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Boxing Day at the Pied Bull Farningham as seen in click on the picture to enter slide show, click back on your browser to exit
Boxing
Day December 26th, St Stephens Day, whatever you call it a
traditional day for feeling bloated after the festivities of the day before, and
for some a day for queues and crushes as they head for sales to spend more
money, my poor piggy bank cannot cope with anymore expenditure and winces each
time I give it a perfunctory rattle. For those motorcycle enthusiasts who do not
hibernate for the winter it is also becoming a traditional day for meets, and
here I had a choice, Ace Café, Box hill or the Racing at Mallory Park, but
friends had told me of a meet in Kent which was perfect for my current state of
funds and would allow for a pleasant 80 mile round trip now the sun was out. The
origins of the modern Boxing Day go back to the mid 1800 when the Victorians
allowed their tradesmen and other suppliers to collect tips or gifts for
services during the year. Maybe I could swell my coffers this way. Blagging
a few coins off my Auntie I purchased some fuel for my rusty steed squeezed into
the bike attire (I’m sure it fitted a few days ago) and headed off to Kent.
With
a fair wind behind (curse all those sprouts yesterday) I soon found myself in
the picturesque village of Farningham and followed the stream of classic bikes
to the high street. Finding a space to squeeze into it to park, I was then hailed down by Rosie and Jim who had just arrived as well. Time was then spent wandering through the myriad styles of bikes and trikes, for although it is a classic meet it draws people from all over the South East. With the road still damp from the wet day previous many bikes had small rainbow pools under them as they slowly marked there territories giving it a festive feel. It also seemed the place to meet friends you haven’t seen for a while, and over coffee we whiled the time away. Eventually
I reached the Pied Bull Public house where the main meet for VMCC is held, and
to say it was snug in the car park would be an understatement, you could hardly
slide a Christmas card between them. The atmosphere was Jovial and there were
smiles everywhere, there seems to be a slight different camaraderie with riders
in the winter months. There was a great selection of bikes, from Indian and
Harleys with sidecars, to hardworking AJS trials bikes and the prettiest Norton
Racer it was superb and enough beautiful triumphs to keep me happy. Personal
favourites of the day would be the Norton Racer, a Triumph Mettise and a well
used and abused BSA. The modern Suzuki in garish blue with metallic stickers on
it would be my award for over blinged bike of the day As
the morning sun wained so I headed back home for more cold turkey and stuffing,
a great morning out The
Pied Bull is home to several motorcycle clubs including the local branch of the
VMCC more details can be found here: http://thepiedbull.co.uk/ Bosun
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