Woodside Falconry

It's been a cracking month weatherwise - so how come, I opened the curtains this morning to find it raining ? Oh well, I'm sure it will get better - and it did. So, off I pootle round to the starting point. In the end we had 9 bikes turn up (and one who joined us but then found he should be with another group). A bit of fun before we started (see below) and we set off for the Lincoln area. The weather improved as we rode, the roads were dry and we made very good progress. After a quick brew stop, we arrived at Woodside Falconry at around 12:30.

We disrobed (as it were) and wandered in - to find that the pig racing was just about to start. So, we rushed round to see this amazing spectacle. It was so funny - and the piglets were obviously enjoying themselves (so were we). Then, some food and drink before we sat down to hear the talk on snakes - and like all big kids, we were very keen to hold them (apart from Brian, who is forever known as the "rufty tufty jessie biker" (as he was christened by the lecturer)). Another brief wait and we went in for the ferret racing and to see owls and vultures fly. It was amazing and very very interesting.

Overall, an excellent days entertainment - not just the riding but the whole day - this is what MANHOC is all about !!!

So, some pictures to keep you all amused.

At the start - the bikes lined up ready to go
Geoff explains exactly how big it is - Karen tries to see where he has hidden it
Judy then shows how big John's is - but we all think that was the one that got away
Mandy has a new petrol station detector on her head
And she rides off to test it - followed by Brian and Derek
Once we got there, the disrobing began (it was 25c by then)
Then, on the the pig racing - you see, you can have flying pigs.....
Gary needed the comfort of an angel or two after all that excitement - while Brian decided that a cuddle with a goat was good enough.
Then onto the snakes. Mandy was (sort-of) OK with them
Derek was fine.
Karen was shocked when Gary asked where to put his trouser snake
But afterwards, she was quite relaxed - so obviously enjoyed it.
John and Judy shared one between them.
While Mark had a large one all to himself.
Karen was much better with the bearded dragon (Doesn't look anything like the mother-in-law said Gary)
Then, on to the ferrets and owls. As a penance for not liking snakes, Brian had to play ferret roulette with the children - which he lost
The owls and vultures were very impressive
Then, outside for ice creams before we all set off for home.