Five Go Camping at Berkeley Castle

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.

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. 

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.

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.  

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. 

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.

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?

VDubs in the Valley Episode IV

On Friday morning, in a field far, far away (well, Arley - about 20 minutes’ drive from here), Episode IV of VDubs in the Valley dawned.  Gaz and Hayley Aulton and their crew had been hard at it since the previous Monday, battling high winds, unseasonable temperatures and heavy rain (thankfully no Sith lightning), to turn what had been a field full of sheep the previous week, into a weekend haven for Vdubbers.

The day was spent going backwards and forwards to the site.  Gaz had already driven a fully loaded van over to Arley (seriously, not even a ferret could have squeezed inside our T4 on Friday).  I followed later with yet more boxes, before leaving him to set up so that I could manage our online store and enquiries and to be on hand to cook tea at school kicking out time.

With plummeting temperatures on Friday night, BruteBox, our neighbours on one side, took Gaz and his man flu in hand, providing a fire and dispensing their own special brand of medicine (a rum hot toddy – rum, lemon, rum, honey, rum, a dash of hot water, some rum).

Saturday was manic.

The sun shone and the crowds came!

Great to see our 2015 designed tees are still going strong!

There were Star wars costumes aplenty and geeks ruled!  (For me, the word “geek” is a term of endearment). 

Spot Hayley, far right, on a rare break.

Cookie

Some folks started earlier than others (Cookie!) We met Cookie Simon Cooke), his wife Vikki and son Alfie as customers at our first ever trade show – the first ever VDubs in the Valley, pitched up next to a solitary oak tree.  A different field, a different time.  Four years on and Simon, fresh from his appearance as a finalist on E4’s Tattoo Artist of the Year, was a fellow sponsor and trading neighbour, adding his own unique artwork to various coveted items and getting dressed up at 10.30 on a Saturday morning! (Sadly, I didn't get a photograph of him in his awesome costume, but here's an oldie!)

Mouse Droid lurking behind Boba

We were privileged to be custodians of this incredible Mouse Droid, built by Simon Flack.  Simon reminded us to include a Mouse Droid in the design for the official tees and beady eyed regulars may just spot our dedication to him in the artwork. 

"Leia No Buns" an obscure Star Wars character

I managed a token effort.  I was aiming for “Hoth Leia” but with theme appropriate leggings, a padded body warmer and cherry red Doc Marten boots, the link was tenuous.  I didn’t even have time to attempt the famous Leia buns.  Caleb donned a Boba Fett knitted hat.  Gaz had just been too busy in the weeks leading up to the show. 

Under the Fridge in action

Saturday night we managed to squeeze in a little socialising - accompanied by a cider (Gaz, standard) and a rather nice local beer from the BeerBuz (me), Under the Fridge providing the soundtrack.  With Autumn beginning to kick in, the temperature dropped as rapidly as darkness descended and…with no dead Tauntaun to shelter in, it was soon time to hit the sack and we headed 20 minutes down the road to our own beds. We also wanted to collect the P6, which has made an appearance at every VDubs in the Valley show to date, but with a flat battery and no fuel, this was not going to be straightforward.

The Beast and Gaz's stickerbombed unicycle

Gaz decided to redeem himself on Sunday morning, having failed to cobble together a Star Wars inspired outfit.  Therefore, he drove on site in the P6 wearing a Darth Vader helmet, but even the shocked photographer scrambled his camera too late and failed to get a decent shot.  So if anyone did witness Vader driving a 1970s Rover - Mrs Vader on the roof - into a farmer’s field early on Sunday morning, no you weren’t still suffering the after effects of a heavy Saturday night.

We hit the ground running on Sunday, fuelled by sausage sandwiches from BruteBox.  By 11.00 am, we had sold out of show stickers and were running low on tees.

Our dancing Coke can (a late 80s/early 90s craze, which had been sealed away in Gaz’s Mini for at least a decade) was a reminder of a more simple time.  Really simple.  We didn’t have to get our entertainment YouTube clips or from sharing memes on Instagram – oh no!  We were laughing hysterically at a moving soft drinks can in sunglasses!

Sunday was all about the vehicles and they were varied, sometimes outlandish, but always stunning.

Gaz fell in love with this Chevrolet Corvair

A beautiful splitty

The arse end of a Beetle.

VW Bugs

Love this Beetle!

Scooters 

Far Out!

We judged the Show n’ Shine's "How the hell did it get here?" category on Sunday and awarded a mummified skull (what else?) to Mark and his unique rat bus.  

Gaz as usual, got carried away and tried to re-brand everything as Voodoo Street.

Mark's Bus

BruteBox Bus?  Are you sure?

Powered by Voodoo Street

Express & Star photographer, paid the show a visit and captured this excellent shot of our rat bike and picked some unsuspecting child to model one of our steampunk hats, which ended up in Richard Guttridge’s online coverage of the event.

