Three RCCGB Trips and a lot of Shaun the Sheep
2015 has been another good year for me attending RCCGB trips, starting with the Blackpool Bash in April, during which I had both Saturday and Sunday wristbands for the second year running. Secondly Mega-Glow-Mania, the Club's annual visit to Pembrokeshire in August. During this three-day event I attended the Club visits to Folly Farm on Friday and Oakwood on Saturday, but for various reasons chose not to go to Heatherton World of Activities on Sunday. Finally Loopathon in October during which the Club visits Alton Towers on Saturday and Drayton Manor Park on Sunday. It would have been nice to have attended both Alton Towers and Drayton Manor Park for the first time ever this time, but for various reasons I ended up attending Drayton Manor only just like in 2011 and 2014.
The Shaun in the City trails in London and Bristol have dominated Event of the Year in 2015. Firstly there was a flock of 50 Shaun the Sheep sculptures around London from 28 March to 31 May. By Easter I was determined to go to London whist the sheep sculptures were on display there, and I ended up going on Saturday 9 May. In one day I found 36 out of the 50 sculptures displayed there. Secondly a separate flock of 70 Shaun the Sheep sculptures around Bristol from 6 July to 31 August. Determined to see them all, it took me five trips to see all 70 Bristol Shaun sculptures during July, and four more trips to see them all again in August. As if all that wasn't enough, an exhibition of all 120 sculptures, plus a few extra, took place in a marquee outside The Mall at Cribbs Causeway from 12 to 20 September, and I went to that on Thursday 17 September.
Once again there was no short break to Devon this year. Will a trip to Devon similar to those of 2007 to 2013 happen in 2016? Time will tell. Thankfully this year has included trips which seem to have become an annual tradition the last few years, including Cardiff International Pool, Sandcastle Water Park (Blackpool), Weymouth, Brean Theme Park and Splashdown Poole (but only just – on the penultimate day of the year).
Altogether there are 35 events, which is a significant drop compared to 2014. Nonetheless they have still been split into five categories: Best Mega Trip, Best Thrill Outing, Best Non-Thrill Outing, Best Show and Best Party. The winner of each of these will go through to the Ultimate Winner round to determine the overall winner.
Definitions.
Since this document is about events of 2015, any occurrences herein of "this year" refer to 2015, whereas "last year" refers to 2014 and "next year" refers to 2016.
Multi-lane wavy slides, as found at funfairs and theme parks, are generally known as Astra slides. For this reason the term "Astra slide" has been used throughout this document to refer to this type of slide.
RCCGB Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain
ERS Exclusive Ride Session
To navigate to individual categories, click the links below.
Best Mega Trip
Best Thrill Outing
Best Non-Thrill Outing
Best Show
Best Party
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Best Mega Trip
These are trips that required staying away at guest accommodation for one or more nights. Interestingly this year they all happen to be UK based RCCGB trips: Blackpool Bash, Mega-Glow-Mania and Loopathon. Three excellent events almost as good as each other, it will be extremely difficult to determine which of the three goes through to the Ultimate Winner round.
RCCGB Blackpool Bash - Friday 10 April to Sunday 12 April
"Everybody say Blackpool". The Club's annual trip to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, featuring riding and entertainment. My excitement began Thursday afternoon with a relaxing train journey from Bath Spa to Blackpool North. The Bash officially began Friday evening in the Paradise Room with Billy Hunter followed by Steve Royle, both of whom performed songs and jokes. Saturday began with a meet-up in the Paradise Room followed by the morning ERS which was scheduled to be on Big One, Nickelodeon Streak and Blue Flyer. Unfortunately strong winds forced Big One to be replaced with Infusion. Anyway I enjoyed Infusion five times and Nickelodeon Streak once. Afterwards members dispersed around the Pleasure Beach to take over the rides until lunch; my rides the rest of the morning were Blue Flyer twice, followed by Backyardigans Pirate Treasure, Diego's Rainforest Rescue, Fairy World Taxi Spin and Big Dipper once each. Lunch in the Paradise Room, consisting of beefburger in a bun, chips and salad, was delicious and filling. Saturday afternoon differed from previous years in that there was no late afternoon ERS on Grand National. Nonetheless I rode Grand National twice. My other rides that afternoon were Derby Racer, Flying Machines, River Caves, Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic, Dora's World Voyage, Avalanche, Revolution, all three Steeplechase lanes and Grand Prix once each. Saturday evening the fun continued with the circus themed Coaster Crazy Show in the Paradise Room, and many members including me dressed as clowns or other circus performers. Billed acts included "Entrance of the Gladiators", "We Love The Circus", "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", acrobatics, "Clown" and "Up All Night". Games were Kids Gopher and In A Spin! The Gong Show featured eight acts, starting with my circus themed Boogie Beebies dance "Roll Up Roll Up" followed by the Coaster Kids performing their circus skills. Other acts included The Nutty Professors - "Periodic Table", Death - "Coaster Loopy", Paul Bailey - "Star Trekkin'" and Lorraine Downing - "When I'm Riding Coasters". Surprisingly my act was voted ultimate worst, despite my having deliberately chosen it to fit in with the circus theme. Well done to Death, Paul Bailey and Lorraine Downing, all of whom were declared equal winners. After the finale "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", the stage went down for the one hour disco; many including me danced along. Sunday began with the WOW ERS on Grand National, Big Dipper and Wild Mouse, despite the wind and rain! I rode Grand National four times, Wild Mouse once and Big Dipper twice. Afterwards members stayed in Pleasure Beach or visited other attractions. I had a Sunday wristband and rode Nickelodeon Streak (twice), Blue Flyer (twice), Avalanche, Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic, River Caves, Ice Blast, Avatar Airbender, Revolution and others, despite intermittent rainfall. Late afternoon Big One finally opened and I enjoyed one go on it. I finished with three goes on Infusion before starting my train journey home. Altogether another wonderful Blackpool Bash, many thanks to Nev for organising it and letting me perform in the Gong Show. It was great meeting other Club members again and riding the Pleasure Beach rides again. Two evenings of entertainment and two full days of riding definitely gives this event the edge over the other two contenders in Best Mega Trip.
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RCCGB Mega-Glow-Mania Weekend - Friday 7 August to Sunday 9 August
The Club's annual visit to rural Pembrokeshire, primarily to visit Oakwood Theme Park. Just like the preceding two years, the Oakwood visit was on Saturday when the Park was open to the public until 22:00, thereby enabling the Club to intend to end the day with the traditional dark ERS on Megafobia. Add-ons to Oakwood were Folly Farm near Kilgetty on Friday and Heatherton World of Activities on Sunday. For me the weekend began Thursday 6 August with a train journey from Bath Spa to Kilgetty, where I stayed three nights. My Friday morning began with a full traditional fried breakfast at the normal time. Having travelled by bus from Kilgetty, I was the first RCCGB member booked on the trip to arrive at Folly Farm around 10:20. Once admitted my first stop was Follywood to visit Percy's Piggery and enjoy a ride on the land train. Afterwards I explored the zoo, starting with the giraffes, followed by penguins and lions. My first sighting of other RCCGB members was near the giraffes. After a light snack in Carousel Woods Café there were plenty more zoo animals for me to see, including the African Aviary. After a much-needed whippy ice cream, my next stop was the Jolly Barn to see the farm animals. The final hour of normal opening I played on Carousel Woods indoor play area, including the towers and slides. The highlight was the EFS after 17:30 when members rode Coronation Speedway, Caterpillar, Waltzer, Jets, Ghost Train and Dodgems. After dinner in the Funfair Restaurant members enjoyed Lakin Swirl, Chair-o-Plane, Cyclone and Cake Walk before leaving around 20:15. Altogether a great day, dry and largely sunny. The main event, at Oakwood on Saturday, began at 09:00 with the one-hour morning Megafobia ERS, during which I enjoyed 5 goes. Afterwards I rode Megafobia once more, followed by Treetops, Speed, Bounce, Crocodile Coaster and others. At 13:30 the Club gathered on the front field for baseball. I played for Woodies. The final score was Woodies 415 Steelies 10. Back in the park I rode Drenched, Waterfall, Bobsleigh, a pedlo on the Boating Lake, Skull Rock log flume and many more. Around 20:30 I rode Speed. Sadly that became my last ride of the day because shortly afterwards a power failure occurred, and couldn't be restored before closing time. Consequently the fireworks were brought forward to just after 21:30, and afterwards it sadly became necessary to cancel the evening ERS. A major disappointment for everyone as that would have been the best part of the day with disco music and lights. Power cut aside, an amazing day, I nonetheless achieved a good ride count and it was dry and sunny all day; much better than last year. Sunday morning some members went to Heatherton World of Activities to enjoy go-karting and/or other activities there. For various reasons I gave Heatherton a miss, and instead left Kilgetty late morning train to Carmarthen followed by the onward train to Swansea. Having reached Swansea my plan was to go water sliding at the LC. Unlike last year there wasn't the long wait to get in, and I was admitted to a session starting at 14:15. In just over two hours I enjoyed 16 goes on the Aqua Tube and 5 goes on the Aqua Slide. Best of all was having 3 goes on the Master Blaster roller coaster water slide, which is my highest number on that to-date for one visit to Swansea LC. Altogether a wet and wild way to round off Mega-Glow-Mania weekend. Finally there was time to enjoy a meal at The Bank Statement (Wetherspoons) before resuming my train journey home at 18:24. Altogether a coaster crazy weekend away, it's the power cut Saturday evening meant members were deprived of the best and most important part of Saturday (the glow part), but never mind. It was great meeting several other RCCGB members again Friday and Saturday, and re-riding the rides at Folly Farm and Oakwood again. Many thanks to Nev for arranging the event, Folly Farm ride attendants and catering staff for staying late Friday evening, Oakwood ride staff for operating Megafobia for the Club Saturday morning, and to Mark and Margo for kindly giving me lifts from Kilgetty to Oakwood and back on Saturday. The unavoidable cancellation of the Saturday evening ERS due to the power cut means this event is unlikely to win this category.
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RCCGB Loopathon Drayton Manor Park - Sunday 4 October
"Are you loopy enough?" The Club's annual two day autumn event to mark the end of the coaster season: Alton Towers on the Saturday and Drayton Manor Park on the Sunday. For various reasons I chose to attend day two (Drayton Manor Park) only, and for that reason travelled by train from Bath to Tamworth Saturday late morning. Saturday afternoon was the golden opportunity to go water sliding at the Snowdome. Although the one water slide there is not particularly thrilling, it was still great fun. In 90 minutes I enjoyed 32 goes on it. That evening I enjoyed a delicious meal at The Silk Kite (Wetherspoon). After a cooked breakfast Sunday morning Sophia Jones arrived and took me and Happy Helen to Drayton Manor Park. On arrival several members were already in the Tower Suite, and more gradually arrived. Just after 9:30 the Club entered the Park for the Apocalypse ERS; I enjoyed one standing and one sitting go. What a pity the stand-up no floor option was unavailable. After a group photo by Shockwave, the Club took over Shockwave; I enjoyed one go on it. The rest of the morning I rode Maelstrom, Troublesome Trucks Runaway Coaster, Toby's Tram Express, Harold's Helicopter Tours, Cranky's Drop Tower, The Bounty Pirate Ship (with Helen and Sophia) and Air Race. The two-course lunch in the Tower Suite was delicious and filling. In addition Mr. William Bryan gave a speech about Drayton Manor Park, and Christine Hine's 50th birthday was celebrated with a special cake. Back in the Park mid-afternoon I enjoyed Big Wheel, Ben 10 - Ultimate Mission, Polperro Express Train, Shockwave (twice), Splash Canyon and Buffalo Coaster. At 17:00 members enjoyed an ERS on Ben 10, Troublesome Trucks and G-Force. I enjoyed Troublesome Trucks twice, Ben 10 twice and G-Force six times. The day ended with the hokey cokey and group hug. After everyone's last goodbyes back at the car park, Sophia kindly took Happy Helen to Bristol and me to Bath. On the way we stopped at Strensham Services on the M5 for something to eat at McDonald's; I had a large Big Mac Meal and strawberry sundae. Altogether a great weekend, it's a pity I didn't do Alton Towers Saturday, but I enjoyed sliding Snowdome's water slide Saturday afternoon, and had a mega fun day at Drayton Manor Park Sunday. It was great meeting Nev and Christine, Mary and Andy Knight, Doug and Charlie, Adey and Katelyn, Happy Helen, Sophia, Ryan Hackett, Death and many others there. Best of all Sunday was dry and sunny from first thing to dusk, and surprisingly warm for early October; I felt warm enough in T-shirt and shorts during the afternoon. Many thanks to Nev for organising this, the catering / hospitality staff for lunch, William Bryan for his speech, the ride staff for operating Apocalypse before opening and three coasters after closing and Sophia for giving me lifts. Whether or not this can win Best Mega Trip is questionable though.
