Now having had some sleeps and am feeling a bit better, so time for a better post....Sorry no pickies this time, my cameraphone is goosed!
But some great pickies and vids posted up all ready...
Firstly huge thanks to everyone who helped set up and dismantle the site...and massive thanks to our chefs for the weekend...
The weekender started on thurs for us...
Got most of the stuff sorted and ready to roll on friday...
and the li'll white leafer had a bit of TLC in preparation...
well TLC is probably not really the right words...
I welded up the rear diff, as a kinda experiment to see if this helps the front CV joints last longer with the welded diff in the front...
and air brushed the bonnet with lime green flames...which kinda went wrong as my air brush compressor destroyed itself 1/4 of the way into it, and I had bodge up some connections to get air from the main workshop compressor, which I couldnt get to run below 80psi...too high for airbrushing really 40-50 is better...
Ended up finishing it in the dark 
Li'll white leafer is now the li'll white locked up leafer!!!
Friday...
We left home about midday, and were indulging in a sneaky maccyD's when the mobile went and it was Rossco saying he was there already...TOP MAN came up well early to help out...
Met the random one up the workshop and we got trailer'd and caravan'd up and headed off for the woods...
Got the caravan/fog-bog unloaded and parked up and commenced operation set-up base camp...
Jim came down a bit later and helped finish set-up...we went up the workshop to get Lara his shorty and I made a foot for the canopy pole to go on the industrial picnic table...
I accidently gave a demo on the wet clearing of just how good at donuts a shorty is in rwd with a welded rear end...oops!
Then we were sorted and Kel arrived, followed shortly after by Badboy with his caravan...
Then the beer started....lloyd came down for a while with his strangerover, and I accidently flamed the front end using a rattle can of white primer and a paper plate by torchlite...well I had done a few beers by this point and am very easily led...
We all got pretty hammered around the bonfire...funniest thing was watching ross trying to fill an upside down glass with whisky...LOL...
Was a good evening and we all turned in at about 4-4.30am...
Saturday...
Got up at 8ish after next to no sleep and got the kettles on ready for the first brews...
Gave the "wake up campers call"....tiesto adagio for strings and most roused from their slumber...except rosco...but he woke up after the li'll white locked up leafer nudged up to his tent and reinforced to tiesto wake up with a couple of blasts on its horns! This awoke Rosco for a few minutes before he retired again until lunchtime!
Then the other foggers started arriving, and Sally came back up with Roma...The new arrivals starting pitching their tents...
Stevey 2stuck got more than he bargained for when he tried to give Sally a hug....Roma tried to "hug" him too, she thought that the "one that feeds her" was being compromised! Never seen Ste move so quick...luckily quick enough such that he's not Stevey2Eaton and is still Stevey2stuck...
Then the prep talk and off too the woods for the first play on the new stuff...
Found a fair few "victims" to take out in the li'll white locked up leafer for much sillyness..
Then lunch cooked by our expert chefs and more playing...followed by a play in the dark, which is pretty damn challenging...
Then BBQ in the evening and a great evening of banter and beer drinking and toasted marshmallows round a raging bonfire...
Sunday
Tiesto wake up call yet again!!! and then brekky and more playing in the woods...then a brief pause for lunch courtesy of our resident chefs and then more playing....which got more interesting when the rain started....We performed an experiment on the li'll white locked up leafer to see just how far it would go over before it would roll or flop...I think it suprised everyone just how far over the balancing point was...a worthwhile experiment I thinks, even if not for some deep scientific reason and only for a laugh...
Then the commencement of operation clearup in the rain...which was no fun, but many hands made lighter work...but we all got soaked
This weekends participants were...(in no particular order- copied the list)
Krusher...
Kel did his fing in his 2.8 bus all weekend with the level of skill and concentration that we have all grown to expect...navigating it through the tricky stuff unscathed, whilst attracting moths from miles around...Kel must have scored the highest man in the air for some of his counterbalancing acrobatic tricks when balanced on someones rear bumper...Was great having another "session" friday night...you always have me in stitches Kel, no kebab impressions this time, just the saga of "intermediate wood" between you all!!! Cheers for the camping stove and airbed compressor again fella...
