Smock and Clogs Rally

27 October 1989 - Mendip Hill Riders MCC

Hello, good evening and welcome to the 4th Smock and Clogs.

We, the Mendip Hill Riders, do not quarantee that:-
The triumph will start first kick; the lady you have persuaded
to come with you , will let you; the world will end in
nuclear war; the Tory's will lose the next election; Skip will
not drop his trousers.

We do, nevertheless, feel fairly certain that:
The field will have some grass.
Good food is available on site and in the pub.
The welcome in the Travellers is the best in the South West, if
not in the world.
Silly games will abound on Saturday afternoon.
Cheap cider is hidden on the site somewhere.
There will be lots of loud music.
Fires will be lit (no personal fires please).
The fault causing my headlight to cut out is electrical.
Skip will drop his trousers.

Rave reviews of previous rallies:-
"I've crashed again": Phil the Spill
"Not many tits": The Sun
"This cider is nice": The man paralytic in corner of marquee;
"Non tantum semper, plume da ma tante": Julius Ceasar
Translation: "If you're not enjoying this you're already dead, the pen of
my Aunt".
J C loses a bit in the translation.

Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow is another day.
It is better to have loved and lost, and a bird
in the bush is worth it, isn't it?

I went to two Smock and Clogs rallies: This is the one where I didn't acquire a girlfriend. That was probably a good thing, as I was in a much smaller 'zit' tent, after my previous one got wrecked at the Gert Bustard a week previously. Partly due to the 'camping season' being over and there were no larger tents in any shops. The tent was allegedly a 'two man' tent, which usually equates to one man and a tank bag and, indeed, I had to leave one of my panniers in the awning.

The wind was still a bit vicious this weekend, as several people, including the organisers, found out later on. I had wondered why the beer (cider) tent was tied to a telegraph pole. Their army surplus tent was a bit on the small size so most of the daytime and early evening activities were centred in the pub, which was a fair trek along the track, but roughly the same distance as last year. The 'loud music' promised was a Ghetto Blaster and the 'Cheap Cider' was in a few barrels that were the only supply on site. We still managed to have a bit of a raucous time on Friday night.

On Saturday, we only ventured out of the pub for the games, until much later on, when the not-so-loud music and small supply of cider was consumed in the usual way.

Some time during Saturday night/Sunday morning, some of us were awoken by a loud 'crack' which was the cider tent falling over, but it had done its job and could be put to one side until next time. My own little tent was a bit flappy at times, but I tied a guy rope to my bike and that seemed to help.

The ride home, as the whole weekend, was dull, seasonally chilly and a touch blowy.

- Phil (the Spill) Drackley