By 6pm the room at The Shirley Centre looked calm, warm, and inviting. Before long it was alive with the sounds of children chatting and laughing as they added their own warmth to the festive atmosphere.

The children’s entertainer kept them professionally enthralled for an hour until it was time to welcome Santa; who soon had them following him around the room and forming an orderly queue ready for the handing out of gifts.

As always Santa’s room looked fantastic; especially the fireplace which was cleverly created with the help of a DVD TV and some lights.

As you will see from the photographs, the children’s reactions to Santa varied . . . but I don’t think he made anyone cry this year! As usual he also made time to ALLOW a few attractive young ladies to sit on his lap! And a very large Elf aka Paul Grummet!

Our younger party goers then enjoyed their own specially plated buffet tea before taking part in a few games on the dance floor with Ade Houldey.

Meanwhile the room was merrily filling with people joining us for the rest of the evening. It was lovely to see friends old and new after the camping season has ended; particularly wearing sparkly clothes (this years dress theme was ‘a splash of red’) instead of fleeces; and high heels instead of wellies!

The adults buffet was a real treat, and as we enjoyed the superb food a few announcements were made by Chairman Steve Kennings: Committee members were publicly thanked for their individual contributions to this evening, as well as for all their hard work throughout the year; Darren Bishop (non committee) was thanked for designing and making Santa’s stage set; Sharon Noakes presented a cheque for £150 to this years chosen charity Guide Dogs for the Blind; this years Temporary Holiday Site Stewards were given recognition for their commitment-of which George and Faye Nicklin as well as Trevor and Mary Whitehead were in attendance; and Andy Tain’s name was drawn as winner of free membership next year.

To end announcements the large grisly bear that joined the NWDA committee at our recent Charity Race Night, and made a special guest appearance tonight, was BOUGHT back into the family it was donated from, raising MORE funds for Guide Dogs for the Blind . . . much to the delight of its youngest member!

Formalities over, and food digested, we were ready to continue with the party by dancing the remainder of the evening away to music provided by our own DJ’s Shaun and Aneel.

All that remains to be said is . . . MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.

NWDA'S CHARITY NIGHT.

"And they’re off!" was what Ade shouted each time the dogs were released from the traps to chase a stuffed hare around a track. Were we at Hallgreen Dog Stadium? Do I mean the cute Labradors whose photos appear on our title page this week? No: We were at Knowle British Legion Club betting on greyhounds as they appeared on screen for a Charity Race Night in support of Guide Dogs for the Blind.

NWDA members as well as their friends and families turned out for an action packed evening of entertainment which included an almost continuous slide show of photos showing what a great time we have had camping this year, an auction, and a raffle.

But first of all the races took place: Ade Houldey was dressed for the occasion and had obviously been practising his Race Commentary. There were five races sponsored by various organisations that are listed later. Bets were placed with the girls at the desks then the deafening sound of everyone cheering on their favoured dog filled the room…followed by groans of disbelief if it had been ‘pipped at the post’! Many could have gone home a little wealthier-but being a charity night any winnings were put back into the next fundraising event.

Before enjoying the delicious and welcoming buffet, Chairman Steve Kennings invited Sharon Noakes onto the stage as she had prepared some fundraising packs to help us: The packs involved selling 25 pool squares for £2 each so that when a winning square was drawn £25 would go to Guide Dogs for the Blind and the remaining £25 could be spent by the winner on PartyLite products. Needless to say these were soon snapped up and the proceeds will be added to our total later.

After eating and building our strength up again we were ready for The Auction. The room was once again filled with riotous noise as people fiercely competed to put in the highest bids for each of the fabulous items on offer. In the end Molly got her giant fluffy Guide Dog puppy (not a real one!); Alan ’Lofty’ Davis will soon be enjoying his Porsche 911 Driving experience; John and Carol Copperthwaite won a professional family photo shoot for their son and his partner; and Edmund Styles walked away with a yummy novelty Guide Dog cake.

Amazingly there was enough time and energy left for a Raffle and a Disco. The raffle prizes included hairdo’s, jewellery, confectionary, a shoe voucher, alcohol, manicures, pedicures, head massage, a carvery meal, and of course a cuddly toy.

Throughout most of the evening our special guests-two trainee Guide dog pups and a working Guide Dog with his master-had received lots of fuss and attention. They were impeccably behaved and coped very well with the noise and heat.

We did have another special guest, who also behaved well, in the form of a large grizzly bear that was KINDLY donated to us by the Eustace family. He adorned the stage all evening and we put £50 into the charity funds to adopt him as our Mascot; although I am not sure which committee member will be offering him ‘board and lodgings’ between star appearances!

We are also very grateful to the following businesses for their sponsorship and auction and raffle donations:

The Shoe Box, Knowle; Dream Driver Days, Henley-in-Arden; Knowle Travel; Premier Medical Centre, Knowle; Signature Photography, Henley-in-Arden; The Cake Boutique, Knowle; Toni’s Gents Hairdressers, Knowle; Katie Joyce Costume Jewellery, Knowle; Knowle Traditional Sweet Shop; Knowle Photography; Theo Georgio Hairdressers, Knowle; and the Wilsons Arms Toby Carvery, Knowle.

Finally a BIG thank you to Jayne Bishop (Charity Events Organiser) and all the committee, their family and friends, who played any part in making this event such a success.

WE RAISED  £870.35 DURING THE EVENING; so well done and thank you to everyone for your generosity.

Please check our Charity update page to see if we have reached our goal of £5000 to sponsor and name a Guide Dog.

NOW CHECK OUT THE PICS
 

Halloween Meet

Friday 31^st October-Sunday 2^nd November

The ‘Haunted’ Stables at Wilmcote

The weather may have been cold, but the atmosphere was hot. NWDA’s fifth Halloween meet was even bigger and better than ever before.

The gates opened at 10 a.m on Friday and the haunting began. It wasn’t long before spooky scenes were appearing around the creepy campers units.

By the time it was dark excitement was mounting as everyone prepared to be scared almost to death as they anticipated this year’s ghastly Ghost Walk. Each of the five different groups of ghost walkers were first invited into the marquee for a warming cup of hot soup before watching a haunting dance performance by our Youth Members, featuring Ade Houldey, to introduce the theme of Ade as Rif Raf from the Rocky Horror Show. Our journey of fright and fear then led us around the undergrowth by Mary Arden’s house, where we almost jumped out of our skins as ghouls and monsters leapt out of the darkness when we least expected them to! We eventually arrived at a freaky and deserted Train Station, where the Ticket Office held a few devilishly disgusting ways of making us search for coins in order to be able to board the Ghost Train! Once aboard we were promised a ride through a cave of Lost Souls; but when the power went down we found ourselves having to walk through a very dark and scary labyrinth of blood thirsty experiences. It was not for the ‘faint hearted’! The air was alive with the sound of screaming! The cup of mulled wine that awaited us in the marquee was needed to calm the nerves as we all shared our most terrifying moments!

Saturday morning saw the youth team up early to provide a Creepy Kids Corner in the marquee, and during the afternoon more activities were on offer to keep the children busy until it was time to start putting on costumes and make up ready for the evening.

In the meantime the Hells Kitchen staff caused us to have to evacuate the marquee for a while when the baked potatoes caught fire. Fortunately the blaze was soon under control with no harm caused to either people or potatoes!

By 5.30 some wicked Jack-o-Lanterns had appeared at the front of the marquee to be judged, and everyone’s ‘little monsters’ were dressed up ready to go ‘Trick or Treating’. As we travelled around the field in groups, knocking on caravan doors, it was a great opportunity to admire all the fantastic decorations that had been put up.

By 6.30 everyone was chilled to the bone and ready to return to the marquee to talk about who gave out the best treats, and to take part in the Kids Fancy Dress Parade. William won the boys contest and Rebecca was chosen from the girls.

