Burton Brewers Belter!
Stu reports back from the Burton Brewers event.
As a result of the recent loss of one of their valued members, the Burton Brewers dedicated this year’s event to Ian Hudd, a talented airbrush artist and owner of Picture Me Gone. Established in 1953, Burton Brewers are a Scooter Club with over 60 years’ history. Their members are inclusive, experienced, warm-welcoming, well-informed and most of all, friendly.
The event is held in the historic town of Burton-on-Trent, at the National Brewery Centre. It’s a great venue, which provides excellent facilities throughout.
The main attractions of the day are, as you might well expect, the custom show, parts fair and night do.
Dealers were given first access to the site and began setting up, and at 11am the venue was opened to the public, a steady flow of enthusiasts and scooters beginning to arrive. Pre-arranged club ride-outs with groups of up to 30 scooters were rolling up every 15 minutes, which provided a great spectacle to all. Scooters benefited from reserved parking areas along the front of the NBC building. Overspill car parking was available at no charge and any voluntary parking payments received were donated to the Alzheimer’s Society.
The majority of dealers were situated to the rear of the main building near to the marquee. A handful of dealers and traders were situated in the Worthington Suite and in the marquee itself where the custom show was held.
Moving around the venue, I spoke with Steve Kirkland, Graham Seal and Michel Comer of the VCB, Sheffield. They explained they were doing a 15,000ft parachute jump on May 14 in support of Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice. Steve’s daughter, Stacey, will be taking part in the parachute jump also, and will be pushing them out of the plane before she jumps herself. Steve said, “To be fair, pushing me out of a plane at 15,000ft is probably something Stacey’s wanted to do for years!”
The outdoor ridden-in custom show was won by Kev Hawkes of Wicked Willy’s SC. Kev is the owner of L’Ombra (The Shadow), which was a 1963 Lambretta Series 3 barn find. The scooter was originally found by a pal of Kev’s, Dave Corbett, who runs Red Dog Lambrettas. Kev explained his inspiration for the L’Ombra project, developed while he was recovering from a critical illness. Kev was supported by his brother Keith, freinds Moj, Martin Sweet, Dave Corbett and Lee Giles. Joking, they explained that other members of the club
had intended to support Kev too, but couldn’t get out of bed!
The Burton Brewers had organised for the NBC’s Brewery Tap Bar and main café to be available. A burger and hot dog stand, supported by a cask-ales bar was available and inside the marquee was another bar serving soft drinks and draft beer.
In the meantime, while event goers viewed the custom show and browsed the traders’ stands Chris Olds (aka DJ Marshmallow) played a blend of tracks, developing a pleasant and inclusive atmosphere. Next to the custom show entries, the Burtons Brewers Scomadis were on display. The club have eight Scomadi riders and five of their machines were being shown. Nick Evison of the Burton Brewers explained that prior to the event he’d contacted Scomadi, informing them of the club’s display. Scomadi responded by supplying a banner, T-shirts, patches, brochures and key-rings.
At 3.30pm the custom show was judged. Prizes were presented in a hand-crafted wooden box (made by BSDC Bespoke), which contained a locally brewed bottle of beer and a bottle opener/key ring, both of which displayed the Burton Brewers SC badge. At 8pm, in the Worthington Suite ‘Longshot Sounds’ delivered an awesome array of ska, reggae, rocksteady, Northern Soul and 2-Tone. In the marquee, DJ Marshmallow treated us to a blend of Northern Soul, funk and indie tracks. Chris was then followed by band 3 Less Than 5, who brought us a variety of tracks by The Jam, The Who, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, The Stereophonics and more.
At a total cost of £3, which includes entry to the venue, parts fair, custom show, night do, and with around 1500 people attending, the Burton Brewers event is an experience you can’t afford to miss.
A special thanks to Steve Haynes, Ian Vanes-Jones and the rest of the Burton Brewers SC for their kind hospitality.