The problem with going out with Teachers is that they can’t get time off to go to WASH, in 1994 I was going out with a Teacher and so we couldn’t set off until she had got back home from School and got changed and ready and so on… so it was 5:30ish before we set off, and we drove 90 minutes down to Sleaford and stopped for some Fish and Chips, then drove the other 90 minutes to Hunstanton, arriving at about 9.00pm, when everyone else was already halfway sozzled. Then on Sunday night I had to stay sober and set off to drive home at 11.00, getting home about 2.00am with Wendy asleep in the car, at least I could have a nice lie in while she had to get up and go to work in the morning

What I say…

Another year where I am missing the Committee review from Plus News, (if anyone can scan the relevant bit from a copy and send it to me I’d be happy to put it in here)

1994 WASH Film TRUE LIES

If I hadn’t got my WASH booklet and some photo’s from 1994 I would wonder whether I was actually there. I have a vague memory of Let Loose doing their three song Public Appearance mime, but I can’t recall anything else even with the programme to remind me !
The other bands on Friday, Sinitta and Utopia don’t bring anything to mind (even though I’d seen Utopia the year before as well I couldn’t tell you what there musical style was at all)

Saturday night we appear to have had a cabaret show ‘The Great Legends of Rock’ sounds exciting doesn’t it ? I don’t remember it at all though, nor do I remember The Glam Rockers or Geno Washington on Sunday (I saw Geno Washington in a club just before Christmas and I would have sworn that that was the first time I’d seen him in concert, though I must have seen him at WASH as well)

What I do remember of 1994 is a lot of standing around watching my friends on the Go Kart track, Zippy desperately searching for a condom just in case she got lucky with a bloke she’d met (she did !) and a lot of silliness at the Dosser elections (see the Dossers section for more details on elections)

A funny thing happened…

Friday nights bands at WASH ’94 included ‘Let Loose’, they were going to be the next big thing, but disappeared without a trace within a year. A picture of Let Loose playing at WASH was put up on a Leeds Central group Library Display in Spring 1995 and they got a telephone call from a girl who wanted not information about 18 Plus, but a copy of the photograph ‘cos they were her all time, number one favourite band !

austinbill
Austin from Leeds Central could always be relied on to come up with an excellent fancy dress costume…

sonia
… and so could Sonia

What they said…

1994 was the first time I’d attended WASH, and my second 18 Plus holiday, Caister being the first one (having managed to time my joining 18 Plus for one week before WASH ’93, I was a little unsure about going away for the weekend with them!) I can remember little about the bands, having set myself a target of ‘a pint then a short then a pint’ etc – no, don’t remember much of Sunday morning either!!
but I do remember that the weather was surprisingly warm for the time of year and especially for Norfolk, we were able to leave our outdoor coats hanging in the caravans. The bonus for me that weekend was winning the star prize on the raffle – a stereo – even though I had to get someone else to confirm the numbers on my ticket for me since for some reason I couldn’t focus on them properly?? and had totally forgotten about it the next day when it was brought around to my caravan!!

We also had a 21st party in one of our caravans where I helpfully kept banging on the wall of a bedroom to ensure those trying to sleep inside it got the full benefit of the party atmosphere – well, it was Saturday night! and remember making toast like a demented machine until the bread was taken off me, to save some for breakfast/lunch/tea. The joke of it was, I decided I was too pissed to handle boiling water safely for the tea/coffee being made for all and sundry but quite happily dealt with the gas grill for the toast despite hating gas to cook with when I was in a sober state. What a bit of alcohol can do for phobias!!

I also took part in the go-karting – shame no-one told me my name was on the list for the next heat!! – and saw part of ‘True Lies’ at the cinema but getting bored, some of us walked out in the interval, rather think the fruit machines along the sea-front got a hammering but got the better of us. There was also a car window broken Monday morning due to someone managing to lock themselves out of their car and not wanting to crawl in the mud to retrieve their spare stuck on the bottom of the car(!)and of course, those ducks! Loads more memories coming back now, but to protect the ‘innocent’ and ‘not-so-innocent’ I shall say no more!

Lisa, 18 Plus email forum

carting1
In 1994 Searles unveiled their new attraction – Go-kart racing