Phew.... Its over

Am I glad that last night was the final night in the main marquee. Not that I didn't enjoy every minute of the entertainment put on by the boaters but three late nights in a row as well as copious amounts of wine was not doing much for ones body. Then there were the early starts, walking Jade and setting up the stall every day. Still, the rally is over and after totting up the takings over the three days, I found out the bric a brac stall took in excess of £400. Not bad seeing as it was all donated from other peoples cast offs.

Kevin singing. Litchfield cruising club

Jim MacDonald Nb Elizabeth

Long Eaton boat club

Michael Gold ECP&DA work party organiser

John Bayliss fell asleep during Michael's performance. Surely it wasn't that bad!

Stoke boat club. They were hilarious.

Today there was a noticeable chill in the air. What a change from yesterday which was gloriously hot.  The number of people through the gate was also down but the bar in the beer tent was continuously busy. So much so that they sold out of beer by 16 45 and had to close 15 minutes early. Even though the beer tent was heaving, nothing much was happening elsewhere so the decision was made by the committee that we could all pack up at 16 30. Most of the things on my stall had gone and any decent objects left was packed up, boxed and dispatched to Nb Icing ( Margaret & Dennis ) to take to Pelsall in two weeks time. So there you have it. 40th anniversary of the opening of the Great Northern Basin was over. It was a great and successful rally. 96 boats attended, there were 4 society stalls, 11 trade stands, ice cream and hot food stands. We estimated that we must have had 2-3 thousand people attending over the three days.  I wonder if they will have another in 5 years time to celebrate the 45th anniversary. I would like to think ECP&DA will hold the rally again. Hopefully we will still be boating and be able to attend.

All seems very quiet after the last three days.

Jade in the way as usual.