Goat Hurlers are made of stern stuff though, having endured the Flood of 2007, and this year saw a record attendance with 19 people making the trip, including several debutantes.
Pedz and his Morrell clan waited in vain for a lift from Banbury railway station not knowing Andy was parked up in the camping field waiting for Thompson, and his son Walter, who were commandeered into assisting with the erection of the 'Idaho 3' tent.
Friday night saw a departure from recent tradition by residing in the Pear Tree all night as more arrivals flooded in.
The Pear Tree is under new management and it was quite a shock to be greeted with a smile (instead of a glare) by the lovely Laura.
The heavens opened on Saturday morning which soaked Andy and the Thompson Twins to the skin. Unfortunately, this meant Andy missed the legendary Church coffee morning as he dried out under canvas.
As 12 noon approached, so did Rich and Darcey and a dulcet Essex voice boomed out 'Ere Rich - that's Priesty's dormobile. Let's just stick the tent up over there, mate'.
Eerily, at that very moment, the rain subsided and the sun peeked through to herald the opening of the 2011 festival.
This was the third year in the Rural Fayre field (and my first experience). Obviously, it wasn't the same as the good old days where we bagged a wooden bench and expectantly waited for people to come rolling down the hill. However, all the real ales were located in a large marquee with no queuing - hurrah !
Surprise visitor, Mike Keenan, kindly erected a deluxe gazebo to accommodate the growing numbers of Hurlers. Chairs were brought out and we tasted some of the 109 available beers.
Mid-afternoon saw a visit from the event organiser, Jill, who had brought along a photographer from the Banbury Gazette to capture the most glorious of human pyramids. After some careful planning by Steve, and a sensible decision to reject a 6-5-4-3-2-1 attempt, we produced a rock solid, twin 7-6-2-2-1-1 structure. Hard to describe, as when you're on the base, you haven't got a clue what's above you (apart from a lot of weight crushing the very breath out of your lungs).
One advantage of the large field was that footy could take place without a long boring trek to the play park. This was just as well as a basketball hoop has been placed in front of the away goal. The 'Old Gits' took on the 'Young Upstarts' and surprisingly won 6-4. Doubly surprisingly as the 'Young Uns' fielded Paul Scholes (Mark).
Gerard Darcey gave an outstanding performance at centre half shielding an energetic and effective goal keeper (Gibson). A security guard gave us advance warning that a 4x4 was coming through the penalty area. Which was nice.
In an effort to give the debutantes the full festival experience, mushy pea fritters and chips were consumed to line the stomach for the lengthy trek right across the village to The Bell.
There is also a new landlord in place at The Bell but gratifyingly, he is as unfriendly and unwelcoming as the previous ten. Attempts to procure ale were met with a blank stare. 'Sorry, lads - ain't got any beer at all'. Before you say, well it's his busiest day of the year - no-one drinks in The Bell by choice. It's like a hostelry for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Armed with Guinness, cider, premium strength lager and wooden missiles, we took to the Aunt Sally range. The 'North' played the 'South' and someone won. Then, 'Boys' played 'Girls' (topped by by some random student teachers) and someone won.
We left the stinking cess pit of The Bell behind us with all the 'Drug Watch' posters and went to play pool in rather more civilised Sun hostelry where the biggest challenge inserting a 50p piece to release the balls.
The presence of so many ladies this year led to a bizarre phrase being oft repeated that simply was not understood (or heeded) by the chaps - 'When are we going for food ?'
The pool and the proper toilet facilities in The Sun proved so popular we missed the traditional music that closes the Festival.
All in all - a great festival. Thanks to all who attended.
Attendees:
Steve, Tom, Katie, Mark (Sky Blue dormobile, no awning)
Andy (no mates, mistress, adopted African orphans or family in tow)
Pedz, Becky, Phil ('Taxi')
Ben, Emily (12,000 mile trip from Oz)
Rich, Darce (Essex boys)
Leo, Joe (Brighton 'Gus' Posse)
Thompson, Walter (plus ukulele)
Wheeldon (Bear Grylls survival tent - red tadpole)
Mike, Paula (chemical toilet out of bounds)