In typical bank holiday style it rained and rained some more but it wasn’t enough to deter hardy campers from Tamar DA’s 40th birthday meet, from 28 April to 1 May, at Wooda Farm Holiday Park near Bude in Cornwall.
Sixty-two units arrived for the event and fortunately Saturday started out bright enough, with a coffee morning held to officially welcome everyone. That evening a live band kept everyone dancing until 11pm, so it was no surprise Sunday morning got off to a slow start!
While the rain fell, children and adults joined in with indoor games including Jenga and ladderball while the hall was prepared for the afternoon. A trio of enterprising young campers busied themselves selling sweets near the entrance, the first of many treats for the day… cake would follow later.
The hall was suitably dressed for the occasion with colourful pennons strung around the walls and on table-tops, along with a display board featuring show-stopping photos of fancy dress meets.
The stage itself was equipped and decorated by the talented Assistant Youth Leader Andy Martin and his wife Julie, also an Assistant Youth Leader. Andy, an independent Theatre Production Designer, improvised with camping-themed pieces from his stock, including a quirky cut-out caravan and flowerbed.
Referencing a few previous stand-out Tamar meets, Andy’s highlights (according to him and several other campers) include a royal wedding theme and a Tamar’s Got Talent show.
The party started at 4pm (following the arrival of several delicious looking cakes), when Tamar DA Chairman Carole Burdett thanked everyone for attending and called for a toast and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday before attention once again turned to those cakes.
Carole invited the DA’s founding members Debbie and Ted Gove, and Scott Bradley, who was the first baby born in the DA, to cut the official birthday cake.
All thoughts of the weather disappeared as campers keen for a slice formed an orderly queue… and all calories were (probably) burned off at the 70s’ fancy dress disco that night!
Go to www.tamarda.co.uk for more information about Tamar District Association.