Billing info wanted. Thankyou. Please.

Thanks. I didn't think to put 'land rover' in front of 'billing', all I got was the Billing aquadrome site which listed events, and I couldn't remember who was running the show!

Is the field next door going to be available for camping like it was last year?

I always leave these things FAR too late to book the offical site but I may pop down if I can camp next door.

Judith

Of course :-)

No worries, Richard is very open to late arrivals - just turn up.

I prefer it to the circus that the main ground has become...

I always camp in the farmers field as Billing main site has become a joke it is too cramped and in my opinion dangerous as units camp to close together.

That's what I thought last year. It looks as if they cram the tents into every available space. I saw people camped, and parked, in tiny nooks between trees only three feet from the water.

Yes, the unofficial campsite is just row after row of Land Rover - Tent - Land Rover - Tent etc but at least it's flat and you get a bit of room.

Judith

This reminds me of what my father says about farming events, and I've seen if for myself. Row after row of tidily-parked vehicles, with minimal supervision needed. Except for the shambolic alignment of the flash cars driven by the salemen.

It's not that Land Rover owners are rural people, but they seem to share the same feeling of give-and-take that appears to have vanished from many urban areas. Of course, a Series III with military bumpers does seem to encourage the bastards in town to give -- one imagines them believing that if they try to take, they'll not get anything.

How much does he charge then?

Steve. Suffolk. remove 'knujon' to e-mail

Erm... Dunno actually... :-)

ISTR about 15 quid a night, but I may be well off the mark!

not that far off the mark he charges £17 per night, and in my opinion it is the real enthusiasts that camp there (oh and the drunks) :-)

Yes, I think that's what it was. Last year I hadn't realised that I could sneak in the back way to the show (there's a right of way through the showground - you don't need to scale any fences!) and not buy a day ticket, so when the woman said that it would cost me £30 to camp for 2 nights I nearly had a heart attack!

This year I might even talk to some a.f.l. people. Too shy last year!

Judith

Oi! I resemble that remark... ;-)

Too shy... Ah, yes... I think I used be say that about miself...

How odd these leaking sods are for developing an entirely new social aspect! Do feel free to come and have a glug with the Purple 101 and associated gathered of the poor. We're all reasonably human :-)

Dave White posted the most insightful perspective on this after the last Billing, I must try to find it (Dave...?)

I spent last weekend with the regulars from another newsgroup. T'internet is taking over my life, I tell you.

Judith

On or around Mon, 12 Jul 2004 21:40:12 +0100, Judith enlightened us thusly:

amazing how many events and moots 200 people can organise, innit.

Well it's funny you should say that, Austin. Your name came up in conversation!

Judith

This is the posting, a true gem of usenet (Sorry Dave, but it really does merit reposting!):

The minimum distances between units is set as part of the planning permission. At Billing (for caravans) it is 10 feet between vertical faces which is why, on the sited fields, the pitches are marked at

This allows a caravan and awning with enough spacing to the next caravan.

The "fill in" of tents, gazebos, windbreaks and vehicles isn't covered.

Campers at shows like Billing seem to have an "under siege" mentality. They are given a pitch and told the extent of their pitch by the marshal.

Once the caravan is unhitched and the legs are down you can see the attempt to claim territory slowly unfold.

Step 1: The awning. When pitched next to a friend, awnings must face each other. Ideally the awnings should be within 2 feet of each other.

Step 2: The windbreak. Once the awning is erected we then need to coral ourselves in and keep everyone else out. This years record is held by the 3 caravans at the end of the main field that deployed a total of 24 wind breaks to completely enclose their "fortress". They then complained about the germans next door blocking an access route ! This means that each caravan brought 8 windbreaks with them...

Step 3: The dreaded Gazebo. OK, we've got our awning and windbreaks deployed, now we erect the largest gazebo that B&Q had on sale to ensure that we have the entire pitch covered. It's OK it doesn't need to be pegged down, it's not that windy... Due to the awnings this has to go behind the caravan in the access route but it's OK 'cos we can just move the windbreaks out a bit further.

Step 4: The chairs. Any visible ground within the pitch now needs to be covered with a liberal coating of chairs.

Step 5: Vehicles, as we have two vehicles and our pitch is now completely covered and walled in, we'll park our cars on the pitch next door.

I have often wondered how long it will be before we see someone turn up with a trailer load of bricks and mortar and build a 10 foot wall around their pitch. If B&Q ever start selling fold up sentry towers they'd make a fortune :-)

cheers

Dave W.

Austin accounts for 1 and a bit of the 200 usenet population ;-)

Thankfully another 15 usenet contributors (only one person, mind) will not be at Billing ;-)