(Home) Jam 2003 Brean #1 Somerset 16-19th May

I had intended to host an AceJam near to Blackpool. The Woodvale Jam looks like it will go ahead so I’ve changed to a site local to me. Warren Farm Holiday Park, Brean Sands, Nr. Burnham-on-sea, Somerset. Web site www.warren-farm.co.uk . The weekend 17th/18th May looks the best for the sites Rally Field No 3. Tents, caravan and sleeping in vans will be all together. Electric hook ups and a nice utility block. Prices per night per unit £5.50 plus £2.00 for electric if required, this goes down to £4.00 + £1.00 if 10 or more turn up, and even less for 25+ and 51+. Have a look at the web site and e-mail me direct if you are interested.

- (#6908) Clive, 24 Jan 03

good luck in your ace meeting....
it is to far for me to travel..
regards
paul

- (#7004) paul, 31 Jan 03

I booked space for ten on 16, 17, 18 and 19 May. Price per night is the same if you stay one or four nights. Ignore the blurb on the Website - there are no extra costs for additional people, dogs, tents and vans etc. , it is a flat rally rate per vehicle.
Yes any form of Toyota import MPV are welcome.
I have three definites so far.

- (#7005) Clive, 1 Feb 03

Major bummer! Much as I'd like to be there, I'm committed to a trip to the wilds of Scotland (Scoraig, near Ullapool) to learn how to build wind turbines! Runs 17-24 May and as I'll probably take at least two days to get there, the Jam weekend is out for me.

Hope you all have a great time anyway - I'll be thinking of you!

- (#7052) SteveFE, 5 Feb 03

Hi

You can put me down for a definite!!! So far there's 2 of us, but there might be 6. What do we do now? Do we pay you, or direct to Brean Sands?

Also, is it worth advertising this in our local Newspapers? There's quite a few Townaces running around Newport, but nobody seems to be writing to this Site from around here. Perhaps it's a good opportunity to let people know of this Site and to have a Great Get-Together!

It would be good for people from here, as it is only 50 miles away and about 1 hour's drive.

Joanna

- (#7440) Jo, 27 Feb 03

Just turn up. The cost is per vehicle/pitch, not how many bodies you have in it, and pay me on the day(s) no need to book with Brean Sands, I'm registered as co-ordinator and burser.
I feel the Jam is more for us who visit this and sister site's. Be there or be square window advert and notice under wiper blades was tried before with no luck, so I don't propose it myself. Feel free to have a go yourself and advertise these site but not my e-mail address please. If anyone is interested they can logon and then contact me.
Should exceed 10 on the Sat night which I think will qualify for the cheaper rate.
Must remember to get some tent pegs!

- (#7441) Clive, 28 Feb 03

Count me and my tribe in for the Friday and Saturday.

So that'll be two Adults(well the wife is one and technically I count as one although not if you listen to her) and the six kids. Will there be plenty of room for a largish tent?

We are looking forward to getting together with some other townie owners and getting some of that knowledge first hand rather than over the net.

See you all there.
Tony, Teresa, Christian(14), Danny(12), Suzie(10), Jack(8), Sam (3) and Emma-Lea(18mths)

- (#7671) Tony, 10 Mar 03

Yes large flat sites, and as we have half of a large field to use at the moment who cares if you use two pitches? I have a large tent myself.
See you there.

- (#7672) Clive, 11 Mar 03


It's nearly here!
All those attending (even if you are still thinking about it), can you please e-mail me direct with intended nights (or day if not staying over).
The site wants to have a list so it will let you pass reception, and I have some info to send you.
Tent pegs at the ready, now where did I put mine?
Thanks
Clive

- (#7937) Clive, 6 Apr 03 4:13

Just in case you don’t know-

How to find Warren Farm Holiday Park.

Leave M5 at junction 22 and follow the B3140 past Burnham-on-Sea to Berrow and Brean. The Park is situated about 1.5 miles past Brean Leisure Park (Fun Fair and expensive!).
Report to reception and say Toyota AceJam Field 3, they will direct you from there. If you are not camping please let reception know or they will charge me a nights fee.