Photo courtesy of Express & Star Newspaper

Show ‘n’ shine over, prizes handed out, rain clouds gathering and rumours of thunder storms heading over from Dudley, we started to pack away.  Once the Golf was full of boxes, I took Boba Fett home, knocked up a roast dinner and started to trawl through the emails.  Meanwhile, Gaz was failing to dodge the rain and I felt a disturbance in the force.  A phone call confirmed my suspicions.  He was drenched and returned home an hour or so later, bedraggled, with a look and mood to match a snow beast.

Thank f*$k for Celia’s brownies, our VDubs in the Valley mugs and a night in front of the TV. 

THE END.

From the Cut to the Castle

Throughout the weekend at Vdubs in the Valley, Gaz made utterances about trading for a third weekend in a row in deepest Gloucestershire.  Baking hot and barely coping with demand, my back suffering from too many nights on a camp bed and too many hours on my feet, I chose to ignore these utterances, preferring to reserve judgment on this one. 

Come Monday morning, the situation had changed somewhat.  Not only had Gaz committed to doing the show – at Berkeley Castle – but we were also now sponsoring the event by producing the official show sticker.

I disappeared upstairs to unpack our weekend travel case and was taken aback.  It literally smelled of hay.  In fact, it also contained copious amounts of hay, stuck to socks and just about everything else!  Living out of a suitcase on the Vdub scene ain’t all glamour let me tell you!  My back had now properly seized up and I was wearing a groove in the rug pacing up and down every 15 minutes, trying in vain to loosen up.  As the show was a one-day event, it was decided that Gaz would go it alone.  For my part, determined to fix my ailing spine, I ordered a used copy of “The Permanent Pain Cure” by Ming Chew, as recommended by a friend.

The early part of the week was therefore spent designing said show sticker and working on some faithful replica stickers of a now obsolete mountain bike, Mountain Cycle’s San Andreas – a favour for a friend, who is generously gifting them to a true San Andreas enthusiast for his 50^th birthday.

The Workshop

Wednesday was a day reserved for fixing up the Golf.  An oil leak and squeaking suspension were driving us insane.  This was long overdue.

In need of some exercise, we decided to drive up together and hot foot it back along the canal or “cut” as it’s known in this part of the world.

Always time to photograph a cool ride

With our weekends spent largely in rural surroundings, it made a refreshing change to re-visit the local heritage we take for granted and so I thought I would share a little of our surroundings with you.

Heading towards the Red House Glass Cone and Glass Quarter along newly gravelled towpath

The 15-minute drive to the repair workshop took us up a road you could legitimately call “Exhaust Alley,” a featureless urban B road flanked by boxy new builds and post war housing estates.  The route back however, took in interesting and varied terrain.

Picturesque former public house, now private residence, stone's throw from Exhaust Alley

We walked along canal towpaths running adjacent-to-but-a-comfortable-distance-from Exhaust Alley....

Boat Yard

...through the once world renowned glass quarter, famed for its cameo glass and cut crystal...

One of 4 remaining cones beside Stourbridge 16 lock flight, the Red House Glass Cone Museum offers up glass blowing demonstrations and exploration of its underground tunnels.  There were once over 20 glassworks in this area.

Work in progess.  Former Glassworks currently being converted into apartments.

A narrow boat passing through a lock

through fields overlooking Millionaires’ Row, 

This is part of one street, just a few minutes from our home with the highest concentration of millionaires outside of London.  Spot the swimming pool.  NB.  Nothing like our house.

culminating in woodland we are lucky to have direct access to from our back garden, although for how much longer is uncertain, as the attached Estate property – an equestrian facility - is now on the market for a cool £1.9m....

The Gate House to the Estate

and rumours are flying that our precious woods have been sold separately.  We’ll see…

 

Our Woods

The remainder of the week was a blur of deliveries, promo and labelling of stock. (I am loving our fully quilted, herringbone weave newsboy caps).   

WANTED:  STOCK RAIDER

The obligatory show weather warning for Saturday night persuaded Gaz to delay set up until early Sunday morning and true to his word, I heard the front door shut at 6.00 am.

Gaz making his presence felt at Berkeley Castle

Gaz, left to his own devices, is nothing if not industrious, as regular customers Simon Flack and the lilac-locked Celia, will testify.  Short of an extra pair of hands, he thought nothing of asking them to organise shout-outs over the loud speaker to alert visitors to our stand, which they did, without complaint and were on hand to provide moral support throughout the day.  Cheers guys!

Simon and Celia, unofficial Voodoo Street hustlers ;-)

 By 7pm he was back in the fold and updating me on the amazing 86 year-old stunt driver Dick Sheppard, a Berkeley local and Italian Job stunt driver.  Dick, who has also worked on “Thunderball” and “Diamonds are Forever,” has crashed over 1,000 cars and aside from a hip replacement, seems to have miraculously avoided arthritis. 

Year 2 Berkeley Selfie with Dick Sheppard

So, as I type on this rainy Monday afternoon, the postman has just delivered my book, hopefully containing the secret to achieving a spine as flexible as Dick’s!  Wish me luck!