Section Barbecue. Sunday, August 12th 2024

Sunday, August 12th 2024 was forecast to be a very hot day. We had planned to travel to the barbecue on the bike but if it was really hot maybe the car will be a better choice because it had air conditioning. What do we do? Well, it was too good a chance to get another decent ride out so the bike it was. Our usual quick route to Kingstone where the barbecue was being held is down several miles of the boringly straight A5.  I suggested we tried a different route, not so direct but more interesting using smaller roads.  We rode the A444 as far as Acresford where we turned off on to smaller roads passing through Coton in the Elms.  We arrived at Walton Bridge just in time to join the tail end of a queue to catch the green light over the Trent. We passed through Barton under Needwood without too much delay and turned at the Little India pub\restaurant right on to Forest Road for 1/3 of a mile before turning left on to the ups and downs of the much narrower Scotch Hill Lane.  We crossed the A155 onto leafy lanes to Hoar Cross and onwards towards Abbots Bromley, a place with several half-timbered buildings and several pubs.  (How does so small a place manage to support so many pubs? I counted three, there may be more!) We eventually turned on to the narrow twisting and gravelly Booth Lane where we needed to be a bit more circumspect about what might heading towards us around the next corner!  It was 1.15 pm when we left home but the journey went well and despite quite a lot of it was on small bumpy roads we arrived at the barbecue sooner than I expected at around 2:30 pm.  We were among the first to arrive but others started to arrive by the time we had swapped our biking kit for better suited to the heat, i.e. shorts and loose shirts.  Two other people arrived on their motor cycles besides Gloria and I on my Honda.  Brian Walker came on his Vincent Rapide and Bobb Higgs on his early Velocette.

Our generous hosts, Pat and Shelly had erected a gazebo that provided some welcome shade as the temperature continued to rise during the afternoon.  There was quite a good turnout for the barbecue, Gloria thought that the number of people there was in the mid twenties.  Our hosts provided sausages, burgers, (including vegetarian options, thank you) sweet corn, peppers, etc all cooked in a shady spot by the house by our "master chefs", Vic Carrington-Porter and Mick Dughan, well done boys. Our hosts also provided a fruit punch and a self service buffet with salad potatoes, coleslaw, tomatoes etc.

The delicious desert course of two fruit flans, Tiramisu, Trifle, Rhubarb Cheesecake and Scones were expertly served by Denise and Jackie.  We were spoilt for choice so it was difficult to know which one to try so I "compomised" by trying most of them😋.

Shelly gave a guided "trek" around the wood for interested parties and as everyone returned safely I assume that they didn't encounter any wild animals.  The temperature became more pleasant as we moved towards evening and our chairman Andy Roberts thanked our hosts and gave a "little something" as a token of our appreciation.

It was a great afternoon in a beautiful spot with a convivial atmosphere where our group sat chatting about all and sundry.  How lucky are we to know such nice people?

Time to go home and leave Pat and Shelly in peace.  Gloria and I kitted up and in the cooler evening air had an very nice ride home using a different route.  We arrived back to Hinckley at 9.00 pm. We had a cup of tea and reflected on what had been a really good day.  Eddy.

Photographs from Dave Gould and myself.



 


















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