Wakefield MAG once again attended the Farmyard Party en-masse. Quite a few went early on the ‘Marshals only’ Thursday, with the rest of the contingent arriving at various times on the Friday. As per our standing tradition, we all wandered into Helmsley town on Friday morning for a slap up Bikers Breakfast, then into the Red Lion on Helmsley square for an afternoon ‘session’.
We had a most enjoyable afternoon, then it was time to wander back to site, for a bit of a sleep (to sober up), in time for our evening marshalling shifts in the Blues Tent.
Saturday day time was a mixture of marshalling (for some), looking at the bike show, enjoying the comedians, spending money in the many traders stalls, watching the Bird of Prey display, trying out the free Dyno testing, bucking broncho and sampling the fine foods and beverages the site had to offer.
Saturday nights bands in the Blues tent were better than Friday nights, although Friday’s weren’t too bad (heard a lot worse !!!). The headline band in the main arena was an ELO tribute band. A bit different to the normal heavy rock but they went down really well and sounded just like the real McCoy.
The event set up week had been hot and dry, the take down week after was likewise, but the weekend itself saw intermittent rain, strong winds and very cold temperatures considering it was the middle of June (typical really).
And when we are talking about cold temperatures, we mean single figures and being able to see your breath !!!!. The poor weather did undoubtedly keep a few folks away, but MAGs’ premier motorcycle only rally was still attended by some 8500 happy rally goers.
The gate worked very well this year with both the pre gate and the main gate working like clockwork and the queues never getting out of hand. With the help of Halfway Heroes MCC and the CMA, marshalling the campsites, the roads and fire breaks were kept free of bikes and tents.
All of the marquees and the entertainment was very well received, with all the venues being packed on both nights. The FYP offers far more quality entertainment, at a bargain basement price, than any other bike rally, bar none.
Another cracking FYP was had by all. A huge thank you to all the Wakefield MAG members who willingly gave up their time, to help marshal the event (for free), and after paying for their tickets (same as everyone else), to attend the event. You are all heroes !!!!
