Belters at Belters!

 Well what can I say I’ll start by quoting the Boss “was a cracking show but was missing Tam, Kyle, Wullie, Mick Mack, Big Al, Liam, Kev, Brian, James, Keith, Ciaran, Aidan, both Phils, Richie, Vard, Rob, and all the other bods that make the club what it is.”

 It was a very mixed weekend and for those who weren’t there the Belters were:

- The addition of several new members, they fitted in to the group fantastically well and took our madness in their stride.

- The JACKSON! Not putting a damper on our original tankers but what a machine and with all three lined up down the front our display we did attract rather a lot of attention.

- Our Surprise Party for our Techno Ranger Tony… Dale lured him away with talking of forum’s and internet while we all set up the bar, disco and sorted out his birthday cake.  We were joined by most of Das Reich and our new members to name but a few and had a cracking night!  Including Zane swapping clothes with an Aussie Nazi as he likes the uniform!!

- The trip to the river with our german friends... Skinny dipping (for some)… followed by skinny running… which had nothing to do with me I was in the Kitchen the whole time! (tee hee)

- Our Friday night out at the 514^th.  A brilliant night highlighted by Yorkie and the Class A boys being warned off by the MP’s, Tony’s dad dancing to every song including the Andrews Sisters Stuff, the rocking out to do the dubious covers of the Foo’s and the smoking of several cigars. Oh yes and before I forget…. as I am sure you boys enjoyed it plenty… Burlesque dancers!  Photos available on Photo Bucket for those who want to see, link in the Photo’s section.

- Saturday night one of the funniest sights Rangers do Dodgem’s… photo’s / video would be good for those who did not go along.

- Sunday nights Van Convoy around the roundabout’s of Harlow thanks to Zane’s in ability to sit still EVER!!

- Monday morning Gay Icon does Macdonalds and after much confusion of why there was cheese on the McMuffins, and the unhealthy nature of it all we set off in convoy and departed ways at the M6.

 A summary of the battles (after all this should be the main attraction)…

 - Friday’s battle rather quick and caused a few issues for Babe but after a bit of “how many men in HBT’s” all was good again. Unfortunately the last battle I saw was Victory Show so I think I was a bit biased.

- Saturday Morning Battle went better than Fridays and Kev not to be out done by Dave had tank trouble too and disappeared for quite sometime.  As a spectator I could not comment as I was in the kitchen preparing lunch for you all.

- Saturday Main Battle Looked fantastic despite the problems people had with guns, and the marshalls in hi-vis jackets backing the tanks in in front of the crowd!

- Sunday’s Main Battle better than Saturday’s despite the long wait.  Gilly and myself observed from the back of the field so we could get a good look at the tanks.  It looked superb, watching the guys run down the field in to the action, and from what I understand having to deal with some slightly unstable germans, and our very own Tit... I mean Parus Ater beating an SS man in to submission (strangely after said German begged him to do it)?!?

As well as the battles, the stripers, and the tanks, there were several purchases of note:

- The new “Ammo Dump” for those who don’t know already you can wait till Victory Show!

- Additional kitchen equipment which should make life easier, only trouble is was yet another fuel type so we couldn’t use it this week.

- Gilly’s Sword… don’t ask!

- A seriously large amount of Beer and cider

Anyway in summary, a fantastic time had by all, and although we were a few men down a great show if for nothing else than the company!

On a personal note I want to say thanks for making my first Beltring so enjoyable and I know next year will be even better.

Anyway, I hope I have not missed anything

Thanks for a great time
Ranger Groupie
Honorary Ranger

New Website Launched

Well where do I start, probably with the very pages you’re browsing at the moment. This is Normandy44’s brand new web site and forum, I hope you like it as many hours of blood sweat and tears have gone into its conception. We’re hoping that it will become a useful reference tool for other reenactors out there and for those who follow N44 and what they get up to.

2008

Well we’re well into the year and we’ve done quite a lot so far. To sum it up we’ve been to 1 dance, 1 militaria fare, 1 photo-shoot and 2 events and it’s just July. As usual we’ve got lots of mad plans on the drawing board and hopefully we’ll fulfill most of them by the end of the season.  We’ve tried a different impression at one of the events this season in the form of the 1^st Rangers Battalion and this proved quite popular and added another string to our bow, we may try other impressions in the future.

Transport

Like most reenactors out there transport issues seem to be one of the burning issues of the moment. The sheer cost of fuel is putting a real burden on groups getting their personnel and equipment to shows. We’ve tried to rectify this by buying the single decker bus at the tail end of last year and by purchasing a transit van last month. We’re hoping to buy another transit van over the next few months and hopefully this will meet all our requirements for getting the kit to shows. We’ll still need to pay large fuel bills but at least we won’t have to hire transport.

2009

The D-Day anniversary, 65 years since those brave soles risked all to launch an invasion on the Normandy coast. Normandy44 will be travelling over there in strength and hopefully we’ll be taking at least five WW2 vehicles and about 30 Rangers. Although we’ve been over to Normandy on numerous occasions it never looses the allure to us, especially on an anniversary year. The highlight for me has got to be meeting the WW2 veterans and hearing their stories and I look forward to catching up with some old friends in 2009.