Saturday dawned and with it, the realisation that the end
was nigh. No, not the hidden planet that
was making the news - supposedly heading for an apocalyptic collision with
Earth on Saturday! For
us, Saturday marked the end of 2017’s festival season: Berkeley VW Show.
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| Entrance to Berkeley VW Show |
The plan was for Gaz to travel down on Saturday and set up,
ably assisted by Brutebox’s Baz and Issy, who were on a
five-go-mad-in-the-country weekend (five being Gareth, Baz, Issy and their two
dogs, Bob and Dexter). For once, plans ran like clockwork.
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| Brutebox's Bus |
Weather forecast?
Fair.
Traffic? Light.
Automotive mechanical issues? None.
Location? Stunning.
Local pub? Tick.
Company? Alright.
By 8.00 pm, Voodoo Street was set up, closed up and the famous five were ensconsed in the local pub just down the road in a village called Ham (no, I’m not making it up).
With no evening meals on offer at the local, the famous five
were instead offered plastic tubs of food left over from the lunchtime service,
which included chunks of bread and cheese, grapes and cold meats. These were enjoyed around the campfire later
with some slightly inebriated word-association games. So far, so Enid Blyton.
That is, until Baz and Issy decided to turn in for the night. Gaz still
had some adventuring left to do.
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| Backdrop for the weekend |
The sound of music and frivolity floating down from the
castle and across the meadows spoke to Gaz and he decided to explore.
Meanwhile, at home, surrounded by f*!&ing enormous
spiders, I was busy building my own fortress.
During one of many mobile phone conversations on Saturday night,
comparing notes, I was fortunate enough to enjoy the full audible experience of
Gaz very nearly falling into the moat.
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| A Ha-ha |
He had assumed that the black chasm in front of him was a ha-ha and had
considered jumping it, before realising (too late) that it was actually the castle
moat. After a slide and a scramble to avert
disaster, the result was badly nettled wrists and injured pride.
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| A moat |
At home, I had sealed off the bathroom where my 8-legged
nemesis was last seen loitering and Caleb had built a wall of cardboard to
cover the gap beneath the cooker to head off its hairy mate. Some time around 11 pm, Gaz and I both
admitted defeat and went to bed, 70 miles apart.
Thankfully, Sunday went off without a hitch. I arrived at lunchtime (ish), delayed by
road closures resulting from Velo Birmingham, the 100-mile charity cycle ride.
The weather held, trade was steady and the company was
good.
As usual, there were some classic rides, including this
non-VW but stunning classic E-Type...
...and this stunning, steampunk-inspired interior, photographed with our steampunk props.
After the show ‘n’ shine, we said our goodbyes and started
to pack away.
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| High jinks |
On the journey home, we noted the falling leaves, marking
the gentle slide into Autumn. We’re
looking forward to some free weekends, catch-ups with friends and time to seek
inspiration for new product designs.
That said, we know it won’t take long before we start to get itchy feet
again. Who knows where we might turn
up?
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