All fees are to be collected by me, cash please.

I have been assured that the sun will shine, it may be over the Middle East but it will shine!

Clive
- (#8353) Clive, 5 May 03 2:55

hi clive hope 2 make it if grace is out of repair shop.Do u move the acejam aroumd from 1 year to the next?And have u ever had it in wales [acejam that is]Maybe the hills of Snowdonia would be nice? may the power of the ace be with u.

- (#8354) Tom, 5 May 03 19:36

Hi Clive.
I am planning on replacing my aftermarket thermostat the weekend before, if this cures my odd temperature fluctuations, I will be arrive sometime Friday evening, and will leave Saturday evening or early Sunday morning.
Look forward to meeting you and Dave.

- (#8355) dave Bright, 6 May 03 5:26

whats the ace jam? - is it a rally where millions, well ok just lots, of us townies get together talk, eat, drink, and sleep townie. Well count me in, oh, and the missus, three kids, and 23ft twin axle caravan. Yes its me, in case any of you have been wondering who the nutter is. By the way, whats the cost of the jam.


- (#8399) mike m, 7 May 03 20:07

Mike,
AceJam was a name I copied from the (first?) one last year. Yes it's a rally, where lots of Ace owners (and a Lucida but ex Masterace owner) get together and talk Townies if you want or visit the local attractions or just have a cheap camp on a fairly well equiped site. At most it will be £5.50 per night plus £2 hook up.
Plenty to do in and around the site to keep most happy.
Have a look at AceAnswers and click on the banner when it comes up, ot visit the Townace Nutters Website for more info.
See you there, well would be hard to miss you with the house in tow.
Clive

- (#8400) Clive, 8 May 03 1:24


Hi to all Jammers. Really looking forward to this weekends AceJam. This will be our first as we only acquired Our Ace last July. Me and my tribe will be arriving early to mid afternoon on the Friday 16th and I was wondering what day/time everyone else was planning to arrive. Don't want to be sat there waiting only to find everyone else turns up Sunday morning!!

Can't wait to see everyone in the flesh so to speak, and glean as much knowledge from all you experts first hand.

See you all there.

Tony

- (#8464) Tony, 13 May 03 3:15

Hi - I will be arriving on Sat pm ish. I too can't wait as I haven't been b4. I had my townie just 3 months ago (an ex Spacecruiser owner for 13 wonderful carefree years, till the rust killed it off - sob).

I am no expert though, so don't ask me anything. I realy on this site for my problems and always get good advice.

There will be 2 of us going. - c u - Jo

- (#8465) Jo, 13 May 03 4:47

There will be several arriving on Friday.
We have over 40 "hope to be there" for the Sat.
Just a few for Sunday night.
I will not be there Friday night, big party to go to.
I will be on camp mid morning, you can tell it's me I drive a TOWNACE, er well er, ok I've got a beard, glasses and a noisy dog. Sticker in tent window might be bit of a clue also.
Several experts and celebs (Dave and Mark, website owners creators and alround good guys!), will be on hand. Wide range of children from baby to 19 year old.
Plenty to do on and off site, and so what if it rains, the site also has washing drying facilities in the utility block, which is less than a minute from your pitch.
Now where did I put my sun shade?

For those of you who asked - I don't know if the disposable BBQs are allowed - Warren Farm have not got back to me. The receptionist was not sure. Is it best to ask or play dumb?
If you have a mobility thingy, tell reception and you will get a bigger pitch with easy access, whatever that may mean.

See you there, safe journey!

Clive

- (#8466) Clive, 13 May 03 5:18

Yes, I will be attending this year with my two eldest children, 8 and 9. Despite the miserable weather forecast on the 5-day guestimation we will be bringing a tent, a new one bought especially for the event.

I've told the kids if it's raining on the afternoon we arrive, we'll be sleeping in the van.

I'm a camping newcomer so if you see a van owner looking a little lost and eating cold beans, no cooking equipment in my budget, it will be me and my pair.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the flesh as it were for a pleasant weekend.

