Muddy News

Gossip from the 2009 CLA Game Fair

We had an amazing three days at the CLA Game Fair this year and were delighted to meet so many of you at the show.

The highlight for us was the Saturday, the show's busiest day.  Despite some dubious weather reports, the sun shone throughout and we had an action-packed day on the stand, with lots of members (past, present and future) coming to say hello and every spare corner of the stand taken up by people for our wine tasting in the afternoon.  Our lunch in the Members Enclosure and the clay shooting session on the Clay Line also went really well.

However, the main event for us was our tongue-in-cheek dating show in the Game Fair Theatre at 4.30pm.  Presented by Apprentice finalist Claire Young, the show saw 10 country-minded contestants vying for the attention of our male and female 'pickers'...as usual there was plenty of cheeky banter!

The pickers were asked to choose one person to accompany them on a date and the two couples were then whisked off for a romantic picnic in Belvoir Castle's stunning rose garden.

One of the nicest things was that, over the three days, we counted more than 30 couples who came up to us to say that they had met each other on the site or at one of our events.  We all work really hard so it makes our day when we get to see people happily matched up.

Charles and Sophie met on the site in October 2008 and came to say hi - we think they make a great couple!

If you are still waiting to meet the right person, you'll be pleased to know that more than 600 people have registered on the site in the last week alone so why not head over to the Newest Members section (under the Search tab) and say hello!

Muddy Matches Success Stories

Hooray, hooray...another muddy engagement has just been announced so when better to introduce you to our new Success Stories page.  Click here to take a look.

Shamus and Ali (photographed on our stand at last year's CLA Game Fair) have just got engaged - read all about it on our Success Stories page.

Our First Wedding Invitation

Hooray - it's time to buy a hat!

Those paying attention to our News Page over the last couple of months will know that we have reported a number of Muddy Matches weddings/engagements and have even had a mention in one or two best-man's speeches, but we are bursting with excitement to have actually been invited to Emma and Simon's wedding.

Emma emailed us last week to say that they had got engaged:

"We are writing to let you know that we met through Muddy Matches about 8 months ago and we are now getting married!  We would like to invite you to our wedding which will be on Saturday 10th October 2009 in Leicestershire.
 
It was great fun using your website - we both found it friendly and approachable and it was reassuring to know we were joining a community of people with similar interests.  The quality of the Muddy Matches website makes it stand out from the others, and we have recommended it to friends!

Simon first sent me a message in April, we met up in May, got on really well and felt comfortable together straight away and it's been a whirlwind since then.  It's funny because he's from Leicestershire and I'm from Nottinghamshire and we've grown up only 10 miles apart from each other, been to many of the same pubs and are even acquainted with one or two of the same people, yet we would never have met without something like Muddy Matches, as we just didn't move in the same circles."

They are going to have a 1920/30s theme to their wedding which we think is a fab idea (and are already thinking about what we might wear) - we are so happy for them and absolutely delighted to be invited!

Another Muddy Wedding!

Exciting news...two more of our members - Clare from Worcestershire and Hywel from Dyfed - are getting hitched! 

We met the lovely Clare on our 'Muddy Marathon' tour of the UK last year.  She had kindly introduced us to Pip Kendrick of Sporting Saint (a gun dog training equipment supplier) who we subsequently spent the day with watching some gun dog training in action with trainer Jeremy Sharp.  Read about it here.  Clare came along in the morning for a cup of tea and a natter round Jeremy's kitchen table as we all prepared ourselves to face the icy cold weather outside.   

We were, therefore, delighted to hear from her again with such great news:

"Well the good news is that I’ve met my muddy match on your site and I’m planning on getting married next September."

Congratulations to both of them and we wish them all the very best for the future.  Hopefully, they might send us a couple of pics of the big day and we can post them on here!

Wedding Bells

News just in...Philip from Wiltshire just rang to say that he and Fiona from Gloucestershire met on the site earlier in the year and have just got engaged!  We, of course, are over the moon - we just love hearing the success stories. 

The wedding is planned for May next year and they have promised to keep in touch so, fingers crossed, they might send us a wedding piccie or two to post on the site.

Congratulations to both of them and...hooray...what a happy ending to the week at Muddy Matches HQ!

Back from the Lake District

Despite some iffy weather on the Saturday, our first activity weekend in the Lake District was a roaring success so thanks to all of you who came along and took part - you were all a lot of fun!

