Before leaving Lincolnshire
on a hot and sunny Friday afternoon, bound for Hertfordshire,
I pondered “A1 or back-roads?” I managed
to find the B1040 – 56 miles from Crowland to
Biggleswade. Short hop down the A1 from Biggleswade
and I espied a pub full of bouncy castles and bouncy
bikers. The laid back ride down had set me up well for
a great Friday night. |
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Took me a while to pitch,
as people kept on coming over and chatting. And it was
hot; so naturally I sampled the real ale on offer in
the marquee. |
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Whilst swilling the dust from my
throat I happened upon Julie, one of the Crew and proud
owner of a new tattoo. In fact it was her first tattoo,
it's the Siobhanathon logo designed by Leah and she
raised over £740 for Siobhanathon in the process.
I also met her daughters, who between them raised over
£200 in a sponsored swim. |
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Siobhanathon started last year when
Juke and Gary decided to try and help out Siobhan, daughter
of bikers in Scotland. Last year saw the first Siobhanathon,
and the aim was to raise money to send “Chevy”
and her family to America and Disney world. Sadly Siobhan
died earlier in 2007 on her 9th birthday. |
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But Siobhanathon continues and
this year's target was to raise money to send Leah and
her family for a weekend at Alton Towers. Leah is 12
years old and is in remission after heavy treatment
for another form of cancer. Leah designed the smiley
face which was used on the badge and t-shirts this year. |
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Whilst I was wandering around I
could hear Molly playing and singing in the background.
She stood in at the last moment after a band pulled
out. People mucking in and helping out is a major theme
of Siobhanathon. Next band up was Full RokCovery, the
official Siobhanathon band and they put on a fine show. |
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Final band of the night was Some
Kinda Mushroom who had people dancing; except Chris
Ireland and Dom who had other people cringing as each
pulled out the others nasal hairs. |
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Saturday was a hot and sunny day
– apparently it's been rather wet this summer.
Loads of lobster lookalikes lounged like lizards on
the lawn-like field. Group photos of the Siobhanathon
crew with Leah and family drew out all sorts of “media
types” and provided your intrepid reporter with
a really easy alternative group shot. |
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Silly games provided much amusement
for the drinking masses – the bendy bike provided
by Rich tested the abilities of a few bikers. |
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The wheelbarrows proved popular
with old and young alike, whilst the tug of war provided
Leah and Keata with the perfect opportunity to practise
their water throwing skills. |
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Absolute Zero, a group of 14/15
yr olds, played their first ever live gig at a rally
whilst entertaining bikers! Showing lots of potential
there. Also entertaining the crowds were Spooky Slim. |
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Following the silly games the arena
was turned into a bike show. Whilst people walked around
and went “ooh” and “aah” John,
aka Memnoch from the 100% Biker Forums and playing as
Open Face, entertained in the marquee. |
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| Probably as a consequence
of the weeks of floods preceding this event, there was
no outdoor stage, which would have been a benefit as
it was too hot for most folk to sit in the marquee.
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The custom show was an open event
and was judged by the public.
Some prizes were awarded – as Juke put it; |
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Show Winners
Best Rat - Juke GSX750
Best S'fighter - VMax Reaper mural
Best Custom - Green & Yellow Low Rider – Daz
of the Celtic Lions
Best Trike - Shaggy VMax
Best in Show - Paul 'Black Pig' Virago |
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Furthest Travelled - Dom & Tracey County Durham
- 211 miles (Dom's UJ bolt snapped on the way, so
the trike arrived on the back of an RAC truck. We
pushed him thru the gate, he fixed the trike Saturday
morning.
Prize?.................A tube of haemorrhoid cream!
Tale of Woe Award - Dom & Tracey Poorly trike
Prize?..............A pocket sized Lipstick vibe for
Tracey
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There followed a prize draw for a mini-moto.
The look on Leah's face when she saw they'd drawn
her ticket number was priceless.
What more natural then than to have a bit of a mini-moto
session – even Leah managed to get a ride.
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About this time some of us saw a
most strange sight at the gate – bit like a re-enactment
from the Sweeney maybe, or possibly Life On Mars, as
Slob tried to launch himself into a departing car through
the front passenger window Perhaps we'll never know
why he did it? |
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Spooky Slim came on after and played
another cracking set. They were joined on-stage for
a while by Huw, formerly of The Beer Monsters. |
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Juke and Gary made use of the time
between bands to present the Silly Games trophies and
do the final raffle draw. Formal thanks to all who helped
out, especially to the bands who, one and all, performed
for no more than a Siobhanathon T-shirt apiece. |
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This was followed by a brief reminder
of how it all started and what it's all about. During
and after the silence called for by Creature in memory
of Siobhan I could see I wasn't the only hairy biker
with wet eyes. |
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Turmoil were the final part of the
planned entertainments for the evening and they saw
the night out with a rousing set that had everyone on
their feet. |
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Of course, the entertainments continued
long into the night – that pink wheelbarrow sure
was popular. |
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