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Huddersfield District Association
Summer 2011
Newsletter No. 308
HUDDERSFIELD DISTRICT ASSOCIATION
COMMITTEE
CHAIR Lesley Cobb
01977 662330 07919 988193
[email protected]
VICE CHAIR Steve Coley
01422 373639 07894 082662
[email protected]
SECRETARY Julie Coley
01422 373639 07967 812637
[email protected]
TREASURER Carolyn Armitage
01484 310306 07971 105850 [email protected]
PRO Tony Fuller
01484 533581 07776471201
[email protected]
YOUTH LEADERS Vince & Lesley O’Neill
01484 546035 07834 517046
[email protected]
REP TO REGION Steve Coley
01422 373639 07894 082662
[email protected]
SITES SECRETARY John Shedden
01422 258346 07742 308321 [email protected]
BOOKING OFFICER Doreen Hopkin
01484 532790 07890120530
[email protected]
REGALIA OFFICER Michael Womersley
01924 495196 07766 900840
[email protected]
STORES OFFICER Nick Armitage
01484 310306 07929000670
[email protected]
PRESIDENT Geoff Hopkin
01484 532790
[email protected]
LESLEY’S LATEST
Hi Everyone
This will be our last newsletter before we take our break for the
summer. I hope you have all enjoyed the half term holidays – Peter
and I spent a few very pleasant if not chilly days at our new THS near
Southport. It was a nice peaceful site with very friendly owners who
let us sit in “The Shed” and kept us well supplied with some very tasty
goodies from their greenhouse at very reasonable prices.
So far it has been a busy year with a bumper Easter Meet and a very
successful Meet at Ripon celebrating the Royal Wedding. The street
party was excellent with visitors all saying how much they had enjoyed
it.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all of their
hard work so far this year.
Sadly Susan Pearson has retired from the committee as Events CoOrdinator. Sue will be sadly missed, but has said that she will still be
there to help out. It would be great if some of our members would like
to think about joining the committee as there are some key positions
available, namely, Events and Catering Co-Ordinator.
Our last meet before the break is at Old Brodlieans where we hope to
have a communal barbeque before we all go our separate ways for the
summer holidays.
Before I sign off I would just like to wish Michaela and Chris on behalf
of all of our members all the very best for their forthcoming wedding
and hope that they have a super day.
Lesley Cobb
H.D.A. Chair
Committee Meeting Report - April
All members were present.
Doreen Hopkin has the block booking forms for the Region meet and
NFOL.
Accounts were presented to each member and were signed by LC as
correct.
Accounts and Minutes are available to be viewed by HDA members in
the presence of Julie Coley HDA Secretary these may not be removed
from her presence.
Youth Officers Vince and Lesley are working hard on recruiting youth
members.
Tony, Anne and Julie are working hard on ways to recruit new members
to HDA.
Commission can be earned when new members join C&CC at meets.
Air Ambulance collection box will be available for donations at Coffee
mornings.
York is now full with 140 booked and a waiting list started.
Ripon bookings low on last year.
If you have anything you would like raised please email me at
[email protected]
Extra Ordinary General Meeting
There will be a short EOGM (Extra Ordinary General Meeting at
Rufforth York on the 17th September at 10am which is purely for the
election of Auditors.
I don’t know what happened to Spring this year. What a mix up of
weather. Absolutely beautiful for York and Ripon and then along came
June! The weather was certainly turned on it’s head. We went to
Scotland again for the Spring Bank Holiday and following week.
Although we had lovely weather some of the time, we also had one
night of hailstones which totally covered the site in a white blanket.
There were still some there in the morning when we got up.
It’s getting close now to the start of the summer holidays and I am sure
that you are all looking forward to them, no matter where you are
going. I only hope that if it is in this country, the sun manages to shine
for you all.
If you have anything you would like to include in the next publication,
please e-mail me at [email protected].
Points to Ponder
If you choke a smurf, what colour does it turn?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear crash helmets?
Occasional tables: What are they the rest of the time?
How come super glue doesn’t stick to the inside of the tube?
Why do most screwdrivers belong to Philip?
Why don’t sheep shrink in the rain?
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
What do you plant to get a seedless grape?
What would you do if you saw an endangered animal eating an
endangered plant?
Where does the white go when ice melts?
