Muddy News

CLA Game Fair – Photos and Thank Yous

We’re back from another fantastic CLA Game Fair which this year was held in the grounds of the stunning Blenheim Palace.

An action-packed couple of days as always, we were on site from Thursday morning getting the Muddy Matches motorhome in position and setting up our stand.  We were a bit scared as it chucked it down with rain for most of the day but luckily the weather cleared before everyone arrived on the Friday.

In fact, we were blessed with the weather as it was an absolute scrocher for most of the weekend and there were nearly 150,000 visitors to the show over the three days – the second highest number of visitors in the show’s 53-year history!

We all had a great time on our stand as literally hundreds of our members (past, present and joined-at-the-Game Fair) popped in to have a chat.  We signed up hundreds of new members and were giving out a week’s free subscription to current members who came to say hello so, if you’re still looking to meet rural singles who love the muddy lifestyle, now is an excellent time to be using the site.  Why not do a search for our ‘newest members’ and send some of them a message to welcome them to the site?

Success Stories

Just a couple of years ago, we were celebrating the fact that 17 couples came up to us at the Game Fair to say that they were getting married or living together.  Can you believe then that around 65 couples came up to us this year to say that they were either engaged or married?!  There were also a lot more who had recently met and a few others who were there on a first date, inspired perhaps by Gareth and Kelly’s story that had featured in the Daily Telegraph the week before?

To read more of our countryside dating success stories, please click here.

One couple, Charles and Sophie, met on the website in 2008 and came to tell us about it at the 2009 Game Fair.  Two years on, we were delighted to hear that they had got married – a big congratulations to them both!

The ‘Muddy AfFair’ Dating Show

A big thank you to the three strapping chaps – Jake, Jonathan and Martin – who took part in our dating show in the Game Fair Theatre on the Saturday.  They were fantastic fun and completely entered into the spirit of the show to whoops of approval from the packed audience.

Hosted by Apprentice finalist Claire Young, each chap took their turn to try and impress a group of about 20 country girls with a view to taking one of them on a date at the end of the show.  First up was Jonathan, who ended up picking Hannah, then Jake who picked Stephanie and finally Martin who picked Mary.

After the show, the three couples went off to enjoy a bottle of champage and a yummy picnic in the grounds of Blenheim Palace.  A massive thank you to Pipers Crisps, Lymn Bank Farm Cheese Company, Mr Pitchfork’s Pickles, Deli Farm Charcuterie, Belleau Smokery, Loopy Lisa’s Fudge and Breckland Orchard who were all exhibiting at the Game Fair and kindly supplied the goodies for the picnic.

Next year’s Game Fair is being held at Belvoir Castle near Grantham, Leicestershire – see you there?

Tags: CLA Game Fair, country singles, countryside dating, countryside dating show, countryside singles, meet rural singles, rural singles

Round The Island Race – Tickets Sold Out!

We've had a fantastic response to our email about the Round the Island Race and 'Team Muddy' is now officially complete!  The Round the Island Race (taking place in Cowes,
Isle of Wight on Saturday 19th June) is the largest yacht race of
its kind in the world so we are sure it will be a fantastic experience for all those taking part.  A big thanks to our friends at Splash Clothing who are sponsoring the team tops this year.

Did you miss out on this trip?

Don't worry, we have other sailing trips planned with fellow muddies.  The next one is over the August Bank Holiday and tickets are now available online – book early to avoid disappointment!

Tags: sailing events, sailing trip, sailing weekends, singles sailing trips, solos sailing trips

Game Fair Sponsors 2008

Here’s a list of all our lovely sponsors from the 2008 CLA Game Fair at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire:

• Sloe Motion – producers of delicious handmade sloe gin, vodka, whisky, chocolate truffles and chutney, all made from hand-picked hedgerow fruit.  Thanks to Jonathan for providing us with lots of yummy sloe gin to make cocktails for Straw Bale Speed Dating and Muddy AfFair guests!  www.sloemotion.com

• John Gerrard Wines – suppliers of Houghton Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay and many other wines from Western Australia.  Thanks for the sparkling wine for the Muddy AfFair cocktails! www.johngerardwines.co.uk

• Belvoir Fruit Farms – delicious, natural fruit cordials and sparkling drinks.  Thanks for the delicious Elderflower Cordial and the Passionfruit & Mango Cordial that quenched the thirst of many of our Straw Bale Speed Dating and Muddy AfFair guests in the incredible heat.  www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk

• Tyrrells Potato Chips – delicious potato chips produced on the Tyrrells farm from their own grown potatoes.  Thanks for feeding our Straw Bale Speed Dating and Muddy AfFair guests. www.tyrrellspotatochips.co.uk

Thanks also to the following people who all donated prizes for our Muddy AfFair:

• Bredon Hill Shooting Supplies – offering a full range of shotguns, rifles, and air rifles, cartridges, and ammunition alongside shooting clothing, footwear and accessories.

