Hayling Island 2019

My preparation for the Hayling Island rally in 2019 wasn’t ideal. In the previous week a sore throat turned into full-on man flu (yes, girls can have it too!) which meant that I wasn’t even sure I could go. I was determined though, but a last minute toothache (to add insult to injury) and resulting emergency dentist appointment on the Friday afternoon meant that I couldn’t ride with my clubmates. I was gutted, but it takes a lot to keep this girl from her closest rally, so I set off on the GTS on my own and arrived just in time to unpack and get in the queue for dinner!

I love the dining experience at Hayling, eating together in our big group, and we all ate very well with plates piled high from the buffet. Those of us who couldn’t be bothered to queue ordered from the menu, our lovely waiter bringing us exploding garlic mushrooms and yummy fish and chips!

Then it was back to the chalets, where we sat outside chatting, messing about and listening to music. Eventually it got a bit chilly so we headed into the do where I had a quick dance to some of the top tunes played by Terry Walters.

By about 10.30 I was starting to flag, and feeling fairly poorly again, so I hopped back on the scooter and rode the 20 odd miles home to spend the night in my own bed, leaving the others to party in my absence.

Saturday dawned, and it was a lovely sunny morning. I nipped back to Hayling and arrived in plenty of time for breakfast where the others were nursing sore heads. There were bleary eyes too, and I think I had more sleep than most of them put together! They’d had a great night though, and I was gutted to have missed out.

Hayling Island Custom Show

After a leisurely breakfast I went in search of pretty scooters, and there were some nice ones on display at the custom show.

Tori was in charge, doing a sterling job as usual, so we took our traditional trophy shot (you can check out last year’s shot in this post!).

Best In Show

The Best In Show and Best Lambretta silverware went to Burning Sky, a Jam-themed Lambretta with incredible engraving.

Best Vespa

Best Vespa went to Shaun Jefferies’ gorgeous vintage Vespa Clubman. Its official model is a VB1T and it was made by Douglas in Bristol in 1959. It’s a 150cc and has a similar spec to a GS150 but with a few key differences. It only has three gears, and has smaller 8″ wheels.

It was in amazing condition when Shaun bought it, with no rust, and he did most of the restoration himself. The seat was an after-market one, but still vintage, so Shaun had it recovered and resprung.

The paint was done by midlands-based I-Paint and it’s a Ferrari black on a Jaguar blue with Aston Martin gold pinstripes – all in keeping with the vintage look. It actually sat in Shaun’s front room for two years while the paint hardened, before he wet flatted and mopped it.

It’s got an electronic ignition, Dellorto carb and Lambretta Model D twin pipe, along with new crank and P Range clutch. The barrel and piston are original though, just needing new rings. It’s such a cute model, and I love how much time and care went into its restoration.

Best Engineering

I’d seen Bandido at a previous Hayling rally and admired the gorgeous murals. It’s owned by Neil Castle who had the idea for the ‘Day Of The Dead’ theme when he was on holiday in the US. The scooter is a heavily-engineered Vespa auto, with a wealth of bespoke parts.

Best Auto

This is Fallen Angel, which won Best Auto.

Full Custom Show Results

Hayling Island Custom Show Results

Best in show : Burning Sky
Best Vespa : 684 XVB
Best Lambretta : Burning Sky
Street Racer : Irn Bru
Best Engineered : El Bandido
Best Cutdown / Chopper : UKL 698X
Best Restoration : Supertune SX
Best Paint : Vespa and sidecar G799 BBK
Best Mural : Hammer Horror Vespa
Best Auto : Fallen Angel

More scooters from the custom show

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As I’d seen some of the winners recently at the SMaRT rideout, I didn’t take more photos at Hayling. So if you’d like to see the winners of Best Paint and Best Mural then check out my SMaRT Alldayer writeup here.

Midhurst Detours Club Photo

As we haven’t got a recent club photo Stacey thought it was about time we took one, so I rounded up the troops. It was like herding sheep, and as soon as one person arrived back from a drink/walk/snack/sleep/poo another one wandered off. Eventually though I managed to get everyone lined up for a group shot. In typical Detour fashion there were a few hilarious moments. Snowy threw his cap towards us and it landed right on Tina’s head! On the fashion front, with none of us wearing club tops Angus decided to make a statement in an extremely fetching borrowed tank top.

Then it was time for another wander, where I caught No Lip, the afternoon band’s second set. They were very lively, playing punk classics to the crowd. Dean Percival had dressed up for the occasion, looking very summery in his Hawaiian shirt!

Here are a few more of the scooters on display in the afternoon sun, starting with Dean’s Captain Pugwash chop.

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I loved this t-shirt and couldn’t resist taking a photo! It would suit me perfectly, with my poorly fingers!

Hayling Rideout

I was hoping to video the rideout on my GoPro but spent about half an hour trying to get it to work, finally resorting to taking the battery out and putting it back in, only for it to spring into life as the scooters were disappearing into the distance! I’ll make sure I get it ready earlier next time…

The Definitely Maybe gang were enjoying the sun and all set to go!

In the evening we once again congregated outside the chalets for a quick drink and chat before the footie fans amongst us headed to the main reception where they were showing the Champions League final. I think the crowd were split 50:50 between Liverpool and Tottenham, with Mark full of hope in his Spurs top. Those hopes were dashed with the early penalty and then crushed by Liverpool’s second goal. We escaped as soon as the full time whistle was blown and headed for the main room where Terry was spinning the tunes again.

It was quite busy, but the wait at the bar wasn’t too bad, which was unusual for this rally. Orange Street came on at 10.30 and were their usual lively selves, playing a wide range of covers which included some different ones from the usual ‘ska cover band’ setlist which made a refreshing change.

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Most of our gang were still jaded from the Friday night fun so we were all safely tucked up in bed by 12.30.

Sunday dawned and it was another sunny day. We didn’t hang around long, packing our things before breakfast and then making a speedy exit afterwards for the short ride home.

Hayling Island Scooter Rally Roundup

It didn’t seem as busy at Hayling Island as in previous years, but there are so many events in the scootering calendar that it’s difficult to attract people to every single one. This remains one of my favourites though, as it has a lovely atmosphere, is all on one site and you can’t beat the holiday camp style all-inclusive dining experience. We may not see many of our far-flung scooter chums but it’s nice to catch up with some of the locals who we don’t socialise with as often as we should.

It’s always nice to make new friends too, and I’d like to thank everyone who came and said hello having recognised me from this website!

I’d also like to say a big thank you to Andy, Stuart, Ness and the rest of the SWSC team who really know how to organise a rally brilliantly and make everything run like clockwork.

My First Rally Stories

Read more My First Rally stories using these links (in alphabetic order)
– Ali Richards
– Bill Mac
– Dave Lloyd
– Dean Percival
– Dizzy Holmes
– Iggy Grainger
– Jo Jackson
– Lee Parker
– Lee Richards
– Mike Oxley
– Niamh Pennington
– Nick Jolly
– Norrie Kerr
– Roger Williams
– Sandra Smith
– Sarah George
– Sean Robinson
– Stacey Gardner
– Steve Bone
– Sticky
– Stuart Owen
– Vince Wooloff