International Buggy Weekend 2017 - Osnabruk, Germany - Sat Navs and Spam

[Dave DND]

Next stop is the Portland Fuel Station in Barendrecht situated on the A15 Motorway for us to regroup with the Northern Crew.

Now we have just come from a busy Port in the heart of Hollands Industrial Estate that as you expect, has a huge Motorway leading right up to it. Above us on the overhead gantry in big letters is the signpost Barendrecht straight ahead. I`m wondering if we have all disabled Motorway setting on our Navigation Systems, as just about every one said "Turn Right" and into a housing estate. Which we did.





Whilst its great to get a proper look at our first Dutch Windmill, something tells me that this is not the main road to Germany





In our own lead Vehicle, Vicky is also understandably getting a little flustered by the Sat Nav, and they pull over briefly for her and Keith to swap places.


You may get the impression here that I dislike these Portable Sat Navs, well to understand why, you have to know how they work:

Sat Nav (Satellite Navigation) systems all use signals sent from orbiting satellites to plot our position on a map, and by entering a destination on the map, the system should know where we are, where we are going and should be able to guide us there. And if you think thats it, then you are very mistaken.

A Portable Sat Nav needs a clear view of the sky so that it can actually see the satellites. If you are in a tunnel, in a built up area, in a forest or even in heavy rain, then the view above may be distorted and your data readings will suffer. In an ideal scenario, you will require at least 3 satellites to be seen simultaneously to get an accurate position on the map. This accurate position can be within a 50 feet radius, and if you only see one or two, then your accuracy may be in excess of 100 feet or not at all. Now the bit people do not realize is that you do not constantly follow the satellites and that you only take a reading every 30 seconds or so to plot your position on a map. These slow speed processor systems were designed for Hikers and Bikers, because unlike traveling at high speed in a car, you seldom travel that far in 30 seconds. As a result, your actual position on the map can jump about very quickly and directions may not appear to be consistent.

Proper car Sat Navs have a Gyroscopic Compass built in, and a speed pulse wire from the car, so that you know exactly how far you have traveled in any given direction, irrespective of being in a tunnel etc, and they use the satellite signal to CONFIRM the location on the map, not to plot it. As a result, this can give you an accuracy of around 3 feet, even at very high speeds. They do however come at a cost.


There endeth the lesson  -  Where were we?  (Don`t ask the Sat Nav) -  Ah yes, fuel !!


Portland services is a distant memory by now, so we instead head for the next motorway stop where we will try and contact the others.





Checking the Glympse App we use in the UK, its showing Chad as currently being in Kuala Lumpar - So its not just Sat Nav's we are having issue with.

Our Dutch Pancake fanatic has met up with the Northern Crew, and after finding out that the local Pancake House (or PannenKoeken) was not yet open for breakfast was now with the others, behind us at Portland Services. Turns out we are not lost, we are now the advance party and will wait here for the others to catch up with us, which isn`t very long





Its been a long trip for some, and its great to finally shake hands with some of my Scottish friends, and I`m also really pleased to meet up once more with my best mate Ruben. Since Dave Doon and I literally kidnapped him a few years ago at IBW Holland, he has now become an Honorary Brit. Until recently, I always thought that with his love of all things British, having grown up learning our language and humor from Monty Python and Faulty Towers, that if you chopped his arm off, like a stick of rock inside, it would be red, white and blue - after this trip, I now suspect it to be milk, eggs and flour !!





Ruben has been desperate to show us some of his beautiful Country for many years now, and he told us that rather than just blasting down the Motorway all day, that he had arranged a lunch stop in a small village so that we could sample the real side of Holland.





This sounded brilliant to us, so off we all went

[Dave DND]

It was nice getting off the A15 at Ochten, and it was a nice leisurely pace through Rhenen with a stream of Buggies behind me





I had to double take some of these buildings - Did that really say DRINKRESIDENCE ? I mean, its like calling a block of flats P!sshead Towers !!





Eventually, we find ourselves in the little village of Oosterbeek for lunch, and we are confronted by a charming little building on the corner





HANG ON A MINUTE !!  I smell a rat here, and our Obsessive Pancake Munching Tour Guide has done it yet again





Dave C was thrilled to bits, as his Sat Nav had actually worked for this leg, even though he had set Germany as the destination !!