BadBoy...
Came down with son in his 2.8shorty and caravan...We got the caravan onto one of our caravan pitches in the woods no probs...thankfully cos I was driving!
Paul did well in his shorty, getting it round most of the day saturday unscathed...Got pretty hammered with the rest of us on Friday night...Thanks for the many sobering coffees to round off friday night (well saturday morning)...they really helped...
Bobbinsjob...
Good to see Ian down in the woods again...Ian campaigned Angelina hard and mastered loads of really technical stuff as well as discovering new angles that he and angelina had not experienced before...Ians face was a picture when he first came through the holes at the bottom of the horseshoe and got about 3ft of air under his front tyre...a look a momentary terror which then morphed into a grin that remained for the whole weekend! Took Ian out in the li'll white locked up leafer (with no power steering by this point) and did some really silly stuff...and then Ian talked me into tackling the buried tree obsticle up hill, by the stump garden hill...a real brain in glovebox moment...but we made it, albiet only touching the first half of the obsticle...Cheers for assisting in my achievement for the weekender mate...Finally got the dent in the roof that the leafer was missing, albiet from the inside courtesy of Ians head...Ian then had a go driving the locked up leafer and discovered first hand why I was struggling so much with no power steering!Sorry but I couldnt resist sliding a large log under your tent groundsheet for a giggle on saturday night...LOL...
Cheers for the ride in Angelina, never been in a B before, gotta say its nice (except for the ground clearance!!) and you are a good driver even on bits you have not seen before...and cheers for cheffing the marsh mallows using "the device"...
andytats plus connor and joshua ...
Good to see Andy and clan again on Saturday, had a blinding day by all accounts and really did well in his 2.2 bus...The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves...Cheers for the lads help with the fire in the clearing...and thanks for the encouragement when I was doing silly stuff in the tyre changing hole (well.. pit since I redug it!)...Andy spent practically all day driving I reckon...never seemed parked for more than 5 mins...good on ya fella and well done...
Random Ross...
Embarrased Sally and I by arriving to start the set up while we were still in Macdonalds having some grub! Keen or what! Top man though...you were a massive help as always...So many quality moments with Rosco...From him blinding us repeatedly with his headtorch, to trying to fit a air bed into a tent half the size of the airbed, to his assistance with me painting Lloyds rangey, to trying to fill an upside down glass with whisky, and cant not mention intermediate wood...Got well hammered on friday night with the rest of us...Lent me his headtorch to make a makeshift catherine wheel using a cordless drill (dont ask!)...Sorry about the wake up call sat morning...LOL...Spend sat morning in bed...till we all wondered where he was and I went and checked on him about lunchtime! Did well with his trusty 2.4 and was joined by "they who spawned the rosco" on sunday...nice to meet ya parents mate and hope they enjoyed themselves...Ross again managed to defy physics with his 2.4 bus round the woods...the only breakage occuring up the workshop when the clutch pedal fell off! Thanks for all your help matey with setup and tear down... and at least you remembered where you lived on your way home this time!
Wilberforce...
Jim arrived on the Friday afternoon to assist with operation basecamp setup and helped me make the new (over-engineered of course!) mods for the canopy pole for the picnic area..Had a good few bevvys with the rest of us on friday night before retiring to his sack...
Didnt have a great weekend truck wise sadly...Lara spat some diff teeth in a moment of over exuberance from Jims right foot first thing on saturday...and the bus was making strange noises so sat out as well...
So Jim was co-piloting many of the other trucks all weekend in between cooking...Jim had a spell in the li'll white locked up leafer and probably sustained some bruises as do most of my passengers LOL...Massive thanks for all your help this weekend Jim, from setup to sodden tear down, with a huge amount a frankly delicious cooking in between...bravo fella sterling effort...
Jamez2 + cousin...
Jamie was a newbie to the woods and offroading, and arrived saturday in his 2.2lwb laden with his homemade potato salad and coleslaw which were absolutely delicious...this weekender was not the "atkins diet" due to Jamies culinary creations...well done mate...
