More Reflections

I just found, and made usable in editing, another  couple of images from this year's Rockhill Rendezvous. I can't let this one go to waste, especially since it might be the only one I took when the sun was shining. We had all the weathers this year, but Airstreamers are ready for anything!

I've also posted some more (but possibly similar) thoughts on the weekend on Pete's and my other blog, over here.

Airstreams In A Field

Some of the Airstreamers described to us how they can feel the excitement rise as they travel to Rockhill Rendezvous, and how they feel themselves unwind the moment they enter the farm. What a wonderful reward for us, job done, as they say. We know the magic of this pocket of peacefulness in Shropshire, this is our fourth year of being welcomed here, and we love to see our fellow Airstream enthusiasts soak it all up.

I find it hard to describe why I think these gatherings work. We are after all a disparate bunch of people who get together and mostly get along, simply because we happen to like and own Airstreams. And Rockhill Rendezvous is uniquely laid back. Because we're lucky enough to have been invited to host it on this beautiful farm, far enough away from neighbours and civilisation, we can enjoy ourselves as noisily or peacefully as we like, into the wee hours. The only rules are, enjoy yourself, leave your watches at home, stay up way past your bedtime.

Some of our regulars couldn't make it this year, unfortunately. That meant that we missed out on some impromptu folk music, and a video of the event, for example. But we did get to adopt the Rockhillbillies as our new house band (that's not official, by the way, and Carl had to be bribed and cajolled over a long period!). And possibly my favourite sight of the last two years' events is when people get just tipsy enough to really let their hair down and have a dance. There's nothing more spontaneously joyful than someone who has kept it together finally launch themselves into a boogie, reel or a do-si-do.

With a Little Help...

Three more days until Rockhill Rendezvous kicks off. Yesterday Pete and Carl went to pick up the Airstream stage that is being loaned generously once again by Vintage Airstreams. It always makes a cool and shiny feature in our lovely, old-fashioned marquee. We feel pretty well prepared this year. We always have to work around the weather and Carl's commitments on the farm. He has some very useful heavy machinery that makes lighter work of heavy lifting and  banging in of the giant iron pegs for the marquee. We have also been lucky this year to have some volunteers from the UK Airstreamers community. More are arriving early this week, and some are staying on to help with the clearing up. It's a  lot to ask of people. Everyone has their own stuff going on, we know that, so we count ourselves very fortunate that people have rallied around this year.

So, the stage is in place and getting wired for light and sound. We're having live music on both the Friday and Saturday nights - something fairly gentle and Hill Billy-ish on the Friday, and the return of the popular Cellar Boys, who got us all stomping and making merry fools of ourselves last year.

Now, it's an odd thing, perhaps, to be proud of your loos. Or is it? A couple of years ago we transformed two sheds into beach hut-style features, with actual flushing toilets in them. Every year they get a fresh coat of paint and look as pretty as a pair of outdoor loos can look. A bit incongruous in a field in Shropshire perhaps, and shamelessly using gender stereotyping by painting one pink and one blue. Who cares? Like I've said before, it's just a bit of fun.

A Great Start

Well here we are again. It's that time of year when we get welcomed back to the farm and start preparations for Rockhill Rendezvous. There has been quite a lot of Airstreamy travels and gatherings this year, and we like to top it all off in extremely cool style with our long weekend of the most relaxed and friendly camping you can do in a field full of Airstreams.

So we kicked off the prep. with a very efficient team of volunteers and got the marquee raised on Saturday. One couple who came don't even know if their Airstream will be ready in time for the event, but came to help anyway! Those of us who were staying on the farm got to finish off the day with a very scrummy Indian takeaway, eaten in the garden, followed by a visit to the local "workshop bar", which just happens to be at the end of the lane. All extremely civilised and fun and just a day spent with the loveliest and most helpful people you could imagine. We're well chuffed.