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Best Thrill Outing
This group includes mainly day trips to amusement parks and water parks. This year there are eight events in this group, which is lower than recent years, but the ones that are here were all excellent trips.
Cardiff International Pool - Saturday 3 January
If recent years are anything to go by, it seems to have become a tradition to start the year with a visit to the fun pool and water slides at Cardiff International Pool on the first Saturday after New Year's Day. This year was no exception; during Christmas 2014 a visit to Cardiff International Pool was firmly on the cards for Saturday 3 January. The first hiccup of the day was getting to Bath Spa station only to discover the 8:30 Cardiff Central train was running late; it finally left Bath Spa at 8:46. Thankfully there were no further problems and it reached Cardiff Central at 9:51. After a much-needed coffee at JJ's Salad & Sandwich Bar, there was no problem getting a bus to the Sports Village. Cardiff International Pool has a leisure pool with three thrilling flumes, all of which are closed tubes all the way down. The slow red flume takes sliders around a bend to the left into a clockwise spiral, followed by an anticlockwise spiral to land in a catch tray. The orange flume is much faster, consisting of an anticlockwise spiral followed by a clockwise u-bend, to land in a catch tray. As for the yellow flume, sliders go around a bend to the right, into an anticlockwise spiral, followed by a straight drop to land in a catch tray. There is also a space bowl, whereby sliders go down a short flume around an anticlockwise loop into the bowl. The faster you enter, the longer you spend in there before dropping into the landing pool. The slides were already running when I entered the leisure pool area at 11:00, so without further ado I took straight to the slides. The waiting time for my very first go, on the red slide, was minimal. Unfortunately the place became quite busy thereafter, resulting in fairly lengthy waiting times for the slides. I finally left the pool / slides area at 15:05, having enjoyed the red flume, orange flume, yellow flume and space bowl just seven times each. That's my lowest count for one visit to-date. Having left Cardiff International Pool, the next stop was nearby Morrisons for much-needed sandwiches and a cup of coffee at their café. Back in the city centre I enjoyed a Caramel Crunch doughnut and regular Americano at Krispy Kreme, St David's Centre. Finally I caught the 18:30 train from Cardiff Central to Bath Spa. My homeward journey went without a hitch, and took just over an hour. On the whole, a wet and wild day out; first time of going water sliding anywhere for 2015. It's just unfortunate that in just over four hours I only managed seven goes on each slide due to the long queues. A middle of the road contender in Best Thrill Outing, but not a category winner.
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Bath Half Family Fun Run - Sunday 1 March
The annual Bath Half Marathon took place Sunday 1 March 2015. For those not up to running 13.1 miles, a much shorter 1 mile Family Fun Run also took place today. Having run the Family Fun Run for the first time last year, I was determined to run it again this year, and registered early January. For me the excitement began upon receiving my number, timing chip, Race Day Guide and souvenir T-shirt early February. My only disappointment at that stage was discovering that the T-shirt just mentioned the sponsor logo Jamie's Farm, and no mention of the Bath Half 2015 Family Fun Run anywhere on it. A few days before the event, it seemed a wonderful idea to buy myself a pair of Karrimor running shoes, and a pair of running socks. The only snag was not having enough time to do a practice run in them before race day, and that created the possible problems of wearing them for the first time ever on race day. On Race Day Fun Run participants were asked to wait in the allocated area well before the Half Marathon started at 11:00. Once all the Half Marathon runners had passed by Family Fun Run participants were led to the start line. When the start signal was given, Fun Runners ran along the first half mile of the Half Marathon course before doing a U-turn to return to the start. I was more confident about running the route this time having already done so last year. The outward leg was fairly easy going and I overtook several other runners, especially on the downhill section. After the U-turn, the return leg seemed harder, especially as the uphill bit. Determined to run all the way I looked downwards and eventually reached the flat bit at the top. Having turned the corner the end was in sight. Out of breath I resisted the temptation to speed up and overtake the runner ahead of me. Instead I kept a steady running pace and crossed the finish line. Thus I managed to run from start to finish without stopping or resorting to walking part of the way. Having crossed the finish line my biggest disappointment was the time on my own stopwatch: 6 minutes 59.42 seconds, because that was about 10 seconds longer than the time measured on my own stopwatch at the Bath Half 2014 Family Fun Run. I was hoping to complete the route quicker than 2014, not take longer. Officially I finished 106th out of 938 Fun Runners with a chip time 0:06:48 and gun time 0:07:01; an excellent achievement for someone who had no practice runs around the streets of Bath during January and February. Back in the Runners Village, all Family Fun Runners were given a medal and goody bag for completing the course. Well done to everyone else who participated in the Fun Run. Even more so congratulations to those who completed the Half Marathon, and thus received their medals and Half Marathon Finisher T-shirts; it's amazing how they can run 13.1 miles. How on Earth, in the world, do they do it? Many thanks to the organisers for arranging both races, and for providing the medals and T-shirts. It's a pity the organisers didn't give each Fun Run finisher and Half Marathon finisher a free blue Team Bath hoody, made by Surridge, but perhaps one cannot expect that much. Definitely one of the better contenders in the Best Thrill Outing category, but unlikely to win.
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Sandcastle Water Park Blackpool - Friday 10 April
Travelling to Blackpool during the evening of Thursday 9 April meant being able to spend Friday daytime at Sandcastle Water Park. Nonetheless, this is being treated as a standalone event in the Best Thrill Outing group. Just like the last few years, it was once again worthwhile paying the additional fee for a Hyperzone wristband, in order to be able to enjoy the Master Blaster, Sidewinder, Aztec Falls and Montazooma. My day at the water park began with two goes on Aztec Falls, followed by one go on Montazooma. Aztec Falls and Montazooma are the two newest slides, which opened February 2012. Next I enjoyed two goes on the Master Blaster roller coaster water slide. Unfortunately it's difficult to say whether Sidewinder was a pleasure or an ordeal; launching myself down its steep drop into a ravine was daunting in the aftermath of my accident on it last year. For now I limited myself to one go on Sidewinder. Away from the Hyperzone, there were plenty of other slides for me to enjoy, those being the blue and yellow Thunder Falls Water Slides once each, the three Treetops Water Chutes twice each, and the two white knuckle Duelling Dragons eight times each. Back in the Hyperzone, I enjoyed five goes on the Montazooma. Next I enjoyed the blue and yellow Thunder Falls Water Slides twice each. After that I tried the Sidewinder again, but once again launching myself was somewhat terrifying, therefore I limited myself to just two goes. Having swam four laps of Ushi-Gushi River Creek, and gone in the wave pool whilst the waves were on, I enjoyed four goes on the Master Blaster and two goes on Aztec Falls. Finally there was just time to slide the Thunder Falls Water Slides (blue once and yellow slide twice). As the slides closed, the lifeguard at the top told me that I was the last person to go down Thunder Falls Water Slides on this day. Altogether a wet and wild day of sliding at Sandcastle Water Park. Unfortunately I was rather nervous on each of my goes on Sidewinder this time in the aftermath of me losing my tyre on it during one of my goes on it when I went in April last year. I used to love Sidewinder and always wanted several goes on it before 2014, but this time I lacked confidence in Sidewinder on each of my goes on it. Thankfully I thoroughly enjoyed all the other slides I went on. One of the better events in Best Thrill Outing but not a category winner.
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Weymouth - Saturday 27 June
A hot sunny summer Saturday whilst already at Dorchester for the weekend was the perfect reason for me to visit Weymouth on Saturday 27 June. The trip began aboard the 12:49 Dorchester South to Weymouth train. Having arrived shortly after 13:00, my afternoon began by enjoying takeaway cod and chips on the sea front. Fish and chips are a must-have for a trip to the seaside. After lunch the next port of call was Leisureranch, for about two hours of sliding on the 4-lane Astra slide Cresta Run. In that time I enjoyed a total of 64 slides. All four lanes were running fast. The staff were amazed at my ability to stuck at it for two continuous hours in the sunshine, especially as one needs to walk up the stairs each go. Having left Leisureranch I walked back towards the centre of Weymouth, stopping on the way to visit Greenhill Gardens. They were definitely worth exploring for a few minutes, however at the time the annual summer flowers such as marigolds looked as though they had only been recently planted, and were yet to reach their best. Back in central Weymouth the first stop was Marks and Spencer for a ride up the escalator before going to Alexandra Gardens. In Alexandra Gardens I enjoyed a much needed whippy ice cream. A trip to the seaside just isn't complete without an ice cream! This area also includes Alexandra Gardens Funfair. I enjoyed one go on the Moser Rides drop tower which they call Spring. At 37 feet tall it's on a similar scale to Jumping Bean at Paultons or Trauma Tower at Woodlands. Although a tame, baby tower compared to Ice Blast at Pleasure Beach Resort Blackpool or Drop at Funland, Hayling Island, it's still great fun. After that there was still time to enjoy a walk along part of the beach and, and my biggest surprise was seeing several jellyfish washed up on the wet sand close to the breaking waves. Eventually it was time to return to the station for the 18:29 train to Dorchester. Altogether a fun afternoon at the seaside, which included lots of sliding and a funfair ride as well as a fish and chip lunch and ice cream. The only missing seaside traditions were building a sandcastle, paddling in the sea and taking home a stick of rock or bag of candy floss, but never mind. Best of all the weather was ideal; dry and sunny all afternoon, hot enough for T-shirt and shorts but not too overly hot for two hours of sliding. Definitely one of the weaker contenders in Best Thrill Outing though.
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Brean Theme Park - Saturday 4 July
Since the RCCGB Summer Bash at Brean Leisure Park Fun City in September 2011, it seems to have become a tradition for me to go there alone one Saturday during the summer. At the start of the 2015 ride season Fun City became Brean Theme Park. After an early rise the day began by catching the 7:42 bus from Bath to Bristol, followed by onward buses to Weston-super-Mare and Brean. Having finally reached Brean, time allowed for a much-needed latte coffee at Subway before entering Brean Theme Park. Once fitted with an all-day wristband I began with two goes on Caterpillar Coaster, followed by one go on the new-for-2015 ride Star Flyer. Afterwards I enjoyed the Magic Mouse and Crazy Loop coasters twice each, and Astro Storm coaster six times. Finally I rode the flat rides Disk'o and Sky Diver once each before returning to Subway for some lunch. After lunch I went to the beach for a few minutes. This was my first ever time of going there, and the path leading to it is surprisingly long. One can see Brean Down and Steepholm from the beach. Back in Brean Theme Park I rode Sizzler, Star Flyer, Wave Swinger, Frisbee, Hellraiser and Xtreme once each, the log flume twice, Bumpy Slide four times and another six goes on Astro Storm. I finished off with one go on Magic Mouse before catching the 17:41 bus to Weston-super-Mare. Back in Weston, I had takeaway fish and chips plus mushy peas from Waterfront Fish Bar followed by a whippy ice cream. Both are must-haves on a trip to the seaside. Finally there was just time for a few minutes' walk along the beach before catching the 19:25 bus to Bristol followed by the onward bus to Bath. Altogether a coaster crazy day out on the first Saturday of July. It was adding Star Flyer and Disk'o to my ride count, and riding all four coasters and several other rides again. Throughout the day most rides were walk-on, and thus I achieved a high ride count, even allowing for frequent rest breaks. The weather was good too; dry all day, and sunny for most of my time at Brean. One of the better events in Best Thrill Outing, but unlikely to win.
