ASouth East Summer Sizzler!
30 |SCOOTERING|AUGUST 2019
TheBig 7 teamdecidedthatthey’dholdthisyear’s
NationalBig 7 ScooterRallytwoweekslaterthanthe
usualweekendsetasidefortheevent.Thedecision
paiddividends,andtheeventcouldn’thavebeen
greetedbyabetterweekendofbeautifulweather,
fantasticentertainmentandsuperbscooters...
Topjob
Thisyearsawtheintroductionofglamping
tents,whicheasilyaccommodatedupto
eightpeople.Thepositioningofthetents
atthevenuewasintheusuallocationof
thedealers’andtraders’market,andthis
meantthatthedealersandtraderswere
nownicelyorganisedbehindthemain
field.Alsoanew‘Darkside’room,
sponsoredbytheMerseyIslandScooter
Rally,wasopenedattherearofthemain
roomintheDray,whichmadeafantastic
additiontoanalreadysuperbline-upof
livemusic,themedmusicmarqueesand,
ofcourse,themainroomitself.By
mid-morningonFridaythefinal
preparationsfortheweekendwere
complete.Theteamhaddoneafantastic
jobandthemaingateatHopFarm
openedtoallowastreamofscooteriststo
flowin.Arrivalsweremetbyafriendly
teamandoncethey’dcheckedinthey
quicklygotthemselvessetupinthemain
fieldreadyfortheweekendahead.
Setup
Bymid-afternoonthemainfieldwas
nearlytwo-thirdsfullanditwasclearby
thenumbersthatthisyear’srallywas
goingtobesomethingspecial.Withthisin
mindIleftmybasecampandwentto
chatwithrallygoerswhowerebynow
crackingopenafewbeersandsettling
intotherallyatmosphere.Itwasalsoclear
fromthebannersaroundthefieldthat
groupsofriders,independentridersand
clubshadcomefromalloverthecountry.
OutsidethefrontoftheDrayitwasbusy
withgroupssatchattingandsoakingup
thesun.Inthemeantime,thetraders’
marketwasahiveofactivitywithrally
goersbrowsingroundtheamplestands
sellingfullscooters,newandusedscooter
parts,scootermemorabiliaandscooter
workshoptools,andtherewasalsoa
walk-inscooterworkshopreadytohelp
withthoseurgentfixesneeded.The
evening’sliveentertainmentsawfantastic
performancesbyTheCorsairs,Secret
AffairandOrangeStreet,andwhilstall
Memorial tribute to Michael
On July 7, 2018, MichaelWalsh of
Definitely Maybe S.C. and owner of MW
Scooters sadly lost his life inascooter
accident. At the Big7 in 2017 Michael,
along with the rest of the Definitely
Maybe lot, palled up with the
Wimbledon Scooter Alliance (W.S.A.)
and at the 2018 rally their friendship
continued. Asaresult of the loss of
Michael the two clubs decided that they
would make the 2019 Big7ajoint
memorial event to Michael’smemory.
Activity outside the Dray on Saturday afternoon
