Rally Report: Tin Soldiers S.C. Weekender 2019
S.C. Weekender 2019
Tin Soldiers S.C. reach their 15th year as a club. Their annual rally is now one of the best attended club rallies in the area
This year saw the Tin Soldiers Scooter S.C. reach their 15th year as a club. Since the formation of the club their annual scooter rally has gone from strength to strength and it’s now one of the best attended club rallies in the area.
This year was threatened with an element of bad weather, but the time and effort put into the rally allowed everyone to have a great weekend. Ruthie Burrows explained: “The rally started modestly with around 50 people and has grown each year with now around 1000 coming through the gates! The club is run by a small group of nine committee members who begin planning the rally straight after each one finishes. It’s a huge amount of work with the rest of the 100-strong club volunteering to help on a rota basis. The event is a fundraiser for the club’s chosen charity, Willen Hospice. Volunteers from the charity support us on
the day running the raffle and tombola, and to provide a presence.”
Setting off to a good start!
Come Friday the air was thick with two-stroke from the scooters queueing to get in. The DJs were already spinning tunes to greet the early arrivals and the field was filling up along with the bar!
By 7pm the rally was well underway and the evening’s entertainment kicked off with a set of classic ‘faves’ from The Start! Unfortunately the rain came in as predicted, but it did nothing to dampen the atmosphere under the marquee as the band belted out an eclectic mix of scooter sounds. With everyone nicely warmed up, the eagerly awaited Marquis Drive took to the stage, delivering a fantastic set of tracks. They were joined by hundreds singing along to Indie classics from the likes of Oasis and the Stone Roses.
Queueing at the gates
Saturday morning began with another queue at the gates, and by mid-morning the campsite was rammed, the bar was full and the trading village was doing
well. The scooter dyno company made a return visit this year and was as popular as ever.
Despite a late night on Friday, the ride-out was well attended, leaving the site in another cloud of two-stroke to make their way to one of the surrounding village watering holes.
The rally has become well known for its games, with clubs competing against each other for the slowest scooter assault course race, blindfolded wheelbarrow race and scooter chariots. Thankfully the weather forecasters had got it wrong and four hours of entertaining antics in the games arena commenced! As always the finale was the tug of war with the Tin Soldiers, Misspent Youth and Mini Mods taking the challenge very seriously to beat the Armed Forces!
The Armed Forces S.C. were also the nominated custom show judges this year and there was some stiff competition with stunning restorations, restored classics and a few oddities. Also there were several entries for the furthest travelled award, all of whom deserved a trophy after battling the downpour on Friday to reach the venue, and it was Dave Rhodes from Hull who received the well-earned award.
Top bands
Saturday night saw a great line-up of entertainment with three great bands performing; old friends of the club, Johnny Boy and the Eton Rivals, and the Ska 45s
headlining. “It was an inspiring change to see a Ska group made of very young and talented lads and lasses!” said Ruthie.
Reliving the highlights
Sunday morning dawned with clubs gathered around the breakfast vendor nursing hangovers and reliving the highlights of the night before.
Meanwhile for the club, the litter picking and dismantling of marquees began…