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Birthday Outing - Wednesday 30 September
To celebrate my 44th birthday I went to Thorpe Park. An exceptionally early awakening was necessary to catch the 05:41 train from Bath Spa to Reading, followed by onward trains to Wokingham and Staines. After reaching Staines just before 08:00, there was plenty of time to enjoy a much-needed cappuccino and croissant at Waitrose Café in Two Rivers Retail Park before catching a bus to Thorpe Park. Having entered Thorpe Park at 10:00 I began by riding Rush once followed by Colossus twice. Thereafter I rode Saw: The Ride twice, Slammer and Flying Fish once each. Unexpectedly I met Planenut after riding Flying Fish and we spoke to each other for a few minutes. After a much-needed toasted panini and Sprite at The Coffee Shack, I enjoyed riding all four Depth Charge slides, Swarm (backwards and forwards), Storm Surge, Rumba Rapids, Logger's Leap (twice), X and Stealth. I ended the day with two goes on Nemesis Inferno. On my way out of Thorpe Park I met Planenut again. Back in Staines town centre, birthday fun continued with a two-course celebratory dinner at Harvester: 7oz gammon steak with fries, peas and salad, followed by Honeycomb Explosion Sundae. The day drew to a close when I caught the 20:53 train to Reading followed by the 22:12 train to Bath Spa, and reached home around 23:30. Another another excellent birthday outing, it was great meeting Planenut, as I wasn't expecting to meet any RCCGB members that day. Ride queues varied depending on the ride and time of day, but I tended to pick rides which were walk-on or had very short queues, even though that meant leaving Stealth and Nemesis Inferno to the end of the day. It was really satisfying to ride all seven coasters and various other rides again. Best of all it was a beautiful sunny day from dawn to dusk, and surprisingly warm for the last day of September; hot enough for T-shirt and shorts during the afternoon. The celebratory evening dinner at Harvester in Staines town centre was the grand finale to this special day. Many people liked my self-designed birthday T-shirt. Some were puzzled by the front, until they saw the back. Basically this was a carbon copy of my birthdays in 2013 and 2014: get a self-designed birthday T-shirt printed, enjoy a day at Thorpe Park riding from opening time to closing time and a celebratory evening dinner at Harvester, Staines town centre. The winning formula which won Best Thrill Outing in 2013 and 2014 is sure to win this group again. The question now is, can it win outright?
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Skating at the BIC - Monday 28 December
The temporary ice rink which has been a popular attraction at the Bournemouth International Centre over Christmas for several years now was back there for Christmas 2015. My presence at Dorchester over Christmas 2015 fuelled my desire to go skating at the BIC during the festive season and bank holiday Monday 28 December seemed the perfect day for it. The outing began when I caught the 08:24 train from Dorchester South to Bournemouth. Having arrived there at 9:09 I walked to the seafront. Once there time allowed for a much-needed coffee at a café near Bournemouth Pier before proceeding to the BIC Purbeck Hall for the 11:00 ice skating session. Although billed to start at 11:00, the actual time on the ice was officially 11:15 to 12:15; however skaters were allowed on to the ice at 11:11. My time on the ice went very well, as soon as I stepped on the ice I skated into open space. There were some times when I had to carefully skate through a narrow gap between other skaters, but I had no falls. As time went on I tried occasional bursts of one-legged skating, but could only manage a few seconds on one leg at a time before having to have both feet on the ice again. At 12:13 everyone was asked to leave the ice as the session was over. Unsurprisingly there was a queue to re, turn my skates and get my trainers and bag back, but thankfully the wait was not too long. Having left the BIC for the final time, the next stop was The Chippy in the town centre, to have medium cod and chips, plus a cup of coffee, in their restaurant. After lunch my afternoon was filled with a leisurely walk along the promenade from Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier, to the end of Boscombe Pier and back, and along the cliff top back to Bournemouth Pier. Back in the town centre, there was still time to enjoy a regular cappuccino in the fourth floor restaurant at Debenhams before walking back to the Travel Interchange for the 17:34 train from Bournemouth to Dorchester South. Altogether a great day out, which included an hour of ice skating, a fish and chip lunch and a walk along the promenade and cliff top. The weather was reasonable for winter; it was dry all day, with sunshine at times, albeit a bit windy (which explained why the sea was rough with large waves). Likely to be left out in the cold in Best Thrill Outing though.
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Splashdown Poole - Wednesday 30 December
The final event in the Best Thrill Outing group. My once-a-year visit to Splashdown Water Park, Poole has been an annual occurrence from 2004 to 2014, usually in July or September, but for various reasons a visit to Splashdown didn't happen during summer or autumn 2015 for various reasons. Thankfully my time at Dorchester over Christmas 2015 meant being able to have a visit to Splashdown during the last few days of 2015. The outing began upon catching the 11:59 train from Dorchester South to Poole. Having arrived at 12:35 there was enough time to enjoy a coffee at Poole Bus Station before catching the 13:10 bus to Tower Park. I finally reached Splashdown at 13:40 Once admitted and changed I began by sliding Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller and Zambezi Drop in sequence twice over. Next I had one go on Mississippi Drifter, which during the winter feeds into Black Thunder. Afterwards I had four goes on Baron's Revenge, four goes on Dragon's Lair and one go on the Space Bowl. After that I enjoyed sliding Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller and Zambezi Drop in sequence four times over, followed by five goes on Mississippi Drifter / Black Thunder, four goes on Dragon's Lair and two goes on the Space Bowl. Closing time was now fast approaching, and it was now dark outside, but there was still time to slide Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller and Zambezi Drop once each. Sliding these in the dark for the first time ever seemed totally different to during daylight. Finally there was just enough time for two more goes on the Space Bowl and one go on Baron's Revenge before the slides closed at 17:00. Having dressed and left, I went to Giraffe at Tesco for a much-needed cappuccino and mince pie before catching the 17:54 bus to Poole Bus Station followed by the 18:47 train from Poole to Dorchester South. Altogether an afternoon of "flumin' good fun" at "the South's favourite waterpark". Going there in the winter for the first time ever was a bit different to in the summer, e.g. the outdoor flumes were closed and Mississippi Drifter fed into the indoor flume Black Thunder instead of the outdoor river run Grand Canyon. So although I didn't go to Splashdown at all summer 2015, at least I nonetheless managed to fit in a visit there on the penultimate day of 2015. One of the better events in Best Thrill Outing but not a category winner.
More about this event available here
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Best Non-Thrill Outing
This year this category has been dominated by Shaun in the City, including one Shaun the Sheep hunting trip to London in May, nine Shaun the Sheep hunting trips to Bristol during July and August and the Shaun the Sheep exhibition at Cribbs Causeway in September. The only trip which did not involve seeing any Shaun the Sheep sculptures was the sightseeing trip to Bristol on 11 September. There were no trips to gardens, stately homes, castles or museums in 2015. It's going to be very difficult determining the pecking order for the events in this category, particularly the nine Shaun the Sheep hunting trips to Bristol during July and August.
London Shaun Hunting - Saturday 9 May
The first half of the Shaun in the City trails of individually decorated Shaun the Sheep sculptures was a flock of 50 sheep around London from 28 March to 31 May. However it didn't take me long to find out that, contrary to my initial impression, that the sculptures planned for display in Bristol during July and August would be a completely separate flock of 70 sculptures, which would not include the London ones. By the early May bank holiday weekend it became my desire to visit London and see as many of the 50 sculptures displayed there as was possible in one day. For various reasons Saturday 9 May was the perfect day for such a visit. On the day an early rise was necessary for me to catch the 06:00 National Express coach from Bath Bus Station to London Victoria Coach Station. After a much-needed croissant and coffee at the arrivals terminal café, the problem was deciding where to start. Paddington station seemed the ideal place to start, and getting there required a journey on the Underground from Victoria to Paddington. Having reached Paddington station Lambmark Larry was standing on platform 8. Nearby, in Paddington Basin, was PADDINGTON Shaun, which resembled Paddington Bear. After another Underground journey from Edgware Road to Oxford Circus, I was in Oxford Street. Now seemed the perfect time to enjoy a cooked breakfast in BHS restaurant before doing any more Shaun hunting. The next stop was Carnaby Street to see Baa-bushka, the first sculpture on Shaun's Trail. Given that the time was around midday when I got there, and this was only my third sculpture visit of the day, it was clear that much time had been wasted so far, and there was now a need to speed up the hunt. Anyway, the next few sculptures on Shaun's Trail were Rule Brittania, Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom (inside Hamleys), Ram of the Match (Regent Street), "Monsters!" and The Gruffalo Shaun (both at Piccadilly Circus). After that finding Jingtai turned out to be a bit tricky. When I got there the sun was out at last, and it remained sunny the rest of the day. My next stop was Leicester Square Gardens to see Mossy Bottom and Woolly Jumbo side by side. The next sculpture, Nelson, was appropriately located near Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. The final sculpture on Shaun's Trail was Me llamo Shaun, located just off Admiralty Arch end of The Mall. Happy & Glorious, in St James's Park, wore a crown and robe, was in my opinion, one of the best of the London Shaun sculptures. From there it took me a while to walk to the London Eye where the first sculpture on Timmy's Trail, Ewe-nion Jack was located. After a much-needed coffee at a nearby café, I saw Pinky Plum, Frida Baa-hlo, Candy Baa, Another One Rides the Bus, "Flash!" and Paradise Bunch. That was the end Timmy's Trail, and the time was now around 17:30. Nonetheless there was still time to find some more sculptures, so I took the Underground to St Paul's to see some of the sculptures on Shirley's Trail. My expectation was to just see the ones surrounding St Paul's Cathedral, but I ended up seeing all 13 sculptures on Shirley's Trail, including the two south of the River Thames, The Guardian outside the Guildhall, and Counting Sheep at the Barbican Centre. After all that, there was just time for me to see two sculptures on Bitzer's Trail: Mr Shaun at Finsbury Avenue Square and The Pearly King at Liverpool Street Station before having to call it a day around 20:40. After my final journey on the Underground from Liverpool Street to Victoria, there was just time to get myself a burger and fries from Burger King at Victoria railway station and consume them whilst waiting for the 21:30 coach home at Victoria Coach Station departure terminal. Altogether a Grand Day Out in the capital. It's a pity so much time was wasted between arriving at Victoria Coach Station around 8:50 and finding Baa-bushka in Carnaby Street around midday. Looking back it would have been better to have looked online a few weeks earlier, and perhaps got reasonably priced train tickets to and from London. Catching the first train of the day from Bath Spa around 05:40 to London Paddington would have meant being able to photograph Lambmark Larry almost immediately upon arrival, followed by PADDINGTON Shaun shortly afterwards, and then sculptures elsewhere around London thereafter. That approach might have allowed me to have seen and photographed all 50 sculptures in one day; although that would have necessitated obtaining a spare camera battery beforehand. Nonetheless seeing 36 out of 50 sculptures in one day was an excellent achievement considering my time management during the morning. Undeniably setting off really early, spending the day around 100 miles outside the Bath / Bristol area and returning home really late makes this extra special compared to over the other events in this category, but still that's no guarantee of this winning Best Non-Thrill Outing.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: Temple Trail and Harbourside Trail - Wednesday 15 July
