Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
Way back in the July of 1993 a small group of friends were looking for somewhere to spend the weekend, somewhere not too close to home and not so far that it would take hours to ride there, especially as we were looking to go after work on the Friday night.
Various places were considered and discarded for one reason or the other when Tony came up with the idea of going to Mickleton near to Middleton in Teesdale, he vaguely remembered that there was a pub with a field out the back where we could pitch the tents. So the decision was made, the weekend came around and off we went, all seven of us. So began the annual, and frequently more than annual event that became the ‘S.A.D.M.E.N. Summer Party’.
We were made to feel more than welcome by Pru' the first landlady we met at the Rose and Crown, who was a little more than bewildered by it all. The locals made us feel welcome though they too were curious about why we were there, nevertheless, we were spending money, drinking beer and having a good time without being arsey about it.
We enjoyed ourselves so much we went back the following year but with a bigger crew this time, this was the pattern for many years to come and the parties just got bigger and bigger and more and more frequent.
Pru retired in 2000 and the pub was taken over by Mick and Dana. Mick was a Geordie boy from Felling near Gateshead and Dana was a lovely lady from the Scottish Borders, they both proved to be perfect hosts, they both enjoyed having a good time and eventually were more than happy for us to take over the pub whenever we appeared, which by this time was at least three or four times a year (hail, rain or shine and believe me we have seen them all).
By now we had become much more organised about things, especially the Saturday night party. We would organise the party and maybe a BBQ and invite all of the locals and other campers to join us at our expense. Our good friend ‘Karaoke Willie’ would come and provide the soundtrack with various locals, fellow campers, guests and, of course, S.A.D.M.E.N. filling the gaps and warbling away to their hearts content.
It must be said that in all of the years we went to Mickleton there was never ever a time where there was any tension between the club and any of the locals, campers, guests or indeed the landlord or landlady, until Mick and Dana decided to call it a day.
Following on from Dana (Mick had already gone) there came Nigel and Julie; you can read more about that Summer Party on the ‘Time Off’ page so I won’t go into detail here.
Suffice to say, that after twelve years of partying at The Rose and Crown, and twelve years of forging links and building bridges with the people of Mickleton, and indeed further a field these two Muppets brought it all to a sad and bitter end by allowing their prejudice towards us in particular and motorcyclists in general, to come bubbling to the surface. Their loss was our gain, after a long hard search we now have somewhere new to party, somewhere without prejudices that treat us like the human beings we are and are glad of our patronage, ‘cos as you will know if you have ever partied with us, we certainly “know how to throw a good party”