The car park was tiny, so we improvised in our own little way and parked in the Bus Stop instead





Within 10 minutes or so, all of our groups had arrived. The Northern Crew were thinking that they had caught a lucky break, as Ruben had wanted to take them for Pannankoeken for breakfast as well. Twice in one morning? even I would struggle with that one !!





Lisa had been asleep for the last hour or so, and had pretty much woken up in this charming little restaurant and a Menu had appeared in front of her. The Waitress came over to ask if we could take her order, and what she would like on her Pannenkeoken to which Lisa was still trying to decipher the Menu, but did say that she didn't fancy Pancakes. The look on the Waitresses face was priceless and the raised eyebrows kinda said "WTF are you doing here?" but she just smiled as I pointed out to Lisa that we were actually sat in a Pancake Restaurant.





Just as Lisa and I had managed to work out some of the menu - not realizing we were reading the Children's one (it said Beer?) Ruben got up to make an announcement. To speed things up in the kitchen, he had arranged for us to have the snack menu instead, and I bet you can all guess what that comprised of, can't you? Yes, Our Tour Guide, Brother to the Pilsbury Dough Boy, was making damn sure that we all had at least one Pannankoeken inside of us before the day was out.





Yes, its my fault. I should have known. 

Ruben takes his Pannenkoeken very seriously. When he came to stay with us, he said he wanted to cook for us. I wasn't expecting someone to be stood in my kitchen flipping Pancakes whilst adorning the National Flag





And now you understand why his Forum tag is "Championship Tosser





I quickly tried to explain to Ruben that we don`t actually know what to do here and need some help. He genuinely does not believe me when I say that we only have Pancakes once a year, its a National Event and we call it Jif Lemon day. Here, they eat them like we would chips. After a quick mention of this to the waitress, she comes out with some savory suggestions, generally comprising of cheese, bacon, or cheese and bacon. On the tables are containers of Maple Syrup and Sugar Sprinkles, which she assures us go quite nicely on the Pannenkoeken. Actually it did !





Dave Dream however just wanted Maple Syrup and Sprinkles - No pancakes - Just the waitress covered in Maple Syrup and Sprinkles





Clean Plates everywhere, and in hindsight, this was probably a good place to have stopped for dinner





Because the alternative appeared to be an Elephant Burger from the Lunch Museum





Although we were all present and correct, there were some disturbing stories coming through of those that had run out of fuel on the way up here. Hugh had peeled off early for a fill, Mark had resorted to his Jerry Can, and Lee's tank was imploding due to the severe vacuum inside.

This really isn't the way we should be traveling, and it's certainly not the way we usually do it.

Ruben tells us of a Fuel Station 2Km down the road, so a few of us set off for a fill. I have long learnt to always grab fuel where and when you can.

[Dave DND]

After a few Km down the road, I spot the Petrol Station on the left, but there appears to be a traffic island between me and it, so I have no option than to keep going. As the road leaves the village, there are still no turning places, so a pull over is needed. My intention was to do a U-Turn in the hope that I can make it in one go, else a bit of rear end action may be required to tighten up the turning circle. I think that's what some of the others behind me did. Once approaching the fuel station, I couldn't see a way in as there was a car stopped at a red traffic light blocking the entrance. Easiest way was across the front of the car and through the flower bed much to the amusement of the others.

Upon our return to the restaurant, a group were gathering and watching something - what was going on?





It seemed Flags had a problem with his handbrake cable coming off, although I think he just wanted to take his wheel off to show us how clean it was in there





Hold on, a different group are now gathering and watching something - what else was going on?





Arran appear to be having a few issues with his steering - Or rather lack of it !!





Roisin is looking a little concerned at this point, but don't panic just yet as Chad is now breaking out the tool kit





If both Chad and Snoopy are under a car, then it may actually be serious ?





And indeed it is. Luckily for Arran that this din`t happen on the Motorway, but it would appear that the rubber steering coupling has sheared through and torn. We have all seen the Red Ring of Death fail, but a rubber one is a new one on me.