- (#8467) Mark, 13 May 03 10:04

Those of you lucky ones going there, wish you all the best in the world. May you please get as many pictures as possible (townies and faces) and let the rest of us (unfortunate) live the dream.

I wish I could drive 15,000mi + and join the braves and the best :<(

Viva AceJam 2003
Manecas

- (#8468) Manecas, 14 May 03 10:20

I'll second all those messages, and apologise for only being with you in spirit. I'm not building wind turbines now, but have just moved house temporarily (moving permanently to Ireland in Jul/Aug) and am up to my eyeballs in junk and stuff to sort out.

If you have half as good a time as I did last year, you will not have had a wasted weekend! I want to see lots of snaps too - I've packed up work for now so should have plenty of time to stick them on my site (mind you, Portland keep messing me about and hassling for money - it's supposed to be free hosting!!! - when the bandwidth goes over quota. If you haven't been able to access it that's probably why)

- (#8469) SteveFE, 14 May 03 13:16

It has been suggested that we sport name tags.
I've got self adhesive address stickers. If anyone attending has a better idea and can supply for the weekend feel free.
The latest forecast is for cloud Friday, sun and cloud Sat, posibly showers on Sunday. The high winds have changed to moderate - getting better all the time.

Steve FE. Good luck with the move from sleepy Faversham to sleepier Tuamgraney - possible site for a future jam?
May the ace be with you.

Clive

- (#8470) Clive, 15 May 03 4:05

Well, I'll add to Steve's kind words- I'll not be there, but have a good'un. Keep it clean folks, don't want to hear nasty stories on the news, LOL

- (#8547) david miller, 15 May 03 8:04

Once I'm settled, I'll start work on Townace Nutters Ireland! Wonder if http://www.townace.ie is still free? I know there's a bunch of Acers in the North and there must be thousands in the South so you never know...

- (#8548) SteveFE, 15 May 03 8:05

I won't need a name tag - you will easily recognise me, I will be the one with all the noisy kids.

Anyway, I was telling my brother-in-law about the Ace Jam and after having a ride in ours he is revising his plans to get a VW combi and is starting to look around at Royal Lounges!!

I told him we were going to Brean to camp in a big field with 40ish other people and inspect each others Ace's. He started to chuckle, so I explained that we have had horror stories of over-heating our Ace's. He chuckled harder! So I told him that we would get a certificate if our Ace was best on show, and he fell off his seat. I think he may either be in need of psychologigal advice or a hearing aid.

Anyway hope to see you all there.

Cheers
Tony

- (#8549) Tony, 15 May 03 9:12

You mean you are the only one with noisy kids?
Has the brother-in-law given you his anorak to wear?
I'll be there to learn (or teach if I'm able) about Aces. I know a lot but there is so much more! I won't be going "wow look it's a white 4WD Royal Lounge" - well I may, just a little, under my beard.

It's been tipping down all morning but is now getting bright, so here's hoping. Site is flat and well drained on very sandy soil, behind dunes.

Now where did I put the plug for the sink and can I fit it in?

Clive

- (#8550) Clive, 16 May 03 8:18

I seem to have missed out on the recent jam as ive only just found the web site. When is the next one likely to be? as my missus wants to see if all townie hubbies put nappies on their iron babies

- (#8658) brian squire, 19 May 03 15:11

See posting for August Jam.
- (#8659) Clive, 20 May 03 1:10


Hello all,

A very well done and congratulations to CLive for organising the event in sunny Somerset....apart from the 3 days of our meeting.

Despite the miserable weather, it could have been worse, a weekend of mingling was had by all. A total of 12 vans turned up with no two vans being exactly the same. Unfortunately I could only stay for the Friday and Saturday night but I believe I came away with the knowledge the BoK has an abundance of experienced contributors all willing to help each other.

The other 28 who said they would be attending were missed and they themselves missed out on an educating time. The various families got to meet each other and chatted together on a range of topics whilst the drivers / owners shared other topics of Townace, Townace, Townace.

