The 29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally

Three years. Three long and often painful years have passed since we last held our annual shindig at the Cheshire Showground and I was a little apprehensive as to how the event would go given the upheaval the pandemic had on our lives.

Like many of my fellow members of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability, I have spent two years trying to keep myself and my family safe from Sars-CoV-2, the corona virus and its subsequent variants that caused us all to stay home to stay safe for much of that time.

Using the NABD ethos I adapted my life, I improvised and I overcame that challenge. Thankfully I didn’t lose any members of my family, but there were a couple of close calls that friends endured. The photo of my dear chum in hospital with a respirator mask on his face, fighting for his life will remain with me for the rest of my days. His legendary stubborn streak pulled him through, he prevailed and is still with us, but not without a few scars from his experience.

It was with this in mind that I felt apprehension about a gathering of a couple of thousand bikers in a field in Cheshire, but once on site and meeting up with some of the finest people I have ever had the honour to call friends, all that apprehension melted away. My dear chum Gareth once again chauffeured me to the site, I’m still not cleared to ride after my brain farts of a few years ago and Gareth has been an absolute star for leaving his bike at home to help me out over the years. That’s a true friend right there.

We caused havoc at the gate because once we had our wrist bands sorted out, we just drove on site and found the marshals camping area. Forgot to get our car pass... oops! Sorry Simon. Russ chased

29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally

after us in one of the site vehicles and when he saw who it was he said “Oh it’s you!” We had a hug and I got busy setting up my tent before the rain came down whilst Gareth went to sort his car pass out.

Alas the rain was here to stay for the night and, although I was a tad miff ed about getting wet, it made everyone even more determined to have a good time. On my fi rst good look around the site I fi gured most of our guests had turned up on Friday as the camping area was rather busy with folk setting up and settling in for a weekend of fun.

There were many people I haven’t seen for two years that I had to hug as I made my way to Ken’s Kitchen for a brew. There were even more in there that also got a hug and I made the most of each and every one. It was in Ken’s Kitchen where Vic strolled up to me and asked if I had brought my camera. When I said yes he said “Good, I want some photo’s for Open House!” I hadn’t planned on doing anything other than chilling out over the weekend and had not brought a single auto focus lens with me. I’m glad my Nikon D700 has a focus indicator on it cos I was going to need it! Cheers Vic, you git! Challenge accepted. (There’s no point in having friends and not abusing them! – Vic)

I must have hugged half the crowd as I made my way to the marquees to say hello to our new DJ’s Ian Green and Paul Bratley who stepped up to the challenge this year. Mr Creature, our dear friend, could not attend this year. I had spoken to him about being his shadow if he attended and I would step in to do an hour here and there whilst he got some rest. However, his health issues made the decision for him to stay at home the correct one. Everyone wishes Creature well as he is a much loved member of the NABD family, having raised several thousand pounds and entertained our

Paul Bratley was the man who stepped in for me when I was taken to Macclesfield Hospital from our 25th rally. That made him the obvious choice to be the DJ in the adult marquee and a fine job he did of it too. “The music was good and the music was loud” as Bon Scott sang and Paul soon had everyone enjoying themselves as the party got into full swing.

Ian Green stepped in to the DJ duties in the Family/ Real Ale marquee and did not let us down. I have known Ian for many years and was made up to see him again. His years of experience as a Rally DJ shone through in his choice of music and of course the requests from the good folk in the marquee. Liz would certainly have approved.

All we needed now was some live music which kicked off in the Family Marquee with Billy Mac regaling us with songs on his guitar. Billy has been a supporter of the NABD for many years and was a big help when we had to take the event online for two years. It was good to see him in person again I took a few photos of Billy and toddled off to the Adult Marquee to see Glam Fever just about to hit the stage. Glam Fever are a 70’s Glam Rock band who have played for us in the past and soon hit their stride when, shortly into their third number, the generator powering the PA packed up to a resounding cheer from the audience. Steve and Jim, our resident electrickery guru’s, soon had it back up and running and the band played on until… Yep, the generator went again.

Teething troubles are expected after a two year hiatus and, after the generator went for a third time, Steve and Jim rigged two generators to spread the load. This was troubling both of them as the generator was rated to handle far more than we were asking of it. The hire company organised a replacement that was delivered the next morning. This did mean the rest of the night was a little worrying back stage, but the generators stayed running for the rest of the night.

My evening was taken up by grabbing a few photo’s and having a chat with dear friends as I flitted

between both marquees. The atmosphere being developed was fantastic as it seemed like everyone had one aim. Party! Two years is a long time between events and there was a lot of catching up to be done. As well as my duties as a photographer I was glad to be able to talk with folk in person for the first time since I last put my tent away what seemed an age ago.