Steward’s Report - York Easter Meet
This year the tunnel was closed for caravans and motorhomes to enter
the field. We had to do the booking in at the back gate. We set up stall
at 8.15am the first van arrived just then. We had a couple of pull in
areas to help with any rush. It worked very well really. The main road
did not get congested thanks to Nigel and Chris Duffy) keeping the
traffic flowing. Thanks to anyone who helped in our team, you did a
tremendous job all day. The weather was glorious which helped.
While all that was going on, another team of members worked very
hard, with tea, coffee, books and cup cakes to die for, made by Holly
Cobb, and lots of other tempting cakes to chose from. I was in the
best place at the back gate away from temptation. I managed a bacon
sandwich. It tasted really good to say it was on the Slimming World
Diet(apart from the teacake). We came back to the van about 4.30pm,
there were only 3 or 4 vans to arrive. We were fully booked this year
and had to turn a lot of people away.
Saturday, a car boot sale set up along the road. It was another lovely
day. A stroll round York for some of us to go shopping, while others
went on the Eater Egg Hunt. Saturday night brought a change this year
from the usual Race Night. We had a Beach Party with mouthwatering
cocktails. You just had to try one, then another, then another. They all
went very well. Everyone made an effort to dress up. Limbo dancing
was popular with the children and adults alike.
Sunday morning was a little overcast first thing, but it brightened up
later in time for the races. All the decorated plates, Easter bonnets and
races were very well supported and enjoyed by all. Cooked breakfasts
Were on sale throughout.
Sunday evening’s social started off with the Children’s Egg Hunt and
plenty of games and dancing with Harold & Jayne.
Monday the sun still shone. We said goodbye to a lot of people who
had to leave early for work.
Tuesday was cooler and dull. The field emptied fairly quickly, a few
people stayed Tuesday evening for the extra night. We closed the site
about lunchtime on Wednesday when everyone left.
Thank you very much once again to Mike & Bernie and Barry & Dianne
for helping with the pegging out etc. And also to everyone who helped
on Friday, too many names to mention and I don’t want to miss
anyone out.
The feedback we had as people were leaving or just calling in to say
goodbye, was very encouraging. It was all good and everyone seemed
to enjoy it.
Anne & Tony Fuller
Steward’s Report - Lockside Ripon May Day Meet
We left York at about 10 am on Tuesday along with Doreen and Geoff,
to go to Lockside Ripon and set up the site for the following morning.
We only had 23 units booked, but quite a few members had said they
had enjoyed camping with us at York and might come to Ripon.
We decided to peg out the site for approximately 60 units just in case
people decided to come due to the good weather. It was a good job
that we did, because we ended up with 56 units in all. They started to
arrive about 8.30 am on Wednesday morning and continued to drift in
throughout the day. We thought we might have some spare time this
year due to the long holiday, but we could not have been more wrong.
Every day caravans and motorhomes continued to arrive up to and
including Saturday. We managed to get into Ripon for a couple of
hours on Saturday afternoon, to buy the raffle prizes . Ken stood in for
us as we were expecting another arrival.
Friday morning was the day of the Royal Wedding and a lot of people
sat down to watch it on television in their vans. One unit managed to
arrive just as William and Kate got to the altar! A quick dash to book
them in and then back to the wedding.
Lesley had planned to have a street party on Friday afternoon with a
communal BBQ, The “street” was trimmed up with royal regalia and
flags. Tables were laid out in two rows and everyone brought their
food and BBQs. Vince had some rousing music playing from his van,
appropriate music like “Land of Hope and Glory”, but we did wonder
how “Abide with me” got in there! There wasn’t much singing going
on, as everyone was either eating or drinking. Carolyn had made red,
white and blue cake, which was shared around the party. On Friday
evening we went into the barn and had a royal quiz and a
“champagne” toast (it was Lambrini really) to the Royal Couple.
On Saturday night we went into the barn again. Jane had organised a
multi-part quiz, which was a great leveller as most of us knew some of
the answers, but not all of them. It depended upon your interests.
Peter had once again done one of his pork roasts. Everyone queued
for the sandwiches and pork crackling, which were absolutely
delicious. Another superb job by Cobb’s Kitchen.
We held a coffee morning and raffle on Sunday morning. We had some
lovely raffle prizes, some of which were donated by visitors. It all went
down very well until the wind whipped one of the tickets away up into
the trees. Of course, everybody said it was theirs.
