A Nocturnal Visitor
Trip Start
Oct 04, 2008
1
28
67
Trip End
Nov 04, 2008
Chickerell,
United Kingdom
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
6.30 am on a Sunday. We were on the top deck bunks and I was experiencing my first night sleeping on the bus. I'm now glad that I've got a pop-up tent, listening to the whistling, grunting and snuffling noises from downstairs. We had had a wet night and everyone was sleeping on the bus, rather than tents, as was the plan for many.
Charli had sent out an e-mail trying to get the whole group together for the first time. Worryingly, we still hadn't all been in the same room/camp site at the same time. Eileen came down from London, taking over 5 hours (he'll make a good bus driver at that rate), Charli, Lucy, Jim and Adam came up from Devon. Kev brought Cynthia down from Northampton. Alas, 4 didn't or couldn't make it, all from Weymouth. It was a disappointment to say the least.
I finally got out of work 45 minutes late and rushed around like a headless chicken before we found our way to Bagwell farm, about 2 miles up the road. With hindsight, we should have just left the damn bus where it was, rather than paying through the nose for facilities that we weren't going to use.
We made full use of the lounge area and Lucy produced another culinary masterpiece as we drank and chatted in to the early hours. I was working the next day, so I was far more sensible than some. After Jo and I tried to drift off to sleep upstairs, the reprobates continued drinking and chatting outside through the small hours and in to the larger ones too. Hence the drunken, grinning bum staring at us at 6.30am.
I've been concerned about the cash flow issue recently. When I get the carnet de passage, I either need 8 times the value of the bus (£8000), or we'll need to pay out for an insurance policy (I think about £400). We currently have about £750 in the account. We have a few potential good earners coming up. The rugby tournament generally raises about a grand, Charli hopes to raise £1500 from her band night, Jim is donning a cardboard bus and skiing along Teignmouth Beach, amongst many events in the offing. Kev has been scratching around for ideas of how to raise cash.
Within a few days, Eileen was making encouraging noises about advertising space. Kev has lined up an abseil in Derbyshire and had collected £440, which his employers T-Mobile have offered to double up to a maximum of £1000. Progress on my plans for an Oktoberfest was also pleasing, could raise a few hundred.
On a slightly sour note, Mike has pulled out of the trip. He has stated financial issues and something else. I can't say I was impressed. It means we have a seat going empty for the trip, almost certainly too late to fill. A few months ago I had two people desperate to come on the trip, who I had to turn away. Mike, and previously Ami, had sat on their places for months without seeming to make any efforts and now they have both pulled out too late for any replacements to be able to take up the spaces. It leaves the rest of the group having to make up the short fall and will probably mean that our donation at the end will be significantly down on what I hoped.
Oh well. On the bright side, Weymouth won at Oxford, we have a final destination for the bus (it's going to be a medical unit) and Kev is going to throw himself off a viaduct in a Spiderman outfit.
Comments
drop outs
i think we all feel very let down by Ami and Mike. They made no cntribution and dropped out for trivial reasons. In over 3 months things stood still and now we are all left with more to do. They both ignorred e mails and texts before saying they weren't coming. Just shows how immature they both are. Just as well they are not coming. They had nothing to offer