It’s Friday, it’s five to five, and it’s Crackerjack! No wait, it’s not; it IS Friday, it’s NOT five to five, but I am about to head off to a crackerjack of a rally.
I’m off to the Big 7 rally, held at The South of England Showground (since the loss of The Hop Farm in Kent), at Ardingly in West Sussex. It’s a great venue, working well in sun or rain. Anyway, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself…
Scorchio!
I’ve got a 10 o’clock meet for the club ride up to the rally; with ‘Spoons breakfasts eaten, we set off for a leisurely ride out into the West Sussex countryside. We’re taking mainly backroads up; the weather is glorious and riding up through the West Sussex countryside is fantastic. The South Downs is definitely one to be done in the summer sunshine.
Arriving at Ardingly, we set up camp ready for the weekend ahead, and shenanigans galore. The weather is set to be brilliant all weekend, with temperatures rising to 27 degrees, Scorchio!
Monumental
Friday’s spent catching up with old mates, drinking, eating (there’s a good selection of food stands), and more drinking.
The weather is becoming so hot that I give in and buy shorts from one of the stalls; honestly, my legs haven’t been displayed in public for at least four years!
There’s a good lineup of bands for the weekend, kicking off the Friday evening is Monumental, a young indie band from Essex, they kick out some great sounds.
All aboard
More alcohol, and food, then it’s time for Northern Soul Train, there’s no need to tell you what their musical style is! They’re great, and they create an amazing vibe as the sun goes down.
More food, and it’s tent time; ready to do it all over again on the Saturday.
Saturday
I stick my head out of the tent, and see… no sun, only clouds. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still early and already warm, but this is not what the weather forecast predicted.
As the day goes by, the sun finally wins over the clouds, and I stop regretting buying shorts.
When you order a last-minute Elvis suit off Temu…
Elvis is in the building
The food court beckons, and with it the smooth tones of Elvis- not the bloke down the chip shop that thinks he’s Elvis, but a rather good Elvis Presley tribute act- he fills a very entertaining half an hour or so.
The evening runs away with itself, possibly due to the amount of vodka. The bands, The Hornets, Absolute Stone Roses and The Specials Ltd all put on great sets.
The Hornets
Of all the live bands, The Hornets, really impressed me, they’re a young band, from West London and are definitely one to watch out for.
Now I’m sure the other bands were equally as good, but by the time they’d come on stage the vodka had settled comfortably into my bloodstream and I was a little worse for wear. Somehow I managed to stay upright, well, more seated than upright, and spend the remainder of the night in the soul room.
Having left the do, all I have to do is find my tent, that’s where I find some of my riding buddies still up, so I spend another hour or so putting the world to rights. We managed to solve world hunger, poverty and the roadworks on the M6, if only I could remember how!
And then morning arrives with a bump; all that is left is to pack up the tent and head off home after a great, no, better than that, a crackerjack of a rally.
Words and photos: Booga
