not many people have taken a lot of videos..........i will try to grab as much footage today as possible for you guys..........

I've almost got enough to make a feature film

Friday:




Saturday:





Night:

Well with no radiobock tonight I thought I could come post and say hi to those not fortunate to be in cardiff.

I've not had a chance to get a head count yet and some people are not here yet but today was pretty cool. Started off damp but dried up for a few hours and then started raining about 2ish which was a real bummer.
It's a totally mad feeling to see everyone here in cardiff and even with people I dont know yet, there is a very good atmosphere here and especially on the campsite.

Today we had a prototype of the new 7 Leagues S rex Pro Energy (thanks wolfgang!) for everyone to try out. I'm not too sure what the overall impression is of these. I put dawesome on them first and his first words were "tougher" but then they are for people 120kg. I'll let other people cast their views.
I'm really not sure what we have in the way of video footage but I know we have some really great photos.

Tomorrow the weather is looking better so hopefully we can make the most of it then.

Now I'm back off to the campsite for some food and to get drunk

I cant believe i didnt get to speak to you ET but I wasnt there when they called sorry

miss u dude xx

Flybaby, XS and Dominion are already here. Gorgeous sunshine so we've had a quick bock down the bay before they even checked in at the hotel and tonight they are coming to the gym with us, maybe becky too unless she;s still doing 5mph on the M25 - no its not bad traffic, she just drives like a granny

lubed, taped and checked my fractured knee.

Not sure if my head is as tight as it can be. Take that anyway you like it.

I'm excited!

Enjoy the flight guys. See you in about 24 hours

What I really find annoying to the point where I now laugh is it was months ago they said "no it cant just be a meet up, we must class it as an event" so they go on their merry little way and do nothing about it.

10 days from the event locky comes knocking and everyone sh**s their pants. Whats the result? "We're going to treat you like a group of individuals"

difference being?

For those using the bus to get to and from the bay or central station I've made a map which shows where the bus stops are near to the campsite. There are 2 within equal distance (5 mins walk)

[IGNORE THE MOTORWAY SIGNS FOR CARDIFF BAYLEAVE THE M4 AT JUNCTION 33]

Arriving on Friday...
Before 3pm come straight to the bay (see directions below).
From 4pm onwards I will be at the campsite. I expect someone will be left at the bay for a few hours.

Arriving on Saturday...
Come to the bay.
Obviously if you have a hotel, check in first.
If you are camping I feel you will waste a long time going to the campsite first, getting the tent up and sorting your stuff out. I think going straight to the bay and sorting the tent in the evening would be far better.


Camping.
As mentioned, we only have the campsite for friday night and saturday night. If you are camping any other nights, you're on your own.
On arrival at the campsite you will have to pay and be issued campsite rules and a ticket.
Keep the ticket safe. I'm going to ask for it.
We must leave the campsite exactly as we found it.
No litter to be left. No tent pegs to be left.
The postcode for the campsite is CF5 2AZ and it is located at Llandaff Rugby Club, on Western Avenue. It's about 500 yards on the right hand side, down the road from tesco.
It is directly opposite a building covered in scaffolding.
It's quite easy to drive straight past the rugby club so I'll see if i have any signs left to put up.

Driving.
You need to pay £5.30 to enter Wales (cash, no plastic) via the seven bridge. There is no fee to leave =)
I think it's double for any minibuses or vans.

Driving to the bay:-
IGNORE THE MOTORWAY SIGNS FOR CARDIFF BAY
LEAVE THE M4 AT JUNCTION 33 - This is the easiest and quickest route to the bay.
There will be CB signs from this motorway junction.

If you are using Sat NAV, do not follow its directions. Drive passed junction 32 of the M4, allow the sat nav to re-adjust the route using Junction 33 and you should be fine. Look for the CB signs, these direct you to the oval basin in the bay and not the campsite or the car parks in the bay.
Please use the map for this information.

Those going straight to the campsite please see the map on the CB website.

