FOREWORD
CHALE SHOW - 5th - 6th AUGUST
Horticultural show
just kept growing
It started out primarily as a
gardening event, but over the years,
the Chale Horticultural Show has
expanded to include everything
from crowd-pulling arena events to
static displays and even a fantastic
line-up of vintage steam engines.
Not surprisingly, the two-day
show is now one of the favourite
events on the Island’s calendar – and
has become a magnet for locals and
tourists alike.
If you’re planning to visit this
year’s show, you’ll find antiques and
craft stalls, fun fair attractions - and
for food lovers, a great selection of
gastronomic delights.
And, not forgetting what the
show’s roots were, there’ll also be
12
plenty of horticultural exhibits and
competitions throughout the two
days.
Great family entertainment, the
Chale Show is good value for money,
at £6.00 for adults and free entry for
children under 16 which is a great
bonus.
The show is most definitely worth
a visit, and will do a great job of
keeping your kids amused over the
long summer holidays.
It runs from 11am on Saturday 5th
until 6pm on Sunday 6th August.
Contact: 01983 551205.
SCOOTER RALLY - 26th - 29th AUGUST
Gleaming glory of the
massed scooters
One of the beauties about
the Isle of Wight lies in its
diversity. We get rocking at
the Pop Festival, then pull on
our gumboots for the County
Show. And we always like to
round off the summer season
by welcoming over 3,000
scooters as they pour off the
ferries and head for Ryde. It
is a sight not to be missed the wonderfully retro outfits,
the battalions of scooters all
armed to the handlebars with
polished wing mirrors and
blaring horns, the cognoscenti
chat.
But even if you are just an
onlooker, you are made to
feel welcome as part of the
whole glorious scene. The
scooterists, who have gained
a reputation for good manners
and behaviour on this August
bank holiday weekend, are always
delighted to share their enthusiasm
and to chat to everyone.
The event has become so popular
that it now represents the biggest
gathering of scooters anywhere
in Europe, and is regarded by
aficionados as an unmissable date
on their calendars. The rally extends
across four days over the bank
holiday, and includes such jollities
as live music parties and spare-parts
markets. But the spectacular climax,
and undoubtedly the highlight of
the entire event, is the ‘Ride-Out’,
when thousands of scooterists
congregate on Ryde seafront before
heading off in one glorious and
massive cavalcade of ear-splitting
noise and polished splendour on a
choking tide of exhaust fumes.
The ride-out takes place on
the Sunday of the bank holiday
weekend, and is well worth seeing.
But if you can’t make it then, try and
meet the scooterists while they are
on the Island. They come from near
and far, and they love
it here – so we owe
them a big thankyou for their unique
contribution to the
Island.
Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net