World Carp Classic - Offical Global Website
Lake Bolsena 3rd - 9th September 2012
| TGIF - The Magic of Madine is upon us! |
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What a day that was... It started brightly and everyone was soon into their stride, and with team morale boosted by the arrival of the marshals on Thursday evening, the work was soon being eaten into at an even greater rate than before. On my part, it was mostly only Terry the Chefs work that was being eaten into as I floated around fairly aimlessly after visiting him for breakfast. After a quick trip over to HQ on Madine 1 it was back over towards the sports hall area where things were beginning to look ever more interesting. Contestants had been filtering in through the night and bivvy city was starting to fill out a good deal more. The hall itself was a hive of activity as the marshals pitched in to help, and after getting a few shots there I returned to my room to finish off Thursdays blog which I was well on top of as I had spent an hour or so writing it before breakfast. From there it was back over to HQ to pimp my blog on facebook as soon as it had been loaded onto the WCC website, and Ross was busily trying to establish a better signal for radio communications. Distracted by his pleas for a ladder and a few helpers, I decided to nose in on what was going on. Up went the ladder and Ross was away like a greased weasel up a drainpipe until he reached the point where he had to negotiate those last couple of feet and clamber onto the roof. A few minutes later, after he had sorted out the comms aerial, the gathering crowd below spotted his little face peering over the top of the flat roof, and a cheer went up.
By the time we had been fed and watered that evening, it had been a very long day for the whole team and I for one was glad to retire to my room. Unfortunately, at around 1.30, when I had seemingly only been asleep for a few minutes, a fire alarm went off right outside my door and although I'm pleased to report that there wasn't actually a fire,it appears that it was a prank that i could have done without - I was exhausted but just couldn't sleep, waking every hour after that until 05.30 when I finally got up. But hey, let's not be glum, it's now Saturday and Madine is rocking! Madine is rocking! Saturday 4th September I headed over to HQ with the media team and within a fe w minutes Frank Warwick and Jason Cann paid us a visit to pick up an inflatable boat that JRC had delivered direct to HQ for them. However, it couldn't be determined which boat it was at that time, so I promised Frank that I'd sort it out for him with JRC and drop the boat over later in the day . They weren't in a big hurry for it, and as long as they could go through the boat check and registration process later in the day they weren't too bothered. From HQ it was back over to the registration area at Madine 2&3 where a busy throng of competitors were enjoying a relaxed beer or two in the midday sun. It was like a who's who of carp angling outside of registration, and meeting some of these anglers who I consider to be my friends involved a good few hours of socialising. Distracted by the madine buzz, it wasn't until mid afternoon that I finally tracked down the correct JRC boss who could answer my question. That done, I collected the boat from HQ and dropped it of to Jason… The ever popular Frank was in heavy demand, caught up in the occasion and soaking up the sunshine (and alcohol) with friends, which, as I found myself, is pretty much impossible to avoid even if there is a desire to do so.
As with the registration area, Bivvy city is now looking rammed, and we guestimate that there are now only around 40 pairs left to register and they are due to arrive tomorrow (Sunday). As the evening festivities got underway and the band began to play, bivvy city started rocking and took on the ambience and appearance of Glastonbury without the mud. Scenes, the like of which have never been seen before at a WCC event party, have thrown up a story or two which have circulated the carpvine and reached my ears - unfortunately for those involved. Ross was really in the party mood and was up on stage with the band at one point giving a double-handed "V" and shouting "Rock on"… some suggest that they thought that he even appeared to be considering plunging from the stage for a spot of crowd surfing. Also, and perhaps my favourite story to emerge from the evening, a certain Mr Chambers, who had also been enjoying the party, had a slight altercation with the glass door to the gite. Terry the Chef was woken in the small hours by a loud thump followed by a few expletives… Andy denied this, of course, but the tell-tale sign of a nose print at exactly the right height, suggests otherwise. The amusing thing about the nose-print was the trail of it as Andy obviously slid down the door on his nose several inches before regaining any equilibrium that he might have had prior to his nose dive. Thought for the day: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones… they should also make sure that the door is actually open before entering! More tomorrow! Tight lines, Steve Howard |
Friday 3rd September
Well, if clambering up and over the ridge wasn’t awkward enough, Ross was to discover that getting down again was even more complicated as it had to be done in reverse... as in backwards! Now, if you weren’t amused by him reversing up slowly on his hands and knees while we guided him in towards the 20’ drop – “left a bit, right a bit” - with his rear end wriggling like two young boys fighting under a duvet, his sudden sprint forwards again caused absolute hysterics. Ross squealed loudly as he shot forward ‘rug-rat’ fashion, complaining that the black painted flat roof that had been heated by the baking sun all day was “blummin hot”. Well, yes, it would be, but unfortunately we were powerless to help him and anyway, we had problems of our own, our ribs were really aching!
