Back to Events Nationals 2006: Day 1, 20th March
Visit to Birkenhead BreweryProof of the organisational skills of the 2006 Nationals team came early with that easiest of things to organise, a piss-up in a brewery. Birekenhead Brewery in Standford, to be precise:
Eileen Cruise's report:
The five-day event was most enjoyable for me and I took part in everything there was to be had. I didn't want to miss out on any of the fun, so I made sure we signed up for the optional extras at the registration tables. In particular the brewery tour was quite fascinating for me. Not only have I not been in a brewery before, but also I don't drink beer either. I can't stand the stuff, the smell, the taste and the general smell of the inside of a pub, which generally reeks of the stuff. I used to work in bars when I was a lowly student in England and can well remember the experience of serving the heady brew, slopping it all over the place and clearing up of bar, tables and sticky floors afterwards.
Well, having said all that, I actually managed to enjoy tasting and drinking the small tasters of the three beers that are made at the Birkenhead Brewery. I enjoyed the lager and the Honey Blonde, but the Kolsch was too fizzy for my liking, so I passed that onto Tim. He wasn't too keen on it either, but he did enjoy the two lager brews, and we came back with a dozen of the Honey Blonde variety, with the address of where we can purchase more in our area. (My Gt6 is a bit undersized in the luggage-carrying capacity). We were the last Triumph car to leave the brewery after the luncheon (you can tell we weren't that keen to get on with the job of cleaning said car!) Nonetheless we did manage to get down to sprucing up the old gal and a mere two hours later were reasonably happy with the results of our labour. Tim washed the outside of the car. My job was the windows, the chrome-work and all areas under the bonnet. I made a few comments about the fact that the designer of the car could have had the decency to paint all the sills under the bonnet black. That would've made my job much easier. The more I washed all those faded yellow parts, the more the rust showed! It looked worse when I'd finished than when I'd started! But it was all worth it. She looked tons better.
That evening we had a very relaxed braai with our chalet partners, Gordon and Denise Waring. It was lovely to just sit back and enjoy time with them, catching up and learning a little about their farming endeavours.
I forgot to mention the welcome braai that was on the Sunday night. We had a really well organised event that made everyone feel welcome to the Fairest Cape. The Spit Braai King chaps did an excellent job of cooking the two lambs and served a selection of delicious salads too. We even had dessert. Most folk sat with their own club members, but some of us mixed and got to know some new faces and re-kindle some old friendships.