Despite a scorching Easter, the temperature had plummeted for the May Day bank holiday weekend so we set off for Weston wearing plenty of layers. I had a 10am appointment at the hospital for my radiotherapy session so we rode on our own, as I wasn’t sure how long the treatment would take and didn’t want to keep anyone waiting.
We survived the hell of the M27 and rode through Salisbury to Warminster where Lee treated me to a Wetherspoons lunch which cost him the princely sum of £11, including drinks. He knows how to treat a girl!
Our route then went slightly awry, with us heading towards Bristol rather than Frome, so we took a series of detours to get back on track. This turned out to be extremely fortuitous as we were waiting at a junction when we saw a bunch of scooters riding past. We gave them a friendly wave, a you do, but then suddenly recognised Snowy’s distinctive scooter (and tabard) so started gesticulating wildly and pulled out quickly to catch them up
It turned out their sense of direction was as bad as ours, but once Snowy took the lead we diverted away from Glastonbury and back on the right road towards Shepton Mallet, Wells and beyond. Somerset is so beautiful and I had the words of Jerusalem going through my mind as we rode, it really is the quintissential example of England’s green and pleasant land.
What is really spooky (and I still can’t get over it) is that this Lambretta has the words to Jerusalem on the front legshield, and I didn’t even notice them until we got to Weston! It was a real Derren Brown moment…
We stopped at Cheddar for a break and had scones, cakes and hot chocolate at a lovely little cafe there (it was called Edelweiss, I’d highly recommend it!). I loved this Primavera which was already parked there, it was so eyecatching and cute!
Snowy wasn’t as keen on a cake break as we were so went for a quick blast up through Cheddar Gorge and back. We then regrouped and continued on our way, riding through the gorgeous country lanes for the last leg of the journey.
Lee and I were booked into a hotel so we parted ways with the campers and went and checked in. Once we were sorted we headed to the rugby club to check out the early arrivals.
Weston Scooter Rally Campsite
The site was beginning to fill up already, and there were some nice scoots on display too. I wandered around the tents, stopped for a chat with various people and took a few photos.
There are more and more oddities on the scene these days and this was one I hadn’t seen before. It’s owned by Nico from Dieppe who is a master scooter fabricator!
Talking of scooter fabricators, we got a closer look at Sean Robinson’s latest creation, Indo Low.
I quizzed Sean about the comfort of his seat, which seemed to be the hardest one I’d ever seen! It was made from three layers of a yoga mat and although I love his ingenuity I won’t be asking him to fashion one for me any time soon! He also explained how his gear shift worked, again something I couldn’t handle. Being a Garagista involves a lot of sacrifice with riding comfort so I’ll definitely stick to my GTS!
So it was back to the hotel for a freshen up before then meeting Gail and Snowy for drinks and food. We had a lovely view of the pier and seafront, and it looked incredible as the sun went down. I do love a sunset shot!
We headed over to the do bright and early which was possibly a mistake as the bar prices were eye-watering. So much so that some of the gang made an early exit which was such a shame. We were only there for one night though, so were determined to make the most of it. I wasn’t quite sure if I was supposed to be drinking alcohol whilst on radiotherapy, but as I hadn’t had a serious drink since September I enjoyed a few ciders, in moderation of course!
We escaped to the soul room when the band came on, not being fans of yet another ska tribute. I know most of them are very good at what they do, but after a couple of tracks I get bored, so a change of scene is always needed!
The lift wasn’t working so we had to take the stairs and Lee wasn’t as keen on the enforced exercise as I was. He eventually made it to the third floor so I found him a chair so he could recover, while I went to the bar.
Emma Cox was doing her thing on the decks and she kept the dancefloor busy playing some absolute belters which tempted me out for my first dance of the night.
My second boogie was slightly less conventional. Paul Joliff had earlier been telling me about his impressive jiving skills, something which I’d love to master. So he approached me from the other side of the room, instructed me to ‘let him lead’ and I was then flung around the floor, spinning, jigging and generally making a complete arse of myself. I was more Ann Widdecombe than Ginger Rogers, and the worst bit was that I think it was captured on film by roving SLUK reporter Pete Davies!
Back downstairs and time for a natter with the gorgeous Tori and her gang which included Ryan who was celebrating his 50th birthday.
When the band finished the main room predictably cleared, leaving plenty of room for Lee to sit down and me to have another boogie! Disco Daz provided some top indie tunes and I had various dance partners to keep me company including Jude, Ann and Lucy.
We left around 1.30 which was WAY past my bedtime!
Saturday morning
Saturday dawned and after packing up and checking out we went for a hearty breakfast at the Premier Inn and then headed back to the campsite.
It was heaving with scooters and we had to weave our way through them to get back to the tents where our lot were staying.
It was still fairly chilly but when the sun came out it warmed up a lot, but I still needed four layers to avoid hypothermia!
We headed for the custom show, but there were some lovely scooters on the way too.
Weston Super Mare Custom Show
The custom show was located on an area of the car park which was filling up, with new scooters arriving all the time.
If I had to pick a favourite then it would be this one, Psychological Damage, painted by Riding Dirty Customs. It was so bright and colourful, really shiny and sparkly in the sun.
Here are some of the others which caught my eye…
I wandered around the campsite for a final time, as we needed to head off at lunchtime for me to get back to watch Portsmouth play Accrington Stanley in the final league game of the season.
We visited the Scooternova stall to see Sticky who was signing copies of his new book, Scooterboys. It’s a fantastic piece of nostalgia which is guaranteed to take you back to the old days, packed with 1980s rally photos and more than a few familiar faces! You can buy it here if you haven’t got a copy, and I know many have bought it already as it’s the talk of Facebook!
We didn’t want to get trapped on the site when the rideout was gathering so moved the scooter onto the road next to this cute row of smallframes!
Emma was impressed with them too, with this one being her favourite!
Weston Scooter Mare Rideout
The scooters had started gathering for the rideout which was taking a circular route of 11 miles or so.
But before the rideout left we had to make our own exit, in order to get back to Pompey for the match. It had been a great 24 hours of scooter fun and I take my hat off, as ever, to the brilliant organisers. Andy, Stuart and the rest of the South West Scooter Clubs do a fantastic job and I’m already looking forward to Hayling Island!
Fabulous photos
Hi Ali that black Vespa belongs to lad from Dieppe travelled over with a mate and back home today . He’s called Nico and is a master at Scooter fabrication, his best known is a Vespa called BADMAN.. good to see you at the weekend. Sean
Brilliant, thanks! I’ll add those details. I did think it was a foreign plate…