Wednesday 9th October 2019 -  Dundry Down G/SC-010 & Beacon Batch G/SC-003

Gig: 60s Gold - The Mindbenders & Steve Ellis

Venue:  Fairfield Halls, Croydon

From Dundry Down G/SC-010, I drove to the cul-de-sac East of the summit of Beacon Batch, and parked beside the transmitter compound.  I figured this would be a short and quick approach with not much ascent.  However, it was not that simple.

It had been a very wet morning, and this narrow path between high hedgerows had turned into a deep stream.  I tried to straddle or skirt around it the best I could, but it was tricky and I soon got wet feet.  The further I progressed, the deeper, wider and faster-flowing the stream became!  I passed a stile to a grassy field to the left and wondered if that might offer easier progress, but not know if it could be exited further up, I ignored it.  Turned out, there was another gate onto the common, so I made a mental note to return that way.

Once I got out onto the common, things became a little easier, but certainly not trivial.  Once I'd passed the worst of the floods, I could now see a large group of wild ponies congregated at the trig point.  They slowly moved away as I approached.  I enjoyed a very quick activated with the 2m FM handheld, with four QSOs in just six minutes.  This was an excellent result, and I could get on my way to the theatre.

I arrived at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, signed in at the Artists' Entrance, and followed the signs to the stage and dressing rooms.  I met the bandleader/keys player Tony, drummer Andy and guitarist John and started to set up my stuff.  I was then introduced to Steve Ellis (formerly of the Love Affair) who was a really nice bloke and went off to make me a coffee.  After soundcheck, we went off to catering where a small buffet had been prepared for bands and crew.  I tucked in before doing the traditional thing of going off to find a Wetherspoons with the other musicians.

Drinking beer in 'Spoons with the Mindbenders and the Merseybeats was a new - and pleasant experience!  Later on, the two sets - one with the Mindbenders, and one with Steve Ellis - both went well, and my own work for the night was done by 8.15pm!  I took the opportunity to get straight on the road to Folkestone, where I had theatre digs booked for a couple of nights.  The next day I would seize the opportunity to get out on the South Downs, starting with Firle Beacon G/SE-010.