Having heard rumours of fancy dress “episodes” at earlier events, it was with some trepidation that I set off for the last half of the 2002 Holiday Rally at Scratby Hall. Due to business commitments I was only able to leave on the Wednesday morning. Following a slight accident I was also unsure how I would cope with the Dandy on my own, driving was painful enough.

 Arriving in the middle of the afternoon I was met with the usual greeting and offer of tea by the camp stewards who then set about erecting my Dandy and filling water containers and fire buckets. The rest of afternoon was spent getting the shipshape before being chauffeured to the meeting point for the evening’s boat trip.Throughout the week and weekend I had various friendly offers of help to make sure I was enjoying myself including offers to share meals and barbeques and a knock on my door around midnight to ask if I’d gone to sleep with the lights on (I was watching TV with my headphones on so as not to disturb campers but the consideration was appreciated).