Welcome to
The ABI & Friends Caravan Club
A rallying club for all makes of
Caravans and Motor Homes
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Welcome to The ABI & Friends Caravan Club A rallying club for all makes of Caravans and Motor Homes
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The History of The Club 2010 Rally diary Updated 26th February Pacesetter(updated 24/08/10) Links (new link added 16/04/08) Photoalbum(updated 30/11/08) To add photos to the site please contact the Webmaster For Sale/Wanted(updated 01/02/09)
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The Official Journal of the ABI & Friends Caravan Club Pacesetter is published by the ABI & Friends Caravan club four times per year. Items of interest to the members should be sent to the editor for inclusion on the next available issue. The editor reserves the right to edit any material published in the magazine. The views and opinions of contributions are not necessarily those of the ABI & Friends Caravan Club. Members may place free non-commercial advertisements but the club cannot accept responsibility for the quality, operation or delivery of any product advertised in the PACESETTER. Authors must ensure that material does not contravene statute or regulation. The ABI & Friends Caravan Club does not endorse or support any product advertised herein.
SEPTEMBER 2010
Editors Bit!
Hello Everyone! I hope you have all had an excellent year so far and that you will continue to do so. We have had a very good time this summer. We’ve been to lots of rallies and enjoyed them all and we have just run the Yorkshire Day rally which was great fun! We had 12 caravans on the rally and masses of help from Eric and Sheilagh, who assisted us and Bob and Shirley who organised the Boules Tournament. I would also like to say a personal big ‘thankyou’ to Arthur for all his help ! I hope those of you who attended enjoyed the 40th Anniversary rally! It was excellent! A brilliant site, lovely village, and lots of events organised to keep us all entertained! Thanks Sam and Dianne and all the committee members and helpers who worked so hard in bringing it all together. We had not spent much time in this area before so we stayed on for an extra few days .We had a day in the Cotswolds, a day in Oxford and explored Banbury a little more. Lovely area. Many of you have been to France on a rally and it sounds like you have had a great time! Others have been to the Scotland and the south coast and some of you have been away from home for weeks and weeks! Isn’t it great to be caravanners!! Arthur and I have just had a marvellous few days in Hartlepool at the Tall Ships Race! What a spectacular event that was! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We will soon be looking to the AGM and I am sure Ron and Cath Edgell still have plenty of room on the rally which is in a very interesting place. Get your booking slips in! Hope to see you all soon!! Best regards from Marjorie
Chairmans Contribution
It was so good to see so many members at the 40th rally in June. The venue, the organisation, and the entertainment were excellent. Well done to the committee. I hope you all enjoyed the week as much as I did and I can now put faces to people I had only previously read about in the Pacesetter. My first year as chairman is passing swiftly by and I can’t believe it is time to remind everyone about the AGM. I hope you will join us at the Annual General Meeting which is being held at the Tudor Caravan Park, Slimbridge, during the weekend of 22nd - 24th October 2010. As well as the formal AGM business, there will be an open forum in which there is an opportunity for you to put questions to the committee. We are always keen to hear your views and it is you opportunity to contribute to the success of the club. A social and buffet is arranged for the Saturday evening and there are many interesting places to visit in the area. The Caravan Park has agreed that should you wish to stay extra nights, and I believe it is the children’s half term holiday; you may do so at the rally price of £7.00 per night. Until then, there are still many rallies in your handbook to enjoy. Anita Williamson Chairman
