The BMF's Garden Of England bike show is the local summer follow-up to the huge Peterborough show and this year took place on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th June. Last year we had scorching weather and lots of interest in the club stand; would this year be the same? One change is that due to various commitments, we did not go down and set up the marquee on the Friday evening. Experience has suggested that an early start on Saturday morning will give us enough time, although that does mean foregoing the Friday night entertainment laid on.
So it was a bright and early Saturday that saw the hardy helpers convene at Paddock Wood. In no time the marquee was up and those who were staying overnight had pitched their own tents conveniently behind. Then it was just a case of erecting the amazing fold-out display stand (and lashing together the broken joints) sticking up some posters, laying out some newsletters and Nacelle back-issues on the tables, hanging up the banners, arranging the bikes out front and all was ready. Fortunately perhaps there was no great rush of punters charging across the well-tended fields at 10 a.m. but as we were putting the finishing touches to our member-magnet (as in recruitment of...) they started trickling in.
Throughout the Saturday the weather kept us guessing, with the skies clouding over to a menacing dark grey before clearing to leave bright sunshine. Only once did we get a light shower, which was enough to leave water marks on the bikes. Expecting the pattern to be repeated however I chose not to buff up my bike again until the next morning. We had a typical cross-section of enquiries, more than one of which started off on the assumption that we were part of the RAT bunch. We were proud to put people right: we are the independent Triumph Owners' Club catering for all ages, shapes and sizes of bike. Then we pointed at the (now predominantly Hinckley) array on display! Some people did take away membership application forms, others resolved to capitalise on their existing membership by actually coming to a meeting or event; nobody however went away from our stand without a flier for the rally and usually one for the barbeque as well. We certainly gave away hundreds of rally fliers over the course of the weekend.
Many of the die-hard crew stayed over the Saturday night for some booze and music. I wimped out - and I'm man enough to admit it, oh yes - and was heading home at about 5 p.m. However I was back promptly next morning to witness a large-scale outdoor breakfast "happening" (as they used to say in the 60's) going on behind the marquee. Hence it was a slightly less regimented stand that greeted the early arrivals from the "public sector" - not to mention a distinct if distant smell of frying bacon. On Sunday however the weather was good all day and I acquired my usual lightly-done lobster look that took a couple of days to fade. We had a few more bikes on the stand and the whole show was noticeably busier. One eye-catching passer-by was a guy from Laguna in Maidstone, riding around the arena on a new Rocket III. This was the first time that I, for one, had seen an example actually running, as opposed to being clamped down at a show or squeezed into Boyer's front window.
He stopped for a chat and was told that our Andy was waiting on one from Boyers. As they were nattering I was mentally hauled back to the moment earlier in the morning that I approached the Hop Farm on my new 955i Speed Triple (ahem). With only about a mile to go I realised that I was in sight of a large cruiser-style bike up ahead. At the next roundabout I was closer but not near enough to identify it positively. However as the rider pulled away from the roundabout I made to keep up with him, curious to compare the available acceleration. Not having fully run in my bike (good excuse eh?) I gave up as to my surprise the neat taillight layout grew smaller in my vision (clue here?). Anyway back in the present I started convincing myself that it was Mr Laguna who had poured on the power and it was the Rocket III that had left me in its wake. True or not I couldn't be completely sure but it certainly oozed power as it sat ticking over in front of our stand. Sadly our best efforts were not sufficient to entice bike and rider to take up a more established place there for the day so off he eventually went.
One of the featured events of the day was a custom and classic bike show. The B.M.F. had effectively sub-contracted this out to the Renegade MC who know a tasty bike when they see one. Gary had brought down his T160 and so could not resist entering it. Phil Loom manfully submitted his T150, but the T160's track record made it a favourite from the start. There was a diverse selection of bikes, from a number of lavish Harleys, one of which featured a beautifully executed Fire Service theme, to some Mad Max-inspired trikes, although there may not have been much wrought iron in the Aussie crash-fest. Amazingly, though not in the show, at the back of the Renegades tent was another Rocket III which made two "in the wild" for one day.
Come prize-giving time it was Gary who walked away with the Best Classic award and the Fire Service bike came top in at least one category. By late afternoon the crowds were dispersing and the stunt show's umpteenth repetition was playing to much reduced numbers so we began taking down the stand and packing away into the new and much improved club trailer. There was only one unexpected follow-up to this successful weekend and it appeared as a write-up in the colourful pages of Back Street Heroes magazine. There were many pictures from the Sunday, one of which featured Chris Biggs' Bonneville with John Tolland's son sat on it and Chris' elbow clearly in shot. Fame and fortune beckons... There was also a photo of a regular on the Medway TOMCC stand but sadly neither branch merited a mention in the text.