BMF Memba Rally and Show- Peterborough

17th - 19th May 2003

(By Nick Lappage - Part one)

It all starts so innocently enough and then the year presents you with another chance to climb poles, drink beer and have so much merriment that you just can't stop yourself.... or that's how it seems every time the VSOC go to the BMF.  2003 was no exception!

Having arrived early on Friday night to help out with the erection of the marquee, I found Tony, Janice, Ade and Mark, all from Centre 9, sitting down wondering what they should be doing. It would seem that this years tent, being smaller than seen in past years, had been quicker to set up and since everything was sorted out, I bid my fond farewells and headed straight for the Memba Rally.

If you went this year, how did you manage to find it? The signs to the rally were so poor that perhaps the organisers should take note and ride /drive the route before letting us poor souls onto it. Still, we got there and that's the point of it isn't it?

Well, Friday night and it's really busy getting onto the rally site, but it all seemed organised and worked well. There was an area for cars mixed with bikes or you could pitch your tent in with the bikes only area. It was up to you. This years bonfire looked like it should be huge. There were loads of logs (read tree trunks!) piled high, but more of that later. Friday night's bands were Nemersis (previous winners of Battle of the Bands), WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) and Badness (A Bad Manners and Madness tribute band). All compered by that Fat Bloke again this year. Ooh did he get some more name calling this year. He's eaten even more than all the pies from last year!

I kid you not though, if you looked around the beer tent - and not too hard either - you'd find loads of VSOC members, old and new, vying for the best position at the bar. Oh yes, good prices at the bar, but look out for the real ale - five different names but a few of us all agreed that it was the same beer in each barrel, which was called 'pishh' by a fine Scot. And he should have known!

Of course there were other groups dotted around. I came across, The Cockney Rejects - complete with blacked teeth -  the North West lot, Scrumpies, Solent, Outriders, Lost Riders, Essex Crusaders, Thames Valley Vultures, East Anglia - did I miss anybody? I'd say that this weekend is a definite precursor to the full rally season.

Now I'm not one to be impressed too easily, but I didn't get a hangover on Saturday (nor Sunday for that matter). Oh I see what it is - I never got round to opening that bottle of JD that was left in my tent. I guess it'll keep to the Yorkies rally, eh? Anyway, with breakfast done in what ever way you wanted - queue up for the BMF Rally brekky tent or get a bacon bap from one of the many vans around the site - it was off for a trawl around the show to see what was on offer.

Janice and Tony Little, from Derbyshire, were going great guns at selling the Win A Wild Star raffle tickets. I can still hear the vocal chords of young Tony going '...wanna buy a raffle ticket? In aid ov the Children's 'ospice....Only £5 a book... 'ow many books d 'ya want then?' Seemed to work a treat as the two of them sold more than anyone else that weekend. Good on ya guys!

But there was more to do and more competitions to enter. I need another bike badly, don't you know.

The Suzuki stand were raffling off a SV1000 Superbike, you could win a Yamaha R6 the Deafblind Charity or if you popped along to the Two Wheels Only stand, there was a lovely Triumph Daytona up for grabs. Now that Triumph competition was drawn on the Sunday, with a very lucky winner, Richard Saunders from Colchester, being absolutely gob smacked.

Of course the girls in Lycra were as present as ever, and bless them for it, I say. Show a camera and they will come flocking - I said flocking!

There was a trade stand called Pulse - it sticks in my mind 'cos apart from body piercing and the like, there was a bloke there all dressed in leather shorts, a leather vest, tight armband, very blonde hair and the weirdest lips you ever did sthee. Now I'm not phobic or anything, but how come all the girls go up to him and pat his behind? Nah I'll stay the way I am thank you very much....

Onto more bikes then. The great insurers, Carole Nash, were sponsoring the Best In Show competition. Now this would have been great but there was only a small marquee, with a low turnout of bikes, but I must say that they were very well presented and a credit to their owners. Here's some of the ones that I particularly liked.

The winner of the Best In Show was Martin Newlyn for his Yamaha RD 400 (the purple one above), who took away more than £800 in prizes for his efforts. Well done.

Now it's not all bikes at the BMF,  true to form the bargain leathers and helmets were there, and with over 800 stalls to choose from, you'd be pushed to visit them all. There were a good few bars and eateries, which offered everything except kebab. Is there an opening for Kebab in a Van I wonder...?

Entertainment could be had watching the daytime bands and the ever popular BMF dancing girls, (well in between dodging the rain showers that frequent the BMF each year anyway).