Duchy Capri Club had taken a little break from organising their show but we are glad to have them back in the Diary. Their show is back with a bang and bigger than ever!!!
The biggest change was making it a weekend long affair with camping offered at the new venue. Quite a few of us took the opportunity to make it a weekend break and were ready to hit Cornwall with our tents and camping Stoves.
Unfortunately for the two of us heading down on Friday night all plans went right out the window. I ended up stuck at Saltash Services for a ridiculously long time while the car cooled down enough for it to start again, meanwhile Steve H had a flat battery when he tried to set off and then had a brake seize up completely causing him to use the hard shoulder while smoke was pouring out. Luckily a very kind gentleman stopped, he had the tools and knowhow to fix the brake there and then and soon Steve H was on his way again.
I arrived on sight as the light was nearly gone, with help from Mark (Duchy Capri Club) my tent was up in record time and made comfy as the last bit of daylight left the sky. Unfortunately for Steve H there was no such privilege and we embarked on a mission to erect a tent under the light from a full moon (and a few torches).
The next day saw baking sunshine and not a single cloud, we relaxed and deemed it a day to leave the cars untouched, ice cream was eaten, sun cream applied and even a little football was played. Most importantly we could partake in the consumption of our chosen alcoholic tipples. Bliss.Later that afternoon we were joined by Steve B (Peanut) & Jen, also Elvin & Carina.
We mainly watched as they struggled with their tents (our previous nights exploits had been enough for us) although I did get called on to teach Peanut the best tent building techniques... he definitely needs more experience!
We were all perfectly situated (as the burger van was right opposite us) and while Steve H's son Matthew was playing he was joined by the daughter of the owner of the van. Actually she seemed quite happy playing football and colouring in with us and caused no trouble at all so she was a welcome addition.
That evening we had a proper meal in the site's bar/restaurant, the temperature was far more comfortable now and the jokes flowed freely as we munched. After that we headed to the amusements and amused ourselves with things that were really meant for kids... there is nothing better than being young at heart.
In the end we were up laughing and joking long after the sun had gone down and for the second night running (for a few of us) we were crawling into our sleeping bags a bit later than planned.
Show day was upon us and we got up spritely. Breakfast however seemed to last longer than we realised and Marc and Abi had joined us before we had even finished clearing up the plates.
One mad dash later and we were heading into the showground (except for Steve H who was slower than all of us put together... he soon caught up though)
We had a great spot for our stand and were set up in very quick time, conveniently we were opposite the same burger van again (who had moved to the showground too). This actually proved extremely useful as few members wanted cheesy chips, they weren't however on the menu as the van was too busy to offer them. The owner knew who we were and because we had welcomed his daughter actually let us have cheesy chips... RESULT!!!
There was live music played from an old trailer and both bands were excellent. The atmosphere was really bustling and everyone we met were friendly and chatty.
The cars were cleaned and doing us proud, especially Abi's who we didn't even think would make it after her run of bad luck (and the fact that she'd fibbed and told us something else had gone wrong so she could surprise us when she & Marc turned up in her 4x4).
The day flew by. There was such a wide variety of cars that it did take ages to look round them all (not that it felt like it). There was also displays by a martial arts group and a dance troupe.
There was Scalextric to play with and a bouncy castle which we enjoyed immensely (I let the photos show you more of that).
The show was soon over and we headed back and packed the tents up. Then the idea of a photo shoot was brought up and we all agreed it was a good time to do it so after saying our goodbyes to Steve H we headed off.
The photo shoot turned into a coastal drive home which gifted us some spectacular scenery and wonderful photo opportunities. All of which I've tried to include in the galleries below.
Duchy Capri Club have really outdone themselves this year and this was such an awesome weekend not one of us will forget it in a hurry and I think even more of us will be attending next year.
Write up by Laura Summerwill
Photos by Laura Summerwill, Marc Biddiss & Elvin Symes