• Bryn Parry – countryside illustrator and founder of Help for Heroes.

• Chapel Kitchens & Furniture – fitted and bespoke kitchen designers based in Yorkshire.

• Country Life Magazine -  weekly magazine for those who are passionate about the British countryside, fine art, gardening and property.

• Countryman’s Weekly Magazine – countrysports publication available throughout the UK.

• Countryside Alliance – working for everyone who loves the countryside and the rural way of life.

• Farrington Oils – producers of Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil and tasty salad dressings.

• Gilsan Sports – one of the North’s leading retailers in guns and fishing equipment.

• Jake Eastham – nature and field sports photographer.

• Jelly Belly – the original American Gourmet Jelly Belly jelly beans.

• Purdey – designers and builders of English-style shotguns and sporting firearms.

• Shooting Gazette Magazine – monthly magazine devoted to game and rough shooting.

• Splash Clothing – slogan shirts and water-repellent cotton stretchjods, jeans, & polo whites.

• Sportfish – fly-fishing tackle and equipment.

• Sporting Saint – manufacturers and suppliers of gundog training equipment.

• The Present Finder – unusual and upmarket presents.

Emma Reports Back on the Round the Island Challenge

What do you get if you take a group of country-minded people and throw them together on a 67ft yacht in the world’s largest and most famous yachting race?

The answer is a fantastic bunch of down-to-earth people who all got on instantly and who got really stuck into the challenge ahead.

The JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, took place on the 28th June 2008 in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England. The 50-mile course around the Isle of Wight sees some of the biggest names in the sailing world competing with weekend sailors and the ‘Muddy Team’!

Skippered by Stuart Jackson, with Mate Jen Dixon 12 Degrees Ltd, the Muddy boat – ‘Aurora of London’ – did extremely well, circumnavigating the Isle of Wight in 8 hours 17 mins and 42 seconds and coming 545th out of over 1,600 boats that finished.

The team were picked at random by us as we had such a big response to the email we send out about the race. The 12 lucky members arrived on the boat on Friday morning for a day’s training as many people had never sailed before.

Very quickly everyone was assigned jobs and it wasn’t long before we were motoring out of the marina. We ventured out of Southampton towards Cowes and spent the day getting to know each other as well as learning to gybe and tack!

Friday night was not a late one as we had to be up at 3.30 am to get to the starting line at 6am.

It all got very exciting when the countdown to the race started, we were in IRC class 0 with the elite and everyone had to keep their wits about them to avoid a collision.

It was Lewis Hamilton’s first ever sailing race on the Open 60 Hugo Boss. Unfortunately for the team, despite completing the race, they were disqualified for an incident at the start which left one boat without a mast.

It was our mission to beat these, in the end we beat 2 and just lost to 2 of them – not bad for an inexperienced team!

The race was fantastic; such an experience. Everybody pulled together really well and in between gybing and tacking there was a lot of hilarity! As you can imagine there were a lot of stories to be regaled about dating!

We survived without too many incidents but the Race Control reported the incidents break down as follows – out of 18,000 people taking part in 1875 boats entered:

• 4 boats were dismasted
• 5 boats were damaged and needed a tow
• 1 boat sank
• 1 boat upturned / capsized
• 11 Man Overboards
• 5 injuries including one person lifted off by helicopter to Southampton General with a head injury – we understand this person is now out of danger
• 5 boats grounded

Once we had moored up for the night we went into Cowes for a few hours to celebrate. Cowes was heaving and had a fantastic post-race atmosphere.

A massive thank you to Stu and Jen who were marvellous throughout the whole weekend, and to Kurt who joined us for the race.

Also a big thank you to Mad Cowes who sponsored our shirts. If you would like to order from the Mad Cowes website www.madcowes.co.uk you can get £5 off by emailing lucy.ward@madcowes.co.uk and mentioning Muddy Matches.  Offer ends 1st August 2008.

Incidentally one of the members onboard was the lonely Cambridgeshire farmer looking for love on the Alan Titchmarsh Show in February; Charles first heard about Muddy Matches from Tracey Cox on the show, take a look!! His best quote of the weekend was an hour and half into the race he asked what time were we starting!

