TATTON PARK SHOW - SATURDAY
31st MAY and SUNDAY 1st JUNE 2003
The North West's first organised show event was
bigger and better than I could have imagined. We had a great turnout and the
weather was fantastic. A 15 car pitch had been booked for Saturday only and we
had agreed to meet at the B and Q car park off J9 M62 for 8am that morning. By
8.15 10 MK1's (ReaLM on a trailer) an Audi 80 and a car/caravan (Support
Vehicle!) were heading off toward the M6 and Tatton Park. We picked up Mike
Sheavils and Wayne about a mile out and after loosing, then finding, the trailer
and caravan, arrived at the gate at 9.10
Once our pitch (A11) had been found we soon realised that 15 cars and a
couple of gazebos were going to be a tight squeeze so it was just as well that
we only had 12 cars to contend with. As Mike had done all this before, we
listened to his advice on placing the cars and promptly got on with it. After
about an hour we had our layout complete and I have to say myself, we were all
quite impressed with our first attempt.
It had been decided to put ReaLM under one of the gazebos with some pictures
and a write up about its discovery, this proved to be quite an attraction as the
day wore on with a number of people asking questions about it and then moving on
to admire the rest of the display.
There soon followed an anouncement over the tannoy informing all exhibitors
that there were trophy's to be won for a number of categories and the mention of
an MR2 MK1 best of show plaque created a hive of activity as polish was
re-applied to what for some was probably the 2nd or 3rd time in under 3 days!
A couple of hours later Gary returned from a foraging expedition in amongst
the many stalls to find a little blue note on his windscreen informing him that
he was to be at the main tent at 4pm to pick up his prize. Congratulations Gary,
it was well deserved.
As the day wore on everyone relaxed and soaked up the sun and atmosphere and
all I could see were smiling and contented people, thoroughly enjoying
themselves and taking it easy. (The beer and wine of course may have contributed
to this!)
Not all of those attending had met before but by the end of the day new
friendships had been made and I am sure that most if not all will be doing this
again.
By 6pm it was time to start de-camping as only 8 of us were staying the night
and the pitch was needed by another club for Sunday. So it was that Geoff, John,
Chris, Froggy, Stephen and Wayne left for home leaving Gary, Mark and Sharon,
Sue and Roy, Linda, Mike and myself to move the cars up to the MR2 Drivers club
stand for the Sunday. This also involved moving the Gazebos which were carried
the 4 or 5 hundred yards passed a number of bemused exhibitors to their new
location.
Once completed the BBQ's were set up and dinner prepared, ahh, burnt sausages
and steak washed down with a G and T or four, what more could I ask for?!
Mark and Sharon had brought their caravan which was a godsend as I regularly
raided their fridge for ice and my 7 year old daughter was able to watch 'Stars
in their eyes - Kids', not mention the constant supply of boiling water for tea
and coffee, the later of which was much sought after on Sunday morning!!!
Once the BBQ was over we joined in with the MR2 Drivers club who had started
a campfire and just chilled out for the remainder of the evening.
Sunday morning saw another flourish of activity as it was discovered that
parking under the trees had not been such a good idea as what were once red cars
were now red with white spots, so out came the buckets of water and more polish!
Sunday had been forecast as being considerably busier and they were not
wrong. The good weather had brought the spectators out in their thousands and
there were even more exhibitors too.
The small childrens fairground was busy as were the many stalls selling
everything from the proverbial nuts and bolts to partly finished cars plus
books, toys and food.
All in all a fantastic weekend, a team effort without whom none of it would
have happened, I've said it before, I could not have done this without help and
I would like to personally thank Gary, Sue, Roy, Mark and Sharon for all their
efforts in helping to pull off this great weekend.
Our next event is Billing (26th/27th July) and it would be great to see a few
more new faces make the trip and after that will be Tatton again (16th/17th
August) where we have already booked a 20 car pitch for the full weekend so,
anyone interested in coming along for either the Saturday or Sunday or even the
full weekend should let me know ASAP because nearly half of the tickets have
already been allocated.
Please remember, these are club events, all of you are welcome to attend, the
more who turn up, the bigger the party and the bigger the party, the more fun
can be had.
We have big plans for the future, if you think you cannot attend because you
can't fit a tent and all other equipment into your MR2, don't worry, there are
always support vehicles attending and we are looking to purchase a trailer so
that a day or so before it can be filled with bulky items and taken on down.
Other plans include a hospitality tent, beer on tap(!) and a pig on a spit(!!)
but without your help and support we are limited, so come on, support the North
West and lets show the rest how its done.
A full set of photos can be found at http://communities.msn.co.uk/toyotamr2imagelibrary
RYAN KEVAN
