Telstar Camping

5th November 1983 - Telstar BC

I was a member of Telstar for most of the 1980s. We decided to have regular camping weekends and usually managed to hold one per year. One year, we managed two.

It sometimes proved difficult to arrange a date for these due to everybody having various other commitments, (I think it's called 'a life'), but it seemed most of us had the weekend of Guy Fawkes Night free. It was handy that one of our regular haunts, the Sir Roger Tichbourne, in Loxwood, Surrey, also had a field next door, (this had a caravan parked in most of the time, but we never saw anyone using it, all the years we camped there). As the toilets were in a separate block, they were able to be left open 24hrs, so answering many problems in one move.

This year, there was a sufficiently large pile of rubbish, mostly wood, for burning, after the pub closed. This pile included several car seats, (no longer in the cars), from the garage next door, which would enable a bit of comfort before they, too, were thrown on the fire. Due to the date, there was the chance of a modest display of pyrotechnics while enjoying the warmth. There were rumours of a prize for the best display, but such a prize was never seen.

Due to careful planning, there was enough wood for another fire on the Saturday night, and all the seats had not yet been consumed. With the exception of a couple of sparklers, there were no more fireworks, but we enjoyed the fire, while people round about held their parties, and an occasional rocket could be seen. One of us had brought a tape player, so that passed an hour or two, but eventually all the combustibles had been combusted, and we drifted off to our tents.

In the morning, there was still enough heat in the ashes to provide a few slices of toast, for those who had the foresight to bring some bread along, using the remains of the car seat springs as a rudimentary grill. The rest of us would have to wait until we got home which was, thankfully, rather closer than it would have been from an actual rally.

Phil Drackley - Phil the Spill