Website Report On The August Bank Holiday Roundup

 Hi there!

 We had another great August Bank Holiday Roundup this year. It was thrilling to see lots of old friends as well as new ones, and of course we had a pretty swell line up of artists.

 On the evening of Friday 22nd the Saloon Drifters exploded onto the stage and everything just carried on from there. You get all sorts of fun and frolics with this duo, and you can see they sure mean business from their real neat backdrop. Members of the audience got shanghaied on to the stage, and then John, the lead singer, moseyed round the audience looking for a lady to serenade. So there were David and Belle and Saloon Drifter John playing Apache on wooden guitars (and very nice they sounded too) and later John singing in a very familiar way to Shirley, and what he was doing to Just Jane's leg I can't imagine. (See photos to decide for yourself!)

 At the end of the evening, as on every Roundup evening, there were two trilogies and Ivor James' classic 'The South Will Rise again,' with Rusty parading the Confederate flag and the Southern supporters joining in and clapping, including Curly and Chantilly and the Confederate Authentic Campers, Drifter and General Roy. The Saloon Drifters played for both the trilogies, including the guitarist playing a trumpet during the Mexican Trilogy.

 It is great to see all the Western gear being worn on Roundup weekends, and sometimes I feel like I've wandered into a Western movie set or even the Wild West itself!

 On both the afternoons of Saturday and Sunday the Western Sports took place. There were air guns for shooting the spoons and the buffalo targets, manned by Rusty, the archery manned by Drifter, an authentic camper, knives and axes manned by Dakota and horseshoes looked after by me, Mrs Rusty.

 Before the sports there was the afternoon Fast draw, which I oversaw with the help on one afternoon by Brian and the next by Lynn/Dakota. Dakota took care of the light until he swapped with Lynn on the second afternoon. The gunslingers marshalled each other. It sounds complicated but all went well, and the eventual Top Gun was Wrangler, with Frosty Runner up. The Top Lady was Desert Rose, with Short Fire being runner up.

 The presentations for all the afternoon competitions were made by Jenny on Sunday evening, when medals, certificates etc were awarded. There was also a Fast Draw each evening with its own trophies. Chantilly called the shots and I manned the light, with Curly and Preacher being marshals.

 Still, lets get back to Saturday, when the male/female duo were Back 2 Back. They were very sartorially elegant, and sounded real fine, with lots of numbers good for dancing. I seem to remember that Peter, a great line dance aficionado, looked pretty pleased. Dee, the female member of the duo, must have looked in need of sustenance because she seemed to be being assailed by members of the audience with hip flasks! (Her poor partner missed out, him being the driver.)

 During the evening Moonshiner appeared escorting a rather demure young blonde called Stephanie who caused quite a stir. This was amplified when she took off her curls and lent them to several male members of the audience. Back 2 Back sang for the American trilogy after they had presented David with a splendid T-shirt bearing their logo for doing well in the Fast Draw.

 Although we were visited by some of our friends from Lichfield they kept a lower profile than usual – possibly because they were being looked after by some younger members of their family who seemed to be keeping them under control! The Nuts were in too, showing some nifty work on the dance floor, and not doing badly in the afternoon competitions. We also had Sundance and Maureen in, Sundance causing some of the Fast Draw competitors to quiver in their boots as they knew he would be keeping an eye on the proceedings, even when not officiating as a marshal. It was great to see Lady Doc, Tart and Gentleman Jim too, along with their Junior Westerner Little Gem. ( If I haven't mentioned you do look on this website for your photo – unfortunately this missive is getting rather long!)

 On the Sunday evening the artists were that Hillbilly gang – Root'n'Toot'n. They performed with absolutely bags of energy, Mandy on the double bass, Colin, lead singer mainly on the guitar and a really splendid guitarist whose name I unfortunately don't know, but who wore a great cowboy shirt and a hairstyle that took me straight back to the 60s. There were all sorts of other instruments figured too – see photos and decide what they were for yourselves! It's amazing how many people were crammed onto the stage. I think the highlight was when Colin stood on the side of Mandy's double bass whilst playing the ukulele. I think we were dancing a hoedown to 'Deep In The Heart Of Texas' at the time.

 Several people had dressed in their own Hillbilly outfits, in honour of the group, and Little Gem was presented with a medal for the best Western dress. She-Wolf (Lynn) was tried for attending an important Rebels Retreat function (Friday night) in odd boots. I think that she was found guilty and taken out to be shot – before I managed to get a photo – but they cain't have aimed straight because she looked just fine and dandy when she came back in.

 Everybody said what a great weekend we'd had. So that's the last one for this year.

 Do drop in and see us if you're passing through Sterndale Moor on the A515.

   So long,

     Mrs Rusty