Brands Formula Ford Festival

[Stephen Green]

Can I just say that I did not ask for post 2, in fact many of you will know I dislike post2! It was allocated to me at sign on and I had no prior knowledge.

[Dutch chap]

Got home last night at 2.30 after having my annual joy at the FFF. Changed my cloths while waiting for boarding the ferry in Dover. I mean… ALL my soaking wet cloths. So if you hear something about a guy with a foreign numberplate, dressed in orange before he started to strip, standing naked next to his car…..

It was (VERY) wet, but it was fun at my usual post for the FFF, post 5. Yes, I asked for it at signing on, as I allways do for the Festival. Yes, I got it, as I allways did so far. A very kind gesture, I allways thought. Is there any problem with that?

Whatever, I enjoyed it and just want to say ‘thanks’ to the boys and gals I worked with.

Frank

[Stephen Green]

You will be sorry to hear that had you stayed, your name was called out in the raffle!

[Dutch chap]

If I had won a towel, I should have stayed!

[Bodysnatcher]

Originally Posted by Novice

Sounds like everybody is still a bit water logged.

for sure Alan.
For me, Friday and Saturday were not the festival. Sunday was, but the rain was just too much to make it truly a good day. The BRSCC did good things, lunches provided, a bus from the triangle of doom (which of course i refuse to use on wet days) to sign on. Bernie offering to buy marshals a drink after Fridays test sessions - on his tab. Actually since he was busy, it was big Jim McG that put half a dozen drinks on his. thanks Jim

Marshal numbers were down, no doubt about it. Friday - a full day (not always the case) had 2 per post on most. Reasonable I guess. Saturday, no doubt about it, was low. Just as well I had quality company with Richard,Frank, Dave & a n other doing a great old fashioned marshalling job of getting cars lifted out the gravel rather than relying on red flags, safety cars & snatch vehicles.
Sunday manning really was'nt much better, just a few more course marshals. Flags were 2 per post, no more, that was noticable.
It was the faces I had'nt seen that made it unfestivally. Like yourself, Stoowert, Sillytoes. You all have your reasons for not being there I suppose. The festival used to be the big end of season gig where we all got together & saw it out with a bang. It certainly was not that this year.

Finally, the new BRSCC chief exec came to have word with us at the raffle on Sunday. Good that he talked to us. Not sure what the take home message for me was. For a moment it had that surreal feeling of "in order for the company to survive some of you will have to seek new challenges elsewhere"

In the end it kind of came across as a morale builder. You know - "In order for the company to survive, we all have to pull together in order to make a profit" - sort of thing.

So what should I be doing? Time was when I went marshalling for fun, willingly paying a membership fee for a worthwhile product. I never considered that I was marshalling for a company's balance sheet - but seems that is what I do now.

Heads up folks, still plenty of good racing (nb this is not a legally binding guarantee) to come at the Hatch before hibernation time.

[Eddy V]

Originally Posted by Bodysnatcher

.. some of you will have to seek new challenges elsewhere"....

Dam, and I had just found a challenge on the Saturday.

[Rod Birley]

As a driver I would just like to say "thank you" to all of you. The weather forecast was unfortunately correct which meant you all got very wet. Hopefully the truck meeting will be blessed with kinder conditions (especially after last year).
Sorry the Ford saloon race had so few entries, but it was a very late addition. At least I got to try some new suspension parts.

[Stephen Green]

It looked like you had the boost turned down judging by the lack of flames from the exhausts. They would have warmed us up a bit Rod

[Bryan Degerlund]

Now I have dried out, just a few comments --

thanks to all the Pits/Startline/Assembly guys and gals for all their good work under trying conditions, I hope Annette enjoyed her day, I missed you at the end.

the Caterham podium visitors asked me to pass on their thanks to all the marshals who remained on post throughout the cloudburst.

thanks to the SRCC for their donation to the marshals' raffle (I was one of the lucky recipients!! )

good to meet Terri and Grant again, and glad Eddy enjoyed his "day off".

[adstubbs]

Originally Posted by Bryan Degerlund

thanks to all the Pits/Startline/Assembly guys and gals for all their good work under trying conditions, I hope Annette enjoyed her day, I missed you at the end.

I'm sure Annette will post later, but speaking as her chauffeur/boyfriend, I know she enjoyed it despite the weather and the people with blue and yellow umbrellas on the pitwall!

