Now one thing I have learned over the last few days is that the Dutch can make some thing very simple, a whole lot of fun. But when the tree stump came out and I heard that the competition for the Club Presidents was to knock a nail into the stump, even I was beginning to wonder how this could be fun.



One by one, a few Club Presidents came forwards with their hammers





Even Patrick had a go



And before Chad could even get to his hammer, there was a problem



Because we drove on the wrong side of the road, we should be used to using a different arm



And apparently, the Brits have a reputation for cheating



But I don`t know where that comes from




And then it was time for Schmidy, the Rheinland Club President form Germany to step up to the mark, and he is a big fella. And with a very gentle Tap tap tap, he started



Someone came over to take his photo, whilst he gently tapped away



He was brought a drink, whilst he gently tapped away



They mopped his brow, whilst he gently tapped away



He took so long, they even brought him a chair



He even had a massage whilst he gently tapped away



Chad brought him some chips



And all the time, his concentration was amazing




It was hilarious, I could have watched that guy for hours, and in fact I think I probably did. But it goes to prove what I said at the start, the Dutch like simple fun, and they are very very good at it.

Following the Presidents games, there were a few announcements



But whatever that award was, we didn`t get it !!




Following the afternoons entertainments, it was now time to put a serious hat on, as all the club representatives were called for, and the Presidents Meeting then took place. Behind closed doors in the main barn, this was strictly an invitation only affair, and a few of us attended as representatives of not only GB Buggies, but of our respective clubs throughout the UK. 1st item on the agenda was too see how much beer they could bring us, 2nd item on the agenda was to replenish the first item on the agenda - getting the idea?  It was actually a really good meeting for everyone to give feedback on how well the event had gone and a general debrief. Most of the conversations were understandably in Dutch and German. I can understand German, and I had a feeling that Jon and Chad were also following this quite well, but they really went out of their way to translate what they could into English and make us feel a part of it. Ok, some of the drunken translations were not that great, we knew it, and they knew we knew it. You can imagine the drunken uproar when one of the Dutch translators, after hearing our little speech, decided to translate it into something that the rest of them could then follow, and when he started speaking English to translate our English - well, you can imagine the rest. Needless to say, it was very funny.

The sun was shining, and I thought a final trawl of the campsite was in order, especially as I had been asked to bring back lots of pictures of foreign Buggies. So here you are Lisa, especially for you, an assortment of our friends from this weekend.

I liked what this guy had done with the side windows



Quite a few had side pipes, and they were also fully functional



Interesting mirror mounting arrangement



















Now this Buggy, I have a real issue with. I know its someones pride and joy, but this has niggled at me all weekend. Yes, its a toilet seat Buggy, so what, they are obviously popular. Yes, it has a picture of a scantily clad lady showing her boobies, which whilst not be my particular thing, its popular over here on the continent



But if you are going to make all that effort with your picture, why make it such a scary looking girl with a moustache?

It was fast approaching tea time on Sunday, and many of us were starting to contemplate food.



Around the site, many were also very laid back and just chilling out, and reflecting on what an awesome weekend it had been



Whats this? The Town Cryer doing his rounds again?



Bingo ! I think most of us gave our tickets to Vicky to check over, and with the amount she had, we must have won a prize or three - we certainly had ten times the number of tickets as these guys



I went and got some food - I cannot pronounce it, so lets just say meat / pasta / salad and it tasted damned good.



Jon, meanwhile, was checking out the reflections in the camera lens, to see if he had a better hand than Clem

Everybody started to head off inside the barn, as it appeared that there were some prizes to be given. In fact, not just one or two, the table was absolutely littered with them. Just to the left of the stage was a large photo screen, which was showing random pictures from over the weekend (many of which you have seen in this report) and every time we saw one of the GB Buggies crew, we let out an enormous cheer, which I think may have been starting to annoy the giant carrot who was trying to be serious for a bit.



Yes, I did say giant carrot !!



You can imagine our surprise then, when we were called up to receive an award - thankfully Flags had dressed down for this one



And GB Buggies is now the proud recipient of this award, inscribed:

le Prijs, Grootste Buitenlandse Club, I.B.W Noordbroek, Holland



Which translates as:

1st Prize, Largest Foreign Club, I.B.W Noordbroek, Holland


We came, we saw, and we had well and truly conquered

And then the Sunday Beer drinking session started



But it was a very different night to the previous ones. You would be forgiven looking at these pictures that it was somewhat subdued



But it wasn`t, the atmosphere was absolutely electric, because by now, we all knew each other, we all shared the same story, and we were all frantically swapping contact details so that we could remain in touch with each other.

Wandering down for breakfast on Monday morning, a bank holiday in Holland, the place seemed somewhat quiet



Like us, many folks were taking down their tents and packing away the memories



Vicky was catching a few last rays



And then we all sprang into life as those words were uttered



And those words, as you know by now were "Catalogue Pose"



The Northern Crew were packed and ready to roll



Dave Dream thought it would be funny to let the tyres down on Flags`s Buggy



And Flags was showing that he was too knackered to even get out of his car



Relying on Dave Doon to assist him



Clem, on the other hand was having the opposite problem, as he was too knackered to get in



And the rest of us pondered over the map and decided to take a different route home, over the long causeway to the North




To our friends of the Algemene Buggy Club, your hospitality has been fantastic, and we have had a truly awesome weekend. It is with genuine sadness that we bid a fond farewell and hope that it is not too long before we meet up with some of you again.