We do not play Top Gear Rules here, and there is no way that Chad would ever leave anyone stranded. Ruben knows of a VW shop 20 clicks up the road, and after a phone call to confirm they have the part, Chad heads over there with Alan and Flags for Company.

Nothing more we can do here, and the last thing they need is onlookers, so we decide to push on to the next stop.

[Dave DND]

We take in some gentle A & B Roads and it is not too long before we find ourselves crossing over into Germany heading for the next Fuel stop.

Ruben, in the lead vehicle has been watching far too much Top Gear, and has now adopted the James May sense of direction. Either that, or he has reprogrammed his Sat Nav to search every housing estate for Pannenkoeken. We eventually point out to him that we are now in Germany, they are not as obsessed with pancakes, and a few of us could really do with some fuel by now.

We head for the nearest garage to fill up where there is an amazing smell coming from the Chip van in the forecourt, and I do not mean amazing in a good way. Didn`t tempt me at all, and when have any of you known me to walk away from a bag of chips.





Apparently the intended Westfalen Fuel stop was only a short distance down the road (Yeah, I know, why didn't we head there?) and it was agreed that we should head over there in case any of the others were there.

The 5 minute walk as the crow flies, turned out to be a 15 minute jaunt down every housing estate, up peoples drives, across back gardens, through fences etc. Ok, maybe a bit of exaggeration there, but whilst some were using Tom Tom's, most were using Garmins, I am fully convinced that Ruben Sat Nav was designed by Spirograph. You do not have to be an expert to understand that some of us had co-ordinates of N51.50.36.0/E007.17.39.7 and some had N52.04.54.09/E007.59.57.13 which meant there was no way this was going to work.

We went through a lot of traffic lights, and got broken up a bit - but thanks to a few lay byes and empty roads, it was fairly easy for us all to catch up.

Arriving at Westfalen reminded me of the famous film "Convoy" where a news reporter was asking one of the truckers what the purpose of the Convoy was, and the reply was "The purpose of the Convoy is to keep moving"  Now any seasoned cruise organizer will understand that bit, as even if you are trying to let others catch up, you really shouldn't stop by the side of the road and you should keep the wheels turning at all times, even if it is at a snails pace. This has nothing to do with the hard shoulder being dangerous, its because if you stop, even for a split second, everybody gets out, unloads their children and starts taking selfies - a quick getaway is nigh on impossible. Perish the thought of trying to pull over anywhere that has a marked parking space, because not only will they get out, but they may end up going shopping - and Zip Buggy had a full trolley by the time he was located near the superstore tills.

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH 

[Dave DND]

Meanwhile, the Rescue Party had located the Hot Rod Air-cooled VW spares and Custom Shop in Doesburg that Ruben had pointed them at, and it turned out that they not only specialize in Beach Buggies and Racing Beetles, but it's also where they mould the Hot Rod beach Buggy kit too









Arran was a little disheartened that he had broken down and held up the convoy, but that was soon forgotten about when they all walked inside. If there was a Mecca for Beach Buggies, then they had just found it. Check out whats hanging from the ceiling in the background. Ever seen a hardtop or dash available off the shelf? You name it, they had it.





There were workshop bays for Buggys, there were workshop bays for Beetles - it was such an amazing place.







They were given the Grand Tour of the place by the very nice lady behind the counter, including the Machine Shop, with engines just about everywhere.





Thanks to all at Hot Rod Doesburg for your help and hospitality, and well worth a visit if you are that way   


With the replacement coupling purchased, they headed back to where the Buggy had been left. With Roisin wiggling the wheel, it was not long before the steering was functioning once more. Flags gave his handbrake cable a quick once over and they were soon en route to Westfalen.





I have always said that Breakdowns are where the real adventures start, and where the best stories come from

[Dave DND]

Meanwhile, back in the "How many roads can we use" Convoy, it was actually becoming quite comical, with Lisa and I now placing bets as to where we would end up next. I cannot blame Ruben entirely for this one, but will certainly have serious words with the guys at Garmin if they ever let me back into the building after the last fiasco.

