Markstock analysis

Markstock 3
Tuesday 13 June 2000

Markstock had survived and had even picked up a few first-timers (Matt, Ollie and the first women[!] Liz and Jo). It still hadn’t pleased the authorities though who didn’t consider the event mainstream enough for a Saturday night slot and had moved it to the even more obscure mid-week slot. The plan had been to stick with the Monday, although the England vs Portugal (2-3) was on so there was a last-minute re-shuffle.

Closing time at this Markstock was again at 12. The Homebrew had been ditched and the dark periods of hardship, shortages and poverty consigned to memory. Again it was a World Cup/Championship summer, but no TV was provided. A badminton net was available and many a happy hour was spent playing badminton, which was even more fun after a few drinks. I think I drank about 6 cans, around the same as the previous year and I had work the next day.


2001
No Markstock this year, possibly due to Mark strawberry picking in Denmark in the early summer. He had also moved to Marple this year and the new venue might not be popular with the punters. I was also trying to get a dissertation done in Scotland and the Wild East trip to the Balkans started earlier than the previous summer.


Markstock 4
Saturday 29 June 2002

Markstock regained its Saturday night prime-position status and the venue was the larger stadium of Marple. However, the number of founding 8 members had dropped to an all-time low of Me, Pete, Mark and Mike. Perhaps the authorities had been right. maybe Markstock was destined to be a small-scale event, frequented by a few diehards. On the positive side, some of Mark’s new friends had appeared from Marple. It was my first encounter with Romiley Rob, his ‘friend’ Keith, as well as Jonno. Rob Whalley (who I hadn’t seen for several years) also made an appearance. There was also a friend of Mark’s called Ric Shalcross who appeared briefly.
The weather was more March than June and we spent a good deal of the time in the tent trying to keep warm (Pete, of course, wore shorts). Piggy later complained to me that Keith had spent most of the time trying to look up his shorts. Naturally, I assumed this was typical Big Pete vanity and dismissed it. Roughly two years later Romiley Rob, under moderate pressure, was ‘outed’ to my surprise and it transpires that Keith was a ‘special’ friend. Maybe Pete didn’t imagine the shorts incident after all....

Rob Whalley was mid-way through a gun-fetish and had brought 2(!) air-guns with him. The next day the only four left at the BBQ spent a good deal of time firing dozens of pellets at targets in the woods.


2003
No Markstock this year, perhaps due to me being in Lithuania most of the year and there being a reluctance among the others to cast-aside another “founding 8” member.