Cold, wet and windy, but did that matter? Emphatically not, says Andrew Welch.
In the printed colour programme that was given to every guest – and, of course, written a week or two in advance - I said, “We’ve ordered good weather, but the beauty of Newperran is that we can still have a lot of fun if it gets lost en route!” Well, it was true, but I wish it hadn’t been quite as accurate! The weather was truly appalling – high winds with that constant drizzle that gets into every nook and cranny, overcast skies and a temperature that made many of us wish we had brought overcoats. But we did still have “a lot of fun” - it was another truly wonderful British Naturism event.
Newperran Holiday Park’s owners, Keith and Christine Brewer, delighted to be entertaining naturist guests once again, had dedicated two of their camping fields to naturist use for the week leading up to the event and the week after. Many people took advantage of this, extending their holiday time and getting out to see all that beautiful Cornwall has to offer. They enjoyed some good weather, too, and began the important business of having a good time with other naturists before the majority of guests arrived. As we discovered at Alton Towers the second time around, word had spread and we greeted plenty of people who had not been to Nudefest before - some of whom were also attending their very first naturist event - and most people had also made the effort to arrive early and not miss out on any of the fun. Therefore the “Cottage Inn”, Newperran’s excellent onsite pub, was already pretty full with (clothed) Nudefest guests on Wednesday night, and many of them helped with the set-up on Thursday morning. Thanks to you all. The marquee we hired had been erected earlier in the week, and exhibitors and activity organisers got busy making ready, including filling the welcome bag that each guest received with information inside about the weekend plus brochures and leaflets from naturist businesses.
Noon soon arrived and it was off with the clothes at last. The weather was pretty good at this time and we looked forward to activity-packed, fun-filled days. Nudity is permitted everywhere and anywhere at Newperran during the days of Nudefest and, as we experience at all our big events, there was already a kind of euphoria in the air, with people, excited the event had finally arrived, being able to wander naked at will and in the company of like-minded people. Since Nudefest2007, the swimming-pool at Newperran has been completely revamped and it was an instant hit.
Plenty of activities took place that first afternoon including: a “CAMEO” (Come And Meet Each Other – neat, huh?) session, organised by Judith Stinchcombe, in which participants were given a sheet of questions that they could use to help open conversations with fellow-guests; a life-drawing class run by Chris Roberts and June Bentley; a craft session (Judith, again) where materials were made available to all to make a variety of items; Graham’s beginners’ yoga class; and a game of volleyball run by Jim Russell.
The marquee was full of people most of the time over the weekend, browsing and buying goods and information at the BN shop, looking at the photo-boards of our previous events, finding out about naturist holidays from Peng Travel and Canarian/Caribbean Dreams, changing their perspective on life at David and Emma’s life coaching stand, or getting a free massage from Dave Thompson. There was also a kids’ craft table, but in the event not many children were present and they found plenty to occupy them at the swimming- pool or play areas.
Plenty of people found the pub a great place to chill out from 11 a.m. to (very) late all weekend, and Newperran’s Abigail’s Café was open from morning to night, busy serving a variety of meals, snacks and drinks. The Newperran shop was also open for many hours and, as in all good “corner shops”, you could get pretty much whatever you needed – including the all-important morning newspaper.
Thursday night saw a gathering in the pub with some welcoming words from BN officials and was swiftly followed by the main event, 70s pop sensation Edison Lighthouse playing live. It was packed, and everyone danced and sang the night away nude. The bar staff were clearly enjoying themselves and we received praise from them all weekend (once again) for being such a pleasure to have. An example of this is that the clean-up of the bar area the following morning took a tenth of the time it usually does, since at other times their guests leave litter, sprinkle peanuts on the floor and generally leave someone else to clean up their mess! Great to hear, though we are not surprised, eh?
I won’t keep on about the weather - it was dismal all day Friday and Saturday - but guests were bright and cheerful and we all tried as hard as possible not to get fully dressed. Friday got off to an energetic start with a jog around the site (Graham), followed by Angela Russell’s belly-dancing class, yoga (this time for more advanced yog-ees), John Thompson’s talk on BN’s new exemption certificate, made possible for us through the good work of the Camping and caravanning SIG, a general session on photography (Richard Daniels and Steve Betts), more yoga, a life coaching session from David Hornsby which really hit the spot for many participants and a fiercely contested bingo session refereed by Steve Pleasants. Another great thing about events is how guests offer to run ad hoc activities – Chris and June also added another life-drawing session, and though Dave’s massages were not on the timetable initially, being a local man he went home to collect his equipment when he discovered massage was not on the agenda! Tim Rickards put together an introduction to juggling session; life coaches Emma and David performed some Indian head massages; and Wendy and Gerry O’Flaherty produced some amazing body painting, with guests - and later, themselves - as canvasses.
We were pleased to raise the profile of naturism through the attention of the media again right across the weekend. Without the Eden Project event and the (free) help we had from Red Letter Days’ expensive London PR agency in 2007, it was always expected to be less, but we were able to help a naturist film-maker, a news photographer and local TV and radio stations. Some of the radio spots were live, with the interview taking place in the marquee whilst people listened to the broadcast down in the pub! I’d like to thank the many of you who agreed to being photographed, interviewed or filmed. Christine and Keith also played their part in the media work and presented brilliantly on our behalf.