The first of several trips to Bristol to see and photograph the 70 Shaun the Sheep sculptures displayed around central and outer Bristol. The 70 sculptures were organised into nine trails, and it made sense to start with some of the central ones. The outing began aboard the 09:28 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads. Arriving there automatically put me in the right place to begin the Temple Trail, starting with "The Bristol Express" and "Alright Me Babber?" outside the front of the station. Proudly wearing my Bath Half 2014 Family Fun Run T-shirt, I found the remaining Shaun sculptures on the Temple Trail in the following order: Great West Shaun (which resembled a steam locomotive), Rosie (which resembled a canal boat), Bingo!, Sheepish, Willow, Justice Lamb and King of the Carnival. For some reason, Justice Lamb and King of the Carnival were together near King Street (outside Graze Bar), not actually in Queen Square as specified on the map. Completion of the Temple Trail was a convenient time to enjoy a 6 inch Pulled Pork Sub and Sprite at Subway in the city centre. After lunch it was time to begin the Harbourside Trail, starting with Beach Boy at Cascade Steps. The next two Shaun sculptures were Green Poems For A Blue Planet followed by Life Aquatic (outside Bristol Aquarium). After a much-needed small Americano at Café-At Bristol, the next sculptures were Dolly, Air Fleece, On The Waterfront. After that, Jarsberry Ram, which resembled a raspberry, stood outside The Pump Room. Inside The Pump Room I enjoyed a much-needed coffee with milk. This was also a convenient place to change into my Jamie's Farm T-shirt (from Bath Half 2015 Family Fun Run). Having left The Pump Room I had more pictures taken of me beside Jarsberry Ram, this time wearing my Jamie's Farm T-shirt. The next sculpture, on the south side of the Floating Harbour was Sgt. Shepherd. An unexpected extra observation here was the mini Shaun on the Brigantia ferry which was at one of the boarding points. After that the next three sculptures on this trail were Lotus (outside Aardman Animations), The Pirate Captain (outside the M Shed) and Bahhbersheep (Wapping Wharf). The final sculpture on the Harbourside Trail was Shaun Bean, outside Arnolfini, which was just a plain mirror-effect sculpture. At last I had completed the Harbourside Trail. The time required to get all my wanted views of each Shaun plus pictures of me varied considerably. Sometimes getting all the required shots took around 5 minutes, but there were a several sculptures where it took 15 to 20 minutes to get all the views, due to other people approaching and having to wait for them to disappear to get the required photos without them. Due to the longer-than-desired time at certain sculptures, plus coffee breaks at Café-At-Bristol and The Pump Room, it took me 5½ hours to complete a trail which, according to the map, should have taken 2 hours. At least all the Harbourside Trail Shaun sculptures were present in their waymarked positions; a few of them are being temporarily relocated somewhere else during the Harbour Festival a few days later. After that I began heading back to Temple Meads station in a round-a-bout way to be photographed again alongside Life Aquatic, Green Poems For A Blue Planet, Beach Boy and all 9 Temple Trail Shauns in the opposite order to during the morning, this time wearing my Jamie's Farm T-shirt. Altogether a Grand Day Out Shaun the Sheep hunting in Bristol. Being as it was a term-time weekday, I expected the place to be quiet, but that wasn't the case. Most annoying was getting back to Temple Meads ticket barrier around 18:50 and facing 40 minutes wait for the next train to Bath departing 19:30. Thankfully it was dry all day and sunny at times.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: Old City Trail and Heritage Trail - Friday 17 July
My second Shaun the Sheep hunt in one week. Having caught the 09:28 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads, I arrived about 15 minutes later to fine drizzle, which was not what one would want for a trip spent mostly out of doors. Walking from Temple Meads to the city centre was a golden opportunity to be photographed beside The Bristol Express, "Alright Me Babber?", Great West Shaun, Rosie, "Bingo!" and Sheepish again, having already been photographed by them two days earlier. The first sculpture I didn't see two days earlier was Honey, in St Stephen's Church yard. This was the start of the Old City Trail. The next sculpture was Woolly Wonderland in the entrance foyer of St Nicholas Market. Its woollen coat, which must have taken a long time to knit, made it obvious why this sculpture was indoors. Knitwit in Castle Park (near the ruined church) was next. By now the drizzle had thankfully stopped, but it was still cloudy. After that the next stop was The Galleries where to see Cecilia on the ground floor. This was also a convenient time to have a baguette for lunch. The Galleries also had a treasure hunt where you interpret the clues for shops which have sheep drawings (Mummy Sheep, Daddy Sheep etc.) in their windows; I found them all and received a small pack of sweets and a sticker for it. Having eventually left The Galleries, the next Shaun sculpture was Lily at Old Castle Street end of Castle Park, opposite Harvey Nichols. Thankfully the sun was now out and it remained dry and sunny the rest of the day. After a much-needed Luscious Lemon Cheesecake doughnut and small Americano at Krispy Kreme, Cabot Circus, the next sculpture was Bagpuss Shaun outside House of Fraser. Annoyingly it took me about 40 minutes to get all my required shots due to others around its vicinity. Looking back it would have been better to have skipped that and returned to it around 18:00. Having eventually reached Broadmead, it was a delight to see Shaun On The Cob back outside Marks and Spencer, having needed repairing so soon after the trail officially began. Shaun On The Cob was cleverly designed, with a cob of corn for the body, and other vegetables for the head, legs, tail, etc. Next I saw Please Stand By (which resembled a TV testcard) in the centre of Broadmead, followed by Lamb Chop outside the bus station. After a much-needed coffee at Subway in Montague Street the final sculpture on the Old City Trail was Maisy And Friends outside the Children's Hospital. Being as the time was now around 16:00, it had taken me over 5 hours to do an easy trail which should have taken 1½ hours! After a short walk up the hill the next stop was the City Museum, to see Arabian Lights and Baaack To The Drawing Board, both of which were on the Heritage Trail. Having left the Museum the next sculptures were Thunderbirds Are Go (Elton Road), Rex (outside RWA), Flock 'N Roll (outside University Victoria Rooms), From Dusk 'Til Shaun (Brandon Hill) and King Arthur of Lambelot & Excalibaaar (College Green). The final sculpture on the Heritage Trail was BAA-WULF outside the Hippodrome. Finally I returned to Temple Meads via Honey, Knitwit, "Bingo!", Rosie, Great West Shaun and "Alright Me Babber?", which I'd previously seen but wanted to be photographed with again. Knitwit looked better this time with the sun on it. Back at Temple Meads there wasn't long to wait for the 19:22 train to Bath Spa. Altogether another great day of Shaun hunting, it's a pity about the drizzly and cloudy start, but thankfully that soon stopped and the sun was out after lunch. In one day I found another 18 Shaun sculptures which I'd not previously seen, and revisited 6 of the 21 sculptures I first saw on two days earlier. That brought my cumulative total of Shaun sculptures seen so far to 39 Shaun sculptures; not bad for two days hunting. Many liked my "I'm Not An Adult I'm A Big Kid!" T-shirt, they were pleased to hear it was my own design.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: The North Fringe - Thursday 23 July
My third Shaun the Sheep hunt, this time mainly to see the Sheep Drive sculptures on the north fringe of Bristol. The adventure began upon catching the 08:30 number 319 bus from Bath Bus Station to Warmley. Having reached Warmley the first sculpture was Buddleia at Warmley station on the Bristol and Bath Railway Path. This one was covered in butterfly images. Being at this spot reminded me of walking the Railway Path from Bath to Bristol last year. Having continued aboard the 9:48 number 319 bus from Warmley to Staple Hill, the next stop was Fountain Square. There stood Melonie, decorated to resemble a watermelon. Now was also a convenient time to enjoy a cooked breakfast, which included a mug of coffee, at Blue Sky Café, also in Fountain Square. After that, my journey continued aboard the 11:06 number 319 bus from Staple Hill to Bristol Parkway. Having reached Bristol Parkway about half an hour later the next sculpture was Starstruck, located outside the main station building. This was blue, and covered in white stars. After that there was just a short wait for the 11:59 number 73 bus to Cribbs Causeway Bus Station. Once there my next stop was the Shaun in the City Shop in The Mall. There stood Shrek Shaun, which resembled Shrek, however it took me longer than desired to get all my required shots of it. That shop also had an exhibition of mini Shaun the Sheep sculptures decorated by schools. It took me about 1½ hours to admire and photographing all the mini sculptures displayed there. After a much-needed Lotus Caramel Biscoff doughnut and small Americano at Krispy Kreme, there were still two more Shaun sculptures for me to see. Firstly Bee-dazzled! (Icescape), a honey coloured Shaun covered in bee images, located at the Food Court on the upper level. Secondly Fab-ewe-lous, which as its name suggests, resembles the ice cream product Fab, outside the main front central entrance to the Mall. After a walk around the outside area, a coffee at Morrisons Café, and another look at all three large Shauns at The Mall, I caught the number 76 bus from Cribbs Causeway Bus Station towards the city centre. The aim was to connect somewhere en route with a bus that would get me to or near Snuff Mills Park to see Two Hoots, but sadly that didn't happen. However whilst passing the junction of Gloucester Road and Nevil Road, I spotted Star Bake outside Boston Tea Party. Now was a convenient opportunity to leave the bus and photograph this sculpture, which resembled a fruity dessert. This one was part of the Farmyard Flock, not the Sheep Drive. Finally I caught the 18:54 number 76 bus to The Haymarket followed by the 19:10 X39 bus from Bristol Bus Station to Bath Bus Station. Altogether another grand day out Shaun hunting. This time I visited just 7 large Shaun sculptures, which was considerably lower than my previous two trips, but that was hardly surprising considering a significant part of the day was spent travelling around on buses. All were first-time sightings; I didn't revisit any sculptures that I first saw during my first two trips the previous week. Looking positively though, I also saw 57 (by my count) schools' mini sculptures in the exhibition at The Mall. This time I wore my "I am 13 with 30 years experience" T-shirt that I had printed for my 43rd birthday September 2014; it felt extra special to be wearing that beside Shrek Shaun, as he was the 43rd large Bristol Shaun I've found so far.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: Farmyard Flock and Downs Trail - Thursday 30 July