A few people went into the barn on Sunday evening and we had a quiz
and finished of the remaining roast pork sandwiches.
Monday morning saw the start of vans departing for home. The site
closed at 2pm and apart from one member who had asked if he could
stay until 4pm, the field was cleared.
The weather stayed sunny for us most of the time, although it was
windy, so we couldn’t complain. Altogether a good meet.
Dot & John, Anne & Tony
Stewards Report - Marsh Farm Shepley
We arrived about 11.30 am and the sun was shining. Barry soon got
the remaining HDA signs and pennon up. I put the kettle on and Mike,
Bernie, Ann & Tony had arrived, so I thought I would make drinks for
all of us. Then Gary came and he was asked and ordered a coffee.
Someone else turned up and I wondered if I should ask them too, but
Bernie said it wasn’t in the list of steward’s tasks to make drinks for
everybody on arrival, as they might get to like it! One or two vans
trickled in after lunch, but it was very quiet and by evening there were
just 16 units.
As it was the Holmfirth Folk Festival weekend, Sue had sent leaflets to
be given out and Louis had printed a load of local bus timetables.
These all proved to be very useful as a lot of people went into
Holmfirth on the Saturday. We also went in with Mike & Bernie to see
what was on and saw some very unusual costumes. We missed a lot of
the dancing because the heavens opened and we had to seek shelter,
where fortunately, they were serving Real Ale! After a drink, we
watched the procession where there was a lady dressed in a weird
costume, who took a dislike to Mike and prodded him with her stick. It
could have been a fertility ritual I suppose.
We managed to sit out both evenings and have a few drinks, ladies
covered by rugs, but the men endured the cold(mad fools).
Sunday the sun shone whilst we had the coffee morning and all in all, it
was a good weekend.
Barry & Dianne
Stewards Report - Upwood Park
When we arrived on Friday morning, we decided to peg the field, as it
was the first time for us to hold a meet at the same time as the 1940’s
weekend in Haworth. We did not know how many units would come.
The farmer came to see us and offered another field for us to put the
marquee up for our Saturday nights 1940’s celebrations.
The weather was poor on Saturday, very windy and some heavy
showers. As the day went on, it came brighter and fine. Many of us
went down into Haworth. It was lovely to see all the different
costumes. We bumped into Sue, Gary, Ivan & Louise, they were dressed
up and they looked fantastic in their outfits. Plenty of things going off ,
a really good day.
When we arrived back on site, the wind was still very strong.
Unfortunately we were unable to put the marquee up as it seemed to
be getting worse, We were really sorry after all the hard work Sue &
Louise had put into making the evening a success, with a sing-a-long ,
quiz and fat and bread supper. I thought it might be a good idea to pick
up a couple of song sheets and have a sing-a-long during the evening in
the van. I came out with a bit more than I went in for. Off with the new
and on with the old. I left “fully” dressed in one of Sue’s many outfits,
black lines on my legs and fox fur. I don’t think Tessa was too pleased
about that. I kept them on all evening and we had the sing-a-long and a
good laugh.
We had the coffee morning outside our van. It just managed to stay
fine. We had quite a few visitors, 40 units in all. Very good for the first
time.
We left about 3ish on Sunday. Thank you once again to everyone who
helped.
Ann & Tony Fuller
Servicing/Safety
Do you take your Caravan/Motorhome for an annual service, and then think
that everything has been checked for you safety?
Well that’s what I thought, I had my van serviced by the local main dealer, an
approved workshop, and collected it complete with a large tick on the sticker
on the draw bar on the 24th March.
We then used it at York over Easter. On Easter Sunday there was a strong
smell of fumes in the van, luckily because it was warm we had the van well
ventilated. On inspection outside the van, I found that the fridge ventilation
cover was blackened, also all up the side of the caravan above the vent was
black and the smell was oppressive.
Taking off the vent I found that the inner grill was melting and the chimney
was hot. Dr. Mike B. came and had a sniff and said turn it off it is very
dangerous, apart from carbon dioxide there will be carbon monoxide which
is lethal.
Because I had lost a vent last year, I had put a dab of no nails on the vents to
keep them in place, and on removing them I knew they had not been
removed at the service.
On contacting the dealer they took a defensive attitude and even suggested
it could have been caused by a spider or even a dead mouse! After a bit of
plain talking it was agreed to take the van for inspection.
