and the drawing of Boris the bird was won by Richard and Lynn. The Meet finished at 2pm. Thank you for a lovely weekend. Thank you to lan, Jan, Dave and Dianne also Teddy and Frazer
Sue Colin & Daisy
Hatton Country Park 28th August 2020
20 units turned out for a good weekend.
It started off raining on the Friday and some units had to be towed on as the field got a bit boggy in places.
There was a lot of shops to explore and also there was a Summer Market on Saturday to Monday.
It was lovely to catch up with friends old and new.
We finished on the Bank Holiday Monday where some units had to be towed off.
All in all a good weekend was had by all. Thanks to Linda, Bill and Edith for all their help.
Sue ,Colin & Daisy