My fourth Shaun the Sheep hunting trip today. Having awoke at 5:30 in the morning, the day began aboard the 7:15 X39 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station. Having arrived approximately one hour later, time allowed for me to be photographed beside Lamb Chop just outside Bristol Bus Station before catching the 8:37 number 5 bus from The Haymarket to Broom Hill. Having got there it was just a short walk to Snuff Mills Park where Two Hoots stood by the river. Two Hoots is one of two Sheep Drive Shaun sculptures I missed Thursday 23 July. Unsurprisingly this features owls in trees on its body. Having left Snuff Mills Park it took me longer than expected or wanted to catch a later number 5 bus to St Werburghs. Once there St Werburghs City Farm was just a short walk away. At St Werburghs City Farm, Primrose stood next to the goat enclosure. Primrose, one of three Shauns on the Farmyard Flock trail, had a yellow flower in its mouth, and was decorated with flowers. Afterwards the city farm café was a convenient place to enjoy a much-needed coffee. After walk up a steep footpath and along some back streets, my next stop on the Farmyard Flock trail was Star Bake outside Boston Tea Party on the corner of Nevil Road and Gloucester Road. Having already seen Star Bake the previous Thursday evening, it looked better with the late morning sunshine on it. That was the perfect excuse to take extra pictures of it and have a few more shots taken of me with it. Since noon was now fast approaching, now was a convenient time to look for some lunch. I ended up having sausage and chips at The Bristol Fryer in Gloucester Road. After lunch there was one more Farmyard Flock Shaun at Horfield Common. Sparkles the Unicorn was outside the bowling and sports club there. Unsurprisingly this featured a horn on its head, as well as a stripy body. This was my third "first time" Shaun of the day. Having now completed the Farmyard Flock, I walked along Kellaway Avenue and Coldharbour Road to the start of the Downs Trail. All 7 sheep on this trail were first-time sightings for me, and I saw them in descending order of the numbers on the map. Of this lot, the first one was "Groovy Baby!" in Coldharbour Road. The next one was The Tale of Peter Rabbit in Henleaze, unsurprisingly painted to look like the Beatrix Potter character Peter Rabbit. After a much-needed coffee at Parsons Bakers, I walked to Westbury-on-Trym, where Bristol Beauty stood outside CJ Hole estate agents. This one was covered in names of places around Bristol. After a short hop on the 15:23 bus from Westbury Village to Henleaze Gardens, the next sculpture was Bumble on The Downs (near Henleaze Road). Next I had a spot of bother finding my way to Bristol University Botanical Gardens where Shaun of the Jungle was on display. As its name suggests, its artwork featured animals and birds found in jungles. Thankfully I had no problem finding my way around the rest of this trail. Next up was Ram-ble on The Downs near the water tower. The last Shaun on this trail was Tutti Frutti outside Kitchens Cookshop in Whiteladies Road. As its name suggests it featured an assortment of fruits. In my opinion this is one of the better designs of all the Bristol Shauns. It was now time to call it a day for finding Shauns I'd not previously seen, and head home. Having caught the 17:43 number 2 bus from Apsley Road stop in Whiteladies Road to The Centre, there was time for me to have my picture taken beside BAA-WULF (outside the Hippodrome) and Beach Boy (Cascade Steps), both of which I'd seen previously, before catching the 18:09 X39 bus to Bath Bus Station. Altogether another great Shaun hunting trip, in which I saw 10 more Shaun sculptures for the first time and revisited 4 Shauns I'd previously seen.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: Completing the Trail - Friday 31 July
One day Shaun the Sheep after another! My fifth Shaun the Sheep hunting trip around Bristol happened the day after the preceding one. After another early rise the day began by catching the 7:50 X39 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol. Temple Meads bus stop, outside The Reckless Engineer, was a convenient place to transfer to the 8:40 number 8 bus to Clifton Christchurch. Having finally reached Clifton Christchurch at 9:09 I began the Brunel Trail, in descending order of the numbers on the map. First on the trail was Bloomin' Gorge-ous outside Christchurch Clifton; it's a pity it was in the shade at the time. The next sculpture was The Shear Speed Helter Skelter in The Mall Gardens, Clifton, which thankfully was in the sun. As its name suggests this had a tower atop its head like a helter skelter tower, complete with a slide spiralling downwards outside the tower followed by down the sheep's back. Wish Ewe Were Here at Avon Gorge Hotel, "Baa-lloon!" at Sion Hill (near Clifton end of the suspension bridge) and A Sheep's Eye View outside Clifton Observatory were the next three sculptures on the Brunel Trail. The time was now around 11:15, which was undeniably a bit early for lunch, but due to my planned route the next couple of hours, now seemed a good time to get something to eat in Clifton. I had a pasty of the day and coffee at Parsons Bakers, Princess Victoria Street. Immediately afterwards I returned to Bloomin' Gorgeous to take extra shots now that the sun was on it. Next I crossed Clifton Suspension Bridge and saw Isambaaard on Leigh Woods side. Unsurprisingly this resembled the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, complete with a top hat. From there top entrance to Ashton Court was about 15 minutes' walk away. Having eventually got there, the next sculpture was Flora located by the golf course café. This was decorated with images of wild flowers, each one labelled. Now was a convenient time to enjoy a much-needed Americano at that café. The final Shaun on the Brunel Trail was located at Ashton Court mansion courtyard. The recommended route, via the road running through the estate, would have been a fairly lengthy walk. Thankfully there was a quicker route through the woods. Buttercup, which resembled a cow, was outside the mansion. That marked the end of Brunel Trail. The map stated one should be able to complete this trail in 2 hours, but it had taken me considerably longer than that. At this point I left the estate and walked to Ashton Gate Stadium to begin the Southbank Trail in ascending order. Standing at the Ashton Road stadium entrance (opposite Greville Smyth Park) was Championsheep, whose décor includes a football, a basketball and a race track. From there I walked across Greville Smyth Park to Riverside Garden Centre where Posy was on display. As its name suggests, this was decorated with images of flowers, though the flowers looked a bit stylised on this one. This was also a convenient opportunity to enjoy a much-needed large mug of tea and slice of carrot cake at their café. Having walked across Greville Smyth Park again the next Shaun was Jasmine in North Street, followed by Shear-lock Holmes in Bristol South Swimming Pool reception. As expected, Shear-lock Holmes resembles Sherlock Holmes. After that the next problem was finding my way to Victoria Park, but having eventually got there, it didn't take me long to find Shaunus Romanus. As expected, this resembles a Roman soldier. That marked the end of the Southbank Trail, but there was still ample time to walk via Redcatch Road to Broadwalk Shopping Centre where Frank was on display. This sculpture, designed by the Royal Mail, was covered in stamps, and was the last remaining sculpture on the Sheep Drive which I hadn't already seen on my previous two Shaun hunting trips. Seeing this gave me the excitement and satisfaction of having completed the Shaun in the City Bristol Trail. After leaving Broadwalk Shopping Centre I enjoyed takeaway sausage and chips from Mr. Crispins Fish and Chips Knowle, outside in the evening sunshine. All that remained was to catch the the 19:08 bus from Knowle to Temple Meads followed by the 19:38 X39 bus from Temple Meads to Bath Bus Station. Back at Bath Bus Station, walking home was a rather hard slog after so much walking around Bristol! Altogether a grand day out Shaun the Sheep hunting. Best of all it was a dry, hot sunny day; one of very few days with continuous sunshine dawn to dusk during July 2015. It was really satisfying to have seen all 70 Shauns in just five visits to Bristol during July.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: The Central Marathon - Tuesday 11 August
Having seen all 70 Shaun the Sheep sculptures around Bristol in five trips during July, my desire was to revisit them during August, and be photographed beside them again. Having caught the 09:28 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads, I began by seeing The Bristol Express, "Alright Me Babber?", Great West Shaun, Rosie, "Bingo!" and Sheepish on the Temple Trail. I left the Temple Trail after seeing Sheepish as this was a convenient point to feed into the Old City Trail, starting with Honey at St Stephen's Church yard, followed by Woolly Wonderland (St Nicholas Market) and Knitwit (near St Peter's Church in Castle Park). The next sculpture was Cecilia on the ground floor of The Galleries Shopping Centre. This was also a convenient time to have a takeaway baguette from Greggs Bakers. Having left The Galleries the next sculpture was Lily on the corner of Lower Castle Street and Broadweir, followed by Bagpuss Shaun (Cabot Circus). Having treated myself to a small Americano and Salted Caramel Cheesecake doughnut at Krispy Kreme, Cabot Circus, the remaining sculptures on the Old City Trail were Please Stand By (Broadmead Podium), Shaun on the Cob (outside Marks & Spencer Broadmead entrance), Lamb Chop (Bristol Bus Station) and Maisy and Friends (outside Children's Hospital). From the Children's Hospital I walked up the hill to the City Museum, to begin the Heritage Trail. Arabian Lights and Baaack to the Drawing Board were on display in the Museum. Afterwards I saw the rest of the Shauns on the Heritage Trail: Thunderbirds Are Go, Rex, Flock 'n Roll, From Dusk 'til Shaun, King Arthur of Lambelot & Excalibaaar, BAA-WULF. It was now just after 17:00, but there was still plenty of time for me to see all 12 Shauns on the Harbourside Trail: Beach Boy, Green Poems for a Blue Planet, Life Aquatic, Dolly, Air Fleece, On the Waterfront, Jarsberry Ram, Sgt. Shepherd, Lotus, The Pirate Captain, Bahhbersheep, Shaun Bean. It took me about 2 hours and 20 minutes later, which was fairly close to the 2 hours the map recommended to allow for that trail, and considerably quicker than the 5½ hours to do this trail on 15 July. Finally I saw the remaining Temple Trail Shauns I missed earlier: Justice Lamb and King of the Carnival (both in Queen Square) and Willow (outside St Mary Redcliffe Church). Back at Temple Meads I saw The Bristol Express and "Alright Me Babber?" again before catching the 20:06 train back to Bath. Altogether great "marathon run" of Shaun the Sheep hunting, in which I revisited the 39 Shaun sculptures I first saw on 15 and 17 July. It was good seeing all those Shauns again, and having my picture taken by them again, this time wearing my white London 2012, red Team GB and navy London 2012 T-shirts at different times of the day. However it was considerably busier this time. The quietest time was after 18:00, presumably by then most Shaun hunters had called it a day. Best of all it was dry all day, and mostly sunny after 14:00.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: Another Central Marathon - Tuesday 18 August
Another trip to Bristol to see the same 39 Shaun the Sheep sculptures on the Temple Trail, Old City Trail, Heritage Trail and Harbourside Trail as exactly one week earlier. This time I was determined to start earlier in the morning, and caught the 08:06 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads, even though it meant paying a little more for a train ticket during the morning peak period. Just like the previous Tuesday, I began by seeing The Bristol Express, Alright Me Babber?, Great West Shaun, Rosie, "Bingo!" and Sheepish on the Temple Trail. Having reached Victoria Street I left the Temple Trail to begin the Old City Trail. My initial plan was to go to Castle Park next, but since the time was now around 9:15, now seemed a good time to start with Honey at St Stephen's Church yard. Unfortunately the church yard gates were still locked, and thus it was necessary to skip that for the time being. Thankfully St Nicholas Market foyer was open so I was able to see and photograph Woolly Wonderland. The next sculpture was Knitwit (near St Peter's Church in Castle Park). Thereafter I continued with the Old City Trail in a slightly different order to the previous Tuesday. The next sculpture I saw was Lily on the corner of Lower Castle Street and Broadweir, followed by Bagpuss Shaun in Cabot Circus. The area around Bagpuss Shaun was really quiet because I got there about 10 minutes before the shops in Cabot Circus opened at 10:00. Unfortunately in nearby Broadmead, where shops had been open since 9:00, Please Stand By (Broadmead Podium) and Shaun on the Cob (outside Marks & Spencer Broadmead entrance) were considerably busier. I was surprised how busy it was around Shaun on the Cob as it was only 10:15 when I got there. Cecilia on the ground floor of The Galleries Shopping Centre was next. Whilst there I also had a much-needed all-day breakfast in the Galleries Food Court. Having left The Galleries the next two sculptures on the Old City Trail were Lamb Chop (Bristol Bus Station) followed by Maisy and Friends (outside Children's Hospital). From the Children's Hospital I walked up the hill to the City Museum, to begin the Heritage Trail. Arabian Lights and Baaack to the Drawing Board were on display in the Museum. However this time it took me longer than expected there, partly due to the time taken to get all my required photos and also, for the first time, seeing Baaack to the Drawing Board from the first floor balcony. Afterwards I saw the rest of the Shauns on the Heritage Trail: Thunderbirds Are Go, Rex, Flock 'n Roll, From Dusk 'til Shaun, King Arthur of Lambelot & Excalibaaar, BAA-WULF. Back in the city centre my next stop was St Stephen's Church yard to see Honey which I missed earlier; thankfully the yard was now open. After a much-needed coffee and cookie at Subway Broad Quay, I saw all 12 Shauns on the Harbourside Trail: Beach Boy, Green Poems for a Blue Planet, Life Aquatic, Dolly, Air Fleece, On the Waterfront, Jarsberry Ram, Sgt. Shepherd, Lotus, The Pirate Captain, Bahhbersheep, Shaun Bean. Having completed that trail, I saw the remaining Temple Trail Shauns I missed earlier: Justice Lamb and King of the Carnival (both in Queen Square) and Willow (outside St Mary Redcliffe Church). Back at Temple Meads I saw "Alright Me Babber?" and The Bristol Express again before catching the 20:06 train back to Bath. Altogether great "marathon run" of Shaun the Sheep hunting, in which I revisited the 39 Shaun sculptures I first saw on 15 and 17 July, and had most recently Tuesday 11 August. It was good seeing each of those Shauns for at least the third time, and being photographed beside them again, this time wearing my FIFA World Cup 2014 logo T-shirt, FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil T-shirt and FIFA World Cup 2014 England T-shirt different times of the day. Surprisingly, despite starting over an hour earlier than Tuesday 11 August, and revisiting the same number of Shauns (albeit in a slightly different order), I still ended up leaving Bristol at the same time in the evening as Tuesday 11 August. In particular, despite starting the Harbourside Trail nearly an hour earlier this time, I reached Shaun Bean, and hence completed that trail, approximately the same time as Tuesday 11 August. Best of all it was dry and mostly sunny all day.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: Sheep Drive and Farmyard Flock - Thursday 27 August
