Knights Rally
10th September 1982 - Knightriders MCC
I will always have a soft spot for this set of rallies, (and that doesn't mean the mud puddle just inside the entrance), as this was my first rally, (their second), back in 1979.
- Phil the Spill
Down in deepest, darkest Surrey, off the main road between East Grinstead, (are there any other Grinsteads?), and Blindley Heath, not far from the field that the other rally had been in.
The weather was typically September on the Friday. It wasn't hot, wasn't cold, wasn't windy and, most importantly, wasn't wet. The journey, entirely within the borders of Surrey, was uneventful.
The evening was spent in the marquee, meeting old friends and listening to the music. I am not an expert, but there may also have been some beer consumed. Just in case there hadn't been, we popped into town the next day and spent an hour or two in a pub, before returning to the site for the silly games.
The sun had, by now, well and truly come out and it was a really nice day. I allowed the rest of my club to talk me into joining in with them, so I pulled a big bit of string and did some three legged walking, but did not do well enough to win any trophies. The Tug-of-war had far heavier people in it than us, and the three legged race had far lighter people. I'm not sure if there was a game involving this, but the Chapel MCC decided to see how many of their club could climb on a combo before it refused to move. I'm not sure if the machine made it home under its own power on Sunday.
Afternoon turned into evening, as they have a habit of doing, so we generally drifted into the marquee. Somebody had brought a small yappy dog with them who seemed to take a liking to my ankles, but that was eventually taken away.
As time wore on, some clothing seemed to come off and some -erm- exotic dancing occurred on tables in the middle of the marquee. Again, I am not sure if this was a contest, or just exuberance but, whichever it was, my camera ran out of film, just after one of the tables collapsed, causing a surprising weightlessness to one young lady. It almost got pornographic at one point, but the young lad had consumed too much beer to be of any danger.
The weather remained good to us and the ride home on Sunday was as pleasant as the ride down had been.
At the time I was still in the Mitsui Diehards as it still existed. This weekend I met a group of people that were going to go on to form the next club I joined, Telstar BC, a year or so later.
- Phil (the Spill) Drackley
I was a member of the Knightriders and at the rally. I was a member for a good few years and did a lot of rallies with the club and miss a lot of good mates.
Wish they were still going.
- Colin Stannard