Our Caister Soul Weekender

How well behaved were we !!!! – VERY!!!!

Well … most of us!!

As a whole, our bi-annual trip to Caister Soul Weekender was quite tame this time (well… from where I was standing anyway)… We had our usual laughs and giggles… there were a few drunken moments.. but nothing too terrible… “One Shoe Susan” didn’t find her other shoe, but managed to keep the ones she had with her, in pairs… “The Roman” will tell you though.. “One shoe” has started to wear lamp shades… DON’T go there!!!

From the minute “One Shoe” and Amanda picked me up from my house, it was laughs all the way. We were tempted to leave “The Roman” at home at one point, but, good friends that we are, eventually allowed her to get in the car!!!

I wasn’t staying in their caravan this time, and as you know, my lovely roomy, Danny wasn’t able to come with us – I was in with M’lady, Sara and M’lady’s friend from work, Kathy. They got to the camp shortly before us and by the time I found my way to the van… there had obviously been quite a bit of alcohol flowing. No punch or cocktails this time though.

After the usual kissing and hugging, we went to the other van, met up with the girls and went down to the main venue.

Unless you know Caister, it’s hard to explain. People say “The Soul Family”.. well .. yes.. it is like that really… a family… you get the mums, the dads, the siblings.. some that get on, some that don’t, and from what I hear it can be a little incestuous … like some families lol…

That first session in the main room is normally spent saying hi – kissing cheeks – or (for some I know) butts…. Having a little boogie and getting in the mood for the weekend of partying ahead!!!

At about 8pm we all went back to our respective vans, had something to eat, a chill and then got ready for the night ahead…. Saying that, M’Lady (Anne), Sara and Kathy aren’t really into the going out in the evening thing, so, I got myself ready and met up with the others.. by now, Martine had arrived.

We had a blinding night… danced our socks off, met up with “Cup cake Sara” and our honorary girl, Anthony… he isn’t a girl, nothing like a girl, but he is ONE of us…. Mad, crazy, lovely and fun!!! Love him to bits!!!

I gave up the ghost early for me… about 3am… I had been attacked by a Mutant form of hay fever that was to stay with me for the whole weekend… my eyes were sore and I was shattered (bit of a late Thursday night didn’t help)… so, I left the others to it and went back to my van.

The girls had left the light on in the living area for me.. it kinda felt alien to me (I know it was bloody cold)…. I’ve been used to late night caravan parties or when the nights ended, me and Danny and the girls, sitting mulling over the evening gossiping about our night.. it was dead quiet.. The three of them were in bed.. out for the count… Although Sara was rudely woken by me trying to dig out my onesy - it was bloody freezing in there.. I needed to sit and unwind and have my Galaxy Drinking Chocolate.. (Thanks Sara, love ya girl).

After remaking my bed and wrapping myself tightly in everything I had to hand to keep me warm (every year I say I should take gloves for that first night), I eventually dozed off… must’ve been about 4/4:30am.

Next thing I know, I wake up, I can hear voices in the living area, Sara isn’t in her bed, so I pick up my phone to check the time.. hmmm.. no reading glasses, but am pretty sure it says 8:48am… wow.. for Caister, that’s not bad… 4 hours sleep… it’s a bit early for me still but now I’m awake, I may as well get up!!!

It’s all very nice and civilised, Anne has made me a cup of tea, Sara and Kathy have been down the shop. We’re sitting there chatting and I think… “Let’s give Morgan (my son) a ring, make sure he’s up for work… I dialled the number, no answer, dialled it again, still no answer… lazy sod… he’s going to over-sleep… What IS the time… I slipped on my glasses… OH MY DAYS… it wasn’t even 8am yet.. When I looked originally, (tried looking), it must have been 6:48am… not 8:48am!!!! UNHEARD OF!!! Some people don’t even go to bed till around that time at Caister (if they go to bed at all)… and here I am.. thinking I’ve had 4 hours sleep, drinking tea, discussing anything and everything and it wasn’t even 8 O’Clock!!! I was horrified…..

I was seriously considering going back to bed, even though I’m one of those that once I’m up, I’m up, but then the subject of breakfast was bought up… I had taken porridge for me… all part of my healthy eating, stay fit and healthy regime… but Sara and Anne insisted I was to join them for their fry up… well.. it would have been rude not too… and M’Lady does do a wicked Brekky!!!

I’m not going to bore you all with a minute by minute break down from our great weekend.. You had to be there… We had two fab BBQ’s… even though it seemed much more packed than usual, it was a bit claustrophobic at times, but then again, the sun shone bright so I s’pose more people than usual made it out …

The night times were just as good, “Two shoes”, Amanda and I were going out at about midnight, meeting up with “The Roman” when she surfaced and Martine – we danced and laughed the night away, meeting friends, old and new and then, at the end of the night, I was creeping in, remember like you did when you were a kid and you didn’t want to wake mum and dad… the only trouble is… I ended up waking everyone coz the key wouldn’t work… woopsie!!!

We took untold photo’s, had untold photo’s taken of us all… we nicked the Soul Purpose crews fancy dress outfits… I stacked it in the BBQ area and had Anthony use me to break HIS fall…. “The Roman” practiced the Windmill, Amanda, on the spur of the moment, had a B52 party… it was all the craziness we had expected!!!

My highlight (if you take away the laughs with the girls)… was Finale night.. Sunday – it’s always the best night for me. We didn’t get out till gone midnight… walked into the main venue and made our way to the dance floor where I spied a group of familiar faces from back in the day having a dance off… Some of them were the old crew… I went over to watch them (12:30 is early for Caister Dance Offs).. but they were in full swing… somehow, I ended up joining in… LOVE IT… sporadically this happened all through the night.. it was brilliant, although I will say, I could never match some of the guys. We also had a couple of youngsters (well they said they were 30 but looked younger) join in… that enhanced it even more… Brilliant.

Anne, Sara and Kathy were all back at the van so there was just me, Amanda, “The Roman”, “Two Shoes” and Anthony… but it was still a great night!!!

Well, like all good things, it had to come to an end… we were so lucky, the sun shone from start to finish, no arguments, no drama’s, just a wicked weekend away with the best bunch of mates ever… yes.. I include the blondes in that. I wont be going in September.. it’s going to be the first that I’ve missed in god knows how many years… I’m determined to have a proper holiday this year … It’s been 13 years since my last and I want to get on a plane and hunt out the sun… so saving is going to be a huge part of my summer.

Our next BIG trip out when ALL of us normally get together, will be Summer Soulstice in June… Now THAT is a good day….

When I think about my life and things that have happened to me, how things could have turned out etc… I realise… I really am one lucky lady. I don’t have much money, but I have the utmost amount of riches in the friends & loved ones in my life… we may feel down sometimes, we may get lonely or sad, but when we’re all together, we laugh, we live, and we have fun…. And really, that’s what it’s really.. all about xxx