Probably one of the great things about Mersea Island is that there are so many things going on at once, that you can't do a reasonable write up on your own unless you are omnipresent; and God has refused to write for Scootering since the IoW mod rally when they all prayed in David Icke's garden.

I never managed to get beyond the bounds of the Scootacross meeting for the whole of Saturday, and thus not only managed to miss all the fun of the Beer and Banana festivities, but also the free inflatable banana rides being offered by a speedboat pilot to those souls hardy enough to risk a dip in the Thames Estuary in September. Do you think they pump the island's sewage back onto the mainland for disposal? Of course for the boat to give rides from the shore, the tide had to be in, as it was on a Saturday afternoon around 4pm.

During this time, the causeway that connects the island with the rest of Essex becomes flooded, but the typical Essex policeman (mirror shades and thinking they are in the Dukes of Hazzard) manning the mainland side of the crossing told several scooterists, including a number of Lambretta riders from Northampton, that it would be okay for them to ride across. Needless to say, once the seawater got to carb height, they were in the middle and it was a long push to the other side. Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase flooded engine, when you've got a 230 TS1 full of seawater.

Unusually for most British rallies, Friday night wasn't as good as Saturday. On Friday there were two dos running; traditional 'on the run' sounds in the main hall, and a weird mix of indie and alternative and soul sounds in the canteen. Sadly the canteen remained fairly empty most of the night, simply because a lot of the people there didn't know it was in use. That was a shame because the sound system, lights and projectors were the best I've seen on a rally.

The main do eventually wound down between four and five in the morning, but the firewood had been long burned before kicking out leaving the campsite unusually quiet.

Camping over the whole weekend was a joke, particularly if you were foolish enough to pitch at the back of the camping field. A quick look out of the tent on Saturday morning confirmed that some people's scooters weren't going anywhere without the help of a crane, but this closeness of tents fostered an excellent atmosphere around the site.

Saturday night's entertainment was spread over three venues, with the main room and the canteen offering the same sort of sounds as before plus the marquee which was simply a games room on Friday, now playing host to a shortlived rave, which had to shut early for fear of waking pensioners over the water in Kent. In all three rooms the atmosphere was rocking.

Sadly the emergency services were called after someone ended up getting burned round the fire, and the bar was shut while they sniffed around the site. From the story we heard it was a geezer who was bet a fiver by a friend that he wouldn't walk across the fire. He apparently tripped and fell in, but was still cool enough to ask his mate for the money when he got out. That's still not a lot of wedge for turning yourself into Nikki Lauda. Don't do it kids.

In the end the Saturday night do didn't finish till nearly 7am on Sunday morning. More alcohol had been consumed by the 1,600 scooter enthusiasts in attendance than any other group in the site's history. Colchester DVLC can be well proud of this one, and thankful about the weather. The question is can they continue to make it bigger and better next year?

Sticky


Given what the weather was like on Thursday the scootering world must havehad very heavy hearts, together with a felling of deja vu. Iknow I certainly did! But all fears proved unfounded as Friday dawned and brought the sunshine with it. Seeing as I live a staggering ten miles from Mersea I didn't leave till about 4.30pm.

Approaching the causeway I passed the poor lost souls by the wayside who had stopped to wait for the tide to go out, but never quite got going again. After greeting my chums on the gate and collecting the rally pack, I made my way across the camp to the chalet I had blagged my way into, dumped my gear and locked my scooter up for the weekend.

After a feed and a quick freshen up it was time to wander round the rapidly expanding campsite. The family enclosure had been moved again this year to behind the canteen, away from the core of excessive noise, plus a new adventure playground, making much more to keep the little darlings occupied.

10 o'clock came and both do's were in full swing. The main hall was packed as vast amounts of alcohol was consumed and old acquaintances were renewed. Midnight crept up on me and I was off to do my shift down on the gate. By about 3 am I was back in the main hall where the do went on till about 4, when the wide awake club were the only ones left.

Saturday dawned and the programme of events unfolded. The 5-a-side footie got down to a final between the Edinburgh Jokers and the DVLC, ending in a 1-0 win to the latter. The Scooter Tug-o-War was won yet again by Dave Thompson of the DVLC, with Stuart from Banbury as the runner up. (You haven't collected your tankard!) Jousting got underway, providing much hilarity as the Vikings tried in vain to re-start their scooter. The somewhat drawn out final eventually went to the Chase SC.

The Beer & Banana race was much more amusing, as was the sight of poor old Mumphy desperately sprinting to the toilets in a valiant attempt to rid himself of the 6 pints of beer consumed in about 10 minutes. Sadly all the cubicles were full and we all had to witness the most spectacular projectile hurl ever!!! A good race with the trophy going to Mumphy's Sidecar Team.

The London Vikings won the Tug-o-War, with the Mad Mods & Englishmen runners up. Stewarding duties prevented me from seeing the Custom Show but the results were as follows:

Best Vintage- Blue & Cream Sportique ADT 67B
Best Lambretta- Blue & White Ser 1, XGA 409
Best Vespa- Levi Stubbs
Best Cutdown/Chop- Rhapsody in Chains
Best Custom- Morrisey
Punters Choice- Gambler
Best Street Racer- Start Me Up
Best of Show- Destiny Of A Legend

All three dos were kicking that night with all musical tastes catered for. By 5am the weekend had taken its toll and I had to plead old age and die with dignity.

Sunday came and again the heavy heart came back. Heavy because I knew the inevitable clearing up was coming. As far as I know the rideout didn't happen but what the hell, a blinding rally with the best attendance ever for the DVLC with approximately 1,600 through the gate. Roll on Mersea Island 1997!

Di Wilson