Celebration Rallies ABI & Friends Caravan Club
ABI & Friends Caravan Club 150 Rallies Sue & Ernie Pibworth Fringford, Oxfordshire September 2010
ABI & Friends Caravan Club Margaret & Peter Grubb 350th Rally Bake Farm, Coombe Bissett July 2010
ABI & Friends Caravan Club 200 Rallies Joan & Alan Mirfin Slimbridge October 2010
ABI & Friends Caravan Club 350th Rally Catherine & Ron Edgell St Cross Cricket Club, Winchester September 2010 ABI & Friends Caravan Club Harold & June Savage 450th Rally Haughton September 2010
ABI & Friends Caravan Club 100 Rallies George Plaskett Blissford August 2010
Boynton Rally When you want a nice quiet and not too active rally – Boynton, as it was this year is most certainly the answer. With only five vans for the majority of the rally Mary and Derek had little difficulty in arranging appropriate entertainment – it appears we were all quite happy to sit in their awning each evening and chat. We did have our usual evening visit to the nearby pub for their carvery – which went down very well. All our many thanks to Mary and Derek for this delightful experience. Eric and Sheilagh
Event 15 Barnstones 40th Anniversary Rally
Ashdown Caravan Park Seaton
Dear Ralliers, Ken and I would like to thank John, Jean and Rowina for a lovely relaxing rally at Seaton on 27th-31st May, and thanks to the rest of the Ralliers who made us so welcome, From Maureen Cook and Ken Usher
CHARITY AUCTION RALLY
Terry and I would like to thank everyone that attended the Charity Auction Rally. We as a club raised £800. I have received this letter and certificate from The Macmillan Cancer Support outlining what the money may be spent on. Thank you again this made all out hard work worth it.
Terry and Sue Grubb
Charlton Farm. BoyntonSpring Bank Holiday Event 12 We had a lovely relaxing time at the rally at Boynton, near Bridlington with Mary and Derek, our Marshalls. There was six vans in all. Most evenings we gathered in Mary and Dereks awning and were provided with tea and coffee and we just chatted the evening away! Its amazing how much we all have to talk about!. On Saturday evening we gathered in the awning for a lovely supper and drinks. We had a quiz afterwards which was very interesting and was won by Bob and Shirley. On the Sunday evening we all went to the pub for a meal which was excellent. It was a carvery followed by a choice of deserts. This was followed by ‘flag’ when we returned to the rally field. On the Monday we went seeking Puffins at Bempton Cliffs and were well rewarded, as we saw several. In the evening we went for a walk along the seafront and around the harbour as this was a beautiful sunny evening. Tuesday morning saw us all off the field quite early to travel down to Banbury for the 40th celebration rally. Many thanks, Mary and Derek for a great bank holiday! Best Regards, Marjorie and Arthur.
Event 13 Nene Valley Gliding Club Cambridgeshire is an area we haven't visited for 40 years. Thank you to Christine and Richard for arranging this rally. We had a really good time. There was so much to do in the area and we only scratched the surface. The club and it's facilities were a bonus, it's a pity we were dieting and missed out on the cooked breakfast. We had a wonderful time, thank you and we would like to return to the area. Geraldine and mike Bryer
Event no.13 Nene Valley gliding Club
What an excellent rally. On arrival we were welcomed by Christine with a lovely cup of tea. Richard has to be commended for the amount of preparation that went into this rally due to it being held on an airfield. Saturday night found us enjoying a lovely meal prepared by Christine and her helpers, Bill and Linda Murphy. It did not end there as we had breakfast prepared by the Gliding Club ,four star, for only £3. We were then told that a two course meal was being served for £6 and again they surpassed themselves. The icing on the cake however were the flights in a glider, several ralliers took to the air some three times! We can only ask that Christine and Richard repeat this rally again next year as we all enjoyed it so much.
Sunny Hunny.
