June 2011
Location: Epworth, Doncaster
(3 caravans, 4 nights, 6 people & 7 dogs!)
2011 marks the 60th anniversary of when the German Short-haired Pointer Club was founded – and despite not owning a GSP ourselves, Derek and I decided to tag along with my mam and dad (who own 2 GSPs – Ruby & Duke), and their friends Fred and Maureen (who also own 2 GSPs – Meg & Jess), for the sheer hell of it.
To pitch our caravans in the farmer’s field, including use of the impressively clean toilet block and showers, it cost a grand total of £5 – and that was for up to five nights stay! Bargain!
Wednesday 8th June
It was agreed that our convoy would set off at 10am – but in usual fashion, we didn’t hit the roads until 10:45am. I fear lateness is becoming a noticeable trend!
When we eventually arrived in Epworth the clouds had turned Armageddon black and were unleashing their fury upon us, and to top it all off we got rather lost at the mercy of Sat Nav. Tight roads, frayed tempers and fears of getting bogged down in a muddy field didn’t make for the best starting point of a relaxing short break – but when we eventually found the showground and got parked up, the sun came out with a vengeance, drying the ground as though the rainstorm had never even happened, and beers were cracked open...
And relax!
Thursday 9th June
We took the dogs for a walk along by the dyke, where Marvin (our whippet) discovered a fondness for ponies. Thankfully the pony didn’t object to Marvin sticking his nose up its nostril...
The rest of the day was a mixture of sunshine, frolicking in the field, drinking beer and being downright lazy – rounded off nicely with a bbq in the evening.
Friday 10th June
A day for visiting...
And rain...
My mam and dad, Derek and I (and the 5 dogs) travelled 29 miles to a place called Laneham, where my auntie is living the gypsy lifestyle for a few weeks in a caravan while her husband works nearby at a power plant.
By the time we got there, the rain had stopped and the sun was making occasional sulky appearances. So we headed off out to do a riverside walk – which entailed lots of doggy excitement, even from my auntie’s grumpy, unsociable dog Holly.
We also stumbled upon a Ford Probe festival in the field next door, strangely enough. I distinctly remember when Probes were out in the 1990s, and I get the feeling that they’re retro cool now – sort of like Capris, maybe.
When we got back to my auntie’s caravan we made pigs of ourselves with the Victoria sponge cake and walnut cake that she’d baked for us (for which I’m holding solely accountable for the extra pounds I’ve gained).
Saturday 11th June
Main event day...which also saw the arrival of the beer tent, hooray!
The weather was looking decidedly more promising, so after some customary bacon and egg sarnies in the caravan, we went to see some GSP dummy retrieval trials – (which my dad and Ruby were partaking in).
We'd been looking forward to seeing a birds of prey display, but apparently one of the organisers had forgotten to book it - or so we were told. We entered Marvin into two fun dog shows – all in the name of charity. He paraded around the ring for Cutest Puppy and then again for Most Handsome Dog – the judge obviously didn’t have a clue what she was talking about though, because he didn’t win either of them, pah! Mind you, after play fighting with my mam and dad’s 12 week old puppy, he had acquired some battle wounds on his face from Duke’s nippy puppy teeth – maybe he’d have won a prize for Most Rugged Looking Pup had there been such a thing...
Not to worry though, we bought a couple of raffle ticket strips for £2 and won a ball thrower and a JML pet glove for him – not bad going at all!
We headed round to the main tent at 4pm to watch the awards announcements – and I thought Derek and I were going to be lynched because we won a bottle of whisky from one of those ‘£1 to guess the name of the whisky’ games. Derek had randomly guessed the name Old Pulteney earlier – just because he thought it looked unusual. I quickly popped it in my handbag after receiving some hard stares from various old men, and we slinked off.
At 6:30pm we went to the marquee for the special anniversary evening event, (and we left Marvin in the caravan with Ruby, his designated babysitter).
The evening event was £10 each and was inclusive of a hot and cold buffet, desserts, a glass of wine each, an auction and a live band – which again, was an absolute steal. The food was fabulous, the wine was decent, the auction was canny – but, I’m afraid to say, the band was absolutely dire. In fact, it was a bit like watching someone from down the local slaughtering the karaoke machine. Most of us spent the latter part of the evening hoping for a power cut.
Eventually when we could take no more, we headed back round to the caravans and popped open the bottle of whisky.
Sunday 12th June
Cold, windy, raining and home time...need I say more?
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