During the interim period I made telephone calls to the Technical
Departments at The Camping Club, Caravan Club, Thetfords and The National
Caravan Council and came away with the impression that they were aware
that a Habitation Service as they called it, did not amount to a full safety
check but only an operational check, which means, to see if the appliances
work.
When I took my van to the dealer their attitude had changed completely and
they assured me that everything would be put right, which to their credit
they did, they removed the fridge fitted new a new jet and burner , cleaned
the flue and the vent all free of charge. They did not admit to any
responsibility, and said the problem had been caused by rust which could
have fallen in transit.
Be warned when you have your next annual service ask what they are going
to do regarding safety checks on the gas appliances, it could save your life!
Ken Baldwin
July Birthdays
5th John Patterson
6th Victor Jackson
7th Chris Wood
9th Sylvia Scargill
12th Louise Purkiss
12th Abygail Nixon
13th Roland Vale
17th Morgan Atkins
22nd Gary Pearson
22nd Ben Baldwin
21st
July Anniversaries
1st Ann & Tony Fuller
5th Stephen & Lynda Baldwin 25th
11th Ivan & Louise Purkiss
14th Frank & Diane Pyrah
18th Judy & Peter Gledhill
18th Lesley & Vince O'Neill
24th John & Dot Shedden
August Birthdays
5th Jeanne Baldwin
11th Lewis Garside
11th Ben O'Neill
14th Tony Fuller
19th Peter Cobb
20th Tony Nelson
23rd Rod Curran
24th Sam Hirst
25th Jossy
30th Ebony Stocks
August Anniversaries
17th Alan & Alison Carr
26th Paul & Christine Wood
PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF ANY CELEBRATIONS BY
E-MAIL [email protected]
HDA WEB SITE
Don’t forget that up to date information about our DA is
Available on the web site
http://www.huddersfield-da.co.uk/
FORUM section now ready for members to chat and
pass on information.
Why not take a look
Once again I was invited to the AGM of the Huddersfield District
Association Camping & Caravanning Club and had great pleasure in
accepting a cheque for the sum of £515.99. This had been raised
over the past year by the members with various fund raising
events at caravan meets and club meetings.
The cheque was presented to me by the chair of the club Mrs
Lesley Cobb and following the presentation, I was able to thank
everyone and to tell them about the work of Take Heart over the
past year.
Colin Pullan, MBE
Chairman
Photo shows Mrs Lesley Cobb making the presentation.
Forthcoming Events
Fri 8th July Old Brodleians Hipperholme.
Our last meet before our summer THS . Lets all have a
good get together, and a communal BBQ . Possibly
some outdoor Games , weather permitting .
Forward thinking our scarecrow event will take place in autumn and
the theme will be Nursery Rhymes
New Arrivals
Isabelle Alice Womersley on 6th June 2011 She weighed 9lb 10oz .
Congratulations to Elizabeth, Michael and Oliver and also to
Grandparents Christine & Paul
WEB SITE
In order to improve attendance by visitors
and members alike, we would like to add
photos of the sites at which we camp and
their surrounding areas and local places of
interest.
If you have any such photos, please send them
to Christopher Wood, with details of the
photographs , at:
[email protected]
May we please remind parents of
young children that, when camping
with HDA, they are responsible for
their children’s behaviour, and must
supervise them at all times. If we are
in a room which is part of a larger
building , children must not wander
around, but stay in our booked room.
Dogs must be tied up at all times.
Thank you for your cooperation
The Committee
Stewards Report - Bolton Abbey
The evening started with a change of clothes after getting the caravan
out in the pouring down rain....... what a start!!, Ah well lets hope it
improves on the way. We arrived about 6pm to a site with 15-20 units
on, all professionally signed in by John Sheddon (thanks John) and
marshalled by Mike Bora and My Dad Ken (thanks Mike & Dad). Units
kept coming and coming 30 in all, so after tea, Chris and I set off
collecting fees and selling raffle tickets. Now it might be me but usually
the ladies do this job while the men check the .......... well make sure
the beers in the fridge and maybe open a tin or two, just to test. I
wonder how we managed to get that job............ or who the real bosses
are!!! In the end it was great, we met everyone from various DA's, had
a chin wag and updated all on the weekend activities.