We headed for Zuidbroek for the last time, where we planned to stop at the petrol station for a fill up before the next leg of our journey



And Penny had appeared to have broken the van - but it was an easy fix



Whilst we all waited, you could tell that Vanessa was trying to work out how to explain her few days off work to her Boss, especially as she was now returning the same colour as the car



And one by one, there was a steady stream of our friends who stopped to say goodbye to us also

The next leg of our journey would take us around 80 miles to a rest stop in the middle of the causeway. It was good to be in such a long line of Buggies



Those of us who were not driving, were hanging out of the cars taking pictures of anything we could





Or sat in the cars taking "selfies"



I know I mentioned it previously, but there are lots of things to see by the roadside, or just the way that they decorate some of their structures, like for instance, their bridges



Yaay !! Another windmill, that`s the second one now, and I`ve only been here four days !!



Their buildings disguised to look like cruise liners



Or sometimes you will see an object, probably describing the business underneath



I wonder what these guys sell in these offices?



Some truly stunning architecture



Especially when you see a simulated skyline against a skyscraper



And then the open road again, on our approach to the causeway



And after a very pleasant drive, we reached our next destination.

We pulled up at the fuel station to grab some supplies, now that usually meant beer, but today it meant food.



Just as well really, as Ollie was already legless



Dave Doon was very keen to pose officially for the first Extreme Knighting picture, so that was it then - I really was going to have to go through with this crazy notion when we got back.



We then parked up on the other side of the road and admired the view







I have been referring to this place as a causeway, but its actually a 20 mile long Dyke called Afsluitdijk which is harder to type than it is to pronounce. Its essentially a sea barrier with the sea on one side, and a food protection zone on the side that we were looking out on. I must confess, that I didn`t really find it that picturesque, but then I have been spoilt from living down amongst the South West scenery.



I don`t know how they do it, but whenever there has been food about, this crowd are always the first to start eating



Lee was down on the waters edge and soon found out that these rocks were a little too big for the new Dutch game of Extreme Bum Holing



Suddenly, our attentions focused on a Buggy and caravan that pulled in behind us, clearly in distress. The gear selector bush at the back had not only failed, but the location screw had fallen out somewhere. The British have a reputation for fabrication, and here we had the elite when it comes to making bits for a Buggy. A few bolts, a hammer and a jubilee clip, and our friend could select all of his gears once again.



Even after it failed to start, there were enough large people around to give them a bump start, even with the caravan attatched.



The map was then checked for the next fuel stop which was only about 50 miles down the road.



And once we had woken Des up, we could get underway

In our Buggy, Chad was in hysterics, as he could have sworn that this road sign said Bend Over



And it was good for some humour, as this dyke seemed never ending



With only the occasional watch tower to break up the monotony



But eventually we were clear, and on a nice stretch of motorway



That also had a few tunnels, a favourite amongst Buggy owners



As we approached Schipol Airport, the landscape of the town was starting to grow



And so were the length of the tunnels. For those of you new to Buggies, there is a rule (it could actually be the law I think) that if you see a tunnel, then you MUST drive through it, this shall be done in a low gear with your foot flat to the floor, with the objective to see how big a grin you are pulling from the noise you are now making.



It was pretty obvious that Chad enjoyed that bit



Schipol Airport was now dead ahead, and the conversation we were now having was that it was almost impossible to find a way to get a Buggy and a Plane in the same photograph. As far as I was concerned, Chad had now thrown down the gauntlet.



So how`s this one for your then my friend? Will this do?



As you can tell, we weren`t having a good time at all



I wonder if Dave Dream enjoyed those tunnels as much as we did?



I think he did, that Buggy grin is contagious

Around 50 miles later, our stop at the Rijksweg Service Station would be our last one as a large group, because from here the majority of us would head back to the Europoort for our Harwich ferry, whilst the Northern Crew would split off and head back to the Hook of Holland for the Hull ferry.



But not until Flags had thought of another little game to play, and that was hiding the orange lion. The rules were that it has to be unwittingly placed in somebodys Buggy in a position that was clearly on view from the outside (No hiding in Luggage)



Eagle eyed Mags was having none of this, and spotted it straight away



Unlike Davydoff, who I think may have driven off with it.



We said our goodbyes and fond farewells to our mates, and then had a ponder over where to go next as we had a few hours to kill before the evening ferry. Looking at the map, there looked like a small beach near the port, so we were going to aim there for some tea. There are no photos of this bit, as the roadworks and diversions had the better of us, and I was now playing with a Sat Nav that had taken us through Hollands answer of a Council Estate. Some of the kids playing in the streets were stunned to see us all drive past. Once we had got back to the main road, we thought we would head for the next bay along - a town called Den Haag.

So far, some of these little seaside towns had been a little underwhelming with their industrial themes and mudflats, but something told me that this place may prove to be a little different. A quick check behind to make sure everyone was still with us



Because we were now entering a town with some of the largest waterfront buildings I have seen - according to the Sat Nav, on the other side was the sea.



The traffic was directed along a very long coast road



and ended up at a large surface car park, where we decided to stop



The sign confirmed that this was indeed Den Haag



As I swung the camera around, to the left was the obligatory Dutch Industrial looking beach front



But hang on a minute, there was some sand



In fact there was a lot of sand, this beach was huge



Being a Dutch bank holiday, the beach was also jam packed with people, there were thousands here



And in the background, what appeared to be some form of pier on a biblical scale