Hells Kitchen was then open for us to choose a mouth watering filling for our baked potato, and I must say it was the best baked potato I have ever tasted. The adults Fancy Dress Parade followed, with John winning for the men and Anita (from Holland) being the ladies winner.

The Devils Disco continued into the night, with our legendary Scotchmen putting in an appearance to raffle some Scotch Whisky. The many costumes people wore ranged from ghostly to ghastly, and from skeletons to spiders. As witches, Draculas, monsters and much more wearily returned to their units before the bewitching hour we knew they would all sleep well…until their nightmares began!!

On Sunday morning the committee arose early to cook breakfast, which was available from £1 a sandwich, and this led into the closing announcements led by our Chairman Steve Kennings.

Steve began by telling us that 119 units had attended, then thanked the many people who had been involved with planning and preparing the meet-including the marshals, the booking in team, Ade and his Ghost Walk participants, the catering team, and the people who had put on activities for children. A prize for the best dressed unit went to Carol French; and Josh won a prize for the best Jack-o Lantern. There were several Bonus Ball winners, and Holly was picked from all the correct ‘find the ghosts’ competition entries. Another Holly won the under 5’s colouring competition, Mia won from the age 6 to 9 age group, and Ben won a prize from the over 10’s.

A presentation was made by David (Regional Youth Liaison Officer, and National Youth Chairperson) and Marlene Wilkes to our CCY (Camping Club Youth) members Sam, Dale, Grainne, and Amy who recently passed their youth tests. We also took the opportunity to officially award Grainne the Andrew Buckley Trophy that she was chosen to receive earlier this year.

The forthcoming Winter Youth Rally was mentioned as well as a Charity Race Night at Knowle British Legion on Saturday 15^th November. We are also looking forward to our Christmas Party on Saturday 6^th December.

The opportunity to raise some money for this year’s chosen charity Guide Dogs for the Blind arose when Tony and Lisa donated a very large and very cuddly Eeyore. He was auctioned for a final total of £30, so thanks to everyone who was involved with that.

As coffee morning drew to a close amidst the mud and puddles in the marquee we all had a good laugh at this weekend’s Brocklehurst Trophy nominations: The first was for Min (again!) who thought ‘white coffee’ was made by leaving out the coffee; the second was for Jayne and Georgina who had arranged to go shopping, said to each other they would meet in the car when they were ready, and each emerged after 15 minutes from their OWN cars to find out where the other one was!; the third was for Geri who spotted what she thought was her husband in HER costume, thumped him as she accused him of putting on the wrong costume…then found out it was somebody else altogether!; and the fourth was almost for Geri’s husband Gary for causing the baked potato fire by helping it along with PETROL; but it was decided we should award it to his Dad Keith for trying to put the fire out with WATER! Maybe Keith should have taken a Youth Test like Grandson Dale did!

The children’s and adult’s Raffle followed with many lucky and happy winners.

The steward’s were thanked and Ade stepped up to also thank Steve for working non stop to help make this such a monstrously memorable weekend: They are probably already planning next years!!!

The weather this weekend simply couldn’t have been better for one of the last camps of the year. It was welcoming to arrive in sunshine Friday afternoon and to travel home again in sunshine Sunday afternoon; not to mention the warm sunshine we enjoyed in between. However we couldn’t forget it was autumn once the sun went down because it was VERY cold then. Thank goodness for the pub!

This new site was actually the back garden of the Moat House Inn, near Alcester, and we managed to fit 25 units on to it. It was a 5 minute walk along the road to Broad Lane Caravans, a short drive away from Alcester village and nearby Ragley Hall; and just a few miles away from Redditch town centre. Of course with a pub in OUR back garden, and an England match on T.V Saturday afternoon, some decided there was no need to leave the site at all!

So… the men enjoyed the pub, the Landlord enjoyed the extra income, the women enjoyed the sunshine, the children enjoyed building dens, and the millions of Money Spiders that we shared the field with enjoyed the company(maybe!). It’s just a shame they didn’t bring us any luck with The Lottery so we could have returned to buy one of the caravans we had been admiring at Broad Lane!

Coffee Morning announcements included a mention that Mick and Min will be stewarding our Meriden site from Wednesday to Sunday to accommodate campers visiting the NEC Caravan and Motor home show; Jayne, Jayne and Caz will be at the show on Saturday 18th on the Camping and Caravanning stand; and Stewdards Trevor (NWDA Vice Chairperson) and Mary were presented with their umbrellas. Rumour has it they now have so many they will be able to open a shop!

And finally-the winner of The Brocklehurst Trophy, from several worthy nominations, was Ade Houldey…for two reasons: firstly a cooking utensil that he left by the hob caught on fire so someone shouted to him "look, there’s a fire in your van"…only Ade thought they were joking and simply replied "yeah, yeah"… before turning round to see that it WAS true!: and secondly for giving us all a laugh by falling asleep in his chair late into the evening, when some called him and caused him to jump so that he tipped his glass of wine down his neck! Paul Grumett (I finally checked how to spell it!) will be pleased it wasn’t HIM this time!

We now look forward to our famous Halloween Meet (fully booked), a charity Race Night at Knowle British Legion on Saturday 15^th November, and our Christmas Party at Shirley Community Centre on Saturday 6^th December.

Look out for further details.

    Having missed being able to camp the last two weekends I was delighted with the way the weather was turning out Friday; and so were four of our Youth Members who were about to take their Youth Tests (although they probably weren’t looking forward to the weekend as much as the rest of us were!) More about how they got on later.

     The glorious weather meant we were not surprised to arrive to a fairly full field Friday evening. Everyone was in good spirits and some of the girls enjoyed an evening of ‘girly chat’ while the lads went off to a local Pub. It may have been a sunny day but I bet they were a lot warmer than we were!

     Saturday morning the weather was as fabulous as it had been the day before. Plenty of people were caught on camera relaxing and enjoying the welcome sunshine that has been so scarce all summer! In fact we had to drag people away from their easy chairs to compete in our annual Conkers Contest at 3p.m. However once ‘in the swing’ of it the usual competitiveness rose to the fore and we soon had our finalists for Sunday morning.

     Between all the fun some of us managed to pop along to peer over the rope to see how the Youth were getting on under test conditions. I was a bit concerned to find Jayne on the floor at one point…until I realised she was being a ‘dummy’ for the First Aid part of the test!

     Many people chose to BBQ for what could possibly be the last time this year; making sure we left enough room for pancakes in the marquee later.

     The smell of the pancakes cooking soon tempted most of us into the marquee and a great evening of dancing followed. We paused part way through the evening to wish Kerry and Kath Happy Birthdays.

     Sunday morning turned out to be even hotter than Saturday, which was ideal for Coffee Morning and a ‘play off’ between our finalists in the Conkers Contest. Gary Bratt and John Williams battled it out –with John being the victor. Brothers Lewis and Owen were the kids finalists, and were eventually declared equal winners because they had been playing for quite long enough! (at least, being brothers, they could easily share the prize!)

     Pete Gromit won the Bonus Ball, and Tracy Kemp was voted winner of the Brocklehurst Trophy: She had been spotted early in the morning filling her aquaroll, without remembering to remove the cap; and then tried to cover up this oversight by saying she was washing some mud off!

     And finally…after the formalities of coffee morning were over we all applauded the four Youth Members as they did a ‘walk past’ carrying all their Kit to complete their test. They returned a short while later to hear the welcome news that they had all PASSED. There is a lot to learn in preparation for the Youth Test, all of which must be successfully demonstrated over the duration of the Test Weekend. Needless to say we are very proud of them; especially as they were praised for their impeccable manners.

