Surrey Custom Show - Warlingham   June 2009

For me this was a rally milestone for the 21st century - my first time in a tent since 1990.  So the scooters were fully laden for the trip and Lee took the sensible decision to take the GTS, with its superior capacity for luggage rather than the chopper.  My P range was also well-equipped to carry plenty of stuff, so we scooted up the A24 and across country to the A23 to Warlingham in deepest Surrey.  We brought Lee's supposed 3 man tent, which was not actually as huge as he'd boasted (hmmmm....) but was perfectly OK for the two of us overnight.   I made a few schoolboy errors, forgetting things like a mallet, torch, a few pillows, a sprung mattress etc. etc.   He got it up eventually, despite the poor surface ruining many tent pegs.  We borrowed a mallet from the A5s which was brilliant, and soon we had a purple palace to sleep in!

Due to a kerfuffle in Kwik Fit (long story but they changed the wrong tyre on our car!) we'd missed the main custom show so there weren't many scoots left by the time we arrived.  Lee was very excited to find some GTS/sidecar combis, something which he is keen to do himself, so spent most of the afternoon talking to various people about the best way to fit them and how fast they can then go.

I spotted Rich's old side panels which are still going strong 20+ years after being pained by Dave White.

We then had a lovely evening, chilling and catching up with people, including Andy and Ann who persuaded me that I should give the GTS a test ride (I still haven't, 3 months later!!) and listening to some great tunes provided by the DJs for the evening.

Special mention to 'Shoe Man'.   Provided plenty of curiosity due to his unusual headgear, a 'hat' made from a trainer.   I've no idea why someone would do this, but it was certainly a talking point for the rest of us, and another photo opportunity for me!!

The night in the tent was awful!  I was freezing cold (despite being fully dressed) and the lumpy ground was really uncomfortable.   We rose at the crack of dawn and packed up, eager to get back to Bognor for a hot bath and some home comforts.  It was a really good do but I must remember to pack a bit more carefully next time...