A forecast of rain for the weekend, heading for the M25, Maureen not feeling too well and the Stewards asleep when we arrive! Things did not bode well for a September rally in North London. As it turned out this was an excellent rally, well stewarded by Jim and Avril, once they had woken up, and at a very good site. How nice to be among trees, squirrels, rabbits and wide open spaces, we could be forgiven for thinking we were in a rural setting rather than between the North Circular and the M25. The Lea Valley Site had excellent facilities and was very secure although I’m not sure whether the razor wire around the perimeter fence was there to keep people out or us in! 

The 13 units in attendance had plenty of room and the weather was mainly sunny and dry giving people the opportunity to sit out and chat or follow whatever pursuit they wished. One of the pursuits was finding the answers to Jim’s quiz on aspects of London. I learnt two things from that a) I know very little about London b) there are quite a few swats in the club! Maureen and I spent Saturday walking in part of the Lea Valley around Waltham and Cheshunt where we were able to admire the abundant wildlife particularly the beautiful dragonflies. Having been unable to dodge the raffle sellers at tea time we were treated to our first Dandy streaker who shall remain anonymous apart from the fact that a Chelsea FC towel was involved! We spent the evening at Walthamstow Greyhound Track, just down the road, picking which dog we would like to take home. Unfortunately our greyhound Abi was no help in giving us some inside information and we returned broke!

However winning a potato peeler in the raffle on Sunday did lift our spirits…well a little! The weather was again sunny and pleasant and we were able to sit out and have a good natter. We paid a quick visit to Gunpowder Park, an emerging nature, science and arts initiative, which was, to be honest, not that interesting and then slowly packed away for the journey home. Jim and Avril spent the weekend making sure everyone was alright and I can assure them, through this medium, that we were very much alright and had a lovely weekend.

Dave Jones