Imagine, the scenario - You are looking for a place called Glandorf, in Osnabruk and you see this sign - which way would you go?





You are probably laughing and thinking we turned right at the T-Junction, except we didn`t, we went straight on and onto a road that neither the Sat Nav or German signage showed was there.

Next one.
Osnabruk shown straight ahead by the road signs, yet my Nav is asking me to go down a road diagonally to the right that isn't actually there !





Finally a sign showing Glandorf is only 12Km ahead, so why does my Sat Nav ask me to turn right ?





The Finish Flag on the map is exactly where I put it, there is now a straight road between us and the campsite, and I am being asked to make a U-Turn





If you have a Sat Nav - suggest to throw it away.
If you have Internet Access, don`t bother looking for a UK Postcode it will be wrong
If you try Google Maps, don`t bother looking for Co-Ordinates as they too will be wrong.
If you have a map, its probably out of date anyway, so that will have been thrown away already.
And if you have a Ruben, then don`t let him anywhere near the front of a convoy
 

From here on, we are going to try a new approach - looking out of the window and following the road signs.

[Dave DND]

It was fast approaching tea time, we had been on the road for about 10 hours, due to the Sat Nav's had covered twice as many miles as we had intended and we were all very tired. We just wanted to get there now. But there was one last IBW tradition that I was keen to uphold, and it meant a quick stop to dress up the Buggies.





Ruben knew of a Restaurant just on the outskirts where we could stop safely and attach the flags





I`m guessing that Ruben has not attached flags to his car before, because the 2Km drive to the campsite was quite a struggle to keep everything attached. But ahead of us we saw something that made us know that the end was in sight





Judging by the peoples faces and cheers as we drove in, we had made quite an entrance - let the party commence.

[Dave DND]

We drove into the campsite and said our Hello`s to our hosts, 65 Hellos each to be precise and then drove round the field to the right where Camp GB were setting up.





The field had been deeply ploughed a while back, and there were some pretty deep ruts in it, but no match for our memory foam groundsheets





The next order of the day was food. Up at the main building they were serving soup and rolls, although most of us actually fancied something else instead. Some broke out the cooking equipment, the Northern Crew took a hike up into the local village in search of Pizza or Kebabs. Krug and Mandy went off to find their Hotel and I think Hugh had rented a small Villa up there as well (he had kindly offered us the use of the showers too)





Dave Doon and I were in need of some liquid refreshment so we jumped in my car and headed out on autopilot with our eyes firmly closed. When we opened them, we were parked in front of a Beer Warehouse, which usually would have been great, but we actually wanted some snacks.





We drove around the corner and found a large supermarket where we found ample supplies, including some filled rolls and a crate of Warsteiner Beer. Back home, our beer bottles are around £2 each, but here, a crate of 24 x 500ml bottles will only cost you 9 Euros. They taste great and at 4.8% are fairly strong too. If 38 cents a bottle isn't cheap enough for you, then you can also get your deposit back by returning the crate and the empties !!





Kath was a little nervous about this trip as it turned out that she had never eaten foreign food before

Don`t worry Kath, there is a first time for everything - But I don`t think it will go through you that fast !! 


Time to hit the bar, and oh my, did we hit it hard. Not as hard it would seem though as one of the other Club members who tripped and fell face first into one of the tables resulting in a fair bit of Claret. Luckily Flags was at hand (former Soldier) who managed to administer some first aid and stabilize the very nasty wound until the ambulance arrived.

We returned back to tents in the early hours only to find that some inconsiderate Germans in a huge Motorhome were now running a very noisy generator outside that thankfully ran out of fuel at around 1am





The weather forecast for this region equated to "hell" and apart from a spectacular sheet lightning storm in the distance, we escaped with a bit of light rain overnight that had all but gone by the morning.

[Dave DND]

The incontinent Belgians next to us must have wet the bed in the night, because they were wide awake at the crack of sparrows fart on Saturday morning and decided to fire up the generator. About 7am by my reckoning.





As I am now up and about, I`ll give you a quick idea of our surroundings. Behind us is the small town of Glandorf, its only a few minutes walk and where some are staying. For some reason, there are no showers on site, (which has not gone down well with some nationalities) but arrangements have been made with a local school to use their facilities.





