Christmas in July

Months of planning and work go into the selection of a suitable venue for the Wildcats annual “Christmas in July” party, and once again this year was no exception. Utilising all the modern facilities available to us, such as precise instruments, high definition topography maps, long range weather forecasting, and an intimate knowledge of all the roads in NSW, we finally arrived at the conclusion, that, this year, it was to be held at Tamworth on the 21st, and at this juncture I would like to extend a special vote of thanks to Rowdy & Kate for their tireless contribution to the process throughout the months leading up to the final decision. Rowdy’s professional ability to throw a dart, whilst blindfolded, at a dog- eared map pinned on the wall is a thing of beauty to behold, as is the exquisite knot that Kate ties on the blindfold, and, using a system steeped in arcane lore that harks back to the likes of throwing the bones and the use of rune stones, by counting of the number of turds left by stray dogs on their front lawn during the previous six months, they arrived at the precise number of days into the month on which to have it. “Gonna be bloody cold” and “Yeah, I think most of them know how to get there” rounded off the final important details. Thus, armed with all we needed to know, we all headed off for venue at the City Lights Caravan Park.

With a number of the Wildcats, and guests from other Clubs, including, Bikers Australia Gilgandra Chapter, AMC and Independent Bikers Federation turning up the caravan park the afternoon before the party, it was decided that drinks at the Central Hotel in Tamworth and then off for a feed at a couple of restaurants was a good call for the evening, it was about then that we got the bad news that Physco had come off second best in what appeared to be a last ditch attempt at getting the “Road Kill Trophy”, seems that during her groups ride to Tamworth she tried to ram a B-Double semitrailer loaded with cattle off the road, coincidently, it turned out the cattle were owned by Duds. With Phycho laid up in a bad way in Tamworth Base Hospital, it was a bit of a subdued evening at the pub, till, after dozens of phone calls to the hospital we finally got the message that she had stabilised and was responding to the treatment, it seems that was the cue for a few of the folk to get stuck into it, ultimately, to the extent, that, when Saturday morning finally dawned back at the caravan park, we still had a few missing in action. A well deserved vote of thanks goes to Duds for doing the five or six runs into town in order to get us all there, and the use of his vehicle for the designated drivers to get us all back, well, nearly all of us.

Saturday morning saw the stragglers from the previous night turning up, and a few other arrivals that could not get there till that day, Saturdays Poker Run was down a bit in numbers as quite a few people opted to visit Phycho at the hospital during the day, but with Crispy up front as the Road Captain and Will doing the marshalling about twenty bikes headed off for about a four hour ride, with Shadow eventually taking out the prize money at the finish. The function room at the caravan park was the setting for the evening, and after having a few drinks and the evening meal, it was time for the presentation of trophies and awards, needless to say, no matter how embarrassing the trophy, they all seemed to go to the most deserving of winners, and with a few die-hards making it through to the early hours of the morning, it would seem the Christmas Party, plus the well appreciated breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes on Sunday morning, went down quite well, all things considered.

A well earned vote of thanks to all concerned in organising the weekend, and to all the folk who attended. And last but by no means least, to Psycho, best wishes for a speedy recovery, and I’m sure I speak for the rest of the Wildcats and their good friends, in saying, that, we may be spread all over the state but we are only a phone call away if you need anything.