Tenth Birthday Celebrations
The cloudy skies and poor weather forecast didn't discourage the booked 21 units arriving at the Malvern Showground to camp in the IH area expertly set out by Jane and Mark Kenworthy who had volunteered to marshal the event.. Fortunately most of the rain fell during the first night and did not hamper those intent on spending money from touring the showground and enjoying the entertainment which is always a huge attraction at Malvern. Sadly the poor weather in other parts of the UK did prevent Nicola Hartley joining us for the Saturday celebrations.
The three gazebos erected together in the centre of our area and decorated with festive bunting provided the venue for the celebrations of IHOC's 10th birthday and the sun shone! A generous spread of tasty bites and many glasses of wine brought the group together in the evening and we welcomed several new members who were attending an IHOC gathering for the first time. We were especially pleased that Ian Hartley was able to join us for without his great vans our group would not exist. Folk from Nick Whales dealership, who had a stand at Malvern this year also joined in the celebrations. Dave had the lucky ticket for the bottle of champagne that they kindly donated. Special thanks must go to Kath and Lance, Graham and Rosemary for the behind the scenes organisation for the celebrations. We even had our own DJ, thank you Tony Cockell for taking the time to set up the music which added to the atmosphere and encouraged some members to demonstrate their dancing abilities.
Tony and I had the honour of being invited to cut the 10th anniversary cake. The club continues to grow and attract new members. We are very grateful that when we "retired" from producing the IHOC newsletter and organising events that other members stepped forward to ensure that the club could continue. Tony Cockell has worked very hard to establish the successful IHOC website, Kath now organises the membership and Graham books the shows. Lyn is still busy with the club regalia. 
No gathering of IH members passes without good ideas and helpful hints being passed around but valued most is the friendships which are established and renewed as we meet at other events. The club continues to thrive on an informal basis because of these friendships and the willingness of members to volunteer to organise different meets. Discussions took place at Malvern with regard to the Winter Meet and next year's Spring Meet. Several suggestions were put forward and are to be investigated. These will be advertised on the events page when finalised. Do you know of a good venue that would be suitable and welcomes club meets? There are several areas of the country still to be explored.
Mark and Jane as well as organising the pitches also gave us some entertainment and head scratching when they gave each unit the name of a pub to illustrate, crayons provided. These we duly displayed in our windows for fellow campers to "guess the name of the pub". No one cheated but clues were liberally given as we wandered from van to van. thank to all for a great weekend.
Mary Sutton
