Showing posts with label Bedford Heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bedford Heaven. Show all posts

Saturday, 2 November 2013

Fun at the Bedford Rally...


This area is 'Bedford Party Central' the place where
all gatherings and meetings happen...
When I arrived at  the rally on Saturday about lunch time
I was informed we were gathering for dinner...
A lamb on the spit and would I bring a salad.


This was all that was left of a a whole lamb, we devoured the lot...


Just the bones left.


A great array of salads. It's amazing what people make
from the supplies we carry in our vehicles.


There was plenty for everybody and some left over.


It was a beautiful evening...


As we gathered and ate there was plenty of talking and
catching up with the people I had met at the rally last year.

Everybody is very friendly and joined in. It was a great idea.
Somebody donated the lamb, others sacks of potatoes
and kumera... Nobody went hungry.


After dinner we were entertained by the group
'Ukes On Fire'. They were great... Sang lots of old
popular 'sing-a-long' songs and played their ukelele's.
It was a wonderful night.

Sunday night we had a huge bonfire. Lance must have been
piling up rubbish and tree branches for ages as it was an
enormous pile. A couple of buckets of diesel thrown
on and it was off with a huge roar.

It was dark but the heat and light was amazing.
 

There is something magical about watching a fire burning.
The fire engine is in the background - just in case. But it
wasn't needed.

Monday lots of people left, back to work on Tuesday.
I stayed another night with about six other buses.
It was another lovely evening and an impromptu group gathered
with guitars and singing.
It was another fabulous evening to end a
very enjoyable rally.
So it's good bye till next year.
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Wednesday, 24 October 2012

The Bedford Rally...


I've just spent four days over the long holiday weekend
at the Bedford Rally.
It was held at Lance Cryer's place "Bedford Heaven' at Puriri...
A small town between Thames and Paeroa.
There was only one down side - poor internet reception...
So you haven't heard from me for a few days!

It's a fascinating place...
Full of old Bedford carcases that are used for spare parts.
This was the way in...


Past a big truck loaded with crushed bodies...
Stripped of their bits and pieces...
Only good for scrap metal.

The way in continued...
Past the line up of old history.
Luckily Lance had a tractor or two...
It had been raining and we all got bogged...
Driving into the paddock where the rally was held.
Another new experience for me...
I've been loaded onto a tow truck but not towed out of the mud before.



A
All sorts of restored Bedford house-buses turned up at the rally...
This  had been a mobile post office.


More restored Bedford's... Parked in the muddy paddock...
Owners gathered comparing buses... Motors... Gears...
And all sorts of things.
That's me with my bike on front.
I was towed in backwards...
Really down on one side and my back left wheel in a hole.
But soon a big 11 meter bus arrived...
The owner wandered over and offered to jack me up...
 No trouble... So soon I was level... Sitting on several blocks...


Here are piles of parts...



And beautiful old Bedford bodies...
Reclining... Waiting... Reflecting!




 
And the beautiful restored... Much loved... Lived in...
House-buses.

History parked amongst the weeds...


Another house-bus... Lived in as a full time home.

Beautifully restored and painted.

I
I wandered amongst the old bodies...
Wondering at the stories they could tell