     Chairman Steve thanked David Wilkes (Regional Youth Liaison officer and National Youth Chairman), and his lovely wife Marlene for conducting the test; then the kids presented them with a thank you gift. Youth Leaders Andy and Ruth, Assistant Youth Leaders Shaun and Caz, and Ruth’s Dad Bernie (a former Youth Leader) for coaching our young candidates.

     Congratulations and WELL DONE to Dale, Sam, Grainne, and Amy xxxx

After the bad news during the week that Greenhills was cancelled due to a waterlogged field, our Mr Greengrass Sites Officer, grabbed the opportunity to try out a new site at Kineton. The forecast was in our favour and we all arrived on site in glorious sunshine. This weekend was planned as the mock test for the 4 CCY members who will all be doing their CCY Test at Studley over the 26/27/28^th September weekend.

The site was gorgeous, with fantastic views of Warwickshire countryside. By the time most of us arrived, some of our keen committee members had been off site to fetch the trailer out, which by Sunday became full of everything our team built for Halloween 08.

Saturday morning bright and early, some of the guys went off to collect some promised timber from Jewsons, who agreed to support this years Halloween in the form of as much timber we require to build the frontages for this years marquee. Many on site were waiting around keen to help where they could as soon as the timber arrived and Ade and Darren shared their plans for making this years Halloween displays even bigger and better. Those not so handy with the tools, took the opportunity to go off and visit Wellesbourne market which was just a short drive away. By tea time on Saturday the new frontages were built and painted, including a full size Grim Reaper, standing proud above the gate.

The four CCY members doing their mock, spent all of Saturday polishing up on their knowledge for their test next weekend. We were very lucky to have Bernie and Marie to support them and give them solid training and support in all the modules involved.

Saturday night brought us the pleasure of having Alan & Marion Davies putting on a great disco evening in the marquee. Everyone enjoyed a good dance, and some party games, for both the kids and the adults.

Sunday morning, was again a glorious sunny morning, with the men all keen to make the finishing touches to the frontages, before dismantling it all, and storing it away in Storage ready for Halloween. Coffee morning was able to be held outside, hosted by our weekend Stewards Keith and Anne Bratt. Steve thanked Bernie for all his support, and Bernie explained a little about what the CCY had been doing and what was involved. The brocklehurst nominations were read out, which included Min, spraying her caravan with what she thought was fly spray, but it turned out to be Oven Cleaning Foam!. The cheers were all well in favour though of it going to Andy Nicklin, who proudly built up his little Megan's new Dora Scooter, complete with shopping basket on the front, only for everyone to point out he had screwed the basket on upside down. Andy tried to justify his actions by explaining there were no instructions, but even the kids noticed the picture of Dora on the basket was upside down!!!!! Nice one Andy.

No one wanted the end of the weekend to come, with glorious sunshine, a great new site and momentous team camaraderie throughout the weekend. Roll on next weekend at Studley.

Annual Fishing Weekend

The Riddings Fishery, Atherstone

5^th-7^th September 2008

Although I don’t quite understand why grown men would want to sit on a box in the cold rain for 6 hours waiting to catch some fish, only to return them later; or their women would brave the rain to go to Asda, stand under a dripping gazebo to prepare baguettes for lunch and deliver them to the pool side; then finally pop along to show support during the weigh in and help carry all the gear back…but that is exactly what we did do this weekend! (and have done for years!)

It didn’t actually rain ALL weekend, but there was very LITTLE let up. We ignored the messages of concern from friends and family who thought we were barmy to be going camping, and by the end of the weekend most of were glad we had.

Friday evening the rain held off long enough to get set up and greet each other, then the Fishermen headed off for an early night (to dream about catching that elusive ‘big one’)ready for an early start Saturday morning.

Once the men had been packed off to the fishing pool it was lovely to have a bit of time to ourselves before it was time to prepare and deliver the baguettes for lunch.

Soon after the weigh in had begun it was obvious it was going to be difficult to beat the fisherman who had netted a very impressive 71 ld of fabulous looking fish. I was beginning to see the allure! Well done Fred. The contest was now on for second place, which was finally awarded to Kevin, who also netted an impressive catch.

There was some time left for some of our CCY (Camping Club Youth) members to practise their cooking methods in preparation for their Youth Tests in a few weeks time. Some wonderful aromas were soon wafting across the field. As there wasn’t quite enough to go around, and having a BBQ wasn’t an option, most of us then had a Chip Shop Supper. Mmm!

Although it had rained heavily all night, Sunday was dry enough (if a little muddy!) for us to sit outside for Coffee Morning. Steve Kennings came (he had been to a wedding Saturday) to make announcements, and collect his daughter who had spent her first weekend in the CCY. Shields were presented to the winning fishermen aswell as to Dale as the Junior Winner. Fred very kindly asked that his cash prize be donated to our charity for this year Guide Dogs for the Blind. Many thanks go to Fred.

And finally there was NO contest for the Brocklehurst Award THIS week as it could ONLY go to June(again!): She went to visit her brother-in-law (who lived nearby), walked through the door, removed her shoes and coat as she called out "put the kettle on", and went into the living room to be met by a complete stranger. She asked who he was, he did the same, and it turned out that her brother-in-law had moved house a year ago! It could take a long time for her to live that one down!

29^th-31^st August

Lots of people had listened to the weather forecast and turned out for what promised to be a pleasant, relaxing, and quiet weekend. We don’t think they were disappointed.

The first treat for some of us came when Ade and team cooked a delicious curry Friday evening. Unfortunately the peace and tranquillity WERE temporarily interrupted after our Sam decided to try one of the more spicy ingredients. It wasn’t until half a pint of milk, a bottle of water, a wet flannel, and some time later that he started to calm down!

On Saturday Hoar Park Craft Village had a Fun Day, which made up for the fact that we weren’t doing a Children’s Weekend (as we had done as a ‘one off’ at this meet last year). There was a Prize Stall, bouncy castle, roundabout, harness trampoline ‘ride’, food van, clowns, balloon art, donkey rides, static falconry display, and races. There are also craft shops, an adventure playground, a children’s farm, and fishing pools (in case anyone wanted to put in a little practise for our annual fishing contest at The Riddings, Atherstone, next week)

Saturday evening saw most of our barbeques in action, manned mainly by our men. Then for pudding there were Lin and Lucy’s birthday cakes! It was lovely to be able to sit outside in the evening, approaching Autumn time (we know it is Harvest time because we could hear the farmer working very late into the night Friday!) without getting cold.

Sunday morning we had a good turnout, in the faint sunshine, for Coffee Morning. Steve Kennings, our Chairman, started by informing us of the very amusing Brocklehurst Award candidates this weekend. He gave us some time to ponder over the most worthy winner while the Raffle was drawn: Having done that the Trophy went to Caz and Lisa for selling raffle tickets to just about everyone on site when there were actually NO prizes to be won! The bad news was the committee had to produce some prizes very quickly, and the good news was we raised nearly £50 for this year’s charity Guide Dogs for the Blind.

By the way the runner up for the Brocklehurst Trophy was the man who received an electric shock to his bottom THREE times before realising that the fence next to where he was pitched was an ELECTRIC fence!

Also at Coffee Morning we wished Sue (40), Lin, Lucy and Jo Happy Birthdays; announced that Lucy and Jo had spent their last nights in the CCJ (Camping Club Juniors) as they reach the age of 12 years this week and will qualify to join the CCY (Camping Club Youth); and June advertised Halloween for us!

Now see the pics

All our ‘contestants’ were welcomed into the ‘Olympic village’ and given a programme telling them which colour team(blue, black, red, yellow or green) they could earn points for over the weekend.

