At the Crowfield Village Hall

As the years fly by and the realisation sets in that everything will require a 2007 date on it, we report that another superb New Year Rally closes for another year.

The story really begins at the AGM in October 2005, when the rally slips start to be passed back and forth. The keenest ralliers pass their 2007 New Year Rally slips to the marshals with no time to loose.  "So what is all the fuss about?"  You may well ask.

Over the years, our marshals have planned and executed faultless New Year Rallies. This year presented probably the biggest challenge of all. In November it was found that by complete accident, the usual venue had a double booking for one of the evenings and this would interrupt the planned rally programme. A new venue was found and with kind permission of the Crowfiled Village Hall Committee, the marshals were able to reshape the "Alternative New Year Rally".

There is no way to capture the atmosphere of the New Year Rally. And although many were disappointed that the log fire, a regular feature of the New Year Rally could not be replicated, the excitement and friendliness of the event was still very much in tact.

We were all very nervous about the rally field as the weather had been wet for 10 days before the event. So on arrival, our Chairman announced that the "Yellow Flag" would be flown and that restricted access to the field was mandatory for the entire weekend.    In other words... NO CARS !

During the day on Friday, the vans arrived and the tea urn was constantly topped up to greet the ralliers.

Friday night, the wind blew and the rain came again. We made our way to the hall and we were ready for our evening meal. As with many rallies, it is the attention to detail that really does impress. We had to be very careful as we entered the hall as our "wellys" were extremely muddy. Once in the warmth of the hall, the walls, ceilings and tables were all beautifully decorated right down to the individually crafted table names tags with a reminder of what we had previously ordered from the menu. Time to open the wine !!

www.graham-mcgrotty.co.uk

The meal was just superb and it was followed by an evening of music and dance with Graham McGrotty. The evening was filled with a party atmosphere and the crowd were relaxing and enjoying the party. Keep an eye out for Graham's web site, he is really entertaining.

On Saturday, most of the activity was in the hall as the winter weather didn't make a country walk feel very appealing. But no disappointment there.... the excellent Saturday lunch (beef stew and dumplings) warmed the cockles of anyone's heart. This was swiftly followed by a Chinese Auction, that allowed three lucky winners to share their big boxes of chocolates with the crowd. Along with the lottery numbers and the sale of Ron's photo's, a grand total of £180 was raised for the Chairman's Charities.

The evening entertainment was loud, motivating and well...  the hecklers got the better of the cabaret on a number of occasions...  "we had such a larf !!"    The dancing was only interrupted by the grand charity draw and a short flagpole meeting. There was just time for Tony to perform a short cabaret of his own and tell a few jokes.

Did anyone check the script for the "Andy Pandy" sketch before the rally ??  Just enough cheeky comedy to make Grandma blush and "Birthday Boy" Alex laugh his way into his 13th birthday. Certainly one to remember as his face was a picture !  Happy Birthday Alex.

Sunday was a subdued affair to start. A few early risers were out to assess the damage done by gale forced winds that had been so scary the night before. Others chose to have a restful morning in preparation for the New Years Eve party.

The Sunday lunch of a traditional roast was again superb. There was hardly room for the gateau....  but it would have been rude not to !!   As father used to say, "This is for medicinal purposes son and I need to keep myself well fed to fight off the cold !"
 

Eventually, it was time for the New Year's Eve party. Chris Stammers provided the music and the evening was filled with the excitement and anticipation of party poppers and a huge basket of balloons tied to the ceiling.

At 5 minutes to midnight the glasses were filled and everyone waited for the chimes of "Big Ben". Right on cue.....  DONG !   And everyone cheered and sang "Auld Lang Syne" as the balloons fell from the ceiling. Certainly enough to bring a lump to my throat !

After all the tidying up was done and the morning dawned, it was time to move 30 or more units off the wet field. A methodical approach was adopted and everyone "chipped in" to help.

Ralliers all made a small donation to the rally marshals and the collection was presented to them so that they can enjoy a meal on us.

THANK YOU, Denise, Ron, Janet, Alan, Tony and Janet for a superb and memorable weekend.

Happy New Year