Pig Chase '07
After weeks and week and weeks of planning, studying O/S maps and regular visits to the River Severn and the Gloucester area at all times of day and night, everything was set. As soon as it was Big Feller past it on to us!
Bore Fever hit the message board hard about a week before the 21st of March, by the time Tuesday 20th had come the OTL Bore Attack Team were in a frenzy of last minute preparations, re-adjustments and scroungings of boards and places to kip!
I knew from the moment I arrived at The Severn Bore Inn at 8.15pm on the Tuesday night we were in for a dozen or so hours of adventures and larkin about!
Potentially the busiest pub in Britain over that couple of days and it was shut!
I Met up with Bigfeller (who was stilling buzzing from his first bore ride that day), Sharkbuoy and Mart here, we 'ummed' and 'ahhed' about what to do.
We ended up heading for a chippy and Spar to stock up on booze, on the way to the chip shop we stopped at Newnham car park to watch the evening bore come through, there were lights out in the river, some bore nutters were out there in the dark of night waiting to ride!!!!
We heard rather than saw the things push through and on up the Severn. We headed off again on our forage for vittles once successful in our quest.
We then returned to The Severn Bore Inn, to meet Oafie, got back expecting the pub to be open as the evening bore was about to go through, but nope still shut! The adventure had begun!
After the scoffing of chips we headed back to Newnham car park, parked up and headed into Newnham for some pub action.
Here we met up with Tony, Bic and Plumby and his huge mate Jamie (6'6", 19 stone and as wide as a house) so in the company of Bigfeller, Oafie and Jamie, I felt very ickle. We headed for the Railway Inn and a sampling session of the 45 Ciders, Perrys and various ales ensued...
Entering the pub we were greeted by three drunk Hells Angels, one of whom snarled and stared menacingly at us as soon we soon as we walked in.
While taking a bladder break, two very interesting gentlemen were having a conversation in the gents (a better oxymoron I've not come across in this case).
They stopped speaking momentarily when I entered and glared at me then said something like "Ew urr ear furr wha" their intonation suggested a question so I replied "Yes going to surf the Bore", they responded with something which sounded remarkably like the first thing so I said "Aye".
Tony was in the gents by now and things seemed less tense until they saw "´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales surfing" on the back of my OTL shirt.
The interesting gentlemen attractively decorated from the tip of his head to, I assume, the tip of his toes in tattoos seemed to get rather angry "Ew blurrdy bay bay seee arrr ew? bedder naht (something something ) bowt Ells Angels!!" and stormed out.
I sensed an atmosphere, Tony help ease my apprehension by saying something about the eccentricity of the 'Forest' people ;)
Apart from Mr Angel calling us a bunch of '2 hats' and his bigger meaner looking mate rifling through our coats, all stayed calm. Met and chatted with James (seqoiaboard) a regular bore rider and thoroughly nice guy.
After a good night's kip we were up bright and early, I was particularly relieved that I had little signs of a hangover and would not be "Doing a Flack" after all; we headed off for Arlingham, on the East bank.
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