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The Cupboard Monster MARKETEERS CARNIVAL CLUBChairman: Steve Wright Captain: Matt Knapp Treasurer: Ian Barber Secretary: Alan Windsor Every Second Counts – A year in the life of MCC 2006 As the legendary John Lennon once sang – Another year over, a new one just begun!!!! Although he was singing about Christmas the same can be said for Carnival. So here we are then, just starting out for the 2007 season!!!! Fund raising has already begun in earnest and plans are being made for next year’s entry!! What can be said of 2006 then?? A mixed bag of a year really; the loss of a fundraiser at Glastonbury festival hit us more than any of us could have expected and bars were slow to come in, money was at a premium for the first part of the year, how-ever a break from all that appeared in the shape of the Old Folk Show. Once again the OFS was a resounding success; if they gave out prizes for audience enjoyment at the OFS we would have swept the board for the last few years!!!! A few weeks after OFS had finished and rehearsals were beginning. We all arrived and were allotted our various characters; some were quite obviously typecast Steve Wright – The Penguin (well rounded, to be polite) Alan Windsor – Mr Freeze (I’m cool you see), Ollie Mitchell – The Riddler (Ginger) & Martin Hodge – Two Face (only joking bud). The summer came and went England were knocked out of the world cup and we as a club did some stewarding for a festival, that due to the promoter going bankrupt we still haven’t been paid for!!! Fair arrived in town & thankfully went just as quickly, last minute preparation of props was in full swing. And then finally the first night of concerts was here!!! A quick rehearsal on the afternoon and we were set, the more adventurous of us went straight to the pub (watched the glorious Man U destroy Newcastle live on Arabic TV) and the rest went home for Tea (wimps). A few teething problems with the set on the first night were soon ironed out and we embarked on two weeks of a very enjoyable Euchre tournament & stage show. Before long the last night were upon us and with Batman and Robin taking turns on Karaoke everything was set up for a good night. What we in the club & The Bridgwater Mercury believed to be a good show obviously the judges didn’t agree and we came 5th and out of the prizes. Not to be daunted by the result though, we made our way back to the Old Market for some drinks to round off a great fortnight of fun and frolics. With the last night of concerts over, the serious work of finishing off the cart came around. The guys that had been out the cart for months on end, had done a tremendous amount of work and the cart had started to take shape and looked very promising! Over the two weeks between concerts and road, things started to take a backwards step and at one point looked like we wouldn’t finish it at all; however a tremendous push from everyone in the last 48hours saw us pull out a very competitive entry!! Onto carnival night and the troops made their way down to the Newmarket for the traditional stop off on way to the cart. A few rums later and we made our way to the Withycutter or four of us to Den gores house to get changed and have a nice pint of lager (cheers Den). As we were enjoying our lager Rosina Chidgey pointed out that our cart was going past Den’s house with the majority of the cart crew in hot pursuit. All started well in Town a few hold ups along the way, and then disaster struck half way down Broadway we lost everything. Lights, sound & moving parts all down. Although the ground crew managed to restore it just after the rest route we were gutted. After disembarking the cart a few more drinks and time for the results with many of us expecting 7th or 8th due to the problems we had, the news came through that we had been placed 3rd *** (cue wild celebrations). A late night followed and Pethy carnival came and went, not being in the top prizes whilst having everything working was a disappointment after the previous night’s wild celebrations. But as ever we partied ‘til the early hours. Black Sabbath came and went and soon we were on way to Burnham for another night’s carnival. 4th place followed at Burnham as it did at Glastonbury and Weston; unfortunately we weren’t placed at either Shepton Mallet or Wells Carnivals. But even so we partied like only we know how, and I for one can’t remember how I got home after the our night at Shepton (I’ve heard the bus driver Carried me to my door). ***On the day before Shepton, I was sat in the Blake Arms watching football when I received a telephone call saying a rumour was going round that due to Ramblers breaking one of the conditions of Entry they have been demoted a place in Bridgwater and therefore we were now to receive the trophy for 2nd in town. A few phone calls continued until I was able to get to the bottom of the rumour and found-out it was indeed true. We were now placed 2nd in town. What to make of 2006 then? Both a very enjoyable Stage Show and Cart to be on, although the results as a whole weren’t as promising (B/w excluded) as we hoped it was all in all a very good & enjoyable year for the MCC. We had two leaving do’s for Allan Elson, who is enjoying his round the world trip and I believe is currently in Fiji. Two sponsored bike rides which were very enjoyable and lots of laughs along the way throughout the rest of the year. Hopefully with lots of hard work and determination from everyone in the coming year, we can get Marketeers Carnival Club back up to where we belong. At the very very top, but most importantly, lets have a great time doing it. Best wishes hope you enjoyed Your Carnival News
Help wanted If you would like any more details on these events please contact a member of the committee} 1st December 2006 – Club fundraiser, Bar @ The Town Hall, Bridgwater – Bar Staff required 2nd December 2006 – Club fundraiser Bar @ The Town Hall Bridgwater – Bar Staff Required 9th December 2006 – Xmas Cabaret @ Chilton School, help wanted – Waiters, bar Staff & Washer-uppers. Please check your diaries to see if you can supply any help to us on any of these dates. 2006 Club Officers Vice Chairman - Shaun Ford Chairman of The Vice President Association – Paul Brazewell Hope you found issue7, of the Cupboard Monster mildly interesting, all previous editions can be viewed on our Internet site www.marketeerscc.co.uk and any news or questions can be directed to a committee member or by emailing us through the above Internet address. If any body has any questions or anything in general they would like to know, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the committee! |