EVENT 18. Moira Furnace Once again somewhere we have
not been before but we hope to go again. On Saturday most walked along
the railway about 25 mins walk to a local We sat around the Marshals awning each night and Sunday for Flag. The weather being warm all weekend Thanks to Jerry and Sylvia From Joan and Alan Mirfin
EVENT 14 MARSTON EDGE NURSERIES
Having only been to
Stratford for a few hours before it was
Joan and Alan Mirfin
NENE VALLEY GLIDING CLUB We would like to thank Richard & Christine for running the rally at Nene Valley. This was a rally held within the gliding club and their members made us extremely welcome. They allowed us the use of their clubhouse and even cooked us Breakfasts and Sunday Lunch. We had a communal barbeque and a lovely pub meal, so was well fed over the weekend. Monday was the best day of the rally for gliding, so those who were brave enough (and light enough) had a trip in a glider. Jerry being one of the brave one’s thoroughly enjoyed this. I myself kept my feet firmly on the ground, but it was good to watch! Thanks again to Richard & Christine and hopefully will see you there again next year. Sylvia & Jerry
INGLES HILL FARM We would like to thank everyone who supported our rally at Ingles Hill Farm. 11 outfits were booked in, which is a good support from the members. One of these was a first time rallier, being our eldest daughter Lisa and her partner Ewan. Many of you will know Lisa as she rallied with us for many years and is no stranger to the ABI. Ewan, however, is new to caravanning, so it was a new experience for him. I think that I am safe in saying that they both enjoyed the rally and we hope it will be one of many. Ingles Hill is a lovely venue and we were blessed with good weather, so we hope that you all enjoyed it and thanks again for your support. Sylvia & Jerry
EVENT 18. Moira Furnace
Once again somewhere we have
not been before but we hope to go again. Thanks to Jerry and Sylvia From Joan and Alan Mirfin
Event 16 Hill Cottage Camping & Caravan Park Just a Big Big THANK YOU to
Sue and Ernie Pibworth for all their hard work in making the Children's Fun
Weekend such a great success.
Barnstones Caravan Park 40th Anniversary Rally
We would like to say a big thank you to all our hard working committee and their families for such a great five days celebrating the club’s forty years of caravanning. The organisation was excellent and demonstrated what a great team effort can achieve; it was so efficient it was obvious that a lot of preplanning and forethought had gone into making this a very enjoyable five days. Every member of the committee had their allotted task and every event (and there were many and varied) came together perfectly, except perhaps the Karaoke which was turned into an impromptu joke telling session by virtue of a failure of a piece of equipment but from the sounds of laughter coming from the marques it was an event not to be missed. It was nice to receive a commemorative mug to mark the occasion and to also meet and catch up with many friends from around the country. This club certainly does bring us together. Well done Committee, again our thanks for such a memorable time. Kathy and Chris
Event 16 Hill Cottage Camping & Caravan Park
Ken and Maureen would like to say a big Thankyou to Sue and Ernie for a lovely rally at Fordingbridge from the 9th till the 13th June. It was a lovely place and we had lovely weather. They worked very hard and put a lot into the weekend. Our Grandchildren enjoyed the Saturday and the children enjoyed the bouncy castle. Thankyou once again from Maureen and Ken.
40th Celebration Rally
Ken and Maureen would like to thank Sam and Diane for putting on a great rally for the 40th Anniversary of our club. We were so pleased we came along, not having been in that area before, we really enjoyed it. Sam put on a great evenings entertainment on the Saturday night and came to the rescue on the Friday night when Dennis couldn’t get his Karaoke machine to work. It was nice to see a lot of ralliers we hadn’t seen for a long time . Also,a big thank you must go to the committee and helpers. They all worked so hard to make this rally such a huge success. Roll on the next big Anniversary! From Maureen Cook and Ken Usher
Event 37 Bashley Park Rally New Milton October 15-17
The cost for this rally is £13. 00 per night plus £ 2.00 rally fee. Booking slips to be received by September 25th please.
Moira Furnace Museum. This was the first time we had been able to attend the rally at Moira. The rally field is in a beautiful setting and provided easy access to many walks including those along the canal and the old railway line. Saturday’s weather encouraged most ralliers to follow the railway path in the direction of the pub. Here we had an excellent lunch. A combination of cheese and wine provided by the marshals and a balmy Saturday night resulted in many people sitting out till quite late sharing recent rallying stories. Sunday morning was a steady packing up to continue our journey, not home but onto another rally which actually started that day. A weekend really is not long enough here as there are many walks still to try out. Thank you Jerry and Sylvia for a lovely rally.
