Woolacombe - September 21st - 23rd 2007

With me being 8 months pregnant, Lee was banned from riding his scooter in case I needed to be rushed to hospital, so we drove to North Devon in the car.   We were the first to arrive, so got the keys and dropped off our stuff in the same houses that we get each year.   We then went to the pub for some food, to be joined by Gary, Steve, Lofty, Champs and Sean who'd arrived by scooter.  Poor Stacey and the girls were stuck in traffic so we headed back to the houses to freshen up and (for those drinking alcohol) the first beer of the weekend.

By the time we got to the do it was very busy, especially for a Friday night.   We caught up with Linda and Mark, friends made on the trip to Vegas, and waited with anticipation for Friday's band, Basket Case.  Knowing that they usually make an effort to dress up in something related to current goings-on in the world, me and Lee had a side bet on what tonight's outfit would be.   My money was on rugby world cup kits, whereas Lee thought they'd all be dressed as Jose Mourinho.   When they came on, we were both wrong.   The wigs and shiny white jumpsuits were to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Elvis's death, back in August.   They were brilliant, as usual, and had thrown a couple of new covers into their set - the best being Stand And Deliver!   Having been standing up all night I suddenly had a need to chill out for a bit so headed back early to the house, which was a shame but couldn't be helped.   It turns out I missed the most exciting part of the evening - Lofty was dragged on stage by the lead singer to join in with a Pistols song - luckily caught on camera by Rhona!

On Saturday, Gary and the rest rode into Ilfracombe while Lee and I went to Woolacombe to the Red Barn for lunch.   It turns out the others ended up hiring a speedboat for a trip around the harbour.  We came back and I fell asleep watching the ladies football so Lee went next door to watch the rugby while I had a nice long nap.  We then went to the bar to watch the Coventry game, which unfortunately clashed with the hypnotist.   Lee had been threatening to volunteer, and I'd brought the video camera just in case, but the football came first.   I think he regretted this decision, as Coventry got thrashed 4-1 by Ipswich.    And so to the evening.   We got ready slowly, and didn't get out til quite late, watching Ant and Dec first!   At one point, Stacey came dashing in saying that a near-naked Champs was chasing her.   She locked herself in the bathroom, escaping Rob, who was only wearing boxers and socks!   He's about the size of my 11 year old son, with more body hair!   Needless to say, Stacey was not impressed and he soon returned to his own house, hopefully (for the rest of us) to put some clothes on. 

We eventually made it to the do, and had a nice chat with Rich and Jonah about babies as they were out whilst their other halves babysat.  It seemed like a great arrangement to me, one that we will no doubt follow for the Modrapheniacs rally next year...   In the main room Steve grabbed us to take a photo of him and Gary with the main act, The Aggrolites, who were mingling outside prior to their performance.  They didn't come on til after 11pm, and although I stayed for a few songs I really needed to sit down, so we retreated to the other bar to chill out on the comfy sofas with Gary and Lin.   We had another early-ish night, hitting the sack by 1am, with Lee falling asleep (anyone would think that he was the pregnant one!!) on the sofa in the house.

The drive home was uneventful, although Lofty ended up in Steve's van as he had carb trouble.  This is the last rally of the year for me and I can't wait til next year and I can get back on the Strongbows!!!!