Wakefield MAG once again attended the Farmyard Party en-masse. A good number of us went early on the Thursday, which is normally reserved for marshals only, but for the 25th anniversary of the FYP, Thursday night was opened up to 500 pre-books, for a bargain extra fiver.
As per our long standing tradition, we all wandered into Helmsley town on Friday morning for a slap up Bikers Breakfast, then into the Royal Oak in 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 siesta (to sober up), in time for our evening marshalling shifts in the Blues Tent. The first band in the blues tent had the place rocking but the second band, a rockabilly line-up, wasn't to everyone's taste and half emptied the marquee, still, we weren't complaining, it made marshalling the last few hours of the evening an absolute doddle.
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 afternoon bands / entertainment, sampling the many fine foods and beverages the site had to offer, or simply chilling out by the tents.
Saturday nights bands in the Blues tent were very lively and had the marquee packed, but then emptied out later on, again making for a relaxed end to the marshalling shifts. The headline band in the main arena was Limehouse Lizzy, quite possibly the best Thin Lizzy tribute band in the world. Prior to them was another tribute band, Foreigners Journey, although cant think who they were emulating !?!?
The weather unfortunately let us down again this year. Although Thursday and most of Friday was warm and dry, Friday night saw the heavens open, then it rained on and off most of Saturday, plus it was quite cold. On the plus side, it stayed dry for packing the tent away on the sunday, but did rain in the afternoon so we all got wet going home.
The weather however, didn't deter the crowds and the site was pretty busy, with an estimated 9,500 on site. The good news also was that 7,500 pre-book tickets were sold, which is an all time high in the 25 year history of the event. It seems the decision to not increase ticket prices this year, was indeed the right one.
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 !!!!