Sunliners
Bake Farm Salisbury.
And so on to our third rally in 10 days. I always enjoy rallies held on a fruit farm. Again the venue was beautiful and the sun continued to shine. This was a charity action rally run by Sue and Terry Grubb ably assisted by Sue and Ernie Pibworth. It was fascinating watching the growing display of items to be auctioned off. Terry was a star act as auctioneer and very skilful at persuading us to part with our money. I was very pleased with the beautiful crocheted blanket in the ABI colours I secured. Well done to everyone who donated or bought items for a magnificent effort for a very good cause. I think the most unusual item was a pair of elephants.!!!!!!!!! Thanks to both rally marshals and their assistants for a superb rally. PS Sue and Ernie were on board a cruise ship on the Friday morning of the rally and by midday they were on the rally field - that really is dedication to the cause. Sunliners.
The Paddocks Devizes
17 vans and motor homes attended the rally at the Paddocks in Wiltshire. Some say location is the main attraction but I think the beer festival was an added attraction. Devizes is a charming place to visit. The site is at the bottom of a flight of locks and is ideal for walking and people watching on the barges. Saturday night we were treated to a lovely ploughman’s supper and then Dave courageously tried to organise us into small teams for the quizzes but needless to say we ended up with two large teams. Much fun was had by all. As the rally was continuing until Tuesday we were able to walk to the top of the locks on Sunday lunch-time. Thank you to the marshals Dave and Cherry and their assistants Taylor and Isabel for a perfect rally.
Sunliners.
Rally at Car Colston We arrived at the rally to be greeted by our Marshalls and co marshalls, George and Annice and Bob and Shirley. What a wonderful venue! We were staying on a site at the back of the Royal Oak pub, situated on the village green. Not a regular village green but the size of a lot of villages! It was also the meeting point for all sorts of activities. One morning the local pony and trap club met there, about 12 of them, then there was the bridge club, and the day after we left there was to be a vintage car rally! They also served some quite delicious meals at the pub and we all had a meal there one evening. The weather was absolutely brilliant and we were able to sit out till late in the evening playing games or just chatting. There was a skittle alley
and we had a good game! The winners were Sheilagh Fox and David Parker seen here
with their prizes.
We were given a 10% discount at nearby Lowdhams Caravans which was good. Unfortunately, for some people you didn’t get the discount off new caravans! We visited nearby Newark which was very interesting. We acquired our very own guide as a lady on the bus heard us talking so showed us around the market place and explained how to get to the riverside. How kind she was! There was a beautiful ruined castle alongside the river bank and a lovely park where we had a picnic lunch. This was a great rally and well worth putting in your diary for next year! Many thanks to George and Annice and Bob and Shirley for all their hard work in running the rally and giving us all such a great time! Best regards from Marjorie and Arthur
Event 15 40th ANNIVERSARY RALLY What a great turn out for a great rally, the venue was perfect along with the weather which made it more pleasurable and managable. It was enjoyment from start to finish All the events put on by various people were entertaining from the Elephant game of Sue,Terry,& Peter Grubb
Mona & Gerald's sports day.
Dennis with karaoke night, there was a slight problem with the karaoke machine
but the night still turned out O.K. with a performance by "The Comedians" We
missed some of it being down at the hall doing Call my Bluff. And The Weakest
Link. Anita won Call my Bluff so beware don't try to bluff our Chaiman. Sam's evening was excellent
and I am sure everyone enjoyed it. I would just like to finish with a big thank you to Sam for all his efforts, from visiting the site beforehand, allocating the pitches, collecting and delivering equipment a day early, as well as Saturday nights entertainment! We must do another one soon!
