Arse In The Grass Rally

10th April 1992 - Iceni MCC

Well, here we were again at the Youth Camp on Mersea Island. No waiting for the sea to go out this time, we arrived at the right time to cross the causeway at low tide.

Setting up the tents for the 7th Arse in the Grass Rally was no problem in the area provided, and we were soon ready for the party. A little too early, as it happens, so we messed around on the beach a bit first, as we waited for the few remaining stragglers of our club to sort themselves out.

When it did get going the party was well worth waiting for. There was a real ale bar in the tent outside the hall, but also TWO 'ordinary' bars inside! This arrangement suited pretty much everybody there. And the party went on as such things do.

On Saturday, after a breakfast in the well-kitted-out permanent kitchens, several quite tasty bikes were assembled into a section of the fields for a bike show, while nearby, people involved themselves in some games, including an up-on-a-pole pillow fight, which usually ended up as upside down mid air wrestling, tug-of-war, and a few others which may or may not have been official games.

After another visit to the kitchens, of the burger van, for lunch/dinner, it was back into the hall for evening jollities. After a few hours of drinking and live music, between the 'drinking a can of beer through someone else's sock' race and a wet t-shirt contest, was a plastic bag race. The contestants were teams of one girl and one boy, who were given a large 'black plastic bag'. They were then blindfolded, and covered by the bag, which, while they were blindfolded, had been swapped for clear ones. They then had to swap clothes while in the bag, and the winner was whoever managed it quickest. Only then did they discover that the whole audience had seen them.

There was then a few more hours of beer and disco, while people built many can-pillars, and a lot of us ended around the bonfire on the beach.

The fine weather all weekend held over onto Sunday, leading to a pleasant ride home, apart from those that needed the assistance of the AA.

- Phil (the Spill) Drackley