Warmwell, December 2nd - 4th 2005

This was a welcome addition to the winter schedule as I was already having withdrawal symptoms from not having had a decent boogie since Woolacombe.  With gales and rain forecast we went in the car, and when we got there it seemed most other punters had followed suit, with only a handful of scooters in attendance.   The cabins were luxurious compared to other similar rallies.   Lots of wood, very cosy, and a huge corner bath!   We were at the furthest point from the entertainment venue and I'd made the stupid mistake of not bringing a waterproof coat - but luckily the rain had eased by the time we headed out.   I then realised mistake number two - I'd forgotten the memory card for my camera :-(   Which explains the lack of photos... 

The do wasn't particularly busy to start with but a steady stream of people came through the door all evening.  They were mainly local-ish scooterists, including lots of Modrapheniacs and a large contingent from Pompey.   There was a choice of two rooms.   Rich was DJing in the main room and he played a great mixture of scooter sounds.   Chilli and Garlick were in the Northern Room so I flitted between the two.   The rest of the club arrived at 9pm and we set up camp in the main room ready for the band, the Hi Watts.   They went down well, playing a variety of covers, mainly 60's moddy stuff.   Afterwards, Rich continued on the decks and we all had a good dance, the highlight being a Ramones number that Steve and I waltzed to!   At  2am the lights came on and we had to go home.   It was Cindy's birthday and she seemed to invite the whole world to a party in her cabin, but Lee and I declined.   However, Steve, Jon, Lofty and Rhona all carried on while Lee and I walked back with a group of lads and discussed various star formations in the clear night sky!

I was awoken by my mobile ringing at what seemed like the crack of dawn, but it was 10.45!   I can't remember when I had such a lie-in - and luckily the sun was out and there were blue skies.   Our housemates Lofty and Rhona soon got up too and told us how Jon had split open his head when leaving the party - leaving pools of blood everywhere.   I went to investigate and, sure enough, Jon had a Harry Potter-esque wound on his forehead.     We decided to go into Weymouth to get some steri-strips, and on our way popped to look around the stalls.   I managed to spend loads of money on soul CD's, scooter Christmas cards and presents galore.

In Weymouth we found a pub that was showing the Liverpool game so we settled in and ordered lunch.   Lee's vegetable lasagne looked decidedly meaty and when I went to complain the manager laughed and said it was a mistake and that 'it wouldn't kill him'.   Which made Lee so mad he got a refund and refused to even eat the chips!   Jon was plastered by now, his wound healing nicely, and was enjoying watching the scousers beat Wigan 3-0.   After the game we decided to go and watch Weymouth playing Bognor - it seemed such a coincidence that Bognor were playing there that we couldn't miss it.   The heavens had opened again so I nipped into the town to buy a cheap coat.   I couldn't find anything in New Look or Peacocks but then spotted a charity shop which had a warm jacket for £7 - what a bargain!   Luckily, the Weymouth ground is a slightly better standard than Bognor's Nyewood Lane and all sides were covered, so we didn't get any wetter.   Bognor lost 2-0, but it was a good game and the small group of away fans kept singing throughout, despite the score.     We then headed back into town to watch Man Utd play Pompey on TV.   Lee nipped to the Wimpey as he still hadn't eaten.    Unbelievably, what was supposed to be a spicy bean burger turned out to be a chicken burger, and the Vicky Pollard-type waitress didn't seem to appreciate his despair at ever eating a veggie meal again!

With Pompey losing 3-0 I needed to get stuck into a few ciders so we drove back to Warmwell and dived into the cans waiting in the fridge.  With a bar of chocolate and X Factor on TV I soon cheered up and when the others got back we all piled in Lofty's car for a white-knuckle ride down to the do.   It was much cheaper than Nemesis but equally hair raising!!!   It was a lot busier tonight, with many people probably making the trip to see More Specials' last ever gig.   They didn't disappoint either.  There was a party atmosphere and the crowd enjoyed it as much as the band, with the dancefloor very lively.   I took shelter at one side with Sharon where we had a great boogie, eventually joining the lads onstage for Enjoy Yourself.   I wasn't really drunk enough but I thought it was my last opportunity, so I jumped up and went for it, along with a few others!

After the band finished there was more dancing until the end, at 2am.   As Lofty and Champs had both had early nights it was just me, Lee, Steve and Jon left - so we all went back to our place and had tea and toast, and chatted until bed time at about half three.

It was a great end to the season and hopefully Andy will do it again next year.  It's a nice venue, better than the Pontins/caravan parks of other rallies, and maybe next time we can try out the dry ski slope!