Hemsby, Winter Warmer Rally, November 2001

OK, so I'm a lightweight...  It's November, for goodness sake, not exactly the scooter season.  So, despite the unseasonably warm and sunny weather, we drove up to Hemsby in the car, loaded up with food, clothes and entertainment galore.  Stopped at Lakeside for a bit of shopping on the way, but only came away with a huge bag of pick 'n' mix, a Wombles CD for Sam and a bra for Stacey!   Got to Pontins at teatime, put the cottage pie in the oven and started on the Strongbow.  Rest of the club were next door and they joined us for dinner, with pick 'n' mix for pudding.  Then went in search of more alcohol and music.  There was karaoke on offer in the Queen Vic, but I don't think any of them would last five seconds on Pop Idol - Pete Waterman wouldn't give them the time of day!  

The main room provided better sounds so we settled in and had the best night at a rally this year.  The Jamm were absolutely fantastic (as usual) but my sister (previously a rally virgin) was a bit scared when we went to the front - but a lovely chap from Portsmouth kept the hoards of sweaty, pogoing men at bay.  A young chap called Callum was one of their biggest fans, and knew all the words to all their songs.   After the band had played a couple of encores, Emma Cox took to the decks and played some top tunes, rounding off the evening nicely.  

 We headed back to the chalet for a Taboo session, where the girls trounced the boys.   My sister served up some cheese savouries and we finished off the pick 'n' mix.  Paul, from Stafford, not wanting to feel left out, nipped next door and came back with Mars bars and Snickers galore.  Fantastic!  Then it was time for bed...

Saturday dawned, and we crawled out of bed and off to the custom show.  There weren't many scooters there, but the Talismen put on a good show and walked off with 3 trophies.  Lee Martin won Best Lambretta, Northern Monkey Rich won Best Vespa and 'little' Lee won Best Restored Vespa.  Back to the Queen Vic for a drink or two, but then some bands came on and we couldn't hear each other think so we went to the games room for a couple of games of killer pool.  I nearly won the first game but Steve deservedly took the cash.  Barry won the following game, beating Rich in a nailbiting final.

Saturday night.  Everyone was rather subdued, but we dragged ourselves away from Des Lynam to return to the Lunar Room for Who's Who.   In the meantime, Rich and Jamie were taking on various members of the Talismen in the arcade, but were losing heavily.   When the band came on, they were OK, but not a patch on The Jamm, so I flitted about between the various rooms chatting to all and sundry.  Some people went to bed early, so I had to dance on my own, but Sarah from Area 51 and Paul Hazlewood came to my rescue!

Sunday morning.  Didn't want to get out of bed but badly needed some food.  My wonderful sister cooked a wonderful breakfast for me and Rich, setting off the smoke detector in the process, which Rich had to dismantle to stop it from screeching.  Packed up and drove home, taking an absolute age to get to Chelmsford, thanks to some roadworks.  Should have taken the scooter....