From a personal note, I was glad to see you all, face to face. I was amazed to find the vast range of technical manuals that we gather our information from .

I hope that the next event can attract even more of you owners, if you dare to brave the weather.

Mark

- (#8508) Mark, 18 May 03 9:53

Hi - Mark, that was a quick posting. We've only just come home (7.00pm). The sun did shine (in the Middle East - as someone said before). The weather wasn't too bad, but could have been better.

I was suprised to see so many beautiful Townaces and Liteaces with their wonderful owners. Clive did do a good job! Well done to Clive! AND, I have a wonderful certificate which I shall frame. It was great to meet David as well - full of gadgets (yes, I'm jealous). I will have to do the seat belt as you said, but don't know when yet.

I only stayed from Friday to Saturday, but next time will stay longer (if my sciatica has gone by then). Can't wait! - Jo

- (#8509) Jo, 18 May 03 12:41

I would like to add my thanks Clive for arranging the Ace Jam.
It was good to meet up with the faces of the names that we(sorry you) use each and everytime of the BOK.
I had my Lucida there,and was out of place!!!
I got home on Saturday eve and the children asked if I had enjoy the day-Yes,I was glad to attend, and it was good to see that the Townace lives on.May it live on for a long time to come.....
and one day I may see one of you at a lucida Meeting the world's 1st one of.. any suggestions on what to call a meeting of Lucida's????? please not "I love Lucy"...

Regards to all
Barry Thorogood

- (#8510) Barry Thorogood, 18 May 03 13:12

The sun was out the sky was blue, for a few minutes but it was worth braving the weather.
We saw how a Townace could pull a 24 foot twin axle caravan.
There was a conversion of water/anti-freeze to gloop running very well on it too.
That a liteace could stop a runaway artic (semi to those in USA/Canada) and survive.
What one looks like a few weks after collecting from a showroom - so clean and the smell.
How removing a seat will let the Bernese Moutain dog have it's own space.
Day cabin table installation.
International event, well one from Wales and another from South Africa (no quite true he came from Telford at the weekend).
Detailed instructions from a master mechanic on how to replace the head.
Possible source of the parts CDs, email me direct about that.
And sadly how things can go wrong on the way home. Sorry to hear of your problems Mark. Shame it did not happen when you had the experts around you.
Also 3 non Ace owners turned up to ask questions, one even had a drive of a Liteace.
A full write up will appear on a Web site near you along with photos.
And if you wish that you were there, see the posting re the August one.
- (#8511) Clive, 19 May 03 2:33

Well, that was our first taste of an AceJam.

Well done Clive, big thanks from the Noisy Meese Tribe for all your time spent organising. I didn't quite get chance to chin wag as much as I would have liked but it was great to see so many other townies all in the same place.

As we were packing away on Sunday, one of the other non-jamming townies came over to the field as they had just heard that there were loads of other townies there. It was a sweet old couple from wales and I promised to send him some print outs from the site, and detals of any future AceJams as he doesn't have internet access.

I have a few photos of the group shots we took on Sunday morning so I will send them to Clive if he wants them and will await photos.

Clive, can you post a list of all the attendees as I didn't get everybodys names.

I can't say for now about the August Jam, but will definately be up for AceJam 2004. Even going so far as to help with any organising and site researching.

Hope to speak/hear/see you all again soon.

Tony, Teresa, Christian, Danny, Suzie, Jack, Sam and Millie.( AKA The Noisy Tribe )

- (#8512) Tony Meese, 19 May 03 3:14

Yes thanks Clive for putting the time and effort into the event. Maybe next year we organise it indoors eh? NEC perhaps? Any more punters turn up in the afternoon? The CD works fine BTW.

- (#8513) Ian Dunse, 19 May 03 3:40

As I said I have a problem with names, I think I got all the first names but as for the second...
Mark has a list I think?
I could do with that as there is a small refund to be returned as soon as I go back and collect it!
If you have photos or a story about the weekend send it to me and I'll try to put it all together.

