Big Andys Scootering Site

Having took a (cough, cough) day of work my scooter and i, were winging our way along the A52, A46 & A17 to Tattershall Castle mid morning on the Friday. Dawn couldn't get the time off so i was foot loose and fancy free for the weekend. Last years rally had been a scorcher and the only downside had been the hordes of wasps attacking you at every opportunity, but the forecast was not brilliant for this year, but i didn't care as i set off. I got as far as Nottingham before i got caught in a downpour. I stopped at the garage down the road but by then i was soaked. Typically, having put my waterproofs on, 1/2 mile down the road the sun came back out, so i stopped near Newark to take off my waterproofs to give my clothes a chance to dry off a bit. Just as i neared Tattershall and now feeling dry, the rain attacked me again, so i was a bit damp again when i pulled into the site and was greeted by Baz, Lee & Caz from Lincoln SC. The campsite was already busy although one side was completely empty. This, i was informed, because the site had new owners and that side was owned by someone else who wanted to charge more money for the use of it. The new owners were out on the road to show those arriving where they could camp, but as i was in a caravan for the weekend i went looking for Nigel.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the bar upstairs saying my hellos before finding my caravan so as to get changed for the nights festivities. Dave Porter was the guest Dj and The League Of Mentlemen were the band for tonight. This mad lot were again excellent and even invited a few kids on the stage to perform with them. The upstairs bar was also busy, infact the only trouble of the night was up there when a few locals played up but it was soon sorted. (why is it, scooterists and locals don't mix). Before you could swig to many beers it was kicking out time and i went back to our caravan showing the PA guys the way as they were sharing with me.

Next morning i made my way back to the campsite to see if a could scam a bit of breakfast of the ii lot but i was too late. Even without Leicester Mick, all the food had gone so i settled for a cup of tea, before joining the lads from Blue & Gold SC, Kings Lynn for a bit of breakfast in the main building. Actually they had got it right in there, putting a buffet breakfast out so there was no queues. By this time the heavens had opened again and i spend an hour with the ii under their gazebos. The arrival of Rudy & Michelle from Cambridgeshire also gave me a chance for a gossip as i hadn't seen Chelle since her wedding day last year. I then did what any self respecting scooterist would do in the rain, i went to the bar and joined my fellow VFM* collective and settled in for the afternoon. We were joined later by Steve F and JohnsmateDave as we attempted to empty the bar whilst the rain got worse. There was a custom show, but as it was outside i gave it a miss.

The night time do was soon underway with both Dave Porter and Steve Foster DJ'ing whilst White riot were going to entertain us from the stage. Skaville had been the original band. Having split up last year this was to be their re-union gig but as i discovered by talking to their lead singer Kev, there was still some problems so Skaville have been disbanded and he brought his other band along (White Riot). Maybe it was because most of us had been sheltering in the bar all afternoon but there seemed to be one or two mardy people on the dance floor who took exception to the rough dancing that was going on. I had to speak to a couple of them to chill out but they did apologise later. Before long it was kicking out time and we had fun getting some out including Gaz from Scootering who really didn't want to leave.

My plan had been to set off home once it was all over but Dawn had talked me out of it as she was worried about me riding at that time of night, so myself, Fozzie and JohnsmateDave returned to the caravan for a few hours kip. As it transpires i'm glad i decided to wait until daylight. I set off home about 7:30ish and got about 10 miles down the road when my scooter glided to a stop. The engine was still running but there was no revs. Shit, the accelerator cable has snapped, or at least i thought it had. On inspection the carburettor linkage had come off where the cable ends, so i put it back in and set off again. Had it been dark i wouldn't of been able to see what was wrong. I got about another 10 miles down the road and it did it again, infact i had to stop 6 times before i finally got home and got the pliers to it. An hour and a half to get there and 3 hours to get home, the joys of scootering.

A big thank-you goes to all at Lincoln Scooter Club and the few lads from Lincoln Motorcycle Club who had accepted an invite to come over to see what a scooter rally was like. They must of loved it cos at least one of them has said he intends to get a scooter so he can do more rallies as they are much better than bikers rallies. His words not mine.