Virago Star Owners Club
SCRUMPIES CENTRE 17
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Classic Motorcycle Show 2015

Friday arrived cold and frosty. It took me a good fifteen minutes to defrost the car and get under way. Three degrees below, the sun low in the sky and glaring off the wet roads made me pleased my bike could not be taken this morning! Long story but two flat tires means my bike won’t be there this time despite much cleaning. My excuse anyway! The initial start point was to meet Terry the Carpet at Nunney Catch around 9.15 to 9.30 for breakfast. I arrived spot on time to find the restaurant did not open until 11.30! A frantic text to Linda to get Terry’s number to check the location and time. In the meantime I checked at the garage to be told the café was just the other side of the bushes! Once the roundabout was negotiated there was Terry laughing his socks off! Breakfast ordered and in came Rob to make us a threesome.

Off we three went and arrived at Shepton spot on time at 11.00. First duty was to sweep the floor ready to lay the green carpet kindly loaned by Blackjack Bob. Carpet laid and kettle on when Steve and Bob arrived followed by Linda and Beano who had commandeered a large van to bring both bikes over. Unpacking done, more tea and coffee with a little whisky additive to warm up and the stand was virtually set up.

Cleaning the bikes

Bunch arrived who had gone to the expense of hiring a box trailer to come on over. It just shows the level of commitment by our members. The bikes were carefully positioned under the exacting eye of Beano. Space was left for Mark who arrived later and we called it a day leaving Bunch busy polishing his machine.

The Stand. Happy Linda?

Saturday came and Linda collected me to travel in the car and in the warm! At least the heating was on in the marquee today. However the whisky bottle had been emptied overnight! Lesson learnt you don’t leave anything of interest on the stand. From a quiet start it picked up rapidly and we got a lot of interest in the Barn Project bike. Coffee was welcomed complete with biscuits for our visitors by Nigel and Mary, Ivor and Sylvia plus Padre and Nick as well as Jeff. We all had good conversations with prospective members from our area as well as Wales and Cornwall. Bunch and I had a good look round and found several interesting stands showing various machines we had owned in the past. I had a look at the auction hall and was staggered by a lot of the bikes that had been discovered in a barn. Rusty heaps not worth a lot I thought! The tool stores were good and several prospective purchases were seen. Tomorrow will be shopping day. It was a good day on our stand and it looked likely we had about five new members.

Five wise monkeys

Sunday started off very cold and foggy until we got over the top near Burrington and the sun was good to see. The Marquee was warmer today and probably the warmest indoor area within the show, thank goodness. The show was a bit slow to start. Visitors included Big Boy Mark, Chris as well as Jean, a new member from Bristol with her friend Claire. Then Jan, the Welsh Dragon arrived closely followed by Archie and Sue. Then Theo and Henry arrived followed by Blackjack Bob plus Maz and Spatch. I had a quick look at the auction and watched as a red rusty BSA with no paperwork and no rubber left on it, tires no longer existing, rusty rims as well as all the electrics rotted away and it went under the hammer listed as a target price of £600 to £800. It was sold at £1,200! The show got a bit busier around midday.

A busy stand

As the afternoon pressed on bargains were offered by various stall owners as they did not want to take their goods back home! So in future if you want a bargain, come to the show mid afternoon on the last day. A couple of new number plates were bought as well as new helmets, tools, polishing clothes and many other useful bits and pieces.

Steve had managed to put his collapsible trailer straight in the box trailer and it was easy to just pull it out rather than assemble it. It was amazing how quickly we disassembled the stand as many hands make light work! Overall we believe we got some eight or nine new members but not all in our patch as some potential people had come up from Devon despite the cold weather. We had a busy weekend with many cups of coffee consumed in great company amongst good friends. Many thanks to all those who assisted and hopefully all who attended have been mentioned.

Magic