NAC is one of Northamptonshire’s longest running clubs
A reminder that Northampton Archery Club are once again holding their Open Tournament on Sunday 24th August 2014.
This is another relaxed local shoot, which takes place at a great venue for archery. Ideal for all levels.
Rounds: Long National, National, Short National, Junior National (All rounds and awards according to entry)
Venue: Sywell Range, A43 Kettering Road, Northampton (See Entry Form for access details).
The cry went out,” It Is Time To Go Forth” and the tribe awoke from their slumber. Preparations were begun for the long journey from the tribe’s home on the great plain of Sywell to the slopes of the far land of the well in the hollow. The tribe assembled at its home range and under the leadership of their convoy master and of the new custodian of their belongings the workers did load the wagons. After much labour and changing of minds the convoy was ready. Sarah the leader gave her permission and the convoy moved off with only a small delay while Ronny went to fetch his tin tent on wheels. Fortunately, during the journey the keepers of the laws of the trail did not appear and did not find the wagon bearing the markings of another owner that was being towed by the newest Dave of the tribe. Are not some people lucky in the choice of name?
On arrival at the meeting place of the well in the hollow we found that we were further down the hollow than usual and must now be getting very close to the well.
After much labour and muttering the tribal tent, complete with many banners, was erected, the luxurious tin tents of Sarah the tribes leader and of Ronny, the carer of monsters (or was that children) were positioned so as to guard the borders of the tribe’s dwelling. The camp was now ready for the removal of visitors coin on the morrow and the call went out for light refreshment!!
Dawn broke (well, about 9am actually) and the sky had opened and there was a great lack of visitors but we now know how they fill the well. After some delay the skies cleared and certain members who had supped of the delights made from the juice of the apple in the far land where the summer sets gathered their wits the tribe set about their task of teaching the art of Toxophilly for the meagre sum of one pound in coin of the realm. After a weary day teaching the unenlightened we repaired to the Great Hall of Refreshment, ok! We went to the beer tent but quickly returned to the campsite.
Sunday dawned and this time the sun shone down on the righteous but we decided to use it as well. This year the female members did not spend, as much time visiting the tent of the Pimms tribe, perhaps this was to do with the supplies that Sarah our leader had prepared. After a further successful day trading, sorry, I mean teaching, we decided it was time to pack up and return to our home range. This year instead of just bunging it in the container, Ian the convoy leader decided to take it to his own dwelling overnight so that many hands would be available the following day. Thus we wend our weary way home to our respective dwellings in the knowledge of a job well done.
David of the clan of Stephen
Acting Collector of the Coin
For many years now the NAC have promoted the sport of archery by attending at the Hollowell Steam Rally and encouraging members of the public to “Have a Go” at shooting bows and arrows within a safe environment under guidance. This years event took place over the weekend of 5th and 6th July and we started by gathering at Sywell to load the equipment during the Friday and to take it all to Hollowell where we spent several hours erecting fences, safety netting and gazebos etc in readiness for the 9.00 am start on the Saturday morning. Low and behold the weather was wet overnight and rain was still falling as we got ourselves ready for the rush. Unfortunately the rush didn’t start until much later as the weather improved somewhat after lunch. In just a couple of hours or so the weather improved so much we had a beautiful afternoon and evening where there was a lovely party atmosphere around the site. The rewards on the Saturday was low because of the slow start but with an improving forecast we were expecting much better on the Sunday. As expected we were all delighted as the public started to come into our tent before we were ready for them. This trickle later turned into a very busy day where the weather was kind to us and volunteers were joining us throughout the day which allowed us to take adequate breaks from the shooting line and other jobs and to take a look around the event for ourselves.
At around 5.00 pm we started the process of taking everything down and packing it into two trailers which were stored overnight allowing us all to go home for our roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and a well earned rest.On the Monday morning other volunteers joined us at Sywell to replace our equipment into our storage container until the next time. Although this event is at times hard work it is a most enjoyable weekend and it’s so rewarding to see so many happy faces and to get so many inquiries into how to go about joining our club. These event bring a lot of interest as well as some additional revenue which is much needed to help us with our costs. On another point and just for information we can now see how many members of the public visit our website on an average basis. If I was to say we get 112 “hits” a day, how many of us would have thought there is that much interest around in archery and apart from that we also get comments on how good and navigable our website really is..This is just the sought of thing that makes the job so worth it. So thanks to all who do so much for the NAC and a special thank you to all the members and NON members alike who gave their time and effort to support us throughout the period from Friday morning to Monday lunchtime.
IanP
NAC Secretary