Originally Posted by Bryan Degerlund

the Caterham podium visitors asked me to pass on their thanks to all the marshals who remained on post throughout the cloudburst.

I was half expecting that race to be stopped, the amount of water coursing across the track at various points was pretty impressive. The amount of water running down the bank into the hut at Post 9 was also surprising, at least until some amateur excavations made an extra drainage channel to kep it away from our bags. How the drivers could see anything on Cooper Straight I have no idea...

[Calex]

Originally Posted by Bodysnatcher

Just as well I had quality company with Richard,Frank, Dave & a n other doing a great old fashioned marshalling job of getting cars lifted out the gravel rather than relying on red flags, safety cars & snatch vehicles.

Glad I made a lasting impression !

a.n.other aka Steve

[EvilPumpkin]

Hi guys, finally home and just about dried out.

All I have to say about posting allocations is that if I am asked - as I have been in previous years - where I want to go - then I'll say so. But I'll go wherever I'm sent (with one exception at Mondello because I have physical difficulties getting on and off the bank). Any Chief Marshal I have ever worked with can confirm this - including those I've worked with at Brands. For the record, in my visits to Brands I have done: Post 2, Post 4, Post 4a, Post 5, Post 9, Post 10, Post 22 and Post 24 and I enjoyed all of them. Post 24 has a beepy button! For someone that only makes it to Brands a maximum of twice a year, I don't think that's really a bad record. We've been very lucky at Brands in that the CMs have always been very willing to send us somewhere we would like to go - if possible with the personnel they have - because they know we've travelled a long way. But we don't expect it and never have.

Anyway, moving swiftly along.....

Thanks to everyone on post 4 for a great weekend. I can honestly say that Sunday was the hardest marshalling day I've ever done. Like all of us, I've been in the firing line - but we had 15 actual impacts with the armco on Sunday (in or close to the flag post) and that's not counting the guys that were coming in but managed not to actually hit. That's tough enough when you can see what's coming at you - but it's a lot tougher when you're standing with your back to the traffic and you're relying on your team to tell you if you need to move.

It's also difficult to whistle when your whistle is waterlogged!

Fortunately, I was with the best possible crew - both for professionalism and for a sense of humour - so big thanks to (in no particular order) Roger, Alec, Mike, Mark, Jonathan and Graham for a great weekend.

I was also privileged to be at 4 for the installation of a commemeration plaque for Nigel Scott. It wasn't quite the same festival for us without Nigel but I know he was watching and probably got a great laugh out of seeing me do the "incoming two step" every ten minutes, up the steps!

A particular thank you to Mike for his attempt at contributing to the environment by planting an oak tree in my rain hood. Well filling it with acorns anyway.... I SO owe you for that one Mike!

Thanks to Al for once again putting up with us and to Ginny for feeding us and not complaining when we trudged rivulets of water and mud over the nice clean floors.

Thanks to everyone at Brands for making it such a great weekend. Brands is a wonderful circuit with a great group of marshals and that's what keeps us coming back.

Finally - let's hear it for the King of Kents. After 6 years, I finally got my Irish 1,2,3

[TwoSheds]

Originally Posted by EvilPumpkin

For the record, in my visits to Brands I have done: Post 2, Post 4, Post 4a, Post 5, Post 9, Post 10, Post 22 and Post 24 and I enjoyed all of them. Post 24 has a beepy button!

Terri,

How could you forget Post 8! Trying to burn it down and catching inflatable pumpkins.

[EvilPumpkin]

um whoops - i thought that was post 9..... ok post 8 then!

[feisty_filly]

im new to the site i was in the kentagon on the sat night and i to want to apologise for me and me mates singing, i hope we didnt ruin "we will rock you" for any one lol.

[brandspost4a]

Originally Posted by EvilPumpkin

I was also privileged to be at 4 for the installation of a commemeration plaque for Nigel Scott. It wasn't quite the same festival for us without Nigel but I know he was watching and probably got a great laugh out of seeing me do the "incoming two step" every ten minutes....

Ah!, but are wrong there Terri, who do you think arranged for the bombardment of Post 4. Yep, thats right one Nigel Scott. Bet he was laughing his socks off watching all your antics.

He may be longer with us but he won't be forgotton.