johns Posted September 17, 2002 Posted September 17, 2002 Absolutely brilliant, and that is not an understatement!! I'm sure there are many excellent stories to come. Too tired to write more now. John
Numptie Posted September 17, 2002 Posted September 17, 2002 Aye - same here ... crackin' time but too shagged out just now to give an account that would do it justice ... maybe tomorrow
johns Posted September 17, 2002 Posted September 17, 2002 Quick summary. got off the sea-cat at about 1pm on Thursday. Met by smiling people in bright yellow T-shirts, given directions to our hotel(s), printed colour road books, directions how to get to Peel in the evening, and told to have fun. Thursday evening - arrive at the very scenic Peel harbour area. Very easy to find the parking spot, as they had kindly put out large SIDC boards, with directional arrows at every junction. Several people on hand at the car park to lead you to your space. Got all cars parked up nicely in reserved parking area Several members of their team stayed on in the car park to watch over the cars whilst we were in the superb House of Manannan museum. Excellent buffet dinner, outside as the sunset behind Peel Castle Given rally plates for our cars, ID badges, plus some other bits and pieces. Very professional. Chose where we wanted to sit at the gala dinner, and what we wanted to eat. Next we had welcome speeches from Dixie (FAD team), a member of the House of Keys (Manx Government), who warmly welcomed us to the Island, and then a very informative and encouraging talk from a member of the local constabulary (basically have fun, drive fast, don't crash, and don't even attempt to keep with with the bikes over the mountain section!). He had some great stories to tell as well. Then followed by a ground floor tour of the Museum (long boat is amazing!!), and then back to the hotel for a few beers, a chat etc. Friday morning saw a perfect start to the day. Not a cloud in the sky. You had the choice of either a track event at Jurby, or a superb treasure hunt which took you all over the Island. Both events were very successful Friday afternoon gave us some free time to explore the Island, and several of us spent a very relxing afternoon on the balcaony bar overlooking the golf course at the Mount Murray, saoking up the last of the days sunshine Simply fantastic! Friday evening saw us all ferried of in taxis and mini-buses to the Riverside in Laxey, where we enjoyed a fantastic BBQ meal. Everything was cooked to perfection, home made steak burgers, chick fillets etc. and even Lobser !! Eat as much as you can they said, so we did, and had several big platefuls. During all of this, the bar was very busy , and a local band "Panic Stations" played a medley of songs and tunes. To say some of the choices were bizarre were an understaement, but they were on the whole very amusing and good fun. They would do stuff like Roy Orbison, and then in the next song play Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols! Had us all up on the dance floor by the end of the night (which was covered in streamers etc). Can anyone else remember the party popper fights, with poppers drawn at 5 paces Taxis and mini-buses took us back to our hotels again, and some (mostly myself) were rather pissed to say the least. I'm blaming it on sun-stroke, as I was very red from being out in the glorious sunshine all day. Needless to say I'd a little bit of a hangover the next morning, which was thankfully a late start (another superb peice of planning by the FAQ team). To be continued later....
vincent_philpott Posted September 18, 2002 Posted September 18, 2002 Can I also say what an excellent time was had by all. Thank you John for organising this, if at all possible we will be back next year. This was our 1st SIDC event and a special thanks to everyone for making us feel most welcome. Will sort a web page to post some pics and videos when I get a chance. Did everyone get a Scooby 20 pence piece? Thanks again Vince
johns Posted September 20, 2002 Posted September 20, 2002 Vince, hopefully get some photos from the top of the hill soon It was a good 10 - 15 minute climb, wasn't it!! Still well worth doing though. John PS We've been invited back for next year, as part of a big multi club event, and we'll have an allocation of about 40- 50 cars. Better book up early, as I think the demand for places will be much higher next year
paul n Posted September 21, 2002 Posted September 21, 2002 John I suppose it is too early to say at the moment but do you know when bookings will be taken? You can have our deposit as soon as you would like it Thanks Paul & Debbie
vincent_philpott Posted September 21, 2002 Posted September 21, 2002 John << hopefully get some photos from the top of the hill soon >> YHM! << It was a good 10 - 15 minute climb, wasn't it!! >> LOL You didn't do the estimates for the Millenium dome by any chance?? Where do I sign for next year? Cheers Vince
heazille Posted September 22, 2002 Posted September 22, 2002 Promise me you will try harder next year John!! We locals do the whole mountain sub ten, Margy will show you the way next year!! Great Weekend, Met and made some new friends Perhaps a few more will sign up for the unoffical tour next year!! How about marshalling for me on my stage for the Manx International Rally next year, I can promise you good rates again, lots of fun and a Practice session for SIDC 2003 Interested!!! Contact me direct on prouse@manx.net Cheers Still recovering Richard & Margy
johns Posted September 23, 2002 Posted September 23, 2002 Richard, it all depends how fit you are, and I doubt very much if any locals built like I am could climb the whole mountain in under 10 minutes. I could probably run down from the top back down to the Bungalow bit in 10 minutes, but some of the slates were slippery under foot. I think it actually took us about 30 minutes to get to the top, but we did tend to stop every time we heard a bike coming, and watched it through the whole series of bends and out of sight at the top. When are the dates for the Manx International Rally next year then ? I've already promised the family we'll try and make another visit next year possibly around spring time or later. John PS got the photos Vince, and also got the ones from Neil. We'll have to try and get them published in True Grip, just to prove that we did climb all the way to the top
heazille Posted September 23, 2002 Posted September 23, 2002 Hi John. Next Years Manx International Rally is from July 31st >August 2nd. There will again be a marshals package which helps with getting the car across the water & gives a reduced hotel rate. I will let you know (i might even write an article for True Grip!!) nearer the time what it is likely to cost, but it will be less than the other weekend because their is not any entertainment provided and you just get wet on top of the round table!!. But rest assured I will keep you all occupied, monday through to sunday is usually the best as it gives you a couple of days to look round before helping me from wednesday onwards. Cheers Richard Stage Commander
johns Posted September 23, 2002 Posted September 23, 2002 Richard, sounds good. Please keep us posted John
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