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It
really was a grim start to the day. The site looked great, Tim and Dennis from
the pub had done a great job. The grass was cut, the bar was clean and stocked
and the smell of fresh paint still hung in the air. But with heavy rain still
coming down and no sign of let-up, it really did look like an impossible task.
The field was soaking wet and even after the marquee was up, the floor was
still more like a small river! The pallet and ply stage, although not pretty,
did help to keep everything out of the water.
Needing to get back to The Stag to meet the other members to head for Reading for the start of the ride, I left John
Bell
tasked with turning
our early efforts into a working venue. After a damp trip to the rugby club we
were met by Mel who provided hot drinks and biscuits to fortify and refresh us.
Fortunately, by the time we were ready to set out from
Reading
the rain had actually stopped. It was
a poor turn out, due almost entirely to the weather, but 13 bikes and 18 brave
souls set out for a ride around the "3 Counties".
Mercifully, the rain held off and we enjoyed a 60 mile, two and half hour ride
to The Black Horse. Special mention must be made to Ryon, Katrin, Mark and
"tail-gunner" Chris, who between them provided excellent marshalling.
This ensured safe and pretty well continuous progress for the group.
Back at the pub and the bar was open, Pete and Elaine were serving up fine food
and John had worked his magic! I had left him with my Turbosound rig and a box
full of cables. He had put together a complete system, adding his racks, desk,
cabling, mics, monitors... Shortly after our arrival, Not Ded Yet were
in full flow. The party had started!
We were kept well entertained by the Not Deds for a good hour and a half. With
some new songs in the set they sounded better than ever. I wasn't actually in
the marquee but could clearly hear the band while I was putting up tents,
lighting fires and generally running round a soggy field checking everything
was in place for the coming evening. (I even managed to sink a couple of quick
beers too!)
A short break and Release the Peach were on stage. New friends of
Wycombe MAG and very welcome, they performed a great set of their own songs in
fine prog rock style. A couple more beers and I was sure I was 20 again! We
look forward to hearing them again at Chinnor.
The drink flowed, the burgers fried, the barrels of fire provided welcome
drying out of wet socks and boots. More folks arrived and Andy Da Rosa & Electric Mojo were next up. A great development from his solo sound, a fine
back line with Andy playing electric lead they kept us rocking as the evening
became night and still the rain held off.
Last but by no means least, Handle With Care took to the stage. Old
friends of Wycombe MAG and old hands at Chinnor, Jess and the boys had us on
our feet and dancing right up to the final encore. It seems the neighbours
didn't appreciate the entertainment as much as we did. There had been a few
irate few phone calls and even one guy who visited the site, who was quite
reasonable about the whole situation once he realised it was a charity event.
Apparently no-one had read the notices in the local papers but we decided it
was better to keep the peace and good relations for future events. The music
stopped at 11:30 but the bar stayed open and Tim kept the drinks flowing for
another hour.
With a fine drizzle just hinting at the deluge that would come later into the
night, gear was packed away, final drinks were drunk and we all headed for dry
tents, warm sleeping bags and some well earned sleep.
The next morning was possibly wetter than the one before. A few folks woke to
find their tents were not entirely waterproof. But hot coffees and bacon rolls
from Pete and spirits refused to be dampened. After a final tidy up of the site
we all headed home to dry out wet gear, ready for next time!
Huge thanks to Tim and Annie for hosting the party, John for being an absolute
PA meister, Pete and Elaine for top quality grub, all the bands for top
entertainment, Carl from the Air Ambulance for all his support and
encouragement and Wycombe MAG for all their help in organising it.
So, lots of folk didn't turn up, I say they missed out! I'm not apologising for
the weather any more... The whole day was technically competent, logistically
accurate and had masses of good-time-had-by-all factor (we even did a little
better than break-even). It all adds together to declare 3 Counties Ride 2008 a rip-roaring success!
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