Canoeing in the Sunday sunshine on Lake Windermere

Rock climbing near Coniston

Here's what a few of the people who came along had to say:

"Just back from the Lake District adventure weekend...and wanted to say a BIG thank you for such a great weekend.  I can't remember when I laughed so much and ha such a good time...Thanks again and keep the events coming - can't wait for the next one!!"

"Had a great weekend. Never thought we would manage to do the activities with the weather. Good company and a lot of laughter. Always my kind of thing. I am now looking forwards to the next thing!"

"Thanks to you both for a great weekend.  Aching and tired but very refreshed after all that fresh air."

"How stiff, tired and knackered am I!  But what a brilliant weekend - I don't think I've laughed so much in a long time…..thanks for organising such a great weekend and I'm looking forward to the next one."

For those of you who missed out, we are planning our next trip to the Lake District for the middle to end of May next year so remember to get in early!

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.

All onboard.

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!

Learning the ropes!

Getting stuck in.

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.

Working hard at 3.30am in preparation for the race.

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.

Closest I have ever got to Lewis Hamilton!

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.

One of the 4 other boats similar to the ‘Aurora of London’ Challenge 67.

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!

Ellen MacArthur onboard the Extreme 40 BT which later retired half a mile short of Hurst Narrows due to a broken main halyard.

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.

Ahh

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!

A Muddy Matches Wedding!

Congratulations to Duncan and Karen who have recently tied the knot after meeting on Muddy Matches last year.  We are so excited by people's success stories and wish them all the very best for the future and for the birth of their first baby (boy) at the end of August.  Fingers crossed they'll send us some photos of the little chap when he arrives!

What's On This Summer

Crazy season is officially upon us as we look forward to a jam packed summer of country shows and general outdoor shenanigans.  We have recently returned from the Royal Highland Show where we had a great time spreading the word about the site, chatting to members and hatching plans for a number of future social events in Scotland. 

Next up is the Royal Show at Stoneleigh Park which we will be visiting on Friday 4th July after popping in to see our friends at Fordhall Farm on the 3rd to watch their outdoor play, Arthur's Plough*. 

Muddy Matches Country Calendar

To help you plan your own summer, we have updated our Country Calendar listing lots of country shows, sporting events and social occasions across the UK and Ireland.  Click here to take a look.  If you think that there is something important missing, get in touch but - please - no village fetes or garden open days!

The highlight of July is obviously going to be the Countryside Dating Show & Drinks Party and Straw Bale Speed Dating that we're putting on at the CLA Game Fair (25th-27th July).  Don't put off buying your tickets for too long as spaces are limited and you really won't want to miss out (also the early bird discount stops shortly)!  Click here for more information and to buy your tickets now.

* Anyone in and around the Shropshire area is welcome to join us on the 3rd to watch the play at Fordhall.  For more information and tickets, click here. 

Fancy a last-minute holiday?

Make the most of the Muddy Matches Notice Board to reach a wider muddy audience.  One of our members, Ed, is planning a last-minute trip to Mallorca at the beginning of July and has posted a message to see if anyone is interested -  so if you're in need of a break, why not send him a message.  Click here to visit the Notice Board.

And finally…

…good luck to Team Muddy in the Round the Island Race this Saturday. 

We'll post some photos and tell you how we did early next week.  Until then, have a great weekend!

A Challenge for the Men...

We need one more man to make up our team for the 2008 Round the Island Race, taking place in Cowes, Isle of Wight in just a couple of weeks.

We have had a lot of interest from women wanting to take part but are a man down after one of our guys just pulled out.

Could you pick up the guantlet?

We are meeting in Southampton early on Friday 27th June to do some training, heading to Cowes on Saturday for the race, celebrating the trials and tribulations of the race on Saturday night and then gently making our way back to Southampton on Sunday 29th June.  Tickets cost £399 and include everything except dinner and drinks on the Saturday night.

Please click here for more information.

If you think you are up to the challenge please get in touch with lucy@muddymatches.co.uk ASAP or ring us on 01933 311500 to say:

1. That you have read the event details carefully
2. That you are free from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th June and can get to Southampton
3. That you can get a cheque* for £399 to us ASAP
4. That you have read and understood the Muddy Matches Terms and Conditions and Cancellation and Refund Policy.

We will also need you to supply us with information about:
1. Your next of kin
2. Any dietary requirements

* Cheques to be made payable to Muddy Matches Ltd and sent (first class!)to Muddy Matches Ltd, Manor Close, Podington, Nr Wellingborough, Northants, NN29 7HP

Obviously, time is of the essence as the race is only a couple of weeks away, so if you are interested please get in touch as soon as you can.

Thanks!