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Hearty Happenings
Issue 7
Chairman’s Note
Having recently returned from our Easter Rally at Rutland Water, I am reminded that we are now part way into our third Heart of England season. Whilst the season got off to a rather later start than usual, owing to the cancellation of the Valentine rally, we started off with a very enjoyable weekend at Seagrave Village Hall and then moved south to Rutland Water for Easter. We have a great programme ahead of us this year, and after Seagrave, I thought that we just might have thrown off the weather curse that dogged us on so many of our previous rallies. Alas it was not to be the case and Rutland Water saw the return of the rain, although the sun did come out for us to pack the awnings away. We are looking forward to a couple of rallies by the Grand Union canal during May, at Foxton at the start of the month and then at Blue Lias for the Spring Bank Holiday. I am particularly grateful to those of you who are planning and marshalling rallies for us this year. I am also pleased to report that the nearly all of our 2010 rallies are already booked and confirmed. We are making a return visit to some of our favourite sites next year as well as trying some more new ones in the Heart of England, More details can be found on the web site where the provisional programme is available. The web site address can be found at www.heartofenglandccclub.org.uk
Please remember to keep an eye on the club web site as we will publish all the latest news and updates there.
May I just take this opportunity to remind you of a couple of the requirements of our exemption certificate. The first is that everyone on a rally can be identified as members of Heart of England. To this end, it is essential that you display your membership disc in the front of your caravan (or your car if you are camping). Marshals have been asked to check these so that we do not put our exemption certificate at risk. Please help your marshals with this simple requirement.
I have been asked about the Club’s position on the use of generators. Our position is set out in the club code of conduct. Basically we have no objection to the use of quiet generators during the day so long as they are not causing any inconvenience to other members. Please make sure they are placed as far away from other units as possible and that they are switched off at 6 p.m.
I am delighted to report that our membership numbers have grown slightly this year. Whilst we are not looking to make Heart of England a big club, it is nice to see that the vast majority of our members rally a number of times a year, with the real stalwarts attending 10 or more rallies last year.
We are planning a Christmas dinner this year on the evening of Saturday 5th December. We are in final negotiations with two hotels and you can find more details in this edition of Hearty Happenings.
Margaret and I are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at a rally before too long.
Steve
Bournemouth - A Rally without Caravans
by Margaret Williams
So it was a bit cold and a bit wet and the German Market was terrible but we had a great time.
The venue for this rally was The New Westcliffe Hotel, funnily enough on the West Cliff! There was a small swimming pool and sauna which some made use of. Sue and Merv could just about fall out of bed and be in the pool – did they?
We were a party of 17, the odd one being Rita. Not that Rita is odd but that accounts for the odd number! Brian and Sylvia joined us for their first outing with the club.
On Friday evening we congregated in the bar before going in to dinner. There was plenty to chat about as everybody discussed their journey and whether their room was alright. Mostly they were. We had a very enjoyable dinner, the best bit being no washing up. Afterwards we adjourned to the cabaret room where we were entertained by a singer and a bar was available for drinks.
Saturday saw most people out exploring the town and walking the pier. The pier restaurant has had a major makeover and is very nice indeed. In the afternoon, with Rita and Merv learning the rudiments of bowls from Ken and Margaret and Steve having a nap, Sue and I decided to walk to town. Having never stayed at this hotel before we were unsure of the way and I think we went the scenic route into town! However with mission accomplished (we wanted Christmas hats for Sunday night) we found an easier route back.
Saturday night was our dressing-up night with most of the men in dinner suits and the ladies suitable attired too! Everybody looked very nice and very different to how they appear on the rally field! After a lovely dinner we were once again entertained, this time by a comedian who sang a bit! I think he was very taken with Joan! We did sing and dance a bit which was fun.
Sunday saw us heading to Gareth and Amanda’s in Poole and most people went out and about. With Woolworth’s being close to closedown there was some bargains to be had. We found Sue, Merv and Rita in Poole and escorted them back.
In the evening, after another very nice meal, we made our own entertainment. We played “Who Am I” with the winning team of Rita, Joan, Ken C, and me. We also had a “What’s been in the news” quiz with a lolly stick with a number on being given if the question was answered correctly. Eventually, everybody had a prize allocated and these were dished out. I think everybody enjoyed that!!!
Soon it was Monday morning and time for going home. A great weekend and I am sure one that will be repeated.
Seagrave Village Hall Annual Members Meeting and Rally
By Sue Stephenson
Seagrave Village Hall was the venue for our 2nd AMM. 13 units turned up for the weekend amidst lovely sunshine which lasted until Sunday.
The boiler was on in the hall from 4.00pm for anyone wishing to sit and chat. Friday evening saw us all in the hall catching up with friends we hadn’t seen for a few months. There were some caption competitions up for everyone to air their brains on.
Some of us even had bacon baps before retiring for the night, courtesy of Steve’s party grill but one of us had retired, a little worse from the drink, before he could enjoy his. We will mention no names.
Saturday saw the sun shining again and we spent most of the morning sitting outside, as it was warmer than sitting in the hall, providing you could avoid the breeze that was blowing. Some of the more energetic members amongst us walked to the next village for supplies.
Saturday afternoon saw afternoon tea being served before the AMM took place. Thanks to Margaret and Steve for taking on this task and it was very nice. We also saw visitors arrive for the AMM which made 30 members present for the meeting. The meeting went well and was completed in 30 minutes. Time for more chat, tea and cake.
Saturday evening saw us all returning to the hall for an American Supper. There was a wide variety of food and most of it was consumed during the evening. This was followed by an intro music quiz. I think there was a little of something to suit all tastes as well as some unusual ones. Graham, Sheila, Brian & Sylvia won this by 3 points.