For a newbie to offroadin Jamie did really well, especially seeing as he was driving a standard truck on road tyres! He took advice on board and was assisted by the rest of the SE gang who helped nurture his growing expertise in his truck but while being in safe hands...Really well done mate...
Rear bumper took a hiding, and Jamie managed a lovely stack onto his ar5e on camera,...quality...Hope to see you again soon mate...
2much and family...
Arrived Saturday morning and was nearly eaton by Roma when he tried to "attack" her food provider! Never seen Steve move so quick...
The snot green flextastic shorty was doing its thing with Stevy2stuck at the helm all weekend...The 2 inch coil spacers made a hasty successful bid for freedom early in the day such is the flex this truck has with Steves disconnects and other goodies at the rear...Gave Jamie some excellent guidance and much leaping onto trucks as a counter weight...Steve as always was a huge help with the cooking, really nice kebabs and chicken fingys matey, and a big help with the tear down at the end...even though it meant getting his hair wet!!LOL...Great that you could stay and have some drinks this time mate...and nice to see Kerry and the kids again...
RetroPedro...
Pete arrived Saturday afternoon as had been wielding spanners on his truck sat morning...Pete bought with him the new maps for the site that he had printed and they are pukka...they make my frankly cr4p artwork look really good, kinda miraculous! Well done fella...
Pete and his 2.8 shorty made the great team they always do, taming the new stuff with plenty of waving wheels...Great that you could stay and have some drniks with us all mate on sat night, certainly well earnt after all your hard work over the last year up the woods...Pete managed to damage himself more than his truck when leaping off the back of someones car into a hole and catching his leg on a flint...Didnt stop him though and he insisted on pulling down his trousers to show us all!!! Some great driving Pete as always...and again a massive help on teardown in the rain...big thanks fella...
Mapracing...
Paul arrived Saturday morning...and did the business in his locked up leafer, this time with no CV joint failures, sussed it now I reckon...Paul discovered new angles nearly scraping wingmirrors on the ground in the bandit...Part 3 of the terrible trio (2stuck,retropete,mapracing) was out playing all weekend, and had an illuminating time in the night session in the woods with his blackpool illuminations all leading the way on the bandit...
Great that you could stay Saturday night and have some well earned beers with the gang...
Louis...
His "Die-laughing" was now sporting 4wd...and what a difference that meant! Louis did well on well worn road tyres all weekend, always mad to try anything that looked near impossible...Accidentally dropped a back tyre into "The trench of doom" and discovered some bonkers new angles, such that stepping out of his sunroof was the easiest way to exit his truck! A little pull from the Bandit onto the bullbar dragged the front corner back down to more sensible heights where traction could again be achieved...Louis was challenged by strange noises from his rear axle....that turned out to be it had no oil in it whatsoever!
Its now full of engine oil and was an instant fix! He suffered 2 blow outs over the weekend but mechanically the truck is doing well...Stayed on Sat night kipping with Josh in the daihatsu...Thanks for the help yesterday up the woods for the final clear-up...and your keenness to help with extractions all over the site both days...
Lloyd in the strange rover
Lloyd came down for a while friday night...and I attacked his car with a can of white primer and some paper plates and flamed the front...well I was pi55edish by this point!LOL...Lloyd returned again sunday for a day of rangey abuse and unique extraction techniques (espicially where Josh's shogun was concerned)...Had brake probs at a couple of points and nearly trashed another rad when he nose dived into the trench of doom...Thanks for the help setting up mate...always handy having a buddy who is 8ft tall! and thanks for your assistance in the fall over experiment...
Josh(Louis mate...in a shorty shogun)
Josh had become a regular always coming down with Louis previously...but this was his first time in a truck of his own...He had a 2.5 petrol shorty shogun which may have well been in the sea for a couple of weeks going by the amount of corrosion it sported...but it was cheap and 4wd and his first attempt at offroadin...
He did well, the car was a challenge...the bonnet fell off when opened...the throttle jammed open at one point, it jammed in 2nd gear for a while...
Provided much entertainment for Josh and everyone else!
Sally...
