BRIDLINGTON 2003  PHOTOS 2 pages

I'M WET AND AM I COLD

After weeks of yes were coming, no were not, yes we are, no were not, we finally picked Sue up at Derby train station, then set off to Eastwood to collect Joy (those roads in Nottinghamshire are very bleak). All passengers collected, we set off for Bridlington via Goole to meet up with Nigel & Janice only to run into a long traffic queue at the junction off the M18 & M62. So after a quick detour we were sat in Nigels front room supping tea whilst they finished getting ready. Nigel showed me the remains of his two scooters that had been nicked the previous week from his garage, the vespa being a complete write off, but at least the GP was repairable. It sickens me that some scumbags had gone to all the trouble and risk to nick these scooters only to set about about them with a sledge hammer then dump them in a field. 'WHY'.

    Anyway we were soon back on the road, arriving in Brid about 1:30pm and after dropping the gruesome twosome off at their digs, myself and Dawn went looking for ours only to find it just round the corner opposite the church. We booked in and were shown to our room. How posh was it, it even had a mini bar in there which Dawn and myself made priority untill we saw the mini bar tariff. HOW MUCH!!! We decided to just have a bottle of lager each as it was the cheapest.

    By now we had got a taste for alcohol so after a quick call to Nigel & Janice, we walked the small distance to the Greyhound. The pub was already quite busy with scooterists but we managed to find a table and sat down with the Nuneaton Pacemakers and were soon joined by Rick from Modropheniacs (this guy must do thousands of miles each year on his scooter) Hammy from the pacemakers was already unstable on his feet and infact he seemed to be in that state all week-end.

    From the Greyhound we ventured down the road for a swift en in the New Mill and after a quick food stop across the road at McD's we went into the Stirling Castle only to find that Mick, Dunny, Jimmy, Taxi, Snow White and Vespa were already in there and had even saved us all room around the table, which was a good job as it was quite busy in there with amongst others were the Mansfield Monsters and the Lincoln scooter club. Andy H and Pitchie were also supposed to make an appearence but Andy was put off by the rain and stopped in his hotel so Pitchie appeared without him,whilst Tony '1 shirt' had also stopped in the hotel to use the bar facilities.

    Now i know it was cold outside but the 4 blokes who were all cuddled together in one t-shirt doing the Madness walk was taking it a bit too far.

    Thirst quenched, we decided it was time to eat so we went back up Flamborough Road to a favourite restaurant of Dawn and myself called Poppys where you can have a carvery and have as much as you want (within reason Mick). Word must of got round cos half way through our meal in walked Jimmy Jazz and Taxi, in fact to see jimmy balance so many roast potatoes on one plate had to be seen to be believed.

    Before long Dawn and myself had been back to the hotel having bumped into some more Brewers that had arrived, and found ourselves back in the Greyhound having a swift pint or two before crossing the road to the Leisure Centre for the nights festivities, armed with our nights supply of lucozade specials. There was already a queue outside but as i was working for V.F.M* on saturday night we went straight in and settled by the dance floor  and were soon joined by Mick and co. The dance floor was quite busy as Wigan Tim and Daz span the cds untill it was time for the band to come on. Now if you can remember back to Brewers Droop when the fire alarms went off, well i wish we had got this band on stage when the alarms went off, cos ive never seen a dance floor empty so quickly as the Sonnet went through their play list. The best way to sum them up was they were like a cross between The smiths and oasis, meaning their guitar based music was quite good put very slow and depressing, infact if your having trouble sleeping one night, put on one of their cds and you'll be asleep in minutes. This was not the type of music to play in a scooter rally do and as if to prove it, as soon as the band went off stage the dance floor was packed again dancing to the first cd played.

    Myself and Dawn had a wander around the room and stumpled upon fellow Brewers, Steve & Ang, Roger & Steph, Dean C, Brew and Mark

    Before we knew it, it was kicking out time, so we crawled down the road to the pizza & kebab shop to get our supper, then said our goodbyes and set of in the general direction of our hotel to call it a night.

    Saturday Morning found us struggling to get up in time for breakfast but we made it, just. So whilst chatting to all the other brewers and catching up on the gossip, myself and Dawn ate our brekkie, which i found reason to complain about. I mean how can it be a brekkie with no sausages. Shocking. Anyway we had arranged to meet N & J in town so we wandered into town to find them. We also bumped into Nigel and Co from Lincoln and were forcibly taken into the New Mill pub, kicking and screaming all the way. We were soon joined by Sue & Joy as well as Dave Gould and his misses Kerry and their mates.

    At 12:30, myself and Lincoln Nigel left for the BRSA meeting at the Spa. As we were going to the meeting we were spared having to pay £4 to get in. £4 is a bit steep but well, at least i didnt have to pay it, and Jimmy said he would have gladly paid £100 to get in. Must have more money then sense, just shows that taxi driving DOES pay well. Just as the meeting was about to start i was joined by our club chairman Ian, who as usual had cut it fine and had only just arrived in Brid. The national runs for next year were sorted and will soon be published, but i can tell you this much, there are some different destinations next year and at least there's NO YARMOUTH.

    After the meeting, myself and Ian had a wander around the custom show and i was really pleased to see some fresh displays. It can be quite boring looking at the same old scoots time after time. We then went our seperate ways as Ian shot of to find our hotel and i wandered over the road to the Blues do. I said my hellos to the usual suspects but was dumb founded to see Dean & Ann sat in there, they weren't supposed to be coming, but were a more than welcome addition to the ii clan. Infact i was later informed that they had seen me in the custom show and walked over, only for me to turn around and walk away. What can i say, twas very rude of me but i honestly didn't see them. I believe a few other ii appeared on saturday too but as they had only come for the day, they had gone before i had chance to see them. I was also pleased to see so many Wreckless Souls there as well as they have been sadly missing for most of the rallies this year.

    Dawn turned up with Jan shortly after, accompanied by Keith from Worcester Lambretta Club. The girls had got Keith dressed up in a bra stuffed with lettuces and a pair of shocking leg warmers. Still he seemed to be enjoying himself, bless him.

    After a stop on the way back to the hotel for something to eat, we were soon braving the pouring rain and high winds as we walked down to N & J  digs which were near the Spa. What is it with Bridlington and high winds and pouring rain. Do we ever get any other type of weather on a sat night? I said my see ya laters as i went over the road to check in for my nights duty. And there i suppose my fun & frolics ended. I was placed up on the balcony area so got a good view of DC Fontana, who i personally thought were excellant, and i could also see  Dawn, N & J, all the ii, as well as all the Brewers dancing away and having a fun time, still we had some fun at the end chucking all you drunken scooterists out into the cold at the end of the night.

    4:30am i finally got to bed,or was it technically 3:30am, whatever (end of BST) how rude was that, and before we knew it, it was time to get up, get fed, say our goodbyes, pick up the gruesome twosome and leave. Thank god for that extra hour we had in bed. Anyway it was a great weekend, spent with great people and we really must do it all again some time. Roll on Hemsby and Cala Gran. See you all there.

  SAFE SCOOTERING

ANDY(BBSC)  ii