Souchez 2012

No matter how much planning you put into getting ready for an event, there is always something to do at the last minute before leaving home! I had been working on my 'van, getting it ready for the trip down to Souchez for over a week, sorting out the lights to agree with French regulations for towing and - once sorted- came out the next day to be greeted by a flat battery! That is the day before the off.Having got that sorted, we left late to get some fuel for the 'van and proceeded to Dover to catch our ferry along with the majority of the others. Due to the delay, we didn't enter France until 1545 local time. I chose to drive the D77/D341/ D58 to the campsite, followed by Steve and Josh in their Jeep. The camping was more condensed than last year with all the vehicles and tents in the lower fields, along with the military fair. The weather was good this year but the convoys were a mess with regard to stopping places, especially for the women needing toilets. The Saturday convoy was good but being an hour or more late, meant that one town appeared to have shut up shop and gone home! Absolutely nothing to be found, apart from a lone bread shop that had a few cakes and a couple of cans of Fanta! Lunch was taken on a deserted airfield and word only got around at the first stop that there were to be no facilities there. Luckily, some of us managed to grab a couple of rolls from a shop before arriving, while the French set up their picnic tables and had wine and cheese! Sunday's parade was unusual in respect that we didn't stop for a drink but drove on a circuit to line up on the outskirts of Souchez from where we inched forward until we reached the main road and the crowds. Then we stopped! A most weird parade, as the commentator was halting some of the traffic to illuminate people about a certain vehicle. It was all over by 1300 and many of our group disappeared homewards, while the remainder started to pack a few things and think about dinner that night! We had heard about the ferry delays on Friday through the weekend, but we were only about 30 minutes late departing Calais as opposed to my daughter's wait of over 3 hours the previous day! All in all, a very enjoyable weekend, with good food, good drink, good weather and good people to be with. Maybe next year the French will let us organize the convoys!