Into The Valley

So that's it, after eight festivals, this weekend marked the final one of 2014. Life on the road is over for another year.

Wearing: Dollyrockers maxi (Second to None, 2010), 1970 felt hat (Car boot sale, 2009), Huge vintage bronze hoop earrings (the fabulous Pao), Original 1960s Biba dragonfly choker (My Mum's), Bertie brogue boots (car boot sale, 2013)

Grabbing a book to take away with me I spotted one of my favourite reads, How Not To Run A Club on the shelf, Peter Hook's tale of the rise and fall of Manchester's legendary Hacienda, wondering if I'd be substituting club for festival as a possible blog title when describing our weekend. 

Muddled emails and telephone calls requesting information we'd sent weeks previously, trading pals dropping out at the last minute and an inclement weather warning, we wondered whether the very first V Dubs in The Valley was doomed to fail before it had even started but with the pitch paid for months ago it was a weekend away if nothing else.

Our initial misgivings couldn't have been more wrong. The location, a picturesque valley minutes away from the historic town of Bridgnorth, along with the warm welcome we received as soon as we arrived on site, immediately put us at ease. We parked, pitched up and were set up & ready for action (with the first cider on the go) by the time our mates arrived.  

Initially an intimate end of season event for a few hundred VW enthusiasts, demand for tickets was so high that the original location was changed & more tickets released, developing into a sell-out weekend with over 1,200 campers and hundreds more day visitors paying on the gate.

An impressive variety of food stalls, inexpensive booze, live music, an old skool disco, a scooter rally, a large car & bus display and, crucially, loads of immaculately kept portaloos. 

And, for late September, the weather wasn't too bad, either. The mist looming over the valley looked far more menacing than the reality. 

There were lots of interesting traders,

The man with the auto jumble was a dead ringer for Hunter S Thompson.

Great live music,

Some very dapper gents.... 

Wearing: Vintage maxi & stainless steel pendant (both from car boot sales), velvet & rhinestone choker (vintage fair, 2013)

...and me!

It was great to see (hello, Claire!) and to hang out with friends from home after we'd closed for the day. Here's Maxine,

and Jolene with her handmade silver jewellery (HERE).

We've met this lovely couple and their two tiny Jack Russell dogs (the baby is under the table) at previous VW events. I went AWOL for ages chatting to them back at their van.

Taking a book with me? What was I thinking? That was about as misjudged as our expectations for the weekend. V Dubbers are a mixed bunch, people of all ages and backgrounds united over a common love for a brand. A huge cross section of people attend shows and vintage is still rather niche. Luckily having a classic air cooled bus visible from our pitch and having been regulars on the VW scene for over 8 years means we're recognised and visitors love to pop by for a chat, a catch up and a casual browse, often ending up falling for some of the stuff on display.

Under Siege! SOURCE

This was all I read, a couple of articles from this month's Chap magazine over crumpets & coffee snatched before we opened for business, kindly donated by new friend who'd christened our style "Cool as f*ck".

Wearing: Topman skinnies, vintage Wrangler shirt, Original Lee card blazer (all charity shopped), Tootal scarf, tooled leather belt and 1970s Cherry red Docs (car boot sales)

Wearing: 1970s Jersey Masters skinny shirt & gold lurex maxi (Both from my friend Pete @ Chickadooli), Vintage hat & choker (as before), 

And now to the downside, unpacking Gilbert, putting away the stock and tackling the mountainous washing pile.
See you soon!


Linking to Patti's Visible Monday and Judith's Hat Attack.