LRE Billing 2001 20th-22nd July
Take millions (well, lots and lots and lots without a doubt) of Land Rovers, add their owners, knead well together into an excitable froth, pour into a ready-mixed base of several hundred acres of landscape, add sun, rainwater and mud and stir gently for three days. The result is the Land Rover Enthusiast Show. The name is new, the venue is the same, and David Bowyer is back in the arena!
EMLRA's
stand had a full cross-section of the membership in attendance plus the
Usual Suspects (of which there seemed to be an endless supply).
The rain could be mentioned as there was plenty of
it. Where it became muddy, it became very muddy. The Friday night
deluge even drowned out the noise from the live band in the marquee on
the other side of the site. The band were both good and loud - but not
as loud as the wet stuff on the canvas.
Wayne Davies attempting to wake up Dave Simpkins by over-inflating
a giant can of inflatable beer. Children - who needs them?
(Well, parents for a start...)
Most of the Saturday morning lineup
On Saturday EMLRA was awarded the LRE plaque for having the Most Unusual Club Display. Whether this is for the members on the stand or the vehicles is an issue still up for debate. Perhaps they thought it best to award us something when they saw George Jackson's defensive position next to the stand entrance. The award was presented by LRE's Editor James Taylor and was accepted on behalf of the Club by Peter Barratt, Tony Marsh and Mike Allmey.
This presentation was not without incident as, while waiting to enter the arena, Mike's shiny green Ambulance was viciously attacked by a passing Discovery. Final score:
109 - Three paint chips. Discovery - Four
panels and a mirror
... which all goes to prove that Land Rover don't build them like they used to, although Marshalls probably do.
Peter and Mike gatecrash the Series III club
display using great subtlety...
Saturday evening saw the feeding of the five-thousand, courtesy of chefing services provided by Mark Finch with bread-and-butter support from Dave and Liz Simpkins. Burgers, pork, lamb, Caroline's poodle - nothing was safe from Mark and his hot skewers.
"I've
only had the one, dear..."
Non-prize competition: Who is the dipsomaniac?
Another
non-prize competition: Is Mark Finch cooking or are the crowd watching
him doing something else?
See Page 2 for the Sunday Supplement!