The shortlist of attendees read: myself, Phil Loom and Chris Holland. Different work commitments decreed that we all travelled separately and arrived at different times - Phil first, myself in the early evening of the Friday and Chris mid-afternoon Saturday. The rally followed the usual format: great food from the kitchen, a reasonable DJ on Friday night a ride-out on Saturday and a great band on Saturday night. Except that one thing made for a difference: come Saturday morning the weather was wet and it continued raining for some hours, hard enough to persuade myself, Graham Ham and more than a few others to stay in the bar. The official call for the ride-out departure was generally met with the expected, good-humoured, no-thank-yous, although apparently seven or so bikes did venture forth.
A couple of pints with Graham, followed by a couple of pints talking to some of the Oswestry guys I'd met at the Trumpettreffen in the Netherlands and then several things dawned on me: I needed some cash, Phil had decided to go for a ride anyway and Graham had drifted off elsewhere. The rain had eased off but once I got out to the tents I found Phil who was having problems with his T150 and had not got anywhere yet, so I consulted the map and decided to walk into Oswestry.
First impressions were not stunning, as the approach was dominated by a large supermarket and a rough-looking pub. Imagine my surprise when, as I sauntered past the aforementioned pub with my sights set on the first cashpoint I could find, Graham leant out of the door to the public bar and called me over. I explained that I needed to keep my priorities in order and I'd stop in on the way back. After locating some cash and grabbing a sandwich I duly did but the place was no more enticing once inside - the sort of dump where they have the background music on and the TV - so after a token beer (not to be confused with a beer token) I returned to the rally site and was on hand to greet Chris who had called my mobile while I was in the pub.
More beers and food were enjoyed, the band were great despite having taken on a new drummer since I'd seen them last year (and this guy came with his own little riser for his kit!) and a good time was had by all. Phil won Best Triumph for his T150, to add to his extensive collection of trophies. Apparently someone let off a few fireworks in the small hours but I must have slept through that because next thing I knew it was Sunday morning and the weather was fine for an easy ride home. Thanks to the Birmingham and Wolves branch for another great rally - I'll be recommending it to all and sundry for next year.