The hostess with the mostest...Sally outdid herself as always in the prep for the meet, set up, manning basecamp and coordinating everything, and the teardown and clearup yesterday...
Top effort Sally, supporting me in my diminished capacity due to man-flu as well....
Roma...
Enjoyed her sausages and other bits that fell on the floor...and almost eating stevy2stuck when he tried to interfere with the hand that feeds her!
Seriously, thanks everyone for giving roma her space...it means a lot to me that Sally can stay and enjoy the evening fun at the weekenders and that means everyones cooperation with our little doggy...Thanks again...
Me...Da Gregster
Had a great weekend although suffering from the lurgey and arching arms from steering the leafer...
The pi55 up on friday night was hillarious as always...although we all suffered a bit the next day I think...Cans of stella with Bennolyn chasers was probably not good!
Had super fun in the now unstoppable locked up leafer, albiet hard work...basically it burst one of its powersteering pipes, squirting fluid onto the exhaust manifold...smoke pouring from under the bonnet was the first symptom, so limped it back to the clearing...tried bodging the pipe using ducktape and jubilee clips, but no joy, so cut the belt off instead...thanks for the help trying to bodge it Ross, Jamie and kel...So then its was manual steering for the weekend like thats not heavy enough without a locked diff up front...found a knack of dialling the steering lock on when I had a wheel in the air or lack of traction and that helped...but still tough though...
The rear locked diff did the jobby in preventing front end drivetrain carnage even with serious abuse...so well pleased over all, but it has so much traction that it could get you into a hole multitude of problems on tough terrain...
Found a few willing victims to take the passenger seat of the leafer....more fool them, but we did have a laugh!
Was great to see everyone having so much fun on the new stuff we all created at the last digger weekend...and its also great that the work has shifted the focus on site from the hills to the flatter areas, which was the aim of the exercise and something that will be much kinder to the woods and everyones cars come winter and the mud season...Love it when a plan comes together! LOL...
Witnessed some great driving from you guys who have come on so much since we first met over the last year...you guys really know how to get the best out of your trucks and tackle stuff now with confidence, experience and teamwork which is really rewarding to see...
It was really nice to see everyone rallying round our newbie Jamie, using the experience you have all gained to help someone else get to grips with their truck and some really challenging terrain...Gotta say you guys always look after newbies and make them welcome and safe...well done...
Saturday night was a real special one for me as its the first time we have had Stevey, Pete and Paul stay over, all of thom have been some of the real mainstays of the group since we started out...It was great to sit and have a few beers round the raging bonfire with the bulk of the members that have helped make all this possible...something which just had to be done after all our hard work...There was some absences, but they were all remembered in conversion over the evening...
Sunday was another day of fun and games in the woods...gotta say I was feeling exhausted by this point and was really suffering, but everyones enthusiasm kinda keeps you going when you just wanna curl up in a warm bed and go to sleep...
Then it rained...and the woods got 10 times harder in just minutes...then the clearup which I kinda struggled with as was shattered, but thankfully everyone mucked it and made up for my lackingness...
So there you have it Foggers...the last weekender for this year, and a superb way to round up our first year as a group down here...
It was about a year ago that we did the first picnic in the woods after a laning day in August when we all first met...
The bunch of strangers that met a year ago are now great friends having toiled, sweated, and played so hard alongside each other for countless hundreds of hours...
I gotta say I am so outstanded by the support, generosity and commitment that you guys have repeatedly demonstrated to make this happen...huge huge thanks...
So, never being one to stand still, we now go into year 2 and my mind is already set on another couple of days with a machine before the next weekender to complete the top of the woods and sink some bigger holes in the bottom (the ones we dug last time are half full of water now!!!) and steepen some more of the climbs...
Thankfully nature and the seasons will take care of new challenges for the next 6 months or so...firstly spreading everything with leaves of no grip, and then the mud will come again, then snow, then mud....and its gonna be fun, but means we can all have a breather from too much hard graft, and just do a bit of maintenance on workdays..
So, well done friends, and bring on Year 2....I gotta feeling its gonna be a blinder!!!!
Besides the cans of beer we managed to get through