Another trip to Bristol to revisit and be photographed again with as many Shaun the Sheep sculptures as possible in one day, this time mainly on the Sheep Drive and Farmyard Flock trails. The day began when aboard the 7:20 number 319 bus from Bath Bus Station to Warmley, St Ivel Way. Once there it was just a short walk to Warmley station on the Bristol and Bath Railway Path where Buddleia, part of the Sheep Drive, was on display. Having continued aboard the 8:22 number 319 bus Warmley, Station Road to Staple Hill, the next stop was Fountain Square. Melonie, designed to resemble a water melon, was on display there. Now was also a convenient moment to enjoy a much-needed coffee at Blue Sky Café Staple Hill. The next Shaun on the Sheep Drive, number 5 Two Hoots, was slightly trickier to get to from Staple Hill. This journey was achieved by catching the 9:27 number 49 bus from Staple Hill to Fishponds, Cross Hands, followed by the 9:42 number 5 bus to River View, which is close to Snuff Mills Park entrance. Having reached Snuff Mills Park, it did not take me long to find Two Hoots, whose design resembled an owl. Due to its location its plinth was quite mucky. Having left Snuff Mills Park I caught the 10:27 number 5 bus from River View to St Werburghs and walked to nearby St Werburghs City Farm to begin the Farmyard Flock trail. First on this trail was Primrose at St Werburghs City Farm. After walking up a very steep footpath followed by a series of streets, the next sculpture was Star Bake outside Boston Tea Party in Gloucester Road. Suddenly the sky went dark and there was a really heavy downpour, so this was the perfect time to go to The Bristol Fryer further up Gloucester Road, and have sausage and chips for lunch. After leaving The Bristol Fryer, the rain had stopped. The next stop was Horfield Common to see Sparkles the Unicorn by the bowling green, the final Shaun on the Farmyard Flock trail. The sun reappeared during this time. Back in Gloucester Road I caught the 13:47 number 73 bus to Bristol Parkway. Twenty minutes later I got to Bristol Parkway to resume the Sheep Drive. There stood Starstruck in the paved area outside the station concourse. Having caught the 14:31 number 319 bus from Bristol Parkway to Cribbs Causeway Bus Station, the next stop was The Mall, to see the three Shauns located there. I saw Bee-dazzled! near the Food Court on the upper level, Shrek Shaun in the Shaun in the City shop and Fab-ewe-lous outside the central entrance at the front of The Mall. That order was deliberately chosen as they were numbered 3, 2 and 1 respectively on the map. The Shaun in the City Schools Exhibition was still at the back of the Shaun in the City shop. I spotted a few mini Shaun sculptures which I don't recall seeing on 23 July. Presumably those were a few late additions. After all that, there was still time to enjoy a much-needed Strawberries and Kreme doughnut and small Americano at Krispy Kreme on the upper level of The Mall before catching the 17:10 X7 Severn Express bus from Cribbs Causeway Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station. This was the quickest way back to the centre of Bristol, largely because this bus ran via the M32 motorway for part of its journey. Having got to Bristol Bus Station time allowed to see Lamb Chop, just outside the concourse, followed by Please Stand By and Shaun on the Cob in nearby Broadmead, before catching the 18:35 number 51 First West of England bus from The Horsefair to Knowle, Greenmore Road. The final stop was Broadwalk Shopping Centre to see Frank, number 8 on the Sheep Drive. Seeing this gave me the satisfaction of having seen all eight Sheep Drive sculptures in one day, which was an excellent achievement for someone relying on buses to follow this trail. All that remained was to catch the 19:19 number 2 bus from Knowle, to Hilgrove Street, followed by the 19:44 X39 bus from Totterdown Bridge to Bath. Altogether another grand day out revisiting all eight Sheep Drive sculptures, all three Farmyard Flock sculptures, plus three others, this time wearing my RCCGB 25th anniversary T-shirt throughout the day. It's a pity about the heavy shower just after midday, but thankfully that was the only outbreak of rain all day. Apart from that one brief downpour it was dry and sunny all day.
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Bristol Shaun Hunting: The Last Lap - Friday 28 August
Another Shaun the Sheep hunting trip just one day after my previous trip; this time to do the Downs Trail, Brunel Trail and Southbank Trail. Just like the previous day, this trip involved more roaming around on First West of England buses, and a great deal of walking. The adventure began by catching the 7:39 number X39 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol. Having left the bus in Victoria Street at 8:38, Castle Park was just a short walk away, for a few pictures me beside Knitwit. Next I revisited Shaun on the Cob and Please Stand By in Broadmead, followed by Cecilia in The Galleries. It was a pleasure to photograph all around them with very few other people in their immediate vicinity (unlike previous trips). The next stop was Café Mocha for a cooked breakfast before catching the 9:40 number 2 bus from Rupert Street to Northumbria Drive in Henleaze. Having got there just over 20 minutes later it was just a short walk to Coldharbour Road. There "Groovy Baby!", the highest numbered Shaun on the Downs Trail, was on display. The next sculpture on this trail was The Tale of Peter Rabbit outside Goodman & Lilley. As its name suggests, this looks exactly like Peter Rabbit from the Beatrix Potter story. After a much-needed coffee at Parsons Bakers, Henleaze, I walked to Westbury-on-Trym and Bristol Beauty outside CJ Hole. Having caught the 11:56 number 1 bus from Westbury Village to Henleaze Gardens, the next Downs Trail sculpture was Bumble at the northern limit of The Downs. Annoyingly the sky clouded over shortly after this, and it started to rain whilst walking to Bristol University Botanical Gardens. Having got there I wasn't the only Shaun hunter admiring Shaun of the Jungle in the rain. Thankfully the rain stopped whilst I was there. Having eventually left the Botanical Gardens, the next sculpture, near the water tower on The Downs, was Ram-ble, and thankfully the sun was now shining brightly again. From there it was just a short walk to Kitchens Cookshop in Whiteladies road, where Tutti Frutti, decorated with images of fruits, stood outside. Reaching this point marked the end of the Downs Trai. From Whiteladies Road I caught the 13:53 number 9 bus from Clifton Down South to Clifton, Christ Church. My initial plan to get a coffee and cake somewhere in Clifton, and eventually not bothering turned out to be a time consuming mistake. Consequently it took me until around 14:30 to begin the Brunel Trail, starting with Bloomin' Gorge-ous on Christ Church Green. Next I saw The Shear Speed Helter Skelter in The Mall Gardens, followed by Wish Ewe Were Here in the back yard of Avon Gorge Hotel. Although it was now raining again, had a few shots taken of me beside Wish Ewe Were Here in the rain. Thankfully the rain stopped by the time I got to "Baa-lloon!" at nearby Sion Hill shortly afterwards. The next sculpture was A Sheep's Eye View outside Clifton Observatory, followed by Isambaaard on Leigh Woods side of Clifton Suspension Bridge. From there I walked to Ashton Court. I entered through the entrance at the top of the hill and saw Flora outside the golf course café. Thankfully the sun was now shining brightly again. After a much-needed coffee and slice of cheesecake at the golf course café followed by a walk through the woodland, the final sculpture on the Brunel Trail was Buttercup in the mansion courtyard. This sculpture resembled a cow. After that, it was time to walk to Ashton Gate Stadium to begin the Southbank Trail. However Championsheep had been moved from where he was on 31 July. Eventually I found him outside the new stadium shop. After that I walked across Greville Smyth Park as quickly as possible, hoping to get to Riverside Garden Centre before closing time. Thankfully there was still ample time to see and photograph Posy having got there. After walking back through Greville Smyth Park, the next sculpture was Jasmine in North Street. After a short hop on the number 24 bus from Greenway Bush Lane to Dean Street, the next stop was Bristol South Swimming Pool reception to see Shear-lock Holmes before closing time. The sky was really dark after leaving the swimming pool, and unsurprisingly there was another outbreak of rain whilst walking Victoria Park. Having got to where Shaunus Romanus was located within Victoria Park, it was still raining. Fortuantely the rain stopped and eventually the sun poked out again whilst I was there. It was definitely worth hanging on for about 20 minutes having multiple attempts at getting pictures taken of me with Shaunus Romanus as the weather improved. From Victoria Park I walked to Broadwalk Shopping Centre, to see Frank (covered in Royal Mail stamps and part of the Sheep Drive). Afterwards Mr. Crispins Fish and Chips, across the road, was the perfect place to get much-needed takeaway sausages and chips. Having caught the 19:37 number 51 bus from Knowle, Greenmore Road to Temple Meads, there was still time to be photographed beside "Alright Me Babber?" and The Bristol Express at the front of Temple Meads railway station before returning to bus stop for the 19:55 number X39 bus to Bath Bus Station. Altogether another grand day out revisiting Shaun sculptures I had each seen at least once before. It was great seeing all seven Downs Trail sculptures, all eight Brunel Trail sculptures and all five Southbank Trail sculptures again. In fact it was an amazing achievement to complete all three of those trails in one day considering the walking involved. Funnily enough, I did the Downs Trail and Brunel Trail in descending order of sculpture numbers, and the Southbank Trail in ascending order. I also managed to revisit seven sculptures on three other trails. This was my final time of seeing the Shaun the Sheep sculptures at their trail positions. The biggest let-down was the weather, although it was dry and sunny from first thing to around midday, after midday the sunshine was intermittent, interspersed with three unwanted (albeit brief) outbreaks of rain. At least it didn't rain all afternoon and evening.
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Bristol: Staple Hill, Eastville and Brandon Hill - Friday 11 September
The Shaun the Sheep sculptures around Bristol had all been collected up by the first weekend in September. The feeling of already missing Shaun hunting inspired me to visit some Bristol parks, in order to photograph the scenery and have pictures taken of me there. The day began aboard the number 319 bus from Bath Bus Station to Staple Hill. Having got there at 10:35, I fancied a coffee somewhere, but upon reaching Blue Sky Café in Fountain Square ended up having an all-day breakfast special. Afterwards I explored Page Park, including its Sensory Garden, for about an hour. Having caught the 12:42 from Park Road Staple Hill to Emersons Green, the next stop was the green space behind Emersons Green Library, which was also worth a walk around for about 40 minutes. After that my next bus journey was the 14:17 from Emersons Green to Eastville Park. Eastville Park is enormous, and includes a large lake. In approximately 1¼ hours I walked all around the lake, and around the rest of Eastville Park. Having left Eastville Park, I caught the 16:27 bus to Cabot Circus, whereupon I enjoyed a much-needed Lemon Meringue doughnut and small Americano coffee at Krispy Kreme. After that there was still time for me to explore Brandon Hill, including up and down Cabot Tower before it closed. It seemed strange seeing the spot where the Shaun sculpture From Dusk 'Til Shaun stood during July and August. The day drew to a close when, back in the city centre, I caught the 19:04 bus to Bath. Altogether a great day out in September. If nothing else something to do after all the Shaun the Sheep sculptures had disappeared. Best of all it was sunny during the morning and the early part of the afternoon. It's a pity the sky clouded over mid-afternoon and it remained cloudy thereafter, but at least it was dry all day. Likely to get lost and forgotten among all the Shaun the Sheep hunting trips in Best Non-Thrill Outing.