The café closed on Friday evening, but the staff decamped outside to put on a BBQ which was very well attended, although we all ended up eating inside the café anyway! BN President John Paine’s quiz was the main event of the evening and many teams exercised their grey matter. Dancing to the music playing in the bar followed and continued late into the night.
On Saturday, early birds caught Nick Palmer’s t’ai chi session and the day included talks by Mike Houlsby and Barry Knell of the Eastney Beach Campaign on their progress, with information and advice on how to set up such a group; BN’s Research and Liaison Officer, Malcolm Boura on the work he and his team are doing on behalf of all naturists (sponsored by SCW Productions); and a repeat of the BN exemption certificate talk from Friday for those who missed it. There was Angela Russell’s fab Soca dancing session, with intoxicating Caribbean rhythms; more adult crafts; and further CAMEO, life-drawing and yoga; a walk; photography and bingo sessions; and a chance to put questions to – and hear the answers from – BN officers about many aspects of British Naturism. Sadly, the weather caused the Peng Travel-sponsored The Treasure of Old Penwarren team game - which would have seen treasure-hunters, quiz-fans and those with a keen eye for observation exploring the site in search of clues - to be abandoned, but it’s the sort of thing, that with some changes, can be used at a future event elsewhere. Thanks to Peter Knight for putting it together.
The highlight for many last year was Jim Russell’s disco and we were not disappointed with its return. There were more people in the bar than I’ve ever seen before, and almost 100% were fully naked. Although they didn’t quite join in as “properly” as we would have hoped, some of the bar staff did wear less than usual – stripping off to loud cheers. Owner Keith also treated us to a little turn, ending up wearing only a pair of comedy boxer shorts… Even though it was gone 2 a.m. by the time the evening finished, it was over far too soon.
Sunday lived up to its name and there was not a cloud to be seen - must be time to go home soon then! It was still cold, but after t’ai chi and jogging sessions the vast majority of guests gathered in three places around the site for group photographs. We’re indebted to Steve Betts and Richard Daniels, plus other people from the photography sessions, for spending time scouting for the best places to take them, planning how the shots would look and marshalling the 250 or so of us into the right spots. Our group shots are often the best pictures and a perfect representation of happy, smiling naturists enjoying an event, but we don’t use them outside of this magazine, since it’s impossible to ensure that everyone has given their permission. With this in mind, we set up some shots that we made clear to everyone could be made available for use anywhere – our website, other websites, media articles, brochures, etc. – and are delighted with the results. Thanks to all who agreed to this – to our surprise, given the concerns we often hear from people about “coming out” - a very healthy number of guests got involved. That’s brilliant, and great for the positive promotion of our world.
The Grand Prize Draw and auction for items donated (thanks!) wrapped things up, and sadly it was time for most people to leave. Lots of guests had booked extra nights, taking advantage of those “naturist weeks” at Newperran and carried on having fun. I expect they did go home, eventually…
So it was a great weekend with lots of fun, a few days away from the daily grind, with opportunities to meet and socialise with other naturists, take part in activities, help promote naturism, and show off British Naturism and all it does for members and naturists everywhere. The weather was disappointing, but I was told by one happy guest that in a way it made it better because it brought us all together more. Had the weather been good, guests would have spent time alone or in their existing groups lazing in the sun around the site, missing out on activities and the communal spirit.
You’ll find lots of comments about the event, before and after, in the “Events” section of the BN members’ forum. There’s even a discussion started about Nudefest2009…
Thanks…
There are too many people to mention by name, but thanks to anyone who organised an activity or helped with the smooth running of the event. We also received a very generous cash donation over the weekend that the donor asked us to put towards our events. Very many thanks for that. Keith and Christine and all the onsite staff were terrific and couldn’t do enough for us – the guests loved that, and it makes running the event from an organiser’s point of view not only pleasant, but easier. The companies who promoted themselves and thus helped the event financially were:
Peng Travel: Tel: 0845 345 8345, www.pengtravel.co.uk
SCW Productions: Postbus 33, B-1980, Zemst, Belgium
Broadlands Sun Association: Tel: 01508 492907, www.broadlandsun.co.uk
Heritage Club: Tel: 01344-775032, www.heritageclub.org
Naturist Property Direct: Tel: 01206-384087, www.naturistproperty.com
Firefly Beach Cottages: Tel: 001 876 957 435, www.jamaicalink.com
Dainti Jewellery: Tel: 07941-004279
Chalfont Holidays: Tel: 0845-045 0987, www.chalfontholidays.co.uk
Infiniti: Tel: 01548-561289, www.infinitivillas.co.uk
It's Natural: Tel: 01354-661511, www.its-natural.net
Portugal Naturally - Visit their website: www.portugalnaturally.com
Le Colombage: Tel: 0033-385 477978, www.lecolombage.com
Suntreckers: Tel: 01473-410416, www.suntreckers.org.uk
DH Life Coaching Services: Tel: 0116-3321201, www.dhlifecoach.co.uk
Canarian Dreams: Tel: 0800-988 3346, www.naturistholidays.com