From Joan and Alan Mirfin
EVENTS 14 15 . Three rallies in a row! Variety is the spice of life, so they say! Well, it certainly was! We started the Bank Holiday at Marston Edge Nurseries on the outskirts of Stratford on Avon, a really lovely rural venue. This was a new area for us and the first time for many, many years visiting Stratford. We received a lovely warm welcome from our rally marshalls, Roy and Cath and many of our midland friends, some of whom we had not seen for several years. We had a great time exploring around the area and we were extremely well looked after by our rally hosts and their assistants. We had a lovely supper, tea and cakes, etc and skittles at the local pub. Thankyou very much Roy, Cath, Jilly and Bernie.
We then followed on to the Big one! Our 40th Anniversary rally at Great Bourton. Our timed arrival on the Tuesday afternoon was met with what appeared to be committee members everywhere with sheets of paper directing traffic etc. After settling in we finally relaxed and studied the programme and realised we would be in for a really fun filled week of entertainment. It was not long before an army of volunteers was busy sorting out poles and canvas to erect 5 marquees for what was going to be the hub of our weeks entertainment amid lots of cussing, swearing and joking which, for some unknown reason, appeared to be aimed at Sam! Several pages would be needed to fully describe the weeks events , but briefly, a boules tornament, fun and games on the field, fish and chip supper, karaoke disco, The Weakest Link, Card bingo, Call my Bluff, an Indian rain dance which actually did work! [Spot on Colin!] the Shadows tribute band .....and the list goes on and on! The weather was extremely kind to us and between the various events we managed several walks and visited Banbury. The rally finished with Flagpole and a massive raffle, prize ceremony and commemorative mugs for all members. We are sure lots of work was put in by all the committee members, not only on the rally but also behind the scenes, for many months as well. So a massive THANKYOU to Sam and Diane and all the committee members.
THE MOONRAKERS
EVENT 16 HILL COTTAGE
A few days at home then off again to Fordingbridge Childrens Rally. What children? We heard someone say! Well, they must have come from somewhere as nearly 40 children were accommodated for ranging from tiny tots to teenagers. Once again, the weather proved to be a cracker, and once again a marquee was soon erected and put to good use, although mostly for the shade. Again the Rally Marshals did us proud putting on lots and lots of entertainment and activities throughout the whole of the weekend. Bouncy castles, rounders, parachutes, giant bubbles, tea party, and jewellery decorating etc, and Saturday evening skittles! The whole of the weekend was brilliant and the children superb. They all jelled together as though they had all known one another for many years, the older ones tending to the little ones and all of them forming their own little groups. Flagpole was held on Sunday morning where the children received sweets, and by some mysterious quirk they all managed to receive a raffle prize each! So, another big THANKYOU to Sue and Ernie, their assistants and all the helpers for putting on such a superb rally for the children and of course, not forgetting the Grandparents. The Moonrakers
Event 19 A big thanks to Annice and
George
Rally at Hunstanton
We have just recently come home from the Hunstanton rally which we really enjoyed except for the few incidents with the other campers on the site and the local revellers. These caused Mona and Gerald quite a lot of grief and we would like to thank them for sorting things out .Next year the rally will be held just along the road at a private venue so will be much better.
We did quite a bit of sightseeing visiting Sandringham, Holkham Hall and grounds, Wells next the Sea, Cromer and Thursford. We really enjoyed Thursford with its collection of fairground organs,Wurlitzer organ and the funfair roundabouts.We are looking forward to returning in December for their Christmas Spectacular.
The gardens at Sandringham are beautiful and the Church with its silver pulpit and altar are spectacular. There was also a very interesting museum and a band from Kings Lynn to entertain us!
The grounds of Holkham Hall are lovely to walk around, especially as there were hundreds of deer every where ! I never knew young deer made such a noise! We also had a walk alongside the lake .
On the Wednesday we had games on the field followed by cream teas which were delicious. Pat and Derek and Val and Geoff won the games.We also had games in the hall on several occasions ,ranging from picture quizzes through to darts and carpet bowls!
