This years May show was dominated (again) by the weather. This year we were in that most feared type of meteorological phenomena, the “Wet Drought”.
The usual suspects attended with Chris and Francis taking time off from their holiday season to join us. Steve helped with tent erecting and we all watch as Tina takes an eternity to put hers up….. with help! It was a good crowd and everyone got on well. On Friday night we found ourselves on an unusually large plot on the perimeter of the showground, with everything within easy reach, but off the beaten track. Friday night saw the wet drought hit us with a deluge that was so loud it kept many of us awake. John Holt turned up on Saturday morning. Usually on Saturday we try to make the stand look presentable but we had a different strategy this year. It was just as well that we did because during the afternoon the wind took its toll on the tents and the showers from the previous night had flooded sections of our paddy field err, I mean plot. We used vans to protect the tents from further buffeting. Other plots were submerged, we were the lucky ones, it is a definition of luck that is not in the Oxford English Dictionary. Some clubs were in conditions more suited to exhibitions of a nautical category. In the afternoon we went to the main arena to see the freestyle motorcycle display team (nutters) do impossible jumps without any safety provisions. These guys rode up a vertical ramp and landed on the roof of a huge lorry about forty feet in front of us. Next came the Flat Track racers, these were fun and of a mixed ability. They wrestled their bikes around the stadium as they filled the air with dust and Castrol R. Some people started sneezing at this point- well one did! We went back to camp to cook our dinner and watch the rain and John incinerated his sausages so much so that even a starving dog was put off! We did our usual mixture of meeting people making friends and promoting our show but it must be said that many exhibitors hid from the persistent precipitation in their marquees. We have had many offers of assistance for our show from various individuals.

On Sunday I was awoken by (part time Santa) Rex on his diesel Matchless (loud enough to wake the dead). I saw him arrive and saw him no more! The team were making the stand presentable so I took a BMW test bike (F800S) out for a merciless thrashing (in the wet) and got the “Hairy Bikers” to autograph their cook book for Jane's' impending birthday. I had a broad choice of machines to choose from, I opted for the F800S because it was light and sure footed (I was still recovering from the night before) The bike was nimble and agile and a super little thing that inspired confidence. With 86 horsepower I was unlikely to get into trouble but its real charm was the weight distribution and power delivery and I quite like belt drives. It didn’t slide once and it was tested! On the test, which was about 35 minutes long, the rain didn’t let up for one minute going through about four villages. In-between we encountered rearing horses and two bicycle races. The petite fairing worked well. The 21st birthday theme was a super idea (thanks Lord Steve) and everyone brought something to add to the display, Elisa brought an excellent cake with RDMCC 21st on it and it tasted as good as it looked, Phil and Nick turned up in time to get a good soaking and support the club. Our display included about eight ‘bikes several boards, balloons wrapped presents, other party pieces and banners. The boards looked good (Lord Steve and Sara) but they took a beating from the wind. Now it must be said that by this time (early afternoon) most of us were fed up with being damp so we quickly packed up and rode off into the drizzle that was rapidly becoming a downpour. Don't get me wrong, we had a good crowd, good food and drink but the wet drought conditions simply wore us out, we went home to dry out our gear. There were 74,000 people at the event, which is down on the previous two years, as for our stand position in the local clubs displays, I am informed that the results are still at the East of England Showground in a lorry!
Regards To all
Ian

Pictures supplied by Ian which is why he is in most of them