We had low expectations after the debacle that some of the small shows have been, and how bad the fields have been, but as Del Boy would say "He who dares Rodders, he who dares."
I finished a school trip, packed the van, failed to shop properly because Tesco had broken chillers and no meat, and got lost in Sainsbury's. Eventually Jack and I were on our way in Brian, for pastures new.
The signage was good and we found the show easily, the staff were welcoming and told us exactly where to go for Vintage camping. We'd chosen vintage camping because we thought it would be quiet and because we had been spoilt by Aircooled'15, and a view of splits and bays (and the odd aircooled T25, but we didn't look too hard in that direction!). We pulled up next to a lovely blue split, popped the roof, put up the awning (finished on Thursday night by yours truly) and cracked a can open. Life was good.
There were a few downsides. The tinned curry from Tesco wasn't that great and my long held hatred of parents who won't keep their child with a ball near their own van was fuelled by a child with a rugby ball and other sundry small humans insistent on reenacting the X-factor in front of our van, but we held firm and had tea.
The headline act was Noasis, and they were ok, (although I was unaware that Oasis were from South London) the vibe around the main arena was good and the security and litter pickers were like a team of hi-vis wearing ninjas, successfully keeping an eye on the world and clearing it up at the same time. We bimbled about for a bit, but the aftermath of a school trip with 60 children got to me and we went off to bed!
Saturday bloomed bright and fair. Very bright, considering the massive thunderstorms we'd had over night, with rain drumming just above our heads. Jack slept through, and I relished the 'being inside in the rain' feeling that the van gives me. The awning held up beautifully and proved it's waterproofness by filling up! The whole campsite echoed to the sound of splashing as happy campers dumped their collected water over the absorbing ground.
We ended up moving the van to the side of the field, under a lime tree, (checked carefully for stickiness) as the X-factor re-runs were driving us both to the edge of reason, and settled down to some serious polishing. Every bus on Vintage Camping is automatically entered into Show and Shine, but lots weren't bothering, even though there were some stunning splits on the ground, both with and without event shelters stretched over them.
We polished, we wandered about, we listened to local bands, we chilled, we had a couple of ciders, we polished some more and continued our never ending discussion of how to clean behind the vents. (Answers in the comments please!) We had a very relaxed day, and the whole place just felt very chilled. It was lovely.
The evening wore on and we made up the curtains and the bed before we went out, refusing to make the rookie mistake we have made so many times before, of stumbling back from an evening out to find we have to prep for bed in the dark. We popped the curtains in, rocked the bed and we were ready.
It was a good job that we did.
We did indeed stumble back, not drunk, but exhausted!
Underline the Sky were on when we got to the main arena, and they were ok. Local, slightly random, very loud, and not who we'd come to see, but enjoyable whilst we waited.
Olas Boss dj'd some random reggae that got us in the mood, and then there they were...... Skabretta!
90mins of amazing ska later, including classics such as "Rudy, a message to you", "Everything I own," "Monkey Man" and "Baggy Trousers", and Jack and I were staggering out on legs that hadn't danced so much so hard for a very long time. We were wringing with sweat, desperate for a drink, and very, very happy! The whole place was jumping.
(On a side note, as we wandered back, we smelt the strong aroma of weed - and saw the eagle eyed security chap on the prowl. The site was very hot on drugs and what it referred to as "banned so-called legal highs" and the atmosphere was the better for it.)
We sat outside for a while, having a ginger beer and relaxing in the cool night air whilst some more Olas Boss reggae drifted across the site. Loved it. Eventually the call of the memory foam was too much, and off to bed we went.
Sunday was Show and Shine day, and it was alternately sunny and cloudy. We polished and preened the van, and realised no one was coming anywhere near it. We were camped in the bottom corner of the field and no-one around us was doing Show and Shine. One of the categories was Visitors Choice, and we weren't getting any visitors! However, a quick chat to the steward and he had us moved up to the main row, which was lovely, heaving with people, and we chatted about the van for a good hour until the heavens opened and it felt like Poseidon had moved in. Jack and I sat in the van and looked at the beautiful vans that surrounded us. There was a large amount of splits, probably the largest that we'd seen proportionally, and we agreed that that would be the hardest fought category. We chose our winners, made a cup of tea, and watched the world go by until there was a knock on the window. The judges had arrived.
Traditionally, this is the point where one casually opens the van, they look inside and make approving noises, and one spends the next hour trying to work out what the noises meant. Jack leant forward to undo the slider and nothing happened. I unlocked it from the outside. Nothing happened. It still wouldn't open. The judges grinned and said they'd be back. We despaired, swore slightly under our breath and worked it out. If you lock the door from the inside accidentally, it can't be undone from the outside. Hurrah, we were opened, and the judges came back and looked and made approving noises and we dutifully wondered what they meant. In the end we gave up wondering and went to get some very greasy donuts, listen to some more local music, and see a Stormtrooper serve burgers.
But the approving noises were on our mind. What they meant, was this.
Yes, dear reader, Brian was recognised as the beautiful bus that he is. Jack was as proud as could be, and even the sun came out for the winners parade!
We were also right about the winning split, a stunning crew cab Californian import.
After winners parade we headed for home. We were tired, slightly arthritic from too much dancing, but the proud possessors of a winner!
On the whole, we loved the show. It's not a big one, there were only two stalls of autojumble, and a fair bit of random VW stuff. The Little Dubbers section was great for the small people and the music was an eclectic mix, with something for everyone. The toilets were very clean and tidy and the litter picker brigade were on the ball.
We're looking forward to next year already!
