Bitterly Disappointing.

[wormey]

quote="RabidSalmon"] so maybe another one shouldn't be ruled out.[/quote]



Good news,

I threw my toys out of the pram on this forum this year and had some great support from the forum and at the bongo bash that has solved my issues.
Don't be put off, you'll really enjoy the meets.

Daz

[mikeWalsall]

Interesting posts for a newbie like me who is on the look out for a Bongo / and information ..

I have been on a few Toyota (TEOC) meets with my Estima and I have found meets are what ..you.. make them ..!!

Being a bit past my 'use by date' and hard of hearing .. (particularly when in a crowd with voices coming from various sources) I tend to shy away from the 'awning meets' but that does not stop me and my son still getting involved ..

My personal favourite is always the 'Jacobs Join' as that is always a good focal point on the first (proper) night of any meet .. and always prepared to throw in with some Burgers 'n buns if there is a group barby..

[bongodonkey]

This year is our first season with our bongo.

We love it.

He loves us right back.

Our first meet was with the NW crew up at Allithwaite. We arrived quite late on and it was dark. Once we found somewhere to set up Pegleg Pete came up and kindly offered to help us put the awning up.

We haven't looked back since. We have met some lovely people from all walks of life. Admittedly I could talk for England but I really really enjoy the NW meets.

That and our 2 girls really helped in breaking the ice with everyone.

Please do give the meets another chance. I highly recommend going to Harry's Silverdale bash as there are some NW peeps going there. If Carlsberg made friendly the NW crew would win hands down IMHO.

[Bongoplod]

This year is our first season with our bongo.

We love it.

He loves us right back.

Our first meet was with the NW crew up at Allithwaite. We arrived quite late on and it was dark. Once we found somewhere to set up Pegleg Pete came up and kindly offered to help us put the awning up.

We haven't looked back since. We have met some lovely people from all walks of life. Admittedly I could talk for England but I really really enjoy the NW meets.

That and our 2 girls really helped in breaking the ice with everyone.

Please do give the meets another chance. I highly recommend going to Harry's Silverdale bash as there are some NW peeps going there. If Carlsberg made friendly the NW crew would win hands down IMHO.

Very nice comment Oz,cheers.

But I agree,my 1st meet was Dabs` NW Charity Farm Bash in 2007.We came in our caravan,and me and Mrs BP made the effort to visit every Bongo and its owners and introduce ourselves.
It certainly paid dividends,as, at the evening get together in the Marquee,we sat with Andanden and a few others ,in front of Mikeonb4c who was entertaining us on his guitar,and it was like speaking to friends who we had known for years.Also,Gary and Tina (Bongolouie) who live in Bristol,travel to a lot of our meets
Weve not looked back since

Brian

It

[PixieAndTheMoon]

As Brian said, very nice comments Oz, Our dear Pegleg can chat for England also. I love his and Gillian's friendliness and conversation - lovely family. Our friend should try a smaller meet methinks one that when yer dog goes AWOL another worried folk finds it <sweet smile> Oz!

Great fun all in all

Jo x

[karena]

so whens the next allithwaite Jo -seings as how you cant make silverdale and you thought it was in october that leaves october free for you -would be a shame to not be able to use the harema again this year

[longhaul8]

I have never been to a bongo bash

But as bongo owners go you could not meet a more friendly group. As a long distance trucker who is out all week i have met quite a few people in their vans in laybys or services and always had a natter.

And of course pointed them in the direction of this site if they have never heard of it

Met a few where i have turnned up with my cup and asked them to put the kettle on while their kids have a look in the truck.

[paulv]

We went to our first Bongo Meet at Southern Softies this year. Havent been again, but thats down to circumstance - we thoroughly enjoyed it.
We didnt meet everyone, but made sure we found Ian (I can only find praise for him) and then had a walk around. We said hello's to lots of people and then sat down by our van. Loads of people walked around a and took the time to chat. I have no idea of names from the forum, we didnt ask. However, Dave The Janner Vanner, spent much time chatting to us knowing we were new and made us feel right at home!

So, my opinion is, you reap what you sow! Give it another chance Rabid

[mikeonb4c]

How very sad. Personally, I'm quite private until/unless I get sucked into socialising, so didn't mind feeling like a newbie at my first meets. The weather makes a BIG difference to the mood of a meeting, and I think the informal meets are often better as there is no expectation there that BF central will magically make a group of people get on and socialise.

I wish I could have been there though, as I don't allow someone looking lonely to stay looking lonely, if I spot it.

I pay BF membership (which is cheap) just so we can have a club where we can help each other and make owning a Bongo a more practical proposition. I've never paid much heed to the social side (with the exception of the Bongo Bash, and even there I just do my own thing).

Hope you change your mind and stick with it.

Mike

[bigdaddycain]

I wasn't going to comment but here goes.

Long long ago (2005 I think?) in the grey mists of time (and also the grey mists of the Yorkshire Dales) I turned up at a meet at 7.30pm to find everyone tucked away in thier vans/awnings. Being newbie to rallies but a sociable soul I accosted two gentlemen as they emergeged for the gents toilet. They turned out to be Dabs and Daveblueozzie

Oh aye? Those two spend WAY too much time in gents toilets if you ask me.... It doesn't take THAT long to wiggle the drips off!

[bigdaddycain]

Just to clarify - I wouldn't expect a manned reception point for these events but having a clearly indicated hub where people could get info. and having someone making a point of checking that each group of Bongoliers were visited and greeted some time within a few hours or so of their arrival would help break the ice.

That's a good idea; I've got a spare Navigator awning (with a split pole) and we can take this to meets to use as an info point.

Why not try a post-it note board where people can leave a message to say they have arrived and where they are on the site

That's a cracking idea!

[bigdaddycain]

Meets are an odd thing... I'm a reserved sort of person myself i must admit. If it hadn't been for a handfull of daymeets i'd attended, i doubt i'd have attended any overnight meets at all... I don't think i've ever walked into a pub or club on my own in my life, so there'd be little chance of me attending a meet with a bunch of strangers!

I understand where rabidsalmon is coming from to an extent.

I rarely get the opportunity to attend ANY meets nowadays i must admit, but when i do, the chances are i actually KNOW, or KNOW OF at least 50% of the attendee's, know matter what part of the country the meet is held... It'd be a different matter entirely if i didn't know anybody there!

I'm lucky insofar as my bongo (or my reputation) it would seem precedes me... Many a complete stranger approached me at this years bash with an opening line like "aren't you the fella with the chamois leather?" So in my case my vehicle is a good icebreaker... The rest naturally follows.

If rabid salmon is reading this... Please don't judge your first and only meet experience as that being the "norm" for all meets.... Please do try to get one or two informal daymeets under your belt, without even knowing it you'd have made many acquaintences!