From what I can gather the site is actually the home of one of the Club Members. We are in a field in front of this, and to our left is another field that is also full of campers along with the ablutions block (kept topped up with paper) and a water trough for outside washing. The complex you see here has the main food tent in front, run like a canteen and then a large L shaped marquee at the back, containing tables and chairs, a bar and a dance area. To the left is also a Burger / Chip van, and one of the stables at the rear has a soft drinks bar. All very nice and all very clean.





To the left is the main residence with a stunning glass front door and a garden that has been impeccably kept.





Why on earth they would want us rabble here is beyond me   

[Dave DND]

Saturday Morning, and the campsite is starting to move. Quite a few sore heads this morning, but nothing that a brew cannot solve.





Time to go and join the breakfast queue.





You hand over your Breakfast ticket and swap it for a plate, then wander down the marquee filling your plate with whatever you fancy. There are freshly baked rolls, some really crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, continental meats, cheeses and spams of every variety. The Yogurt and trifles have highly concentrated flavours compared to ours back home and the coffee was fabulous.





With your plate piled high, you wander down to the next marquee to sit and savor the breakfast.





A fine collection of Maplex Buggies. Must remember to have a morning poo - don`t know what made me think that   

[Dave DND]

That wasn't a bad breakfast at all. Back at Camp GB we are all congregating in various states of awakeness.





Dave was explaining to Mark how he uses Paint Filters when refuelling to prevent crap getting into in the tank - Very clever idea.





Buggybaggy was feeling in a very Patriotic mood today





Kath made an announcement 

Kath was no longer nervous about this trip as it turned out that she has now done everything and feels the need to scream it to the world





I AM NO LONGER A EURO VIRGIN !!

Everyone on site is giggling, they all misunderstood her English perfectly - And with that its time for us to be somewhere else.
In fact - Anywhere else will do 

Some decided to take a walk up the road and explore the town, and a morning Coffee was the order of the day





I quite fancied going out for a mini explore myself, and Lidls seemed a good place to go in search of some Ice Cream





10 O`clock in the morning, and something told me it was going to be a good day





Really nice little Ford Escort XR3i Cabriolet followed us in





And we even found Super Mario doing his weekly shop





Lidl's food is not the same the world over, and Ruben wouldn't translate this one





Gary and Fynlay found some small packets of crisps





10 minutes and 24 fast melting Orange Sparkles later, and we are ready to hit the road again





Not sure whats up this road, so we will just have to take a look





It takes us out of Glandorf and into the next village





Where the locals are still just as friendly with their smiles and waves





These little roadside Strawberry Vendors are absolutely everywhere





At the next roundabout is a small car park where we all pull in





Rather than do the Dual Carriageway to Osnabruk, we decide to turn round and head back to Camp





No, this is not the subject of a Photo Caption Competetion 





Back into Glandorf, and we spot the Cafe where the others are hanging out





Not sure why they didn't go to this place though - Seems so tempting





The Fuel Station in the middle of Glandorf seems to be a focal point for many to meet up





And its certainly done well out of us lot this weekend





Back to the campsite where the Treasure Hunt is starting to assemble. I do kind of feel sorry for the organizers of IBW in that the GB Buggies never take part in the Saturday drive out. There are a couple of reasons for this though, the first being that some of the instructions and directions really do not translate that well, and second, we tend to go out exploring the new country and have more fun in sightseeing.

Just as we pull in, there is a line up of UK cars about to head out to the City of Osnabruk, so a quick U-Turn is called for.

[Dave DND]

I said this garage was popular, and it seems that some of the others now want to fill up





I am having a deja Vu moment from 15 minutes ago, I should have just waited here





Roadside Cabaret is provided by Buggybaggy as for reasons best known to himself, he tries to tie his fibreglass whip aerial into a knot. Mrs Baggy is not impressed with the result and the broken aerial is hidden behind the seats in the hope that nobody saw him do it.





