Usual dart Wednesday 27th September, coming back 1st October
Wednesday departure Tone, Phil, Steve W., Ian in car one around 3.30pm followed by Chap , Steve B & golf clubs in car 2 around 6.00pm
Ian & Tone to arrange food supplies. Meat Supplies Ordered by Ape as per Tone's instructions (plus additions for Rog).
Rog arriving Thursday afternoon possibly.
Thursday afternoon golf - Porthpean GC booked for 2.00pm for the golfers, Ape & Bondbez to amuse themselves on some tyres, etc.
Thursday evening Feathers - booked for 8.00pm, then the Standard for last orders.
Friday - Sim & Dave leaving in car 3 around 6.00 pm (11.00 arrival time) - afternoon plan TBC
BBQ in the evening
Saturday - Healey's Cider farm booked for arrival 11.30-12.30am, Sim looking at transport.
BBQ in the evening.
Wednesday
The first group of Chaps (Ian, Phil & Steve W) departed at 2.30pm, arriving safely around 6.30pm. After settling in, they headed to the Standard for a beer or two and to await the arrival of Chap, Bondbez & the golf clubs later that evening. The usual cheery greeting was served up as they had to wait for 15 mins whilst pipes were being fiddled with and apple crumble was being paid for before finally getting served!.
Chap and Bondbez set off at 6.00pm and made good time to actually get in the Standard by 10.15. Again a not to happy to see you response was in order, mainly because they had called time at 10.00pm and reluctantly served a couple of extra rounds. We returned home for a few chap snacks and ale before retiring to bed around 2.30 am.
Thursday
A gentle start to the day with a full English expertly prepared by Ian & Steve W leaving Chap to mow the lawn and Bondbez to do a bit of electricianing!!. The afternoon's activities were split into 2 groups, the golfers, Chap, Steve & Phil and the non-golfers, Ian & Steve B.
The golfers headed off to play Porthpean in the afternoon whilst the non golfers head off down to the Lugger for a walk, waiting for the arrival of Rog who was setting off arond lunchtime.
The golf proved to be a good afternoon with the back nine having excellent views over St.Austell Bay. The chaps had opted for buggies to make life easier as there are a few hills to negotiate, it also allowed Chap to practice his drifting skills on the 16th. Certainly some thing to look at doing again.
The non golfers ended up in the Plume shortly after Rog's arrival to sample a few ales before heading back up the road to prepare for the evening festivities. The golfers returned around 6.30pm which allowed time to chill before heading out once more into the breach!!.
Suitably 'suited & booted' the Chaps headed down to the Plume for their evening meal and a few jars of Rattler, etc.. The Plume has a better choice of grub and also has the added bonus of serving Rattler and other decent ales. it's only downfall is the walk back up the hill!. Plenty of banter especially with Rog constantly proclaiming he's had five pints on more than one occasion, whilst necking a few more pints and assorted food. At 10.00pm we headed back up the hill to obtain last orders at the Standard.
Quelle Surprise!!, the Standard was shut, not just shut but looked like it had been closed for some time, obviously did not want to take £100+ of the chaps money so we decided a 'Geoff' (Boycott) was in order for the rest of DTW. Back at the bungalow we made do with chap snacks and ale and had an late evening soiree from Half man Half Biscuit courtesy of Chap's iPhone and Bondbez Bluetooth speaker!. This intern led to the 'Len Ganley Stance' becoming the chap anthem for the weekend!!.
Friday
Again a leisurely start as we waited for the arrival of car 3 containing Simbers & Dave and a surprise addition Steve Holly. With Sim reporting an ETA of 11.00am Rog & Ian got stuck into cooking full English 2 so it would be ready in time for the late arrivals. Steve B had an extra long lie-in as he had his sleep disturbed by the chap fog warning hooter - Phil's snoring!!.
With grub sorted and sleeping arrangements made, Sim opting for the 'tent' option in the back garden we decided on a visit to St Mawes. Some more energetic types walked down to the Place ferry whilst those that had done their walking the day before got the 13:40 bus. Timing was spot on as we all ended up in the Rising Sun around the same time. As the weather was good and the Rattler was flowing we became 'becalmed' there for the afternoon!!. Inspired by the previous night's soiree, Steve B produced a tape measure from somewhere so we could see if any of the chaps had the '30 inch of neck' as per the HMHB Len Ganley stance song. The winner by an inch was Rog coming in at 19 inches. He beat Phil, Chap & Dave into second place with 18 inch of neck, something Dave was not happy about as he had the same neck size as Phil, muttering about gym's under his breath. After a chilled afternoon we got the 7.00pm bus back to Gerrans for the traditional steak and chips evening.
Arriving back, chips we put in the oven whilst Chap set about BBQing the steaks. We sat down to our feast of Steak, Chips beer and red wine and also a quick rendition of the Len Ganley stance to pronounce Rog's victory in neck contest - maybe it should be come an annual chap thing!!. The evening progressed with the Chaps planning to head for Falmouth the following day despite the chance of inclement weather.
The later into DTW the earlier the nights become as most of the chaps had hit the sack by midnight.
Saturday
An early start as we planned to get the 11.40 bus to St.Mawes. Full English 3 was cooked and consumed before we headed off. Rog departed for home as planned (still muttering about having 5 pints!!).
We arrived in St Mawes to find the last ferry from Falmouth was at 3.15pm as the weather was closing in. However, the much travelled chaps decided to head there anyway. The ferry journey was not to bad on the way out and we arrived without casualty. Some of the chaps headed off to music shops in the town (or so we thought) whilst the others headed for the Chainlocker - a regular haunt that serves Rattler & Proper job amongst others. Despite the weather conditions being poor we sat out side under the large umbrellas watching the world go by with a few beers. Dave, Steves B and H returned after not only going to the music shop but also after scouring the charity shops looking for items suitable to complete Simber's Porters look (Michael Portillo). We stayed for a couple more before heading off to the library!. The library is also a book shop that sells beer and Steve W reported it had the best pint of lager he'd ever tasted on a previous visit. We thought it would be rude not to pop in for a swift one on the way back to the ferry.
The ferry departed at 3.15pm and was a bit more exciting than the journey over, there were certainly a few worried faces amongst some of the passengers and you could see why later ones had been cancelled, not that this bothered the chaps.
We arrived back in the Rising Sun at St Mawes to have a final few beers whilst waiting for the bus. This gave Steve H the chance to sample his first pint of Rattler and for Ian to model his new ginger syrup. A point of order may have to be raised about the drinking of coffee in pubs on these sessions, how times have changed!!
We arrived back in Gerrans just after 7 where Chap began the BBQ to provide the evenings fodder. A few more beers general chat ensued as the chaps chilled and wound down for the following day's clean and departure session.
Sunday
Bacon and Sausage butties were the order of the day for brekkie before the big clean-up took place. Around 10.30am the chaps were ready for departure and the drive home.
Another successful DTW here's to the next one