I came to the realisation that for some folk it had been three years since they saw friends at the NABD Rally. There are a few who only do our Rally and nothing more for the year. For others it is a chance to take their kids away for the weekend, or even their grandchildren, and they treat it like a family holiday. As I looked around at folks whilst on my travels, I wondered how many had suffered the loss of a loved one to Covid. How many were raising a glass to absent friends at our event? This made our last event in 2019 even more poignant and I kept that in mind for the rest of the weekend as I headed to my bed after a long but thoroughly enjoyable stint behind my camera.

Saturday dawned brightly and the rain of the previous night was soon forgotten as the weather took a marked turn for the better. This allowed our guests to dry their wet gear out, me included as my jacket was a tad moist. I’m glad I took my Frank Thomas jacket as it kept me mostly dry the previous night and it soon dried off in the sunshine. The conversation in Ken’s Kitchen was all about the fun we had the night before as I tucked into my breakfast and another realisation hit me. How I missed thee, Rally Bacon! Om nom nom nom nom!

It set me up for the day ahead which began where it left off the night before, catching up and having a natter with friends. I also took the opportunity of the sunshine to get my Film camera out and wander around the site to see what I could find. There wasn’t a lot of space left for camping was one thing I found. I also found folk getting their bikes ready to put into our Bike Show so I wandered over to see what folk had spent 2 years tinkering with in the shed. I was not disappointed.

Being in spring our Bike Show is an early chance for folk to show off their pride and joy and there were several outstanding bikes and Trikes on display. I managed to shoot three rolls of film in a short space of time and got my DSLR out and took even

more photo’s whilst chatting with folk milling about admiring the bikes and trikes. My personal favourite was the immaculately presented Honda SS125 that looked like it just left the showroom, but the standard was so high for each category there was no guarantee of a winner. Back Street Heroes magazine once again sponsored the trophies and several happy folk collected their well deserved prizes later that afternoon.

The theme of the weekend was paying tribute to our NHS for going above and beyond the call of duty during the pandemic and I am honoured to call several of them my family and friends. The NHS has scraped us all off the floor at some point and I am not alone in saying I would not be here but for the skills of the Doctors and Nursing staff that cared for me back in 2002. What they gave up over the last 2 years was precious time with their families. Some of them never went home, losing their own battle with Covid at the very hospital where they battled to save lives. We must never forget that.

Many folk took the opportunity to dress up as Doctors, Nurses and Patients. I have to mention our esteemed Open House editor, Vic Hawkes for dressing up as a Matron and looking frighteningly convincing (Awww! Shucks! – Vic). Our chairman Rick dressed in scrubs and wore a cape with NHS on it to show his appreciation for them too. There were also banners and bunting on the sides of the marquee with some of the supportive slogans we saw during the pandemic and we salute each and every one of you. Thank you for your service

Another highlight of our Rally is the now legendary Smacked Arse Comedy Show and this year saw some outstanding performers joined by up and coming future headliners on the comedy circuit. They told tales of their life during lock down and the difficulties they encountered. Our headline act was Mr Jonathan Mayor, a regular at our rally over the years who had two years of pent up frustration that he spilled before an audience who loved every minute of it. His deserved encore got the loudest cheer I have heard for a long time.

I have to give a shout out to the Armed Forces Bikers whom presented a cheque to the NABD for £2,000 which is ring-fenced for our Armed Forces

Veterans who need their bikes adapting to get them out and about again. Now we are all able to hold events again, the Armed Forces Bikers will be making their usual sterling effort to make sure this fund is topped up throughout the year. Thank you for your service.

All that was left to do was drink more beer and enjoy our fantastic bands that kept us all entertained over the course of the weekend. In the Adult marquee Special Brew, Exhibit A, The Guisley Brothers and Fifth Element showed us what great entertainment is all about. In the Family Marquee a fine mix of acoustic music from Billy Mac and Chris Harwood and Sam Ferris from Exhibit A really complimented the fine music we had from our bands Boomshanka, The Shooters and Cascade.

A special mention has to go to Glam Fever and the Thunder Monkeys who stepped up and performed for us on both nights when we were unfortunately forced into a change due to illness and injury causing a couple of bands to have to pull out. making and boy did our guests enjoy themselves. We had to adapt, improvise and overcome some challenges over the course of the event, but hey, that’s what the NABD is all about. We look forward to seeing you all again in a field somewhere very soon.

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Pics by Grav and myself.

Thank you to everyone who came along to support us and have a great time. All the volunteer marshals, without whom the event could not take place, and all the sponsors who support our charity.

Don’t forget, the 2023 You’ve been NABBED rally will be our 30th So expect more of everything!