Camber Sands, July 4th - 6th 2003

And so it was off to Camber again, for the first of a double-whammy South Coast rally-fest, what with it being Exmouth next weekend.   This was to be the family-friendly one though, so we drove down on Friday afternoon with the car packed with food, toys and children (one aged 34!).

We met up with our housemates for the weekend, Jo and Duaine and their two boys and headed for the park while Duaine and Lee queued to get the chalet keys.   I offered to relieve them (in the queue!) after about 15 minutes but they flatly refused, saying they 'wanted all the glory'.   Fair enough, so I headed for the bar...

Once we'd got in our accommodation (which was basic, to say the least - made a note to always go Club Class in the future) the boys fished out some hair dye spray.   Callum and Kieran were given blue and green stripes by Vidal Jackson (Duaine) and encouraged Sam to follow suit.   I was somewhat reluctant, mainly scared of what my Mum would say!   She's never forgiven me for dying my own hair ultra-violet in the mid-80's and would clearly be worried that Sam had inherited the same weird-hairdo-gene.   Anyway, Lee said he would take full responsibility if it didn't wash out so I agreed, although a precedent has now been set and I'm already worried what will happen when the football season starts and the lengths Sam is prepared to go to in order to get on camera during Pompey's opening game against Villa..... 

So, we headed out to the pub and sat outside while the boys played in the adjacent park.  Met Ivan and John from the Talismen who were staying with the infamous Rich (always falls asleep in do's) and Hammy (likes to dress up in women's clothes on rallies) from the Nuneaton Pacemakers.   When John spotted Lee's club shirt they exchanged Rich/Hammy stories, the most recent involving a hospital visit for John after their last encounter.

It got a bit chilly so we headed inside.   We'd managed be on-camp for around six hours before a visit to the amusements, which must be a record.   We shared our time between the main room and the air hockey, with a few visits to Stacey's chalet in between to set up the video to tape Big Brother.   Steve reported that Gary had broken down and taken the unusual step of getting the RAC to take him 60 miles back home rather than 20 miles to the rally.   He then picked up the transit van, stuck the P Range in the back and drove it back to Camber, arriving just in time to see the last band!   I saw snatches of the New Age Jam who I thought were average (not as good as other Jam tributes) and Snake Davies who were very good.   Emma Cox was resplendent as a school mistress and was flicking her cane at anyone who dared to come close.   Eventually the boys got a bit tired so we headed back to our beds.

On Saturday morning we got up so late that our housemates had already been for a swim and were basking in the sun when we turned up at the custom show.   There were some nice scooters and I met my 'twin', the owner of Tutti Fruiti.   She was a very nice lady and we swapped hair bleaching tips and posed for some pictures for Jo just to prove once and for all that we're not the same person!   After a few games of pool and a session in the swimming pool we gathered at Gary's place for a barbecue.   He'd done us proud and provided tons of steak, chicken and kebabs.   Duaine transformed into Delia Smith and cooked it all perfectly while we all chilled out - what a great way to spend the afternoon.....  It was so popular that the Leicester lot followed suit and started off their own barbie as Lee entertained us by riding Aaron's electric scooter around the paths.

And so to Saturday evening.  The children set up camp in the games room and persuaded the very helpful staff there to let them have free games of pool all night, which was very handy.   I put out a load of flyers in the main room and nipped back to the pub to check on the adults.   Just as well I did, as I was was greeted by the sight of a naked stripper (apart from a pair of stockings and suspenders) sitting astride a man who was licking cream off various parts of her body.   Lee thought it was a photo opportunity not to be missed so borrowed my camera in my absence and took loads of pictures.  I've had to doctor one, as this is a family website....

I nipped back to the chalet to see Gos evicted from Big Brother and then divided my time between watching the boys play pool and catching a bit of the Who's Who set.   They were brilliant, and the Keith Moon-esque drummer was so entertaining I could have watched him all night!   Yet again, Ms Cox excelled herself with another dazzling outfit, and also played a few of my requests which sparked my only boogie all weekend.   I'll make up for it next week at Exmouth.....

On Sunday we had to pop into the amusements to get Sam's prize for all the tickets he'd collected.   As we passed the Queen Vic pub we were greeted by Emma Cox, still in her snazzy yellow dress, clutching a bottle of vodka, with a gang of equally cheery mates.  I don't know how she does it - but maybe I'm just getting old....   And so we went home, stopping off at Beachy Head for a Quadrophenia moment on the way.  It had been a really good weekend albeit in a family-friendly way, and I was mightily relieved that Sam's hair dye came out when I washed his hair.   Phew.....