Issue 142 : August - September 2005
Farmyard before the flood
Farmyard after the flood
Triumph's Speed Triple
HOGs in St Tropez
BMW Aqua Bike
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Farmyard before the flood
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Rising Damp
It had been a great weekend up until Sunday evening. Some said it was the best Farmyard Party ever. Glorious tropical weather cloaked the North Yorkshire town of Helmsley and the valley where campfires from the night before had barely stopped smouldering. Almost everyone had gone home and the marshals and traders were enjoying a meal in the local pub as the thunder of a summer storm rolled across the countryside. Shortly after, rain began falling, a lot of rain. A message reached the diners who'd been looking forward to a night of relaxation after days of arduous duties. 'Get back to the site now, things ain't good!' As organiser Pete Walker described it - 'the water just seemed to come up out of the ground.' Pugwash from Kent was struggling to get his bike out of the waterlogged field as the water rose around him. From being around his ankles, it was up to the bike's fuel tank in ten minutes. People on higher ground shouted at him to get out but he persevered until hit by a sailing portaloo and decided it was time to scarper. He'd only just finished building the Suzuki chop and now faces a huge effort to get it road worthy again. MAG stalwarts Neil 'Bruiser' Stevenson and Dave were helping rescue bikes from the field close to the entrance point when a wave came rolling down the valley, threatening to sweep them away. Taking refuge on the hump backed stone bridge they watched as the waters rose around them, marooned on an island as waterborne debris crashed into their refuge. Pete Walker's caravan, complete with masses of personal effects for a two week stay at the site, smashed into the bridge and was pulverised by the force of water before emerging on the other side as matchwood. The chassis, discovered next day caught by trees on the riverbank, was all that remained. A forty foot Carlsberg self contained bar suffered the same fate exploding against the bridge and disintegrating as it was forced through the arch in pieces like some victim in a James Bond movie.
Debris was flying everywhere, gas bottles, signs, cars, even heavy steel skips were lifted and flung into marquees. Everything was being swept along by the awesome irresistible force of the water and colliding with each other. 'The noise was unbelievable' he remembers. 'Crashing and banging and exploding noises coming out of the darkness. Water tearing through trees, metal against metal metal against stone, an orchestra of chaos. Pete described the scene as like something out of a Sylvester Stallone movie, 'unbelievable, just unbelievable, and frightening in way that challenges your whole feeling about how the world should be.' Leaving aside the really big stuff like the 50 portaloos that were carried down the river, there was huge loss of all the paraphernalia that organisers accumulate over time to help run an event. Four small generators, 5 new gazebos, the marshal's showers, several tool boxes, numerous jerry cans, countless banners and signage; the list goes on and on, it's the kind of stuff that adds up to a lot of money when you've got to replace it all. Not since the cancellation of Magna Carta has MAG faced the kind of losses this flood represents. So many people make so much effort and that is voluntary effort, to make this weekend work and we hope that those who have come to love the Farmyard really appreciate it.
I think everyone who has been will agree that it is a unique experience in many ways, from the nature of the site to the campfires which are still allowed. The Farmyard team are determined to bounce back from this disaster. Many of them have spent up to a week or more cleaning up the site, taking more time off work to meet the demands of a herculean task. What they could really do with now is a big gesture from the biking community. The marshals expect to work for nothing, they expect to give up work days or holidays and they expect, incredible though it sounds, to still pay for their tickets, yep, they pay. This year however they have paid a little too much. If you want to help them out You can donate by ringing MAG UK on 0870 444 8448 and asking for FYP Marshals Flood Appeal with credit card details, or post cheques payable to 'MAG UK Ltd' to MAG UK, PO BOX 750, Rugby, CV21 3ZR marked 'FYP MFA.' There will be hundreds of pictures of the Farmyard Party on the website www.bikerlifestylepics.co.uk These pictures will be available on CD mailed on request P&P included for a £10 donation to the appeal. Pictures will be of sufficient quality to print up to A3. |
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Those who complained about the rain at 'Into The Valley' please take note, this is what we call wet!
As darkness descended on the site the marshals were still struggling to rescue equipment and motorcycles amidst a scene that was rapidly turning into something out of a disaster movie.
Pete recalls going into his control caravan for a few minutes to rescue paperwork and a laptop. As he stepped outside up to his waist in cold water he was hit by the shock of realising how fast the level was rising.
The Farmyard does have a serious purpose, it's not just a gratuitous party. It's real purpose is to fuel MAG and it is to MAG that all the profits go. Yorkshire MAG have continually refined the event to deliver the best weekend possible and bolster MAG financially as effectively as it can whilst delivering great value to the party goers.