We pretty much follow the same route we did this morning, but this time go past the roundabout and on to the dual carriageway to Osnabruk





Lots of Lane changing, traffic lights, last minute turns, and its quite a job to keep everyone together here for the 30 km trip.





What looks to be the City Center is now in sight





And as with every IBW trip I have ever been to, the Saturday exploration always ends up with us finding some sort of Pentecost Festival going on.





There was a sign that said Parking around the back - at least I think that's what it said





We seemed to have found ourselves at the rear of a derelict goods yard - didn't look that inviting to be honest





But there were plenty of families milling about, so the cars seemed safe enough to leave there





Dave Dream was still thinking of Waitresses and Maple Syrup - and was now getting a little frisky with the locals.





The people of the Festival are very friendly and realizing that we are British, welcome us over. On the corner of the Festival is a very fancy looking Restaurant, so I think they may be having some sort of family fun day. Some of the attractions are quite breathtaking. A fee of 15 Euros allows you to stand on a beer crate whilst another is passed up to you, which you must them climb up on. The highest winner at the end of the day gets 100 Euros. This guy got to 19 crates high before he fell, and I felt wobbly just watching at him. For some reason I could not get Lisa to participate.





The obligatory photo opportunity





It was now knocking on lunch time, and I was starting to get a bit peckish. The Restaurant in the corner looked really nice with its color coordinated wicker furniture, bright green astroturf and tables that all had bar-b-que coals and lights on them. It looked really nice and it was packed with people. Behind the Tombola table where the Lady had welcomed us in was a couple of guys cooking chips and sausages, but they were not selling them there, they were instead taking them back to the Restaurant where they were being served. Looks like the Restaurant were just providing seating and drinks whilst playing host to the family fun day. The Tombola lady said that the food was really good and really cheap. She also pointed out where the "facilities" were, as both Mark and I were now in need of the loo, and we were told that they were downstairs.

The well decorated front Facade of the building extended from the posh Restaurant across an archway where an A-Frame had been placed that said WC and an arrow pointing downwards. It was a bit of a shock walking through the archway into what can only be described as an abandoned foreign building site. Fair enough, they are having some renovations done, and as we carried on through the building it got dirtier and rougher and we were now walking over debris and bits on the floor. To the right of us was a very dark and uninviting stairwell going down into the depths, and ahead of us was what could only be described as a recently bombed out warehouse. Mark and I exchanged a puzzled look and Mark then went apprehensively down the dark stairs, only to reappear a few moments later to say that there was no way it was down there. As he came back up, we spotted a crude sign on the wall that was either inscribed with crayon or blood (it was difficult to tell in the light), but it definitely showed that the toilets were indeed down the stairs. It was like walking through an apocalyptic film set as we walked along the dark and dingy corridor that had open rooms either side. You were very wary of the rooms as you didn't know what was about to jump out. To the end of this corridor was an area with a few sofas, and on those sofas were half a dozen very rough looking people deeply engrossed in conversation in Russian. Behind where they were sitting was the grim looking toilet. I relieved myself in there and I can honestly say that I was more relieved to get out of there.

Back outside, the others wanted to venture into town for a bit of sightseeing but as Lisa was not able to walk that sort of distance just yet, we decided to stay behind and have some food here. Besides, I needed a drink after that last experience.

We joined the queue alongside the fountains and it was not long before it was our turn to order. We each had a large Sausage, a roll, sauerkraut, coleslaw, a tray of chips and a drink, and the combined meal total came to 4 Euros for both of us. I know they said it was cheap, but that was bordering on the ridiculous.

After a very tasty meal, we wander back round to the cars where the recently violated Mannequin now has a small congregation of guys sat around admiring the Buggies. They were chatting to each other in Russian, and whilst German is not one of mine, I do know a few words in this language. Turns out my broken Russian is not so good, and we resort to broken English instead. The guys are predominantly from from Moldova, Romania and the Ukraine and they are from a Christian Sect that has come over here to set up a new Church. All of a sudden the friendliness of the Family Festival now makes sense. We had a good chat. They had been clearing the building for the last few months and had got through 14 very large skips before the German Government had changed their mind and had now decided to refuse their permission to continue. The world has been become a different place in a very short space of time, and where these guys were once welcomed, they were now re-classed as undesirables and in a state of limbo. We all wished each other goodbye, and Lisa and I headed back to Camp.

