Friday morning dawned and life was good - I had a day booked off work! The reason being that the VW action festival started that night and I wanted to make sure I made the most of my pre-booked weekend ticket. This was to include camping, but I had one slight problem - no tent! So, after spending the morning doing some jobs I had planned, my first port of call that afternoon was the local camping shop. Now I haven't put up, slept in or put down a tent for about 15 years! So into the camping shop I ventured, sheepishly asking the friendly and helpful assistant for "a tent that's cheap, waterproof, has room for 2 (I didn't fancy a one man tent, as I foresaw that it may be a little too claustrophobic!) and easy to put up". As it happens this is a request they get a lot and they had just the thing. So that part was easy!
Said tent was then taken home and semi assembled in my lounge, to check everything was there. By the time I had mastered the concept behind putting up my new tent (boy they have moved on a lot since I was a boy scout!) 5pm was drawing close and the prospect of the M25 in the rush hour didn't sound too good, so I put off leaving for an hour or so.
So once the trusty Rallye was loaded up with tent, sleeping bags, clothes and other essentials I headed off towards Herts County Showground, enjoying the rumble of the VR6's exhaust as always. Some traffic was encountered, and then of course a stop for beer was needed at the local sainsburys! By the time I arrived at the show dusk was beginning to fall. This worried me, as I hadn't actually managed to put the tent completely up yet!
I rumbled into the showground, spotting my friend Ben at one of the many burger vans, stuffing his face, as I passed. He gave me directions towards the No-Rice camping area, where I was greeted by a throng of happy faces sat amongst cars and tents. I parked up, said hello to everyone and grabbed my new tent. After a little confusion, dark falling, some help from Giles, and Glen's portable floodlight (Glen proved to be an invaluable source of gadgets throughout the weekend!) the tent was erected, fairly swiftly, with a sigh of relief. A quick trip to obtain some food from one of the burger vans and I settled on the floor with the other No-Ricers for beer and burgers by the light of a portable barbecue and a few Scirocco headlights.
Freshly fed and watered (well with a few beers inside us anyway!) we all decided to check out the evening entertainment that was now in full swing. Wandering through countless VWs of all types, from beetles, to campers, to the latest watercooled machinery, we came to the central area and boy were things in full swing! Queues at the burger vans were huge, people were milling about everywhere, stands were being erected...
About 10 of us decided to take over the dodgem ride, and chaos ensued for 5 minutes, No-Rice style! This was followed by a ride on one of those things that you stand up in and are spun round as if in a giant washing machine. After a few beers this may not have been a good idea, as several green faces emerged from it, one of which being mine. I recovered though, unlike some others! Then the bouncy castle was enjoyed by those who survived, followed by the big top with some great tunes being provided by the legendary Louis Gaston. At around 1pm it was time for bed.
Saturday morning at 8am the bright sunshine shining through the fabric of my tent woke me up, after a reasonably good sleep. Bleary eyed, I joined the others in finding the shower block and having breakfast. Cars were re-arranged on the stand into groups by type, and then washed. After the previous evening's festivities this somehow took until lunchtime, by which time Tris and Justin had arrived too. Now it was time to wander the showground and see what everyone else had brought with them!
We were not disappointed. Bargains galore were to be had on the trade stands, smiling faces and VWs of every type were to be seen everywhere, and in between rain showers and gusts of wind, the sun shone brightly. I managed to pick up a folding chair to sit on while back at the stand, and one or two little trinkets that took my eye but nothing major. It was just nice to wander around and browse through the copious amounts of cheap parts, all manner of novelty items (even air guns were on sale!), cars for sale, and various club stands showing off their members immaculate cars. A show and shine competition was held for those who wished to compete for the title of best car.
Children were kept entertained by the "worlds smallest circus" teaching them tricks and magic, and for the ones that were too cool for that there was a playstation shoot out too. Having said that both events seemed to have their fair share of "big kids" taking part too.
A dent removal company was present, and several of us too advantage of the £30 per panel offer. Two dents were removed from my bonnet, which I was very pleased with. This also provided an opportunity to park in the centre of the show, causing the Rallye to draw some admiring glances, and friendly chats from people who were interested in its history.
It was now time to stock up on food and barbeque, because the food at the show was quite expensive, and barbeques are fun anyway! So Tris and I headed off in search of a supermarket, with Nicky, Ben and his friend Andy catching a lift as well. Eventually after lots of driving about we found a suitably large supermarket and piled in, buying instant barbeques, lots of meat and some other snacks.
Back at the campsite, it was time for more beer, more food and a relaxed chat about the day's events. People wandered back and forth from the main arena to the campsite all night, checking out the VW action 70s disco. In the big top everyone was very merry and dancing the night away, some had even gone to the effort of dressing up in devil or 70s costumes - devil horns and Afros were everywhere! There was a little bit of a hellish theme to the whole affair - there was even a fire eater performing to one side of the main stage where the DJ was sat behind his decks, which were cunningly disguised behind half a beetle shell! Several of the ladies present had also opted for cheeky devil outfits, much to the male proportion of our party's approval!
After a drunken midnight barbeque in the dark (not particularly well cooked, unsurprisingly!) we all fell back into our tents.
Sunday was more of the same, with a concours for the real show cars, with not a speck of dirt - on, under or in them, or anywhere to be seen, for that matter. A stripped out mk1 golf with several custom touches, not least the chromed 16v engine on throttle bodies, stole the show. As on the day before, more bargains were to be had, including a set of secondhand alloys and tyres I picked up for less than the price of a couple of new tyres!
Sometime during Sunday sculptures were created from piles of scrap VW parts, some of which ended up looking quite scary! The day ended with the beautiful concours cars parading through the main show for all to see.
Words by Jeff, pictures by Justin & Tris.