Our Olympic weekend was ‘officially’ opened with a moving Torch Procession from the ‘Stadium’ around the field. Refreshing cups of Punch were then served as we arrived back at the marquee. As always it was lovely to sit around, exchanging news of recent holiday destinations with friends, and having a dance together again.

On Saturday the children were invited into the marquee to take part in an Olympic themed Colouring Competition; followed by the main Olympic Games-with events to suit all ages. Fortunately the weather was pleasant enough, and remained so as we took ourselves back in time to ancient Greece and dressed in sheets for a Toga Party Saturday evening: Sam won a prize for the children’s Fancy Dress, and the adult winner was Bob. A great time was had by all as we danced the night away!

Sunday morning the children were still dancing as they attended Charlie’s Dance Workshop in preparation for the Closing Ceremony Monday.

Anyone with any energy or strength left could then enter the Volleyball Tournament. The rest of us were more than happy to provide an audience!

A little time remained to take a walk along the river to watch the professional Anglers competing, and visit the Fishing Exhibition and Craft Marquee. Well, some of us made it as far as the Beer Tent!

However we all needed our wits about us to enter the Quiz Sunday evening; set under the categories of Geography, History, Sports, General Knowledge, and Music. And it wasn’t easy! But we could all let our hair down afterwards and dance away any remaining energy.

Monday, once everyone was served and seated with their great British Cream Tea we were treated to a dance choreographed by Charlie and the Youth members. It had rhythm, ribbons, and gymnastics; with children’s ages ranging from around 4 to 14 years. Well done kids.

Our Chairman Steve Kennings then began Coffee Morning announcements by thanking, individually, ALL the committee and associates who had helped with ANY of the weekends planning or events.

76 units from various District Associations chose to join us this weekend; and among them Riley (4), Kieran(12), Steve(45), and Steve K(48) celebrated birthdays; and Tony and June celebrated 40 years of marriage.

Certificates were awarded to Lewis and Molly for sleeping on their own in their tents for the first time; also to Lottie, Tom, and Lizzie for joining the CCJ (Camping Club Juniors). As Jack reached the age of 12 last week he has now graduated to the CCY (Camping Club Youth)

Prizes were awarded to Betty for the age 5 and under Olympic Colouring Competition; to Molly in the 6-10 age group; and to Kieran for his entry in the age 11 and over category.

Individual awards in the Olympic Games went to Jack, Lizzie, Tony Nash, Chris Reynolds, and George.

The Volleyball Tournament was won by Sam’s team with Kieran, Lizzie, Jack and Matt.

Elizabeth won the Monopoly Quiz handout, Sarah Edwards and Tony Nash won the Football cards, a nice lady from West Mids D.A won the hamper, and lots of people won raffle prizes;-

But the over all Evesham Olympic Games winners of the Gold medal were the RED team, represented by team leader Ruth. The Silver medal, awarded to the GREEN team, was collected by Paul; and the Bronze medal was collected by Tony for the BLUE team.

We think EVERYONE was a winner for their admirable contributions to the whole weekend.

AND FINALLY, just before stewards Mark & Diane and Steve & Lin were presented with NWDA umbrellas- Lin (sporting a heavy bandage, which wasn’t due to sports injury as you may have expected this weekend, but was incurred whilst walking the dog!) was voted winner of the famous Brocklehurst Trophy for signing a guest in who had JUST been introduced as Mr Timmins BROTHER, then asked what his surname was!!

NOW TAKE A LOOK AT THE HUNDREDS OF PHOTO'S 

Tour DA France

As mentioned in the IOW write up, a small group of friends who also make up some of the NWDA Committee chose to venture over to France for our holidays, on our very own "Tour de France". Ade spent many a winter evening selecting a suitable site, which would cater for all our needs. He chose through Carefree "Mane Guernehue", in a little village called Baden in Southern Brittany. We went in two groups, four families going the first weekend (Bishops, Kennings, Nicklins and Tanes), and four more families following on a week later (Houldeys, Roberts, Leivers, Wardle/Khanna).

Our "Tour" began with a stop over night with Solent DA in Portsmouth, in preparation for our early morning ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. The crossing was 5 hrs. Our venture really began as we drove of the Condor Ferry, and hit the roads on the "wrong side" for the first time for some. The drive took us 6 hours allowing for two short stops. The journey was great, the roads in France are far less busy than what we are used to.

The site was great, it had all the facilities we required, although very French. Not much allowance is made for the fact that there are a number of British holiday firms on there, not one announcement; poster or sign was in English. Luckily we had Georgina Tane with us, who speaks French beautifully.

The holiday bought a mixed bag of weather, mainly dry and warm although not always Sunny. We spent most days, chilling by the pool, exploring little villages and of course eating and drinking the local offerings.

The middle weekend of our holiday the other families of our party arrived. We welcomed them on site, with the NWDA flag flying and a BBQ all ready to serve up for them.

The last weekend of our holiday, we left Brittany and travelled up to Normandy to another Carefree site in the grounds of Chateau Martragny. Here we stayed for the weekend, we spent a very enjoyable and most educational day around the sites of the D-Day landings. We took in the largest English Cemetery and Ranville, followed by Pegasus Bridge, The Mulberry Harbour, Aramanche Beach, the USA Cemetery. Finishing with some Retail Therapy around Bayeaux and of course a nice coffee in a French Street Café.

Sunday morning was the end of our "Tour de France" we all packed up and headed for Cherbourg which was now just over an hours drive away. We boarded the Condor Ferry, on not so calm seas and headed home. All very proud we had done it, and reflected on a "fantastic" two weeks holiday. Although just a little bit jealous that the rest of our friends were still on site in Southern Brittany for another week!!

Roll on 2009!!

By Jayne Bishop

Now see some pics

Thanks to George and Faye Nicklin who steward this site for ten weeks every year, many people have once again chosen to spend their summer holidays at Whitecliff Bay, near Bembridge, for anything from a few days to a few weeks.

Although most of our NWDA committee took their caravans over to France this year, many other NWDA members returned to this memorable destination. We also welcomed members from lots of other District Associations.

For the Nicklin family the field will always hold special memories of holidays with Stuart, and since last year we now all have his Memorial Bench to sit on or gather around at any time.

The field we use for the Holiday Site is adjacent to two commercial sites, with access to the long sandy beach via each of these. There is also a bar/restaurant, crazy golf, shop, post box, launderette, and basic shower block within walking distance. A leisure Centre with swimming pool is a ten minute drive away.

As the Island is only 23 miles across from east to west, and 13 miles from north to south, ALL of the many attractions are within reach: There are typical seaside towns, quaint seaside villages, theme parks, many types of beaches, wildlife attractions, dramatic coastlines, coastal paths, seasonal events, pub’s, restaurants, and craft outlets to visit.

We made the most of much of the above, and particularly enjoyed going up St Catherine’s Lighthouse; and spending a day at the famous Cowes Regatta…even though we MISSED seeing Princes Phillip, William, and Harry by just a few minutes!

We have many happy memories of holidays spent at the NWDA THS IOW, and expect there will be many more to come.

HAVE A LOOK AT THE PHOTO GALLERY

We were looking forward to returning to this new (to most of us anyway) site even though the weather forecast wasn’t good. The field was flat and mown (a relief after last weekend!) and as long as we kept our backs to the houses that overlooked one side of the field, the view the other way was miles of green fields and distant woodlands.

As for the weather, if you don’t expect too much then you won’t be disappointed: With that in mind we consider ourselves lucky to have enjoyed a very mild Friday evening, sitting around together outside (unless you were one of those that went to the local Pub to help celebrate Gary’s birthday), a day of sunny intervals Saturday, and a pleasant if breezy Sunday morning. Fortunately the rain held off until we were safely on our way home Sunday afternoon.

