Colin Peters AKA Brother Of Pippin

It was the kind of culture clash that I think all village fetes should aspire to.
 

I remember rough cider being fantastically cheap to buy in the Cricket but
always being sick after more than 3 pints. It seemed unfair at the time,
but then no-one seemed to mind much how many times I was sick so long as it wasn't on them.
 

The various tepees and home-made tent arrangements preferred by my brother
have left an indelible memory ( on mind & body ).

I remember listening to Paul & Beavers' 'Crap Tapes', smoking dope & drinking yet
more cider to the accompaniment of George Formby and the rising tones of Adolph Hitler.

I wouldn't say my early teens were that unusual but they certainly
featured some weird moments, thanks to the club!


The people I remember are: Cyril, who had kind of made the whole thing possible
by standing up for the club ( great business move if nothing else ) and was always
good enough to bring out a cup of tea in the morning if you kipped on the beach.

Paul & Beaver for reasons just mentioned + Paul's infamous consumption of Big soup.

Polly & Gail - Polly always had the best gear and Gail, probably was always the best dressed,
Gervais for his Skippy impersonations, Blob, Morris & Mick Benner & The Brothers Pissed -
all of who I remember as great people who would never let you down in a crisis or at
least would see the funny side of it.
 

Mandy, who by all accounts had lived a fairly wild life but always looked really well on it ( still does! )
Stephan Organ, Little Pete and Malcolm - who rode a white Harley.

'Eel' who Andy was at school with and a bloke from Ireland who I only knew as
Con and who had Elvis written in studs across his jacket except that it actually read Flvis because one of the studs had come off.

Other more peripheral characters were: 'Onion Head' aka Brian Less,
who for some reason always brought a unicycle and had the piss taken out
of him right royally for doing so.

Someone named Hayden, who performed a striptease outside the cricket for his
21st and favoured the quarry at the far end of Beesands as a place to camp.
( Hmmm interesting! )

There was a couple named Mike & Jan, who I think used to ride down with a side car.
Also a guy from New Zealand called Don who would invariably turn up in a camper van
 +  a number of associate members from Wales who always seemed to bring
loads of potatoes with them. ( You can buy potatoes in Devon, can't you ? )
 

All in all the term club always seemed inadequate to describe such
a diverse collision of people. Personally I will always have a particular affection
for South Devon as a place where normal life was suspended for a few weeks
every year to be replaced by outrageous behaviour and amazing starlit summer nights.

One of my abiding memories is returning from my first encounter with the club in
980, I was about 15. My parents picked me up from the station and I told them
I'd had a nice holiday.

I remember going for a piss when I got home and peeing pure alcohol into the toilet bowl - I'm amazed I can still remember so much.