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The Great Sheep Round Up - Thursday 17 September
After the display of 50 Shaun the Sheep sculptures around London in the spring, and a separate batch of 70 sculptures around Bristol during July and August, an exhibition of all 120 sculptures, plus a few extra, was held in a marquee at Cribbs Causeway from 12 to 20 September. Visitors wishing to see The Great Sheep Round Up had to book online in advance for a specific 90 minute session on a particular day. Having already enjoyed one trip to London to see 36 out of 50 Shaun the Sheep sculptures one day in May, five trips to Bristol in July to see all 70 Shaun the Sheep sculptures there, and a further four trips to Bristol in August to see all 70 sculptures there again, I was determined to go to the exhibition at Cribbs Causeway. Whilst booking, the 14:15 session on Thursday 17 September suited me best for various reasons. On the day, having caught the 11:10 bus from Bath Bus Station to Cribbs Causeway Bus Station, there was just enough time for me to have a light lunch at ASDA Cribbs Causeway before walking across to the marquee outside The Mall in time for the 14:15 session. A Shaun the Sheep sculpture was displayed outside the marquee, which anyone not attending the exhibition could see. This was a simple design; white body, black face and legs. Just before 14:15 staff began checking tickets. The procedure was quick and simple; each visitor's ticket was scanned and that visitor proceeded to the entrance. Once inside all the Shaun sculptures were arranged in themed groups, e.g. Gardeners' Corner, All Aboard!, Bristol Breeds, Sheep of the World, Fun & Games, All Creatures Great & Small. Just about every group contained a mixture of London Shauns and Bristol Shauns. Gardeners' Corner was nearest the entrance; therefore it made sense to start with this group, which included Primrose, Buddleia and Posy. Around the exhibition I recognised the 70 Bristol Shauns and many of the 36 out of 50 London Shauns I saw on my visit to London in May. However several Shaun sculptures were unfamiliar to me, including Shaun-xiào, Liberty Bell, Kanzashi and Shanghai Shaun; those must have been the 14 Shauns I didn't have time to see on my day trip to London. Unfortunately my desire to photograph, and be photographed by each sculpture before moving to the next, and wanting to have a good look at each one, meant I spent far too long on each sculpture early on. About mid-way through the session I'd seen considerably fewer than half the sculptures and felt a need to speed up. Suddenly there were just 15 minutes left and still a lot for me to see; thus it became necessary for me to hurry around the last few groups. At 15:45 the session was over and it was time for me and everyone else in this session to leave. Altogether a well-organised exhibition. It was great seeing all the Bristol Shauns again (each of which I'd seen on at least one day in July and one day in August), the London Shauns which I saw in May again, and the 14 London Shauns I didn't have time to see that day for the first time ever. It's a pity visitors were limited to 90 minutes; I left wishing the session was two hours long. Nonetheless, dividing each day into timed sessions, requiring visitors to book a session in advance, and limiting each session to a maximum of 400 visitors was much better than the "turn up, stand in line and stay as long as you want" method used for "The Greatest Dog Show on Earth" Gromit exhibition in September 2013.
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Best Show
This group includes cinema films (of which there are three here) and TV shows such as Red Nose Day and the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Tuesday 6 January
The final instalment of The Hobbit. Although I saw the 3D versions of part 1 in January 2013 and part 2 in January 2014, for various reasons I saw the 2D version of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies at the ODEON in Bath. On arrival I treated myself to a 2-scoop Ben & Jerry's ice cream: Strawberry Cheesecake and Cherry Garcia to eat while the ads and trailers were on. The film itself began with the killing of a dragon during the first few minutes. However that was only the first challenge for Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and the others. Several battles followed as the film progressed. There were some amazing special effects such as bridges across wide gaps collapsing. The battles and collapsing bridges all created challenges and difficulties for Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and the others in their efforts to get home. On the whole, a gripping film, though the plot seemed somewhat involved. Middle of the road at best in Best Show.
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Red Nose Day - Friday 13 March
"Face the Funny" Another odd-numbered year meant one Friday in March was designated Red Nose Day. Once again Red Nose Day T-shirts were available, in various designs, at TK Maxx. Thankfully this time one of the designs actually took my liking and I bought myself one to wear on the day. Fundraising events took place around the UK, including a cake sale at the Percy Community Centre, Bath; I went to that cake sale and bought myself a cake lunchtime. Late afternoon I greatly enjoyed walking around Bath city centre having pictures taken of me wearing my Red Nose Day 2015 T-shirt, red sports shorts (over my jogging bottoms) and several different red coats. Of course the main event was the evening TV show, which initially ran from 19:00 to 22:00 on BBC1. This was followed by the fill-in show The Great Comic Relief Bake-Off on BBC2 from 22:00 to 22:40 whilst BBC1 showed the news. After 22:40 coverage was back on BBC1 until the final end-of-evening total £78,082,988 was announced around 01:10 Saturday morning. That was to all intents and purposes the end of the evening; the final hour of TV coverage which followed was "The Making of Comic Relief", presented by Greg James, showing how the sketches were made. My live viewing was until around 0:25, with the rest on video Saturday morning starting from Doc Brown's stage act. The evening consisted mostly of comedy sketches and features, but to me these were generally downright dull and/or downright silly. One sketch, shown early in the evening, was Mr. Bean at the funeral. I was appalled and disgusted at the way Mr. Bean knocked on the coffin and caused it to fall off the trestle. That's no way to behave at a funeral. Even if it was only acting, and an empty coffin with no dead body in it, it's still diabolical and sickening how they could make humour out of such a sad occasion. A special episode of The Vicar of Dibley had a lady becoming a woman bishop, which wasn't particularly exciting. Worse still was an episode of Little Britain, during which a sign said something like "Keep off the grass". Why then did the robot and other bloke go across it? The rest of that sketch was also unexciting. During the James Bond sketch it was claimed that, when Casino Royale was filmed in 2006, Daniel Craig had a child-like voice which had to be dubbed over with an adult voice. Come off it, Daniel Craig couldn't possibly have had a child-like voice in 2006. That must have been a wind-up, with synthesised words dubbed over his real adult male voice. There were also two instalments of National Treasures during the evening, but I didn't find them all that entertaining. After midnight two men each tried to drink a pint of beer in one minute, with Gangnam Style playing in the background. I thought that was a rather silly challenge. They were trying to drink the beer so quickly some of it ran down their chins and on to the floor. One man laughed at one point causing him to lose some beer from his mouth. There should have been a condition that, for the challenge to be valid, all the beer must go down their throats, and any misdirected drink down their chins would result in disqualification. I bet neither of them enjoyed a single drop of their beer; they were forcing it down as quickly as possible. Of the post-midnight coverage I watched Saturday morning, I thought Trevor Noah's act was perhaps the best; put it this way I thought he was better than Doc Brown. Once again songs were few and far between, nowhere near enough of them for my liking. Apart from the official Comic Relief 2015 single "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith featuring John Legend, there were very few pop songs. It would have been better if they had dropped the Mr. Bean, Vicar of Dibley, Little Britain, James Bond and National Treasures sketches and put more pop acts in their places. The best bits had to be when they showed how much Sainsbury's, TK Maxx, Ryman, Toyota etc. raised through the sales of RND 2015 merchandise. Of course, being a telethon, the evening was interspersed with appeal films, though most of these got shown more than once. Being a long show of several hours, the presenters changed from time to time. Lenny Henry, Davina McCall, David Walliams, John Bishop, Sarah Millican, Claudia Winkleman and Russell Brand all took their turns at presenting. Well done to all who helped raise the £78,082,988 end-of-evening total. Altogether a downright disappointing evening of TV viewing. Let's hope they can produce a better show in 2017. Based solely on the evening show, this would be a definite nul pointer, but if my fun gained from going around Bath during the afternoon wearing various red garments is factored in, this could well get the sympathy vote.
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Shaun the Sheep - Sunday 26 April
An animation film featuring Shaun the Sheep. Although its main run was in February 2015, with multiple showings per day, it had single showings on Saturdays and Sundays under the ODEON Kids strand during April. I was in two minds about seeing it back in February, but for various reasons didn't bother, so I ended up going the 10:30 showing this morning. My first surprise was being placed in a Premier seat at no extra charge. A member of staff later stated that all seats, including Premier seats, are the same price for ODEON Kids showings. Anyway it was my first time of sitting in a Premier seat, an unexpected bonus. The film itself was quite good. It's clever how they did the animation of Shaun the sheep, the other sheep, the farmer etc. Early on the sheep locked the farmer in a caravan, and the sheep and other farm animals occupied the farm house. Shortly afterwards the caravan was let loose and free wheeled into the city where it crashed and the farmer was admitted to hospital. Shaun and the rest of the sheep caught buses into the city in search of the farmer. All sorts of mayhem followed, during the rest of the film, thereby raising doubts as to whether or not the farmer and/or sheep would ever return home. Finally it was definitely worth staying until the end of the closing credits as there were surprises among them. Altogether a good film, undeniably a kids' film, but very well made anyway. One of the better events in Best Show but unlikely to win.
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Eurovision Song Contest - Tuesday 19 May to Saturday 23 May
"Building Bridges" The 60th Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria, with two semi-finals in the week and the final Saturday night. 40 countries took part, of whom the Big Five (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy), plus the host country Austria, qualified directly to the final. An unexpected debut country was Australia, which at the time was intended as a special guest country to mark the 60th Contest. Australia was also guaranteed a place in the final. All other countries had to participate in a semi-final to win a place in the final. UK coverage of both semi-finals was on BBC Three. The ten semi-final 1 qualifiers were: Albania, Armenia, Russia, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Estonia, Georgia, Serbia, Belgium; whereas the ten lucky ones from semi-final 2 were: Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Norway, Montenegro, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Israel. One again my surprises and disappointments were aplenty when the qualifiers of both semi-finals were announced. Tuesday evening I was pleased to see Greece, Estonia and Russia qualify, as they were among the best songs in the first semi-final. However that night I was disappointed Denmark failed to qualify, and appalled that Georgia and Belgium qualified. Thankfully Finland's "Aina Mun Pitää" failed to qualify, in my opinion it was the worst of all 40 entries. Thursday evening I was glad to see Montenegro, Cyprus, Lithuania and Sweden qualify as they were among my most-liked songs of the second semi-final. On the other hand I was appalled Latvia qualified as their entry seemed the worst song of the second semi-final. Never mind that they hadn't qualified in six consecutive years from 2009 to 2014 inclusive; they could have come back in 2016 with a song worthy of a place in the final. Ireland, San Marino, or Switzerland, all of which had better songs than Latvia, deserved the place Latvia took. Of course the highlight was the Grand Final Saturday evening, in which there were 27 finalists. Slovenia began the competition with "Here For You" sung by Maraaya. It finished 14th with 39 points; which was about as much as this middle-of-the-the road entry deserved. There were varied results from the Big Five. Best of all was Italy's "Grande Amore" sung by Il Volo. This entry, which was performed last, finished third with 292 points; I thought this masterpiece should have won, as to me it sounded better than Sweden's entry. Lisa Angell's "N'oubliez Pas", representing France, started as a beautiful ballad, and became more powerful about two thirds of the way through. It was a good song, very well sung, though the powerful section was perhaps, a bit too overpowering; it deserved considerably higher than 25th place and 4 points. The UK's electro swing song "Still In Love With You" by Electro Velvet was, in my opinion, rather disappointing. It's hardly surprising it finished 24th with 5 points. Spain's "Amanecer" performed by Edurne was a power ballad which included a dance routine and arm movements. This deserved better than 21st with 15 points; it was good enough for a top 15 place. The lowest placed of the Big Five was Ann Sophie's "Black Smoke", which represented Germany; it finished bottom with nul points. Host country Austria, whose song was "I Am Yours" by The Makemakes, also finished with nul points, but thanks to the tie-breaker rule, was placed second-from-last. It seems odd that two countries which finished with no points at all could be separated under a tie-breaker rule, but Austria were favoured as they performed before Germany. Anyway this was the first time a country had finished on nul points in a Saturday evening Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final since 2003, and the first time two countries had finished with nul points since 1997. Some other songs also deserve a mention. Estonia's "Goodbye To Yesterday" sung by Elina Born & Stig Rästa was one of the best ballads of the night; it deserved slightly higher than 7th place and 106 points. "One Thing I Should Have Done" sung by John Karayiannis for Cyprus was a simple ballad with a catchy chorus and very well sung; it deserved much higher than 22nd place and 11 points. Special guests Australia had an up-beat pop song "Tonight Again" sung by Guy Sebastian. It finished a well-deserved 5th place with 196 points, which was good for a first attempt at Eurovision. Montenegro's "Adio" sung by Knez was a beautiful ballad which deserved much higher than 13th place and 44 points. Russia's "A Million Voices" sung by Polina Gagarina was a beautiful ballad with a really powerful, catchy chorus, and one of the best songs in the final. It definitely deserved its second place with 303 points. In my opinion, this was better than Sweden's song. All 40 countries, including those which failed, to qualify, voted in the final and, as always, there were some interesting voting patterns among certain groups of countries. Perhaps the biggest shock was when Greece gave just 10 points to Cyprus, and Cyprus gave just 8 points to Greece. This breaks their tradition of automatically giving each other 12 points. Interestingly Greece and Cyprus both gave 12 points to Italy. The winner was "Heroes", sung by Måns Zelmerlöw for Sweden. It was an upbeat song with a wild west beat and a really catchy chorus, accompanied by animated line drawings. It's hardly surprising this outstanding and memorable performance won with 365 points. This was Sweden's sixth win to-date, and their shortest gap between wins of just three years (2012 to 2015). Altogether three excellent evenings of entertainment, well done to all the 40 countries which took part, including those which failed to reach the final. Can SVT do as well or better in 2016? Time will tell. Strongly tipped to win Best Show.