- (#8514) Clive, 19 May 03 4:00

I too had a wonderful time, and learnt a very great deal from the Ace jam. So many thanks Clive for organising it.
One thing I learnt, is that my comfortable Royal lounge with its nice moulded seats, is about the most uncomfortable thing I have ever slept on. (All the bumps and dips are in totally the wrong place when Horizontal.) So thanks Mike and tribe for the loan of an inflated airbed. Much more comfy.
It was also a pleasure to meet some of the celebs and other characters amongst the group, just to sit around talking townee’s to other townies.
Somehow, and don’t laugh please, I managed to get sun burn on the front of my neck. Don’t know how that happened, but my wife now refuses to believe I spent the weekend in a wet and windy field off the Somerset coast. I cant prove it either because I forgot my camera.
Still a good time was, I believe, had by all.

- (#8654) dave Bright, 19 May 03 5:29

Dave

I have you on camera and also am sporting a red nose. Like you can't explain it. Maybe the 3 minutes of sun we saw on Saturday afternoon.

- (#8655) Ian Dunse, 19 May 03 5:44

Yes, a great Jamboree. A colourful assortment of ages, styles and degrees of neatness - and that was just the owners. I expected to see steam and spanners, but no, the talk was of modifications and manuals with good-humoured reflection on some of the web discussions over the past year.
Unlike Dave B I slept very well on a thin sun-lounger cushion with a pillow on the rear seat (backrest left up) and my feet behind the driver’s seat, and after a big twinge of sciatica on Sunday morning, Jo, mine has completely disappeared for the moment.
Superb site Clive – well done and thanks. Space, swings, snacks and showers, just what was needed. I came away not only with those great souvenirs that you produced, but also with even more confidence in my Townace, with all its mysteries, and in the way that we will all support each other through these websites.
- (#8656) Dave Mason, 19 May 03 8:06

Hi again. I too came home with a red nose and cheeks. It puzzled me too. I can only conclude that we all must have had "wind burn". Don't know about anybody else, but I feel even more proud of my Ace now. I look at it through the window and drive it around almost like a snob! I just feel so vereeeeee proud to own one and am glad to be proud of the group!

Talking about sciatica, our Ace was not a good advert to sleep in to the caravans behind us, as I came out growning, but I have growned every day for the last 6 weeks getting out of my new bed!

Me and my son (bad English there) slept on a quilt on the laid back seats and it wasn't bad. Must remember to push in the seat belt bits though. Thanks again for your site and to Clive - Jo

- (#8657) Jo, 19 May 03 12:41


Hi - If you put this address in, you should be able to see the photos we took. They were taken by Andrew, my oldest son and Anthony, my youngest son. If they don't work, please let me know. - Jo

- (#8617) Jo, 19 May 03 17:26


for photos:

ftp://acejam@81.101.144.66
- (#8618) Jo, 19 May 03 17:27

What camara was that then?
Mine have come out so dark to be unusable.
Picture of caravan leaving has me in the way taking one that was blurred.
Picture of woman with cat has me trying to run her down she had just put it back after it slipped out!

- (#8619) Clive, 20 May 03 1:52

Ace Ace Photos!
- (#8620) Tony Meese, 20 May 03 2:29

Many thanks Jo for allowing us to access your pictures, they all look good and the collection of Aces looks splendid. Unfortunately, we were unable to travel to that particular meeting but have already planned to be at the North West meeting, as advised in Paul's posting

- (#8621) John Davis, 20 May 03 9:12

Hi Joanna. I can get your list of photos etc but when I try to open any of them, I get a server not available message. I've tried many times over the last 2 days. Any ideas please. ..Ray..

- (#8622) ray.ambler@flightcontrol.frees, 20 May 03 14:28

I had the same problem with opening direct from the ftp server.

If you highlight them, right click on them and then select "copy to folder" and select a folder on your local drive you should then be able to open them locally.

Tony

- (#8623) Tony, 21 May 03 2:11

Hi - For those of you having problems, try to temporarily disenable your fire-wall. Perhaps then the photos will work.

- (#8624) Jo, 21 May 03 16:32