Sunday saw us back in the hall for the usual tea, coffee, cakes & biscuits followed by flag. A warm welcome to first time ralliers goes to Keith & Ann and also to Brian & Sylvia who joined us at Bournemouth, but on their first time out with their caravan. It was lovely to see Ken who paid us a surprise visit for coffee.
The competition in the envelopes was won by Anne & Keith, and the Captions around the hall were won by Margaret. After the usual raffle Sue & Merv gave all the ladies a small gift of a potted primula for Mothers Day. Ken was given a plant to take to Judith in hospital. We wish her well and hope to see her out and about before too long.
A Nearly Happening - Valentine Rally
By Margaret Williams
On 8th January I was probably the only person in England making Christmas puddings (3). Having promised those attending that there would be a good selection I set to and made Syrup Sponges (3), Oxford puddings (3), Spotted Dick (4 ), Crumble mix plus apple and blackberry cooked(3lbs flour), Preserved Ginger pudding(2) and plans to do bread and butter pudding plus sticky toffee pudding on the day. Joan was also making Apple Dumplings. I also cooked sausages and vegetables for the savoury part of the meal. The steaming time for these puddings was 23 hours. My two freezers in the garage were bursting at the seams.
As the weather worsened, and maybe because of it, one of the freezers stopped working the week before the rally. Unfortunately we didn’t discover it until everything had defrosted and the puds were spoiled. I couldn’t make any more ‘cos there was nowhere to freeze them. So plan B came into play and off to the shops for more ingredients with an idea that Wednesday and Thursday before the rally would be “Pudding Days”! It wasn’t too bad as not all the puds were in one freezer.
Steve checked with Diamond Farm on Tuesday when he was told that they had snow but all was OK. He got the call on Wednesday to say that the site was flooded and they had to cancel the rally.
On a scale of 1 to 10 as to how disappointed we were at the cancellation, I think we were at 25. We are so sorry that we had to disappoint those of you that were booked on this rally. We will keep the CD we made of “your” songs for another day. Maybe I will make steamed puddings another time, maybe when hell freezes!!!!
Anybody who has not had their deposit returned to them please see Steve at the next rally.
A footnote to this is that Steve and I enjoyed a wonderful cruise in the Caribbean the week after and on our return noticed our security light at the side wasn’t working. The light had blown causing the switch to trip and turn off the electricity to – you guessed it – the freezer in the garage. There was only the top few items defrosted – the sausages, crumble mix and some puddings!!!!!
Christmas Dinner - 5th to 6th December 2009
I know it is a little early to be thinking about Christmas when you haven’t finished paying for the last one but plans have to be made.
We are proposing to have a meal, and hopefully entertainment, at a hotel somewhere central with the option of staying overnight if you wish.
We are awaiting details from two hotels one being in Crick and the other in Daventry. The cost is expected to be about £30 for the meal and about £60 per room and breakfast.
Is this something you would be interested in? Would you please let Steve or Margaret know if you are interested so we know if this is worth persuing. We are not looking for any commitment at this stage.
Both our previous dinners at The Holiday Inn, Crick and The New Westcliffe Hotel, Bournemouth were well supported and enjoyable.
Hearty Congratulations
Two weddings in one weekend!
Gareth and Amanda are getting married on 5th June
Kerry and Ashley are getting married on 6th June.
We send love and Best Wishes for a long and happy life together. We also hope the sun shines and that you have a wonderful Wedding Day surrounded by those that love you. Be Happy.
We will, hopefully, have some photographs of the happy couples in the next edition.
Easter Rally - Rutland Water
By Margaret Williams
With the promise from the weatherman that we were to be in the better weather part of UK we arrived early evening on Thursday to try and eke as much caravanning time out of the weekend as possible. After a welcome cup of coffee and a warm welcome from Sue and Merv we set up then joined them, with other early birds, in their awning for a catch-up and natter.
During the night we awoke to the familiar sound of rain beating on the roof!! This set the pattern for the rest of the weekend, except it also rained continuously through the day too.
It did stop long enough for breakfast bacon butties on the barbeque on Friday morning. After breakfast we headed off to Rushden and White Arches to change the pump on our new caravan (it had worked the previous weekend).
Friday night and we were back with the marshals to meet old friends and welcome quite a few new members with their families. After some time spent in convivial conversation it was time for bed and more rain!!
Saturday some spent time painting eggs with Joan giving a master class to Sue and Linda which proved very successful as the results were egg-cellent. The children’s efforts were also very good. Last year Ken declared he was bringing his own paints as mine were rubbish, but I didn’t see any entry from him.
.Easter Sunday and some went out and about. We went to Burleigh House and after a very nice snack lunch had a lovely walk around the gardens and it was DRY. It was very busy as they had an Easter Egg Hunt for the children. About half a mile back to the site we had rain again, and found that it had not stopped while we had been out. Merv and I got soaked putting out the stakes and eggs for our own Hunt. It took us three times as long putting them out as it took the children to actually do the hunt. Such is life. In the evening 16 of us went for a meal to The Wheatsheaf in Edith Weston and had a very nice meal and evening.
On Monday we had coffee morning and paraded the Easter Bonnets. Margaret Cantle won with a bunny-topped creation which was delightful. Joan was given a gift for her egg which had a church painted on it. As it was difficult to judge the children’s eggs they were all given an Easter egg as a prize.
It was lovely to see Judith and Ken, who called in on Easter Sunday. Wally, Meg and Jordan joined us for coffee on Monday and it was good to see them too.
Quite a few left after coffee but on our return home had several texts from Barry with photos of a hot air balloon being launched from where all the caravans had been a few hours before. What was more surprising is that the sky was blue with lovely puffy clouds
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