DANDY 2003 HOLIDAY RALLY DEVON

Observations from first-timers

We’ve just returned home from an excellent week-plus at Forest Glade near Cullompton, Devon. It was our very first Dandy Rally since purchasing our second-hand Designer in March, although we had taken it out and about to various sites throughout the UK in order not to look complete idiots when meeting all the experts!

 We had an extremely wet Friday drive from Hertfordshire via the M25, M3 and then the A303 across Salisbury Plain into Devon. Hardly ideal conditions for the pristine trailer I’d spent hours cleaning the day before! However, beginners’ luck meant that we arrived in a dry hour in order to get everything up and shipshape before the rain started again. Later arrivals weren’t quite so fortunate and we were full of admiration, especially for the expert helpers who made sure that everyone had a roof over their heads that night.  

 More rain the next day and as we were at the lower end of the site the mud thickened! We dashed (if ‘dash’ is possible on those narrow lanes!) into Honiton on Saturday morning in search of rubber mats for both us and other fellow mud-bound sufferers, and the hardware store there came up trumps with a special order which arrived for us on the Monday. After the rain eventually stopped, we had a glorious few days with camping at its best. It was lovely watching the gliders launch into their thermals from the nearby airfield and not-so-lovely ducking into our pillows when a stray, low-flying aircraft flew dangerously low over the site in the middle of one night! Phew!

 We’d called in to the Sacrewell Farm Rally in October last year, before we even had a Dandy of our own, and came away most impressed by the friendliness of everyone we met there, but now being part of such a group was somewhat daunting, as we had no idea what to expect. Would it be loudhailers at dawn demanding that we slop out, make beds and do early morning exercises en masse? Would our every move be monitored throughout the day? Would we have to join in with absolutely everything that was on the agenda? What on earth does ‘Flag Meet’ mean? Should we take our cryptic boat bunting (‘England Expects . . .’ etc) but, as our Australian friends would so aptly say, ‘No worries’.  

 After a very warm welcome from Chris and Pete we were left to do exactly what any holidaymakers would want to do for a week – explore the site then the beautiful Devon countryside and coast within easy reach and, but only if you wanted to, work on answering an excellent quiz to hand in the next weekend (which we very much enjoyed) and decorating a plain cardboard plate (which we also enjoyed doing). Without wishing to steal Viv’s thunder (not that we would even dare try!) WE hadn’t played boules before, either, but Beryl and I managed to get to the semi-finals and John and his partner to the finals (and if it hadn’t been for my bad back Viv . . . ??!!). It was all a lot of fun without being too OTT, so for those of you out there who, like us, may be a little apprehensive about attending a rally, we can reassure you that you will have a wonderful time with like-minded friendly people, but able to make your own plans if you prefer, so go for it and we’ll see you there! You won’t regret it.

 Our thanks are due particularly to Chris and Pete who organized such an excellent rally with great thoroughness and devotion to our every whim from start to finish. They were always there if needed, meeting and greeting, and frequently strolling around to make sure that everyone was alright. We hope that they enjoyed their second week without us all – they certainly deserved a bit of a holiday. Everyone was so helpful, with hints and tips that we have certainly noted and will action - after the garden is weed-free again! Thank you to everyone, and the children with their parents/grandparents were great company too, as of course were all the beautifully behaved dogs and Holly’s adorable new Boxer puppy companion now in Scotland. Anyone want a defensive barking Westie? (We don’t mean it, as we’re training her to be quieter next time – like us, she’s not quite used to camping yet and her bark is definitely worse than her bite as she’s a softy really.)  

 Apart from the dog, we have to apologise on two counts: firstly, for the raffle, where we came away with a ridiculous number of prizes – some of which we did manage to distribute to new Dandy friends before we left, and the rest you may well see again soon! Secondly, we apologise to everyone who missed our hilarious departure as it was quite a treat: John had coupled up the trailer, we’d checked the lights, he jumped in the car, we gave two toots of farewell and waved as I accelerated when . . . thump . . . the trailer stayed there!!! It was so funny (though John wasn’t quite so amused as the rest of us as he hadn’t connected it properly – in fact, he stands to be put in the next raffle, together with the dog maybe, unless anyone wants a part-exchange deal even sooner? No reasonable offer declined!) Our heartfelt thanks go, yet again, to all those helpful Dandy folk who got us sorted and on our way! You’re the salt of the earth, we had a brilliant time, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon (whilst appreciating that may not be mutual!)

 John & Mary Hilton