Well, this was a TC first, a two-event weekend. Whilst naughty boys stayed up until 4.00am talking bikes in a field in Dent (how does Simon do it?) others of us were manning a club stand at the Classic Mechanics show at Stafford.
I set off around Midday on Friday with a heavily loaded radio-less van. Furry John had texted to say that he was having trouble with his van hire, but I had no room in mine and had to leave and hope for the best. The drive up was horrible. I was on my own, in a silent van, in heavy slow-moving traffic. It was 4.00 when I pulled into the traders entrance of the showground.
I found I was the first to arrive but the Carmarthenshire army that Mark had brought in his van (along with a very nice Norton 16H) was soon there and we were then joined by Trevor (with SRX). Furry John and Molly arrived with four bikes and we set to erecting a modest but well-formed stand. Pride of place went to John's as-new Manxman, but the stand was large enough to show off all the bikes. Bruce arrived, but didn't manage to get his Norton on the stand due to the late hour. Boyd and Martyn also showed up to lend moral support.
As usual we stayed in the main hall bar until the end of the setting up time and then retired to our big tent to cook bacon sandwiches and drink some beer.
Saturday started busy and carried on that way. Almost immediately it become obvious that the Manxman was a big draw, you could only rarely see it behind a scrum of curious showgoers. Boyd joined us again and all the TCers helped man the stand. Bruce still couldn't get his bike on the stand because H&S concerns meant that motorycles couldn't possibly be pushed around whilst people were in the building
We eventually got it on the stand
after the show, so at it least it was there for the Sunday. Whilst waiting to help Bruce get the bike in I spotted Class Bike writer Rick Parkington and collared him for a chat about how much I admire his work and how it has brought me back to reading CB after a long break. He seemed a bit shocked and shy which made me laugh because I can't be the only one who thinks he's a good bike journalist.
Sunday was another busy day and we had some good news when the Manxman got a 'highly commended' award slapped on it. Lots of TCers showed their faces over the two days and it was good catch up with them. Later in the afternoon came a text from one of the Dent party, Simon, saying that he had killed his DR's engine and was waiting for recovery near Walsall. That took some of the shine off our mood.
We knocked down the stand in record time and I was very grateful for all the help that people gave to get the van loaded. I then endured another radio-less solo drive back to South Wales and got home at 8.45pm... shattered but happy.
One interesting thing was the number of other clubs who asked how we were and said they'd missed having us around. The 'sheds' and 'Singles night' stands seem to have stuck in the memory of many showgoers and exhibitors. We had a lot of nice things said about our efforts at the show. Hats off to our ex-showstand maker, Boyd Brooks.
GC
Mark - was your mate ok in the end?
