Mark Johnstone's Isle Of Wight Story

The 2010 Isle of Wight Scooter Rally was my third in a row, but I’d say the numbers attending might have been down on the previous 2 years but only marginally. Local radio still estimated between 12 to 15,000 people were on the Island over the weekend specifically for the Rally itself and believed up to 5,000 scooters would take part in the Sunday ride out.

We arrived on the Island off the 3 o’clock ferry from Southampton and were soon at our digs between Sandown and Shanklin. As in previous years we headed for The Tap in Sandown where Who’s That had ensured the place was packed. The band rocked through a classic Who set and to be fair they sounded much better than they looked.

Saturday morning meant a trip into Smallbrook Stadium to the Parts Fair and Campsite to hit the stalls. The great weather ensured the Parts village was packed. There really was something for everybody, from an oil plug washer to full-blown custom scooters for sale, you spend your time wishing “why didn’t I write a list of what I need”. As well as the vast array of parts and accessories on sale there were various Scooter Dealers with onsite mechanics to sort out your scooter if it had been acting up or even if the speed merchants wanted the chance to have their machines set-up on the dyno that was also there.

A trip into Ryde Ice Rink on Saturday afternoon and a walk round the custom show was popular with many. With the usual high standard of machines on display and a chance to check out the talents of Dave Dickinson, the show was well worth the entry fee. Good result for a Scottish Vespa with a pristine silver GS 160 walking away with Best Restored Classic Vespa.Saturday night meant a chance to see The Chords playing at the Balcony Bar, Ryde. So after meeting a few of the other Scottish Scooterists that had made it down for the Rally in the Marina Bar, it was time to catch the band. I can only say seeing this band live after so many years was one of those great Isle of Wight Rally moments.

Another dry sunny morning on Sunday ensured that the ride out was going to be huge in fact they had to stop scooters entering the Ice Rink car park and were lining them up along the Esplanade. I didn’t complete the full ride out as I had tickets to see Paul Weller at Carisbrooke Castle as part of the Summer Madness Festival, so stopped half way and watched the ride out go past. I then headed back into Ryde in the opposite direction of the continuous parade of scooters still taking part in the ride out.

With secure parking available for scooters at the Festival, I decided to take mine, making the trip home after the gig a bit easier. I arrived in time to see Brand New Heavies take to the stage but unfortunately they seemed to be hampered by sound problems. The Coral followed and went down really well with the ever-growing crowd, but for me the highlight was Paul Weller. Although his usual fans were there in abundant numbers, his set was received a bit quieter than I’ve seen when it’s his own gig. Think that’s as you’d expect from a mixed festival crowd. However the only disappointment for me was no encore but hearing him do Pretty Green then going straight into Start was worth the ticket price alone.

Mark Johnstone ( VCS Member )