Some of the girls went shopping for holiday clothes Saturday…then made a return trip Sunday to buy the things they wished they had bought the day before! I was unable to resist the second time round and also came back with a Matalan bag full!

For those that like walking (a cheaper pastime than shopping in Stratford!) a public footpath was posted off one corner of the field, which we think must be part of The Heart of England Way… judging by the look of the many serious hikers that passed by.

The village of Aston Cantlow was also very pretty to walk through, with some historic buildings, a lovely church, and a pub. Yet another place we would aspire to retire to (not just yet though of course)

There were three Youth members camping out this weekend; all looking forward to next weekends National Youth Rally at County Durham.

They are planning to take their Youth Tests before the end of the year, so could be seen practising compass and map reading skills Friday evening with Youth Leaders Andy and Ruth. They also did some First Aid training Saturday morning and demonstrated to us how to put an unconscious person into the recovery position, using Paul as their ‘dummy’. He was obligingly very uncooperative! They were then taken on a hike by Bernie (Ruth’s Dad, and retired Youth Leader) which they seemed to enjoy. Gary, Tracy, and Dave also got the kids together for some team games Saturday afternoon. That was why the rest of us were quite ‘chilled’!

On Sunday morning Steve Kennings (our Chairman) and family arrived for coffee morning so that Steve could make the usual announcements in the way that he does so well. Mark (sites booking officer) and Diane, our stewards for the weekend, can be seen posing with their NWDA umbrellas; and Grainne was awarded the Brocklehurst Trophy AGAIN! She was in competition with Paul, who has won this prestigious award many times, but was voted winner by those present for believing Mark when he told her that she would get a better signal on her mobile phone if she held onto the canopy pole. What made it funnier was that she said "oh yes, that’s better" !

So as we all look forward to our main summer holiday, there remains one more Rally next weekend at Long Marston (we won’t actually be there so will try and persuade someone to forward us some photo’s) and then the Temporary Holiday Site at Binton begins. We also wish our volleyball team lots of luck in the contest in Cheshire that weekend. George and Faye Nicklin arrived safely on the Isle of Wight Wednesday and our seaside Holiday site is also now open. Some of us are looking forward to joining them there soon.

And finally…we hope you (and Mark who doesn’t now about this yet) enjoy looking at the photo’s of Mark taken Friday evening after relaxing over a bottle of Rum!

All in all a great weekend for chilling out, and enjoying some retail therapy.

Now take a look at the pics.

Hunscote, Wellesbourne

20th-22nd June 2008

They may have forgotten we were coming and only cut the grass the day before for the first time in two years; and the water may have been an uphill return trek and taken an hour to fill…but it would take more than that to stop US enjoying a weekend away!

The pleasant weather Friday was probably to thank for the final turn out of 21 units; and the local population of voles that a few of us spotted quickly decided to relocate! Jayne’s screams may have helped them on their way; or maybe it was the smell of curry coming from outside Ade and Jayne’s unit as they prepared one of Ade’s famous Chinese curries to celebrate Jayne’s forthcoming birthday!

Saturday morning saw most of us up early and driving round to Wellesbourne Market; returning later with bag loads of goodies ranging from cookies to cowboy hats!

The weather at that point was mild and sunny so most of us were ready for relaxing with an aperitif before lighting up those barbeques. We managed to eat al fresco before suddenly having to squeeze into Ade’s gazebo to shelter from the rain; or gathering in various peoples units. Wherever we ended up everyone seemed to have a fun filled evening.

Sunday morning many of us didn’t get the lie in we’d planned as we suddenly needed to be up to secure our own( or somebody else’s) awning in the high winds that had crept up over night. The strength of the wind was unbelievable and didn’t let up all day.

Once everything was secure, and we had gathered together for coffee morning with stewards Mark and Michelle (who can be seen receiving their NWDA umbrellas) some people headed for home, Ken and Christine went into Stratford to watch their son competing in the well known Raft Race (in aid of Multiple Sclerosis) and some hang around to see the Vulcan Bomber that resides at Wellesbourne Airfield being fired up at the Wings and Wheels Show.

So once again a relaxing but fairly eventful weekend that none of us will forget. The voles and their friends will probably be talking about it for ages!

Hosted by South Lincs DA

The site opened on Thursday, but for those of us that arrived after work Friday evening there was still enough time to enjoy some Country music in the marquee later.

Saturday morning we needed to be up bright and early for the Opening Ceremony, and the start of the Volley Ball Competition in the Main Arena. The volley ball heats had just about finished when the sunshine made way for a sudden downpour and everyone had to run for cover! Fortunately the sunshine made a come back in time for the Over 55’s Sports to take place, followed by the Mardi Gras at 4pm-which was a relief to most of NWDA as we were wearing grass skirts!

The theme for the Mardi Gras this year was NAUTICAL FUN, and there was plenty of that with entrants including our own interpretation of Hawaii Five O; Trent valley’s CCY Surfers; a Pirate Ship; some Deep Sea Fishermen; a Dragon Boat; The Vikings; and Noah’s Ark. I think Popeye even put in an appearance! The overall winners were the Vikings from Trent Valley DA.

The weather stayed fine enough for us to BBQ, and then it was time to head back to the marquee for what turned out to be a great evening: HICKSBILL BOMBERS, a rockabilly/rock n roll band were really good and by the end of the night nobody wanted the party to end.

There was a Sunday morning Service for those that wanted to attend, followed by fun filled Family Sports and the Volley Ball Final. We were delighted when our own Volley Ball Team made it through to the final along with Notts DA, and are very proud to say we reigned as Champions after an

excellent match. Well done NWDA.

The Closing Ceremony started around 1.pm with speeches and presentations. Prizes were then awarded for the different categories of the Mardi Gras, the Horace Ringrose Family Sports, and the Volley Ball.

Coventry DA took the stage for a while to promote next years CCRM which they will be hosting at Woodbine Farm, Granborough Fields, Rugby. The theme is West End Musicals and titles were drawn for each DA to present in the Mardi Gras.

We have been given Saturday night fever to depict, so we have almost a year to work out how we are going to do that. Any suggestions would be gratefully received!

The ceremony ended with the traditional Raffle, and many useful prizes departing with their new owners.

Now have a look at the pics

For those of us that endured the torrential rain and gale force winds of the Bank Holiday, and were able to stay all week, the reward was worth the wait: The fair weather days did eventually outnumber the bad weather days.

The top field at Gigrin Farm was once again well populated with an assortment of tents, caravans, and motor homes from various districts.

We had a very enjoyable week, with friends old and new, and hope everyone else did too. Some of the activities we enjoyed the most included watching from the bird hides, as hundreds of Red Kite birds of prey appeared out of the sky, to be fed at 3pm daily from the farm; driving around the beautiful Elan Valley past the reservoirs and dams; getting out to explore the unique and diverse countryside there; or going into the Visitor Centre to find out a bit more about it all; going on a Bug Hunt and Pond Dipping excursion with two Rangers from the Elan Valley; swimming and other activities at the local Leisure Centre; shopping in Rhayader or nearby Llandrindod Wells; walking along part of the river Wye, with its pebbly shores; having a picnic at one of the many picturesque Picnic areas; and ascending the hill that rises behind the site to do an annual inspection and weatherproofing of a bench that was placed up there in memory of a former NWDA member.

Other Day Trips that people told us about included a drive to Aberystwyth and a journey on a mountain railway; a trip to the seaside at Newquay; and sampling some of the many local walks or cycle rides.

Of course we all at some point enjoyed a drink or meal at a few different pubs, of which there seem to be many in Rhayader!

Whatever we had done each day it was always lovely to get together later to exchange news, sometimes sat around Steve and Lin’s Fire Bowl; because however warm it had been in the day it was still rather chilly during the evening!