[Dave DND]

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang are heading into Osnubruk City Centre





Stopping briefly for some refreshments - It is hot after all.





And then on to the next Cafe, for yet another sherbert or two where they notice some strange blue stripes on the buildings.





At first it just looks like some random blue lines, but these have been painstakingly applied very carefully





To give an optical illusion of big blue circles if viewed from across the square. How clever is that 





Kath is just so full of confidence now and introduces herself to the locals. Hello, I`m no longer a Euro Virgin





They seem to take this the wrong way and start introducing themselves to us.





Lee, violated and traumatized, now knew how Sandra felt and just wanted to get out of there





And with that, they all headed back to Camp





Look at that, they even have pictures of Buggies in their mirrors





The road back to Glandorf is quite a nice run

[Dave DND]

Back at the Campsite, the Presidents Games were underway - This one was called DerGonadblitzenMitTesticalbashen





Mark then presented every driver with a Commemorative Zip Buddy and Resin Dash Plaque - they will be carefully cherished





I found my friend Arno from the Dutch Buggy Club, and the cheeky git asked me if both of my exhausts had made it here this year.
I wouldn`t have minded so much, but his car was at the wrong end of a tow rope for most of this weekend.


Flags took young Tomas (Patrick's Son) out for a quick spin





Good to meet up with our Krazy Belgian friend Patrick, but was not so good was the news that he gave us of another one of our good Buggy friends, Toon who has been in a nasty accident. (For those that know Toon from previous IBW's and Swanage, give me a ring for details as its something they are trying to keep off the net).

It was also great to see the new addition to the AgentOrange Clan. I do not think I have ever seen Jon so happy, he is absolutely besotted.





Stephen and Claire found that trying to prevent overnight rain ingress when you have no doors by wrapping the car in German clingfilm did not work. In fact it ended up very Baggy on their Buggy

[Dave DND]

I know its a terrible cliche, but we do always say that no two Buggys ever look the same. Its not until you go to one of the International meets though, that you can fully appreciate just how different the Euro Bugs actually are. A lot of the cars you will have seen on previous IBW write ups, so I`ll just show you a few that caught my eye on a quick tour of the campsite whilst waiting for tonight's Spam to finish cooking.

It was the weather gear on this one that grabbed my attention - apart from Snoopy's Kango, I don`t know of anyone else with solid doors.





These are really popular, everybody loves them, but I cannot walk past a Maplex Buggy without giggling about Toilet Seats





Audi powered from the rear, and yes, those side pipes are fully functional





This is another kit that is extremely popular in Europe, probably seen more of these than any other





This is a popular dashboard used in the Euro Buggy's, but I cannot for the life of me work out what it is from. It is really frustrating though as I am sure I have driven a car with this dash - just cannot remember what is was. Can anyone put me out of my misery here?





Something else I have noticed with some of the newer creations appearing out of Europe is that they are a lot more "angular" in shape with the panels looking a lot "flatter" than the complex curves we are more used to.





But it is still instantly recognizable as a very cool looking and desirable Buggy





The colour and paint finish on this car was staggering - I can only describe it as "Mirror Finish Blue Chrome"





Porsche cooling fans are huge over here, but personally I would have reworked that back panel to make it fit properly





Another trend I have noticed is the use of a solid external bar between the headlights - not sure why ?





This has to be the strangest Radiator Mount I have ever seen on a Waterboxer - Check out the roof !!





Camping Solutions went from the weird





To the absolutely bizarre





I have recently been mentioning Subaru Conversions, and wondering why the 3.3 litre flat six hadn't been done yet





Subaru Legacy H6 engine mated to a Type 2 Bus Box (the 6 ribbed one)





Nicely done radiator position in the front, but cannot say the same about the other one behind the seats





I may be a little biased, but I do feel that the GB Buggies are the nicest shapes with all of the right proportions





Whilst walking around the site, there is a very distinctive sound that I can hear, and its that bloody generator





Most Campers now use quiet ones, but this really noisy one has been running all day