More about this event available here:
First semi-final Second semi-final Grand Final
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BBC Children in Need - Friday 13 November
The annual BBC Children In Need 2014 telethon took place on Friday 13 November, and continued into the small hours of Saturday. Once again I watched the show live Friday evening until just after midnight, and the rest on video next morning. The show was presented by Dermot O'Leary with Tess Daly, Fearne Cotton, Rochelle Humes and Nick Grimshaw. What an amazing evening of entertainment it was. One of the best bits of Friday evening was when children's choirs around the country simultaneously sang 'The Climb' at various UK locations. The official Children In Need single, was "Take Me Home", performed live during the evening by Jess Glynne. Other pop acts included Rod Stewart "Way Back Home", Peter Andre "Come Fly With Me", Selena Gomez "Same Old Love" and Anastacia "Left Outside Alone". As usual the cast of EastEnders got involved during the evening, this time performing "Top Hat". As usual the songs and sketches were interspersed with appeal films, some of which were shown more than once. There were also a few regional splits during the early part of the evening. The end-of-night total was £37,100,687, which was an increase on the end-of-night total in 2014. Amazing! Well done to all who helped raise that colossal amount. Nonetheless this is one of the weaker Best Show contenders.
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Junior Eurovision Song Contest - Saturday 21 November
"#discover" The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 came from Arena Armeec, Sofia, Bulgaria this evening. 17 countries took part. The 17 participating countries in order of performance were: Serbia, Georgia, Slovenia, Italy, The Netherlands, Australia, Ireland, Russia, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Belarus, Armenia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, San Marino, Malta, Albania, Montenegro. Among these, Australia and Ireland were taking part for the first time. It may seem odd that Australia were entering the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, but considering they appeared as a guest participant in the adult Eurovision Song Contest earlier in the year, it's hardly surprising. Sadly the UK didn't take part for the 10th year running and consequently it wasn't on any British TV channels. A live web cast was available on on the Junior Eurovision website, and I watched that. Unfortunately that had sound problems at the start; you could hear the commentators' voices but very muffled songs through their microphones up until when the problem was fixed part way through song 6 Australia. The Contest began with an opening parade of all 17 participating countries in the order they were to perform. This was followed by the 17 participating countries songs, from Serbia to Montenegro, with breaks from time to time. Once all 17 songs had been performed, one of the web cast commentators said the sound problem at the beginning only affected web stream viewers, and therefore complete repeat performances of the first six songs were not given. Instead as planned, the phone lines opened, so viewers in the participating countries could vote. Obviously viewers in non-participating countries such as me could not vote. During the voting window a recap of the 17 songs was given to remind viewers. After the televoting had ended, and the interval act which followed, it was time for the scoring. All countries were given 12 points at the start, in order to avoid the possibility of anyone finishing on nul points. Mind you, if a country failed to get any further points, and thus ended on 12 points, it would, in my opinion, be just as bad as finishing on nul points. The Kids' Jury announced their points, and after that each country announced its points in order of performance. The winner was Malta "Not My Soul" sung by Destiny Chukunyere with 185 points; however I was unimpressed with Malta's song. I thought Ireland's entry "Réalta na Mara" sung by Aimee Banks was the best song of the night, yet it finished 12th with just 36 points. Other entries I strongly favoured were Russia – "Mechta (Dream)" sung by Mikhail Smirnov, which finished 6th with 80 points; San Marino – "Mirror" sung by Kamilla Ismailova, which finished 14th with 36 points and Albania – "Dambaje" sung by Mishela Rapo, which finished 5th with 93 points. Another good Junior Eurovision Song Contest, it's a pity the live web cast had sound problems to begin with. Well done to all the young artists who took part. Any chance of the UK returning in 2016? As always, this was tame compare to the adult contest in May. One of the weaker Best Show contenders, no hope of winning the category.
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Spectre - Monday 30 November
The 24th James Bond film by EON Productions, starring Daniel Craig as James Bond was released at cinemas throughout the UK on 26 October 2015. Although I was keen to see it, for various reasons it took me until quite late in its run to see it at the ODEON cinema, Bath. On arrival I treated myself to a Ben & Jerry's 2-scop tub: Cookie Dough and Cherry Garcia. After the adverts and trailers, Spectre began with the gun barrel sequence, followed by the teaser. This part of the film involved James Bond in Mexico City. He and his partner ascended a hotel lift, and went into a room. Shortly after Bond disappeared, saying he wouldn't be long. An exciting sequence followed, which included shooting and falling masonry. As with most Bond films, the opening sequence was quite impressive, however it's a pity the film title Spectre didn't feature in the song title. Once the opening sequence was over, the main part of the film began in London. For some reason, Bond was told he was grounded. Somehow he still managed to travel the world. He ventured into Rome, and later flew across the mountains of Austria. Later he travelled across Morocco on a train, and a fight began on board. Eventually Bond and his partner left the train somewhere in the desert. There was much more mayhem to follow after that, including a building complex being blown up, Bond getting back to London by helicopter, a mission to shut down a new computer system and another massive explosion. After all that, James Bond sped along the River Thames in a boat, attempting to shoot up to an enemy helicopter. Following a successful shot the helicopter crash landed by one of the bridges. With all the lively stuff over, a few calmer scenes followed before the credits began to roll. Being as it was now getting late I chose not to sit through the credits until the end on this occasion. Altogether an action-packed, thrilling film, with plenty to keep your eyes on the screen until the end. As is normally expected from a Bond film, Spectre has shooting and violence. The biggest excitement is hoping James Bond will survive collapsing buildings, fights, explosions etc. This latest James Bond film was definitely worth seeing, and looks set to be one of the high flyers in Best Show.
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Best Party
This group includes family meals out, and even a coffee morning. There are just five contenders in this category, all of which are somewhat low-key really. Nonetheless under the present rules one of these will have to go through to the Ultimate Winner round at the expense of superior non-winners of other categories.
Hay Hill Coffee Morning - Tuesday 24 February
An unexpected event at Hay Hill Social Centre, Bath, primarily arranged to attract new members following low attendance in the preceding months. A selection of cakes and biscuits was arranged on a long table before the coffee morning officially began at 11:00. Members enjoyed their fair share of cakes and coffee; I visited the cake table just after 11:00 and again soon after midday. Unexpectedly some Bakewell tarts were placed on the table fairly late in the session, and naturally I had one. Altogether a pleasant and friendly coffee morning, with a reasonable turnout; it was certainly different to what normally happens there on a Tuesday morning. Nonetheless, as far as Event of the Year is concerned, this is clearly one of the weaker contenders in Best Party.
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Birthday Meal - Friday 9 October
An extension of my 44th birthday celebrations, nine days after the actual day of my birthday. This was the family part, whereby my aunt, uncle and I went to The Trumpet Major, Dorchester for a meal. Naturally therefore it was only appropriate for me to wear my self-designed "I am 11 times 4" T-shirt for this meal. All three of us enjoyed a delicious main course and a drink. However, as far as I was concerned, a main course wasn't enough, and I wanted a dessert to make my meal complete. The time it took me looking at the ice creams, chilled desserts and hot puddings was a bit long for the others' liking, but eventually I chose a delicious hot pudding. Put it this way, it was worth taking my time to decide. On the whole, a pleasurable final part of my 44th birthday celebrations, though undeniably low-key compared to what happened on the actual day of my birthday, Wednesday 30 September 2016. It's just as well this is segregated by category from that at this stage. However this looks the most likely Best Party contender to progress to the Ultimate Winner round, and perhaps meet Birthday Special there.
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Hay Hill Pizza Party - Tuesday 22 December
Christmas 2015 at Hay Hill Social Centre, Bath was first discussed at the beginning of September, and twice again during October. Ideas suggested were a meal out, a party or a takeaway of some sort. By November, a decision was made to order takeaway pizzas on a Tuesday close to Christmas, and eventually Tuesday 22 December was chosen as the day on which to have them. On the day it took a while before anything happened, but eventually the Group chose two large pizzas, and they were ordered. When the pizzas arrived around noon, they were sliced and members including me enjoyed a few slices of both pizzas. To add to the atmosphere disc 1 of my "I Love 80s" album was played on the portable radio-CD player. Undeniably this was very modest compared to the Christmas parties of 2011 and 2012, both of which featured large buffets of savouries and sweets, plus a disco. Nonetheless it was different and everyone including me enjoyed the pizzas. Altogether a fun way to spice up the final session of 2015, but middle of the road at best in Best Party.
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Christmas Day - Friday 25 December
Oh deer! It seems unthinkable that someone who, at one time, spent much of the year looking forward to Christmas, would admit to not looking forward to it in 2015. After much thought I ended up spending the festive season with my aunt at Dorchester, just like previous years. Christmas Day got off to a quiet start, barely any different to the other mornings over the festive season. The Christmas spirit really began mid-morning with preparation of lunch, which took the rest of the morning. Late morning my aunt and I opened our presents, accompanied by Christmas music. Many of my presents were typical regulars, including toiletries and an item of confectionery, that being a large tub of Quality Street this time. Two unexpected items were a Shaun the Sheep 2016 calendar (largely due to me Shaun the Sheep hunting around Bristol in the summer), and a charcoal grey Livergy Fleece Jacket. Once gift opening was over, it was time for my Christmas speech, accompanied by a Microsoft Power Point presentation. Soon after that, it was time for me and my aunt to enjoy a two-course Christmas lunch in the conservatory, again accompanied by Christmas music. The main course consisted of roast fresh turkey crown, sausages in bacon, chestnut stuffing, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, and sprouts with cranberry sauce and gravy. After a break it was time for the traditional dessert: Christmas pudding served with extra thick double cream. As if that wasn't enough, I finished off with two After Eight mints, a satsuma and a cup of coffee. During the rest of the afternoon and early evening, I watched the Queen's Speech, Top of the Pops Christmas Special 2015 and Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2015. It was then time for tea: ham rolls, cheese straws, salad and houmous, followed by New York cheesecake. The rest of the evening was relaxation time. Altogether another festive Christmas Day, and despite my worries in the run-up to Christmas, the day turned out alright in the end. Against the odds this could sneak into the Ultimate Winner round.
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New Year's Eve - Thursday 31 December
Goodbye, Da boch, Au revoir, Auf Wiedersehen, Adiós. Arrivederci 2015! An evening at The Bakers Arms, Dorchester to see out 2015 and welcome in 2016. Not so much a party, more a relaxing evening in the pub. At the time of my arrival around 21:05 background music was being played. Whilst there I had half a Carlsberg followed by a half pint glass of orange juice and lemonade. Around 23:15 the staff put the projection TV on for Jool's Annual Hootenanny. This was the ideal moment to buy my final drink of the evening, half a pint of Thatcher's Cider, to enjoy in view of the TV. Unlike New Year's Eve 2014 there were no party poppers to let off at midnight, but nonetheless several customers including me joined in with the 10-second countdown to midnight, and said "Happy new year" to one another. Immediately after midnight Auld Lang Syne was sung on Jool's Annual Hootenanny. After that I sat and finished my cider; the last song I saw being performed was "Hold Back the River" before leaving at 00:20. On the whole a fairly low key evening really; for example unlike New Year's Eve 2010 and 2011 there was no free disco. The best moment was what happened at midnight. At least it was somewhere to go New Year's Eve. Likely to be left out in the cold in the Best Party group.
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