Stormin The Castle

[thrang]

My left hamstring is aching like a bugger, and my feet are killing symptoms that tell me that I've just got from another Stormin'. Having been invovled right from the start up of the event and being in the thick of the planning and organising of the first 13 years I have had the last two years off, so going back as an ordinary marshal was a kind of liberating experiance.  I guess I should have remembered how hard on the old legs the site at Witton Castle was but foolishly I told Jane (the marshall's controller) that I was willing to work from when I arrived on Friday morning until when my missus turned up on Saturday evening. And Jane being the kind of person she is set out to run the legs off me, and she succeded but I'll forgive her as she's a sweeetie!

So whats Stormin' all about? Well to put it simply its an excuse to have a bit of a laugh, and put on a dam good rally to raise money for MAG, the UK's leading riders rights organisation. Thinking back to how it all started in the early 1990's when being honest none of us then involved really had a clue about what we were  getting into over the years the event has become almost a slick professional affair.

Like most MAG events Stormin' is organised, run and managed by a group of voluntier members, who give up their time and energy to make it happen. I'll be honest running/working a MAG event involves a lot of ear ache, hard work and is a bit of a thankless job but don't let that discourage you from coming and voluntiering to work a MAG rally as  I cannot stress enough just how good the buzz is, its way better than any mind bending substance! In return for working marshals get get a tee shirt, fed for all the shifts they work and an invite cracking post rally party on the sunday night.

So if anyone in R65 land ever fancys taking a holiday with a differance, why not combine working a MAG rally into it? During the summer there are more than a few and all it takes is an email to MAG UK for the details of whats on when. Trust me you'll enjoy it, and get to see a side of English culture and life that most tourists never experiance. Chances are you'll also make a lot of friends, and perhaps take home a few idea's...  If anyone wants any detials about next years event, drop me an message, or take a look at the Stormin' website.

http://www.storminthecastle.co.uk/

http://www.mag-uk.org/index2.html

[nhmaf]

Wow, that looks like there is certainly plenty of fun and entertainment for everyone !
If I am ever in the neighborhood at this time of year I'll have to check it out, especially
if there are Imperial Pints available and tenting space..

[thrang]

posted a few piccys to my flickr page

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/thrang1963/

[Dick_Stilton]

You had UFO there! Feckin hell Thrang, must have been a great party! There are some monster bashes on over here but mostly they involve Harley's. There is a big one in Austria this weekend Nr The Slovenian border. Think they are expecting 8,000 bikes. I think the local BMW club are having a meet soon to, to take wine and snuff. (As in powdered tobacco but I hear some of that snuff can make you, well, snuff! if you catch my drift)   [smiley=mad.gif]

See you on the road

Dick

[thrang]

We had about 8500 through the gate so it was pretty busy with punters, but in comparison to the mad years of the mid 90's when we had a few probs with patch clubs it was very very laid back.

Personally I was not that impressed with UFO, the bass player was pissed out of his mind, and six minute guitar solo's don't really go down that well at bike rallys! They had a good crowd , but that may have been down to the Iris stage having a rave DJ on and the musical choices on offer around half eleven Saturday night was described by a bloke in the beer queue as Musical diarrhea of the rave DJ and musical masturbation by UFO on the main stage.