Ashdene farm, Drayton Bassett

Fri 4th-Sun 6th April 2008

This could be called an ‘all weather weekend’: It was mild with sunshine Friday; cold, wet, and windy Saturday; and we had a blanket of snow Sunday!

It was lovely to BBQ in sunshine for the first time this year on Friday, and sit outside for the evening without getting TOO cold.

On Saturday the weather was very unsettled, and deteriorated as the day went on. Most people at some point sought the warmth of their cars and popped out to Canwell Caravans, the Retail Park, or to place a bet on The Grand National. At 4pm Caz invited all the kids to Callum’s 3rd Birthday Party, at which point the weather was probably at its worse! But in true NWDA style everyone rallied round providing shelter and patio heaters so the party could go ahead. Inevitably the kids party led on to a ‘gathering’ of the Parents, where hot curry and chips were ‘just what the Doctor ordered’!

On Sunday morning most of us were unexpectedly up early, soon forgetting the lie-in we had intended to have, as we discovered it had snowed A LOT in the night! There was a thick blanket of snow covering the field and we just had to get out in it!

By the time we met for Coffee Morning the wintry sun had melted most of the snow, but it was nice to be able to sit outside. Stewards Andy, Georgina, Bernie, and Nicola were the first to be presented with our new NWDA umbrellas; as were previous stewards for this season so far. Steve and Lee were presented with their winnings in The Grand National Sweepstake; and Caroline was awarded "it wasn’t even funny" The James Brocklehurst Trophy. She had attempted to put Di’s new eyeshadow on her lips! The eyeshadow WAS pink so you have to sympathise with Caz! Maybe we are just getting too good at making sure we don’t do or say anything daft and get lumbered with this wonderful trophy!

North Warwickshire District Association

37th Annual General Meeting

3.30pm-Saturday 16th February 2008

Rowington Village Hall

A few of us arrived Friday to camp for the weekend, and start preparations for Saturday’s AGM.

When the time came it was lovely to see everyone, for some the first time since Christmas, and the room was soon buzzing.

Before the meeting began we had been looking at photographs on a screen of recently departed Jim Oliver, who was a founder member of NWDA. A minutes silence was requested whilst we all remembered Jim and reflected on the sad loss. Jim’s wife Shirley and one of his daughters came to the meeting.

We were also pleased to welcome Regional Council Representative Trevor Cooke and his wife Ann.

The meeting began with us being proudly able to present a cheque for £4,330 to a representative from the Diana Princess of Wales Children’s Hospital. The money was raised by NWDA, their friends and families, in memory of our own Stuart Buchanan. We are delighted that the money will buy an electric bed for ward 5, where Stuart had been well cared for.

The Charity we are supporting this year, which was recently launched at our Christmas Party, is Guide Dogs for the Blind. We aim to raise £5000 which will enable us to name and pay for a Guide Dogs first year of training. Look out for fundraising events coming up throughout the year.

Our Chairman Steve started the individual reports and covered our successful hosting of last years CCRM at Drayton Bassett. Our much valued THS stewards were thanked publicly for doing an excellent job; and the bench sited last year on the field at our IOW site, in memory of Stuart, was mentioned. A review of the year reminded us of how much we had done, and a touching description of each committee member reminded us of how much THEY all do.

Individual members then gave their reports for the year, which were concise and sometimes entertaining; and once the formalities of new appointments were made we were all ready for a refreshments break.

After the break new roles were confirmed: The main changes are that Steve Davis has decided to stand down from the committee but will continue to maintain the website; and Ade Houldey remains on committee but has handed over (due to a work promotion and increased responsibilities) his role of PRO to Jayne Bishop, who adds this to her Charity Co-ordinator role.

A presentation was made to Neil Whitlock for his lovely CCRM pennon design before handing over to Trevor Cooke, regional Rep, who made a few announcements and thanked us for a well conducted meeting.

The Andy Buckley Trophy this year goes to Grainne Hanley for her attendance, enthusiasm, and commitment since joining the CCY last year. Nikki received the trophy on her behalf.

After the meeting was closed we were able to enjoy a Baked Potato Supper, with a delicious choice of fillings, and an informal social evening to catch up with each others news.

Much later, when we were all more ‘chilled’, what could well be the committee of the future decided to have a premature rehearsal of an AGM. OUR CHILDREN! They took their roles very seriously, impersonated their parents perfectly, and kept us very entertained!

Once again some of our NWDA members attended this prestigious event at Drayton Manor Park. What better reason could there be for buying a posh frock and dancing into the early hours in high heels instead of walking boots? And that’s just the men! You do have to eat very little all day in order to leave plenty of room for the seven course meal though! And any fears of being too full to dance after such a feast are completely unfounded as there are After Dinner Speeches and entertainment to listen to while your food goes down!

This year, after the speeches, we were serenaded by a Mr Richard Comfort; who returned to sing again towards the end of the evening. In between we danced the night away to Party Music provided for us by the Central Counties Social secretary Les, and our own Chairman Steve Kennings; with Ade Houldey ably filling a gap when they experienced a technical hitch!

Take a look at the photographs, see who you can recognise, and see how well us campers can ‘scrub up’

When we have to.

The scene was set, and Santa was on his way, as families with children started to arrive for the first part of our Christmas party.

The children were entertained, met Santa, received some lovely gifts in Santa’s log cabin, and enjoyed a delicious plated buffet tea.

The room at The Shirley Centre was warm and inviting, and the tables were decorated in this year’s theme of Black and Silver; as were most of our guests. It was so lovely to see everyone again.

The adult’s buffet that followed was a fantastic feast of Christmas fayre, and there was plenty to go around. Afterwards there was a huge cake wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from N.W.D.A.

‘After Dinner Speeches’ included introducing the Committee and their partners to everyone and presenting the ladies with chocolates: The Temporary Holiday Sites Stewards were thanked for all their hard work; and the raffle was drawn with some fantastic prizes for the lucky winners.

We also took the opportunity at the end of a great camping year to introduce next years adopted charity: We are going to be raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind; and were joined tonight by a gorgeous puppy dog and her handler. We are also delighted to say that one of our members Dil Jones has kick started the fundraising by donating a massive £1000. MANY THANKS Dil Jones and Parcel Force.

Finally it was great to be able to welcome Mick Barr onto the floor as he wanted to present a bouquet of flowers to the young lady who he considers saved his life when he suffered a Heart Attack at the end of our Halloween Meet (perhaps future Halloween Meets should carry a health warning!) but unfortunately she was away on holiday. Anyway thanks to Rhea’s actions Mick made it to Hospital where he had surgery and has made an excellent recovery.

N.W.D.A committee, family and friends would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year

If you find the weekly Brocklehurst Award faintly amusing here is some information about its origins aswell as a round up of some of the best.

The silver plated serving dish came from Michelle Leivers, who actually bid for and won it at auction after the annual awning sale three years ago.

The name of James Brocklehurst came from a rather strange gentleman who crashed through the front door of Ade and Jayne’s house during a private party, trod on and broke one of Hannah’s toys, told us his name, then announced to us that he was there to collect his son; whereby he soon discovered that he had gone to the wrong house!

Soon after that Ade broke off the steering wheel in his car, and insisted it would be fine once he had stuck it back on!

Because we felt this kind of stupidity deserved some kind of recognition, and because Michelle was desperate to be rid of her silver trinket (having already tried without success to secretly leave it in other peoples caravans) it was awarded to Ade.

And so The James Brocklehurst Trophy is now famously awarded to someone, most D.A weekends, for doing or saying something really silly (which they usually instantly regret!)

Here is a list of some of the winners so far…

Jayne Houldey was in a public toilet, accidentally pulled the help cord, and when someone came to her assistance was so embarrassed that she told them it was 2 year old Hannah who had done it!

