Raglan Rally

Two of us went to the 1973 Raglan rally. Myself and my mate Manse.

                   

- Russ

We set off from Chivenor in North Devon just after lunch on the Friday, him on his 500 Velo' and me on my rather tatty A10. There was no Severn Bridge in those days so we had to go through Bristol and my clutch started to slip so I adjusted it on the bars and we got to the rally just as it was getting dark.

The tent was soon up and we asked someone where the pub was. "Turn left out of the gate and about a mile up the road" So off we went walking in the pitch black until we spotted a pub sign ahead. In we went and into what seemed to be someone's front room. There was a grannie sitting by the fire knitting and no-one else in sight. An old boy came through a door in the far side of the room with a jug and two pint pots in his hands "Two pints is it?" he said. Well it was good stuff and we sat chatting to him getting more and more pissed until we fell out of the pub at closing time (Half past ten)

We got back to the site in time to meet the rest of the rallyists getting back from the other pub which was a mile in the other direction.

Saturday came and we did a parade through Raglan led by a fellow on a bright yellow Volkswagon trike. The first trike I had ever seen. I said to Manse "I'm going to have a trike one day". I waited 35 years and I have one now.

I don't remember much about Saturday night, just lots of beer in the other pub.

Sunday morning saw me with the clutch cover off and adjusting the clutch amid lots of totally inane and unhelpful comments before a nice sunny ride home.

- The Black Russian