Friday night turned cold but Saturday morning brought beautiful
sunshine. Many set off walking or went into Skipton and Stephen
volunteered to do a little walk towards Simon's Seat. So 12 of us and 3
dogs set off through the picturesque setting of Bolton Abbey towards
Simon’s Seat only to be stopped at one of the gates because no dogs
were allowed to cross the hills (not sure why). Not to be put off, a
change of plan and we walked along the path towards Burnsall and
Grassington turning after about 3.5 miles, landing at the cafe at Bolton
Abbey for Ice Creams and a cold drink.
Back to site for the Bouls competition. Christine Wood kindly agreed to
be chief organiser (thanks Christine) and a total of eight, four person
teams of all ages joined in. Everyone had a great time, playing or
spectating or just joining in the banter and fun. Proceedings were
shortly interrupted by tea, with the final very closely contested by the
'Four Peaks' (Nigel Peak, Tony Fuller, Barry Robinson and Frank Pyrah)
and the 'Bar Stewards' (Nola & Rob Baldwin, Kayla & Chris Duffy, (to
be)). 21-20 saw the Four Peaks crowned champions, well done to you
all... nice tan Barry! I'd just like to thank everyone who took part and
supported the event.
Winners - "The Four Peaks" runners up - " TheBar Stewards"
Sunday had the customary coffee morning where kettles arrived from
all corners, thanks to everyone. Hollie and Georgia very efficiently
served everyone with coffee and biscuits, although I must admit they
probably had more than their fair share of the chocolate ones, but
thanks anyway. The rains arrived again by about 1.30pm, so most
packed up and set off home after a great weekend.
Rob, Nola, Kayla and Chris
Leeds DA Bogie Race Grange Moor
Peter Cobb & Paul Armitage came 9th out of a line up of 52
competitors at Leeds DA’s annual Bogie race at Grange Moor on
Saturday 25th June. Congratulations to both of you.
GUIDANCE NOTES FOR
WEEKEND MEET STEWARDS
From January 1st 2008, Huddersfield DA weekend meets
will commence at noon, 12.00h.
Stewards are not expected to arrive at 12.00h as they
may have work or other commitments.
The first person to arrive at the meet must act as
temporary steward until an Officer of the DA or appointed
Steward for the meet arrives.
It is the responsibility of the appointed Stewards to ensure
the site is signed.
Appointed Stewards may ask someone who will arrive at
the site before them to sign the meet, giving thought to
members who may never have been to the site.
Members arriving at 12.00h must recognise that signs
may not yet be in place.
Members arriving on the site before the Appointed
Steward must be prepared to move their units if
requested as areas for Youth, Catering Teams and
Marquees may be required.
A space for the Appointed Steward must be left vacant
near the entrance to the meet, although the Steward may
choose not to camp there.
Members on site (Each Unit) may reserve only ONE
space for friends/family.
Basic Camping & Caravan Club Rules
1.
The steward is a volunteer. Help the steward to help you by
observing the rules.
2.
All vehicles to be restricted to 5mph on the meet field. Learner drivers are
not allowed.
3.
Try to restrict movement of vehicles when wet to prevent damage to the
field.
4.
Please do not allow your children to play ball games, fly kites etc. close to
camping units, as damage is easily caused and expensive to repair.
5.
It is strongly recommended that all units carry a suitable BSI and/or
F.O.C. approved fire extinguisher. Fire buckets should be placed
outside the front of the unit at all times.
6.
Chemical toilets must not be taken/washed or primed at drinking water
points and only emptied at designated elsan disposal points.
7.
Motorhome owners should not open waste water tanks until they have
left the camping field. Waste water containers should be emptied around
the perimeter of the camping field, unless there is a designated waste
water point. (DO NOT USE THE ELSAN POINT).
8.
All animals should be kept under control and must not be allowed to run
loose on the field.
Recommended: length of lead when tethered is a maximum of 2
metres. Animals must be exercised away from the units.
9.
Generators are permitted and must be used reasonably. It is
expected that generators should not be used for more than 4 hours each
day, unless for medical reasons. Generators should not be used between
the hours 9pm to 10am.
10.
There should be no noise between 11pm and 7am.
11 . Each pitch should be left clear of litter at the end of the meet and a
careful check made before leaving the field that nothing has been left
behind.
KEN TAYLOR TV
303 MARKET ST
WHITWORTH
OL12 8PW
Sponsor of HDA’s
Printer
Suppliers of all Leading
Discounts
Electrical
and Gas Domestic
Appliances
Contact Nigel for a free quotation
and friendly advice