As I was working late on the Friday night I missed the ‘Return of the Bodysnatchers’ pre-party party.
I also missed the amazing Northern Lights display that just about everyone in the UK is talking about, it’s OK, I’m not jealous, honest.
So I set off reasonably early on the Saturday, M27, M3, A34, then to Abingdon. I of course get lost within half a mile of the venue and finally arrive at about 11.15, it’s not like I’ve never been there before.
Oddballs offshoot
Now before I continue I need to give a bit of a background to this event, it’s organised by Vince Wooloff and could be described as an offshoot of his Oddballs charity rally held in August. It’s a thank you to the volunteers and supporters of the Oddballs Rally and is much more relaxed than a normal rally, as I said a party, but you know if Vince is involved it’ll have a twist!
Mr Whippy
I pitch my new tent (like my old tent, except this one’s red, not blue), next to my buddies and make a beeline for the ice cream van for a Mr Whippy with a flake, if you ever need to find me on a campsite look for the ice cream van, I won’t be far away.
As I bump into old friends the conversation is invariably ‘did you see the Northern Lights last night?’, my answer compresses from ‘no I was working, but I tried to see it after work and failed’ to ‘ugh’, yeah, so I’m the only person that didn’t see them, enough already!
Gallery 1 above
I head back to my tent and have a little rest in the sun, rumours of my snoring are, I’m sure, greatly exaggerated. Having said that the whole day is so relaxing I just chill (complete with snoring) for most of the afternoon, and completely miss the fun and games. It may not be such a bad thing that there’s no photographic evidence as I’ve been reliably informed that at least one person was left a little broken after.
Gallery 2 above
Afternoon moves towards evening and everyone’s having a great time, with many joining in with the inflatables theme, adding to the party atmosphere, of course, the alcohol helps too.
Vince has booked The Inflatables (a ska, reggae and soul band) for the evening. It’s a band that’s close to Vince’s heart as it was the band he booked for the first Oddballs Rally, and it’s a great choice. They have the marquee bouncing, not once but twice, having returned for a second set and playing late into the night.
Northern Soul Lights?
Sitting outside chatting and listening to the band and DJs in the cooling evening air it’s a lovely end to a great day. Though I was hoping to see the Northern Lights, the best I got was the lights shining through the marquee.
Then it’s off to bed before the ride home in the morning.
I have to say it was great to relax and let the day roll over me, it’s sometimes easy to forget that what we do is supposed to be fun, and not always full on. Even the ride home was pleasant, a significant part of the A34 was shut for resurfacing so I ended up taking the country roads through Oxfordshire and Berkshire countryside, buzzing along in the sunshine before picking up the A34 and home.