On the Saturday evening we were served a delicious meal, followed by apple pie and cream or custard [Arthurs favourite!] We then had flag and rounded the evening off with a quiz. Many thanks, once again, Mona and Gerald for making us all so welcome on your rally. Best regards from Marjorie and Arthur
EVENT 24 – THE PADDOCKS, DEVIZES
Thank you Dave and Cherry for the lovely rally on the banks of the Kennet and Avon canal. What a great venue, the ‘Paddock’ is. Situated by a couple of the locks, we were able to watch the canal boats pass – with all the ladies working the locks – the men having the easy job of steering the boats! We arrived reasonably early on Friday and settled in quickly to enjoy the company of friends.
Saturday saw us off into Devizes for a wander around, and then a drive down to Marlborough. In the evening we all settled in the Gazebo where Dave & Cherry had provided a lovely Ploughman’s Buffet. We had a very good evening during which Dave had us using our ‘grey matter’ on his Quiz questions. We missed Flag on Sunday morning because we set off early to visit family in Wokingham. We did have a lovely drive up the A4, which made a nice change from the M4.
Monday was a lazy day, the sun was shining and warm, so we just stayed around the caravan and enjoyed the weather and the scenery. All too soon Tuesday came, and it was time to leave, in lovely warm sunshine. Of course we got home to rain in Wales!
Thank you so much Dave and Cherry for running the rally, with the help of Tay and Issie. It was great, and we are so pleased that you have decided to book The Paddocks again for next year – we will be there!
MO & ROG
A few thanks from Alan
Mirfin
I would like to take this
opportunity to say a few thanks.
Camping Les Ripettes – French Holiday Rally
Merci beaucoup….
to Christine - for the all important ingredients for those “wobbly” coffees. to Richard - for the answer to “how do you tell a kite from a buzzard?” - One’s got a string hanging from it (!) to Bill - for all those jokes and anecdotes to Linda - for that wonderful meal of moules a la crème to Diane - for keeping score on that game when we all learnt the CORRECT meaning of Butwink (!) to Sam - for supplying the cabaret on Bastille Night by dancing with the bar maid (We have the photo Diane!). to Andrew - for bravely putting up with all of us to Helen - “My bestest friend” with those bottles of chilled Pineau to Alan - for arranging the Tour de France to go past the site and introducing us to those “heavy custard” flans to Rob – for doing all those “Blue Jobs” and all our washing up
and finally to Carol & Mark for giving me the idea for our next holiday rally……
Rosemary
MOIRA FURNACE MUSEUM
13 Vans in total turned out for our rally at Moira and it was lovely to see members from the South and also the North joining us. Also lovely to see Ken & Sue Lovegrove back on the rally field after his illness.
We also had 2 little visitors who accompanied Dave & Barbara Cooper. They bought along their 10month old twin grandchildren, who kept them very busy from the start of the rally to going home (as I am sure you can imagine). Their son Simon and his girlfriend also joined us for the weekend.
Saturday, we had our usual walk to the pub for lunch, with most of us sitting outside in the sunshine. Others thought it too hot, so they ate inside!! Cheese & Wine was served on Saturday evening and we were able to sit outside to enjoy the summers evening. Sunday was a do as you please day. Some enjoyed the local Car Boot, and others left early to carry on to another rally.
Thanks go to everyone who supported our rally.
Sylvia & Jerry
The Royal Oak Car Colston
The rally at Car Colston was another completely new area for us to visit. We managed to arrive just as George and Annice were having lunch so we were given a very warm welcome by the assistant marshals. Marshals Annice and George, had prepared a wide variety of activities to keep us occupied during the evenings and had many suggestions, including bus timetables, for places to visit during the day. We enjoyed our visit to Sherwood Forrest and Nottingham Castle and I was very pleased to be introduced to Boundary Mill Shopping. This was simply an introduction for us to the area and we intend to return to explore some more. Thank you to everyone on the rally for making us feel so welcome and to George and Annice for running a rally from a Sunday to a Friday.
Sunliners.
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