Trimely2010

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Trimley 2010

Having seen and heard all the warnings about Bank Holiday traffic, we decided to set off early on Friday morning to get through Lancaster before the morning rush. As usual we took longer to get ready than expected, despite having packed on Thursday evening, and it was about 7:15 when we finally set off. Then, of course, we had to stop at Asda for petrol, so it was just after 7:30 when we were passing through Lancaster. Very little traffic though, so we were soon at Caton and onto reasonably quiet roads.

Due to a strong aversion to the M6 motorway and its inevitable delays, we had decided to go cross-country via Skipton and Otley to Wetherby. The downside of this route is the traffic in Ilkley & Otley, both too narrow to filter very much. So we hatched a cunning plan to head for Harrogate then back to the east of Otley, thus avoiding the traffic either in Ilkley, Otley or Harrogate. We’ve not used this stretch of road before and it turned out to be stunning, with lots of hills and bends and terrific views across the valley of the river Wharfe.

This route takes us past Harewood House and is Red Kite country. These are fabulous birds to watch as they circle above the trees.

The next part of the journey took us south on the A1 and A1(M), not the most interesting road, but still better than the M6! For some reason we always seem to end up stopping at Blyth Services, and this was no exception. A quick coffee and doughnut (not very good!) and petrol and we were on our way again, with a long stretch on the A14. This mostly seems to be in a cutting, so there’s nothing much to see except the tarmac and the grass verge for many miles. One more petrol stop and then we were at Trimley, around 3:00 pm.

We’d managed to stay dry for the whole trip, despite some very black clouds and just a suggestion of drizzle at one point, and soon had the tent up and were meeting and greeting old and new friends. Strangely enough we soon found ourselves at the bar! Friday afternoon passed quickly, meeting various new arrivals and watching the growing VRA caravan and camper contingent getting parked up. There were also several motorcycles in attendance, including our own (although I’m slightly ashamed to admit to needing a trailer to carry those essential little extras!).

Friday evening saw us once again at the bar, wallets already having been relieved of much cash due to the efforts of Lady Bird, Lord Sav, Zara and Lady Penelope. Friday’s band, Dizzy Yak, kept us entertained until late evening and after a few more lemonades it was time for bed, not forgetting to put in the earplugs (a rowdy lot at night, the VRA!).

Saturday was already planned, since Pauline had noticed that we were close to Sutton Hoo, so it was archaeology for us rather than the rideout and American cars! First, though, we had to walk to the village (10 minutes) to get some milk and cash, then I had to sample the full breakfast and several cups of tea. So it was nearly 11:00 am when we set off with Bulldog for the half-hour ride to Sutton Hoo. We spent an interesting few hours there, not forgetting to test the food and drink at the café there, then it was back to Trimley for a shower and another evening of polite conversation and quiet contemplation (or perhaps a drink or two instead?!).

Saturday nights band, Junkyard Aliens, were absolutely brilliant, very professional and a great set of songs, lots of variety and plenty to dance to. Lady Penelope did a fantastic job with the draw in the interval, loads of prizes but very quickly dealt with, then it was time for more music and a drink or two until sometime after midnight.

Sunday morning saw me waiting for another cooked breakfast in the club, whilst Pauline was eating her Wheatabix at the tent!

Our friends from Belgium had to leave on Sunday, as they were heading for the Ace Café and then home, there being no Bank Holiday Monday in Belgium. We gave them a good send-off, a fair number of VRA UK clapping and waving them off the camping field.

Then Pauline & I went for a ride to Aldeburgh, having briefly looked along the seafront at Felixstowe. The Town Hall/museum at Aldeburgh is a fascinating building, with lots of interesting artefacts and historical information on display, and only £1 to get in. Although it’s a museum, it’s also still a working Town Hall, with the Town Clark’s office downstairs next to the exhibition room.

After a lengthy wait in the pub opposite the museum, we had a lunch of traditional Cornish Pasty and a J2O, sitting on a bench overlooking the shingle beach and fishing boats. Then it was time to head back to Trimley for the SpockOlympics. On the way back we were caught in a downpour for about 15 minutes, but had more or less dried out again by the time we arrived back at the camp site.

The SpockOlympics was conducted, as expected, in a spirit of fair play and good humour (most people tried to cheat and their opponents heckled and complained most bitterly), but Spock and his crew somehow kept things more or less on track and justice was probably done. The heavy downpour interrupted proceedings for a short while and caused the cancellation of one event, to be swiftly replaced by a karaoke competition, but didn’t dampen our spirits unduly. After the outdoor events finished, the sky naturally cleared to cloudless blue with warm sunshine.

Since we had missed the Hog Roast due to its unexpected re-scheduling from 7 pm to 2 pm, we decided to take a long walk to the nearest pub (across the road!) for an early evening meal. This proved to be a good decision, the food was excellent, as was the company, thanks, Geoff, Jean, Colin and Di. Strangely, shortly after we had finished our meal, there was a heavy shower of sauce sachets. We suspect an underhanded attack by a small splinter group of Sevrans! Having cleared up, to save the reputation and good name of the VRA, we made our way back to the club for the resumption of hostilities, I mean friendly competition.

The Karaoke got underway early Sunday evening, the first few performances being the last event in the Spock Olympics . There was no doubt about the winner, his almost professional performance bringing many mutterings about “ringers”. Strangely, after uttering the words “I’ll be OK as long as there’s some Bryan Adams”, Odd Job ignored the many Bryan Adams songs on the list and chose to sing “Bat out of Hell” instead. Thus was the fate of the Oddballs sealed, this being a very difficult song to do well, despite a valiant effort Odd Job, our esteemed team captain, failed to win the hearts and minds of the judging panel.

So it was an honourable joint second place for the Oddballs, but do we mind not winning? Of course we bloody do!! At least we can be sure that the Conquistadors will be magnanimous in victory and won’t brag about it, will they? During the evening I was introduced to a drink called a Jager Bomb, this consists of a shot glass of Jagermeister liqueur dropped into a glass of Red Bull and then downed in one. I had a bit of a drinking contest with Stirrer, honours even, but when the bar ran out of Jagermeister we had to substitute Black Aftershock, which gave the drink even more of a kick. After a couple of those we were ready for Karaoke, which we naturally performed brilliantly (fuelled by sufficient alcohol, I become a quite amazing singer and would surely have helped the Oddballs to victory had I been entered into the competition!).

And so proceeding drew to a close shortly before midnight, I think, and we retired to the tent for the last time. Monday morning dawned blustery with occasional drizzle, but we managed to break camp and pack the bike and trailer without getting wet. Rolling up the tent proved a bit of a challenge in the strong wind, but we managed. Then we did the usual round of goodbyes, sorry if we missed anyone, and set off along the A14 again. With a quick stop for petrol, we moved onto the A1 and covered about 180 miles before stopping at a Little Thief for lunch. Then we retraced our route past Harewood, Otley and Skipton, arriving home at around 4:30 pm.

What a great weekend! Thanks to SEVRA for the invitation and organisation, big respect to Spock and Lady Penelope for the SpockOlympics and raffle, and thanks to anyone else who helped to run the event. Most of all, thanks to all our friends who make the VRA such a special family to belong to, long may it continue.

Nuke