Caroline Roberts thought that caravan microwaves could run off gas!

Henrietta thought you needed a passport to go to the I.O.W!

Steve Kennings was holding up Lost Property one coffee morning, and when he finally took notice of what his wife was trying to tell him he realised that the sunglasses he was trying to find an owner for were HIS!

Sarah Davis declared late one night whilst sitting out under the stars, having consumed an amount of wine, that "the planes round here are so low you can see their indicators"!

Mary Whitehouse also declared late one night whilst also sitting out under the stars, having also consumed an amount of wine, that "someone had a lot of lights at the top of their flagpole"…what she was actually looking at was the Lichfield Radio Masts!

Michelle Leivers bought some books for her husband at the May Day book stall, but when she proudly presented them to Mark he had to tell her they were the ones HE had donated!

Mark Hill was once daft enough to fill a bucket in the boot of his car with water, having forgotten that it had a hole drilled in it!

Paul Gromet was just as daft to have fallen down a ditch, in the middle of the night by his caravan, having also forgotten it was there!

Mark Nicklin was once caught on his hands and knees, with his head in the caravan fridge, looking for maltezers in nothing but his underpants!

Min made the unfortunate mistake of referring to a generator as a ‘vibrator’.

Chris Edwards also made the mistake of referring to a satellite station in the sky as a ‘playstation’.

But the strangest case of mistaken identity was when Harriett Leivers mistook the bonfire pile at Binton (a few weeks before they were due to host a bonfire party) for Andy and Ruth’s tent!.

Keeping it in the family Mark Leivers won the award, at this years Halloween meet, for getting into the shower to remove the remains of his vampire makeup, sitting on the loo naked and finding out too late that the water had run out! He had to seriously grovel to wife Michelle to help him out!

Talking of Andy Nicklin we are sure he received the award once but cannot remember what for!

We hope you enjoyed reading about our Brocklehurst All Stars.

If there is anyone we have forgotten that you think deserves a mention please let us know.

Also if you tell us which story you find the most amusing we may even start an Annual ‘Over All Winners Award’!

We do think that a special prize should go to the Leivers family for having the MOST family members to have won the award…especially as Michelle would rather see the back of it!

See some of the fools here

Prepare to be scared! Look at the photo’s if you dare! A spooky time was had by all at our 4^th Halloween meet at our usual ’ haunt’ by Mary Arden’s house near Stratford.

Guests started to arrive Friday morning and many were soon decorating their scary units. By nightfall the tempting aroma of hot soup, crusty bread, and mulled wine was drawing people to the devilishly decorated Haunted House; otherwise known as a marquee-this time a larger hired one to accommodate all our victims.

Excitement was rising as everyone waited for their turn to go on the now famous Ghost Walks; this year split into 5 groups. As they got underway the night air was repeatedly filled with the sounds of loud heartbeats, growls, ghostly mutterings, and ear piercing screams; some recorded and some real! The experience ended with a terrifying journey through a dark maze containing various bloodthirsty scenes!

The actors and actresses were later unmasked and revealed to us all in the marquee.

On Saturday morning many were adding the finishing touches to their units

whilst the children were invited into the marquee to have a go at a Lucky Dip, to buy Kids Raffle Tickets, and to buy tempting treats at the Tuck Shop.

Saturday afternoon the youngsters were able to make Bats and witches Hats aswell as enter the haunted House Colouring Competition. They could also have a go at Apple Bobbing or Doughnut Nibbling, which was quite a ‘scream’! A team of Face Painters was then available to transform anyone who needed something specific for their Fancy Dress Outfit later.

There was just enough time for the Jack-o-Lanterns (carved pumpkins) to be brought to the front of the marquee ready for judging before it was time to get changed into wicked costumes ready for ‘Trick or Treat’.

Fortunately everyone had treats ready at their units so no tricks needed to be played!

The Devil’s Disco began at 6.30 p.m and it was fantastic to see so many creepy costumes; but a little scary when you couldn’t tell who was behind the masks!

Food from Hells Kitchen was served around 7 p.m, with Hot Dogs, Chilli and Rice, or Chicken Hotpot to choose from. It was DEVILICIOUS!

Dancing to all the best spooky songs continued until 11 p.m, with prizes for the best Fancy Dress Costumes being awarded halfway through: Best Girl was Emma, Best Boy was Liam, Best Woman was Diane (who even managed to find a real Dalmatian to borrow to add the finishing touch to her Cruella Deville costume!) and Best Man was Andy.

Amazingly Committee and CCY members were up early enough (well they did get an extra hour due to the clocks going back!) to prepare and cook breakfasts, for sale from 9 a.m onwards. The wonderful smell of bacon wafting across the field even tempted people through the rain to the kitchen.

After breakfast there were various prizes to be awarded as follows:-

The prize for Best Dressed Halloween Unit went once again to Andy and Celia, who put a monstrous amount of effort into their display.

Bonus ball winners were Dave, Michelle, and Sharon.

The Under 5,s Colouring Competition winner was Hannah; the 6-8 years winner was Jenny; and the Over 9’s winner was Joe.

Winner of the Best Jack-o-Lantern was Lorraine; and the first drawn correctly completed Hunt the Bats entry was Max.

The Brockellhurst Award went to Mark Leivers for deciding to have a ‘morning after’ shower to remove his Dracula face paint and black hair, whereby he was sat on the loo naked to find the water had just gone; which left HIM in quite a predicament and his WIFE with the upper hand! It does conjure up an hilarious image doesn’t it?! So Mark and Michelle will hold the award until next season, which is rather fitting as Michelle donated the silver trinket in the first place!

Of course there were many Children’s and Adult’s Raffle Prize winners aswell; so WELL DONE TO ALL.

Finally NWDA would like to thank Colliers Land Rover http://www.colliers.landrover.co.uk/ for supporting us once again by enabling us to hire a superb marquee for the weekend; and Bernard Robe (independent Financial Advisor) whose support enabled us to have radios to marshal the weekend.

And don’t our boys just love having Walkie Talkies to play with!

You can also tell they love being Action Men from the aerial shots of the field taken from the top of the marquee! by Mark Nicklin.

Volleyball Meet

Despite the meticulous planning that went into the annual pilgrimage to the Volleyball meet, late changes to plans and personnel arrangements resulted in NWDA arriving with only 6 players for their 1^st team and 3 regular volleyball players for their 2^nd team.

This years ‘summer’ again dealt a Friday to remember with heavy rains and blustery winds resulting in a mud bath at the entrance to the site. After approx 20 units had made it to their pitches in the lower field, the decision was made by the organising committee to close entry to the field and tow every one onto the top field normally reserved for the working party. This meant that Ade & Jayne had to make new friends this weekend as they were not allowed to pitch with the rest of the NWDA members!

It was with great relief that Saturday morning brought a glorious change in the weather and at 9.30am, following a brief opening ceremony, the matches began. NWDA had managed to loan a Teesside junior to make up a 2^nd team and were therefore able to compete in both Division 1 and 3. It is of great interest to see who decides to enter into Division 1 and apart from NECDA98, the places were filled with the normal two teams from Teesside DA and Yorkshire DA, one from H&WDA and one from NWDA.

The early Division 1 NWDA games went well with easy wins against both Teesside and one of the Yorkshire teams; the other Yorkshire team (Flower Power and last years champions), also winning their early games. NWDA then came up against 2005 champions H&WDA and were surprised by their easy win; was this to be NWDA’s year at last!. However the win against H&WDA came at a cost. Following a slip whilst serving, Adrian Houldey had to be substituted after picking up a torn calf muscle – a reoccurrence of the one he picked up at Christmas last year whilst playing indoor league volleyball. This meant a shuffle around of the team with Darren Bishop switching to outside hitter and Jan Wardle coming on as setter. This change appeared to unsettle the NWDA team as they took on the only other unbeaten team, Flower Power, in the final pool match of the day. After a titanic struggle, NWDA lost a very close 1^st set but then went on to take the next 2 sets to win 2-1 and win the pool as the only unbeaten team of the day.