2008 Round the Island Race: Muddy Matches Takes to the Sea

A fabulous opportunity has arisen for Muddy Matches to get a team of 12 together for the 2008 Round the Island Race, which takes place in Cowes, Isle of Wight from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th June and is the largest yacht race of its kind in the world.  It is also a lot of fun!

Get involved

We have had an overwhelming response to the email we sent out on Thursday and, unfortunately ladies, there are currently no female spaces left.  However, we are putting together a waiting list in case one of the girls cannot make it for any reason; if you haven’t already contacted us and would like your name to be added to this list, please get in touch with lucy@muddymatches.co.uk.  If another space does become available, we will be randomly selecting another person from that list.

The boys as always (it continues to baffle us!) have been a little slower on the uptake and we do still have one male space available.  If any guy registered on Muddy Matches would like to complete what already looks set to be a really fun team, please get in touch with lucy@muddymatches.co.uk ASAP.

Based on the response to the email and the positive feedback we have been receiving, we will definitely be putting on more sailing (and other activity) weekends.  So if you couldn’t make this weekend or were unable to get a place, don’t worry, there will be plenty of other opportunities!

General information

The team will meet Stuart, our professional skipper, at the Ocean Village Marina in Southampton on Friday morning and then set off for a day’s sail training in preparation for the race the next day.  Friday night will be spent on the yacht before an early start on Saturday in time for the beginning of the race.  The yacht will be sailed by Stu and ‘mate’ Jen, but you will be encouraged to take part in all aspects of sailing including helming, winching and tacking.  Or, if preferred, you can just sit back and enjoy the occasion.  On Saturday night the team will go ashore for a well-deserved evening meal and drinks in Cowes before spending the second night on the yacht.  On Sunday, there will be a more leisurely start, followed by plenty more sailing as you make your way back to Southampton.

Who can come?

Anyone.  You do not need any sailing experience to take part as you will be given the necessary training on the Friday and Stu our qualified skipper and his ‘mate’ Jen will be on hand to make sure that everyone sails safely and has fun.

How much does it cost?

The cost of the whole weekend is £399, which includes:

• All accommodation on Friday and Saturday night (shared cabin)
• All food and drink on board*
• Professional skipper
• Sail training
• Life jackets, oil skins and all safety equipment
• A personalised Mad Cowes rugby top

* You will be expected to pay for your own dinner and drinks on Saturday night.

Payment to be made by cheque made payable to Muddy Matches Ltd and sent to Muddy Matches Ltd, Manor Close, Podington, Nr Wellingborough, Northants NN29 7HP.  Find out more about the Muddy Matches Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions and Cancellation and Refund Policy.

The yacht

‘Aurora of London’ is a 67 ft Global Challenge Racing Yacht that took part in the British Steel Challenge 1992-1993 and the BT Global Challenge 1996-1997 (billed as ‘the world’s toughest yacht race’).  The design of this yacht has proved to be capable of withstanding the worst sea conditions the planet can manifest.

She is in superb condition and, for an ocean racing yacht, is very comfortable.  She also has a full complement of safety equipment as you would expect from an ocean going vessel and complies with the MCA code for charter use.

The skipper

Scottish skipper Stuart Jackson won 2nd place on the Barclays Adventurer in the Global Challenge 2004/5.  Following Stuart’s success in the Global challenge he went on to become Regional International Trade Director for Barclays and now returns to the marine world owning and running his yacht Aurora of London.

In 2000 he entered the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers), the largest transoceanic crossing in the world, sailing aboard his father’s yacht. After arriving in the Caribbean with the ARC fleet Stuart sailed back to his homeland of Scotland single-handed, via Bermuda and the Azores.  In his time with the company Stuart has had a wide and varied sailing career; training Crew Volunteers, a sailing expedition to Spitzbergen and also skippered one of the support vessels in the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race.

Itinerary

Friday
08.00  Arrive at yacht, Ocean Village, Southampton
08.30  Safety briefings & discuss plans for the weekend
09.00  Depart for sail training
Tacking – Gybing – Helming – Sail trim
12.00  Lunch on board
20.00  Dinner on board
Sleep overnight on yacht

Saturday
06.00  Breakfast & depart for the Solent
06.30  Leave the dock for Race start
12.30  Lunch on board when applicable
18.00  Drinks & dinner in Cowes*
Sleep overnight on yacht

Sunday
08.00  Depart, more sailing!
12.00  Lunch on board
16.00  Return back to Ocean Village, clean yacht and depart

* You will be expected to pay for your own dinner and drinks.

Team sponsor

We are pleased to announce that fun and quirky après sailing clothing company, Mad Cowes, have agreed to sponsor our team and all team members will receive a personalised rugby top.