Last weekend, we were involved in setting up the Nicky Grist stages which is organised by Quinton Motor Club. The event is based around Builth Wells, with the service area at the showground.

The weekend started on Thursday afternoon, when I drove one of the loaded vans to Builth Wells. On arrival, we met with the others who formed the Stage Setup Team. An evening meal and a reasonable amount of booze followed, but with an early start planned we were all in bed for 10:30pm.

The six o’clock alarm woke us on Friday morning and we headed back to the Greyhound where breakfast had been prepared for us. By 8am, we were on our way to the ranges with four vans filled with stage signage and all the necessary tools. We didn’t get finished until 3pm, my hands were hurting from hammering all the stakes in, and I was now really looking forward to dinner!

We arrived at the pub for 7pm where we met Nicky Grist. We sat outside, consumed a few drinks and listened to some of Nicky’s wonderful rally stories. The son of the Landlady was amazed that Nicky was in the pub, so Helena arranged some rally goodies for him and Nicky was happy to chat with him and sign them. Afterwards, in jest I said to Nicky that he hadn’t signed anything for us, to which he replied “Well give me something and I’ll sign it for you”. I joked that all we had was a pack of Bacon we’d purchased for our breakfast, and before I knew it, he signed it “Best Cook It, Nicky Grist”. Brilliant!

We headed inside for our evening meal and the stories continued over dinner. The night was getting later and later as drinks kept coming despite another early start in the morning. Nicky is a bad influence and, in the end, I had to escape the pub with a jug of Pimms in hand!

Another 6am start on Saturday morning, and by seven o’clock we were on the stage and in position ready to marshal on the Llyn Login stage. At the request of the Military, this year’s event was a non-spectator event, so it was nice to be able to watch it live. Following the rally, we followed the last car from the start line in the van and collected all the signage and posts. This weekend, I’ve driven the stages twice, albeit in a Transit and I’m now left wondering… Is it time to do some forest events?

With the main event over, it was time to relax a little more. Back at the Greyhound for dinner and celebratory drinks with great friends. We had not been together as a group for nearly 18 months! A brilliant night was had, with much silliness and many hilarious moments. Like when Robert Hayden, our very sober designated driver was trying to get in a BMW when we’d arrived in an Alfa!

Sunday morning arrived, and I welcomed a slightly later start. After breakfast, we regrouped with the rest of the setup team to organise the signage and stage furniture so it was ready for next year. We were finished and ready to head home by midday.

What a fantastic weekend away! With great friends and many laughs along the way, I would highly recommend getting involved with organising events. You never fully understand how much actually goes into running an event of this size, and in reality, I was only involved in a very small part of a wonderful team.