Another twist for the team was to come as, with the weather forecast for the Sunday looking poor, the organising committee decided that the semi-final matches were to be played on the Saturday rather than the Sunday. Having just come out of their hardest match, and a day that started at 9.30am, NWDA were faced with a semi-final at 6pm vs. Teesside 2. Tiredness could be seen in their play as, having previously played the best game of the day, NWDA were now struggling to find any form against a team that they had easily beaten 2-0 in the 1^st match of the day. Despite winning the 1^st set they continued to struggle and lost a close 2^nd set. When another injury occurred ½ way through the 3^rd set, this time to Aneel Khanna who it has subsequently been discovered has severely torn ankle ligaments, when NWDA were leading by just a few points things looked bleak. This meant the introduction of Rhea Shelly and after another change to the formation was made, NWDA were able to stabilise the ship and with great relief won 2-1 and were into the Division 1 finals.

The NWDA 2^nd team playing in Division 3 were unable to win any matches and felt very disheartened at not playing better during the Saturday fixtures. Also a freak injury to Nikki Wardle, a wrist sprain when warming up, has also meant that she too will not be able to play volleyball again for several weeks during the summer.

The Sunday morning Final was the only game to be played, and in front of a small crowd, NWDA began their match against reigning champions Flower Power. The disappointment in Ade and Aneel’s faces was clear to see at missing the final – the 1^st time NWDA have made it to this stage for over 15 years.

Despite the heroics of Lee Cowperthwaite who literally threw himself around the court, and in many eyes was the player of the tournament, Andy Nicklin’s back court defence and excellent hitting by Mark Fielding in his 1^st ever outing with NWDA members, NWDA were missing their 2 injured male players. In the best of 5 set match, NWDA were unable to build enough attacks to trouble Flower Power who won 3-0.

The closing ceremony was moved to the safety of the marquee as the heavens again opened and the rain came down. Medals were awarded to all winners and runners up, along with player of the tournament and young player of the tournament.

We all packed up feeling very disappointed and wet, vowing to come back next year – fitter and injury free – to hopefully go one step further and win the final of Division 1.

By Aneel

Weston On Avon June 2007

Whilst still feeling elated following our recently hosted and thoroughly enjoyable Central Counties Regional Meet, we were nevertheless looking forward to a quiet and relaxing weekend.
The wet weather forecast probably affected the turn out, which mainly comprised committee members; and apart from throwing a surprise 40th birthday party for the lovely Mrs Jayne Houldey  it WAS very quiet! But Saturday evening we were in the  party spirit and the photos probably say it all!

The gates opened for business on Thursday; the fields, the stage and the marquee were all decorated to depict the Calendar Year - with a spectacular Halloween stage for our Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The units started to roll in, the Marshalls were immediately on great form and everyone was welcomed with a smile. The full program of entertainment kicked off on Thursday evening in the main marquee with a "Race Night", hosted by Ade, with his six fine fillies taking bets and dishing out the winnings. The night was a great success with a lot of shouting and cheering on for the greyhound dogs.

Friday morning came and it was all stations go: The caravans were rolling in, the traders were all setting up their wares around the Arena, and the main marquee became the height of activity, with Admin for booking in, Raffle, Regalia, Tombola, Refreshments and the Kids Corner, raising money and awareness for the CCY/CCJ sections. The weather was kind to us and the hype was strong as we were all watching the caravans arriving, and numbers rising. We had dreamt of doing 300 and by the time the sun was going down over the field, we were at 375. We were amazed!. Friday night and it was Valentines time. We had Manifesto doing us proud on the music and Steve and Ade playing up the crowd with their antics awarding tokens of love with Chocolates and bubbly to some loving couples.

Saturday morning and it was going to be a scorcher. All the focus was now on the Arena, the Pennons were raised, and people gathered for the official opening of the meet. Straight away the Volleyball tournament kicked off with 10 teams playing against each other through the to Semi-Final stage, ready for a repeat of the NWDA vs NDA Final on Sunday Morning. After the energeticness of the Volleyball, it was time to entertain the kids with "Conk the Clown" and the Fire Brigade on site. Before we knew it, it was time to get ourselves all dressed up for the "Mardi Gras", an amazing turn out from every DA, depicting the Months of the Year. We saw some great sights and amazing creativity. The NWDA entry was huge, with some very scary faces depicting October and Halloween. The judges had a tough job, but it was again awarded to reigning champs Northants who deservingly took the trophy back home again with their George and the Dragon.

Time for preparing the Marque ready for our big act "The Ivy League". It was a gorgeous night, the sides were dropped on the marquee, and the crowds starting arriving. The party spilled outside the marquee, the Santa's , the Fairy’s and many, many Elves started arriving to celebrate Christmas with a bang. The kids had their disco with Xmas tunes and a snow machine, which they all loved. Come 9.15pm and it was time, Ade hit the stage and introduced "The Ivy League" They got the crowds joining in immediately and they seemed to hit the nail on the head, with their memorable performance.

Sunday morning, and a little more reserved we all attended Church with the lovely Rev. MacLachlan, who totally connected with us as Caravanners, and bought his pet wolf puppet, to make us all laugh. Straight back into the Arena and it was time for the Horace Ringrose Family Sports, with a good turnout from each DA, doing games such as Pancake Tossing, and dressing up as Santa!!! There was much cheering from the crowds and it all ended with a mass water fight with the water bombs and NWDA winning overall. Go North Warwicks!!. The games were removed and the Volleyball net went up for the final between North Warwick’s and Notts DA. This was a great final, which went one set each, before a very close third set, which finally went to NWDA… No fix honestly! During all the energeticness of the sports, the traders were all doing well around the Arena and the Raffle Prizes were been claimed, with some smiling faces. No time for a breather, it was straight into the Closing Ceremony, with many acknowledgements and the Trophies were handed out for the Sports, Volleyball and Mardi Gras. The meet was officially closed by the Regional Vice Chairman, Norman Hemsley. The Arena cleared, and the units started to leave, the Marshalls were still all in high spirits and led each and every unit safely off site. The field was looking empty, and everything got dismantled and packed away, leaving everywhere looking like we had never been there. The Farmer was one of the most obliging Land owners we know, and supported us and helped us all throughout. A handful of the Committee stayed on for a last night drink and Chinese, before packing up Monday, and seeing the last of the equipment being taken away, including the Marque. All over for another year, where we look forward to seeing everyone of you at Lindon Top to support SLDA at the CCRM2008.

BY JAYNE BISHOP

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It was with great excitement that we arrived on site ready to work our socks off to prepare the venue for this years Central Counties Regional meet. Even the weather was on our side!!

The working party village was soon established and by the end of the weekend a vast area of farm land was also marked out ready for District Association Members to start arriving later in the week. NWDA committee members, family and friends were joined by National Council Members aswell as other D.A members. All were united by a fantastic atmosphere of exited anticipation for the weekend ahead.

Of course much planning and preparation had already gone into the event and although a lot of the work could not be done till the marquee, trade stands and trailer etc began to arrive, working party members were kept busy sticking tickets onto hundreds of tombola prizes, marking out the grounds (as already mentioned), painting, and drawing up work rotas. A team also shopped, prepared and served food for the working party.

Some of us had to return home (reluctantly) at the end of the weekend to go to work or school. Some planned to commute to work, daily, and some used holiday leave to stay on site. While for others it was a case of ‘What better way to spend your retirement?!’

Either way, this week, many peoples minds were on the weekend ahead.

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