Oh the joy of being in FolkMog. This weekend (5th and 6th May) FolkMog celebrated its silver jubilee and what a fantastic party it was too. Not a simple lunchtime party for FolkMog but an entire weekend of Morgan related fun. For us it began just after lunch on Saturday when we set out from our home in Aldeburgh to drive across Suffolk to Swaffham. This was a splendid drive as Diana had chosen a route which took in almost no main roads and had lots of sweeping curves, tight bends as well as some nice long straight roads. It also took in a good selection of country environments from open fields to woodland avenues. It was a trifle chilly on route but we wrapped up well against the wind and so did not feel cold.
We arrived at the hotel, The George, at about three thirty but it took us
a good half hour to reach reception as we kept on running into more friends
in the car park (have I mentioned how nice everyone is in FolkMog, - must
have). There were two reserved spots for a 1982 and a 2007 Morgan. So the
MacArthur’s +8 and the Braithwaite’s +4 had pride of place to
mark the twenty five years of FolkMog. In the reception area we found Eileen
Cook who was passing out Silver Jubilee regalia to those who had ordered
it but not yet had a chance to pick it up.
Having checked in we decided a stroll around the town was appropriate so
we set of, I guess, at about four fifteen. First stop, was Superdrug to buy
a pair of reading glasses as I had, brilliantly left mine behind (idiot that
I am). Swaffham is a very pleasant market town although slightly disappointingly
the market had just closed as had most of the other attraction. We did observe
a very attractive bandstand, which turned out to the Butter Cross, a place
where butter is sold, and notice that the general architecture was also pleasing
to the eye. Particularly impressive was the church which had excellently
carved beams. We did not stay long as there seemed to be a congress of campanologists
who were attending a service followed by tea and it seemed harsh to gatecrash
their party when we had one of our own to go to later. On our way back to
the hotel we met yet more friends and discovered that Swaffham had been used
as the backdrop to the new television series “Kingdom"
Once we had made it back to our room we spruced ourselves up for the party.
This was being held in the annex to the hotel and this proved an ideal room
as we managed to fill it without being over crowded. The meal began at eight-ish
and was preceded by drinks. I can’t speak for everyone else but I must
say my meal was excellent and as far as I could tell from the empty plates
it seems that others seemed equally satisfied. There were two bottles of
wine already on our table but we were serious fun lovers and soon needed
more. After the meal Maurice welcomed us all and thanked us for coming as
well as welcoming Peter Johnson, chairman of MSCC, and his lovely wife Ann.
Maurice also gave us a fascinating potted history of FolkMog and I hope to
expand on this and include it on this site soon. One interesting fact was
that originally, before the centre included Suffolk, it was known as CrumMog
for reasons which I am slightly ashamed to say I forget. I admit that the
wine had already begun to flow so I have a small excuse. Diana took a picture
of the shirt that had been brought along. This had to be digitally enhanced
which you can see if you roll the mouse over the image. There were also various
books of photographs from yesteryear which showed us that FolkMog really
has not changed hugely from its inception, well apart from the clothing and
hair perhaps.
After the meal the disco started. Now this is an area which can make or
break an evening. A disc jockey that focuses on one type of music can kill
the fun while one who is sensitive to the mood, background, age and musical
tastes of their audience can make the whole evening go with a bang. We were
lucky the disc jockey seemed to catch the mood very quickly and soon lots
of FolkMoggers were “Strutting their funky stuff”. This set
the scene for the whole evening and, much too soon, midnight arrived and
it was time to retire. Yes I know this seems to compress several hours into
a single sentence but we were having such a good time that it really did
seem to go that fast!
Breakfast had been set for nine the following morning and I was somewhat surprised to find that I had no hangover. The celebrations were not over; however, as we were all due to meet again at the Crown at Mundford at approximately midday so we had a few hours to kill. Just as we were leaving the car park Peter Johnson noticed that our exhaust had fallen off of its mounting and firstly drew our attention to it and fixed it for us. So now I can say that my Morgan has been worked on by the chairman of the club. Most gratifying, many thanks Peter.
Diana and I decided to seek out the Iceni village that was between Swaffham and Mundford. Unfortunately when we arrived it was closed and not due to open until eleven. This left us some twenty minutes to wait so we decided to move on the Oxburgh Hall. Which also opened at eleven but by the time we got there, there would be hardly any wait. We could also have visited Grimes Graves, a Neolithic flint mine which was also nearby. We have noted that this is a fascinating area and we really should return soon. Oxburgh Hall is a fifteenth century moated manor house with extensive gardens which we spent a happy hour or so walking round before setting off for Mundford.
Arriving at Mundford we found a parking space and walked to the pub where
found that there was a convention of Harley-Davidson owners and the pub was
surrounded by Harleys and their owners. David Kennett later observed that
as the nickname for Harleys was hogs that this meeting was “Hogs and
Mogs”. We all admired the sheer hard work of the Harley-Davidson owners
as, not only did the chrome work gleam but the engine blocks were absolutely
spotless with not even a trace of oil to be seen.
The lunch was very pleasant although it must be said that we barely required food after the breakfast we had partaken of just a few hours before. Actually Diana had been very abstemious at breakfast; it was only me that was being a bit piggy. We were joined by Pat and Alan Braithwaite as well as Ann and Peter Johnson.
The whole event had been masterminded by Maurice and Eileen Cook, Ian Charity, Dave Kennett and Richard and Ruth Brown, and what a good job they did to, a tremendous weekend. Many thanks to the team.
So there you have it. Good food, excellent company, dancing and Morgans. What more could you ask for.
Let’s hear it for the next twenty five years!
There are more pictures here. Many thanks to Alan Braithwaite, Maurice Cook, Chris Dady and Diana for supplying them.