Reminiscing By Mick Wills

The Jaguar Caravan Club was formed in 1972 by a few friends that enjoyed caravanning. It has gone a long way since those days. We used to caravan in fields no electric hook up then. 12 volt batteries ,Gas mantles in caravan, no heating, no double glazing. Water came through by pumping a plunger in the floor. The winter rallies were the worst even the dog bowl used to freeze up. If you were really lucky you had a gas fire that connected to a tap in the floor, not allowed today. But we survived . The highlight of the weekend was the Saturday night social. We had Tramps Ball, Vicars and Tarts, Hawian Night and Halloweens. Some clubs even had a bonfire weekend with fireworks.

We used to dig a big hole in the corner of the field for the Elsan the more vans the bigger the hole. Rally plagues were collected on every rally and displayed on a board outside your van or on your toilet door. The plagues were a topic of conversation between fellow caravaners. Every year there would be an associations rally attended by all clubs. They used to compete against each other in various sporting activities, (ie ) rounder's, cricket, volleyball, and darts. There was even a dancing disco competition for teenagers and fancy dress for the little ones. 

And that my friends as they say "those were the days"