PARKING
There is a free carpark at the campsite. No cars on the grass.
There is limited free parking at the bay. This is based at countyhall, about 5 mins walk from the bocking area. See the signs for "£3 park and ride" ignore the £3. Parking is free, the £3 is for the bus ride to the city centre which you're not going to want.
If it gets full, I would suggest the carpark at pizza hut (free) or the red dragon centre (not free)

Public Transport
Cardiff Central Bus and Train Station are next door to each other. I dont think there is a direct link from the train station to cardiff bay (you need to change at cardiff queen street).
The easiest way to get from Central Station to the Bay is via a bus, the bendy buses which are usually blue. The buses leave for the bay every 15 mins with a journey time of around 7 mins.
Cardiff Bus do an all-day ticket for £3. This can be used on any route, multiple times and those who have purchased one could possibly even lend it to other people to use.

Bus from the campsite to central station is the number 24 (Llandaff) Bus. You would catch the bus to and from the Black Lion pub in Llandaff, about 2 mins walk from the campsite.
The bus leaves every 20 mins mon-sat but only once an hour on sundays.

Toilets
There are toilets and showers available at the campsite.
At the bay, use some common sense. There are toilets in every restaurant and pub. Also at the Wales Millenium Centre, Red Dragon Centre and a public toilet outside the cardiffbay visitors centre (next to the ferris wheel).


BOCKING!
We do not have any first aid available. I would suggest every group bring their own first aid kit, plasters etc for bumps and scrapes. Anything serious, see myself, becky, sprog or one of the welsh bockers. We will all have radios.
As last year, myself, becky, and sprog will be in different colour shirts which should make it easier to find us.
There will be a registration table where I would ask every bocker to come add their name to the list. This is the only clear way to know numbers.
Please do not go wandering. Everything we need is in the bay area and to be honest, there isnt much within walking distance to see. If you go wandering you could miss something such as group photos, any competitions or TV/radio/press.
Do not wear your stilts in any of the local shops or pubs.

Please dont stand around all day talking to new people. Cardiff was chosen for its bocking environment so please use it. I'd really like everyone to learn something new this weekend and to really push themselves (but not too hard!).

If you take your stilts off and leave them for any reason make sure someone is with them and do not assume your friend is going to look after your stilts. Always explain to them where you are going and can they look after your kit.
You are responsible for your own stuff at all times.

FANCY DRESS
A few people are dressing up on sunday for no particular reason. Dont feel left out if you're not. Those who are, please test-run your costume on bocks before coming to cardiff. Make sure it doesnt effect your vision or your balance.

CROWD CONTROL
We have no crowd barriers but we should have a small PA system for announcements.
I expect there to be a massive crowd of people. On any given weekend the welsh bockers have been known to attract 500+ people and even managed a few hundred with just 3 bockers.
Imagine what they are going to think of 150+!
This is probably the most important thing for us. There are quite a few bockers who run off and do their thing without checking everything is safe which is why we need to look at for each other. If you notice someone is close to the public or may not have seen someone walking towards them then you need to stop them. Dont wait, just do it.
Also please be very polite and friendly with the crowd, they do ask a lot of questions.

DO NOT ALLOW ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC ON STILTS.
If someone is that keen, direct them to the welsh bockers and we can arrange something at another time but under no circumstances are the public to go on peoples stilts.

Camping sunday night?
You will need to arrange your own camping for this night. Try Cardiff Caravan Park (google it and call them)

I need to make this post, if only as a courtesy to those travelling to cardiff this weekend. Shortly I will make another post with some more specific details that some people might still need.

Back in November 2007 I emailed cardiff council about capital bocking. I was told the oval basin area is available to hire at the cost of £500 per day and that we need to meet various criteria before a booking could be made. I replied and explained we're not an organisation, just a large group of people. We were not performing or selling anything, just meeting up. I never got a reply back. I had a meeting with a different council department in April this year and we discussed CB. They agreed it sounded very exciting and they were going to discuss it with the events team to see if the council could co-operate with the event. They did stress to me that a meet up of this size MUST be classed as an event, if only for safety reasons. I played along. As months went by I chased for updates and was told meetings were happening but nothing more.
Approx 10 days ago I called up to check everything was ok and in place. It wasnt. Seeking clarification, I was told in no uncertain terms that we need to pay the £500 per day charge or we would be asked to leave. This is where my blood pressure started to rise. After a few talks with the guys in charge I could see they were not budging and we had no way to raise the money in time. Ultimately I took the issue to my local MP and councillor who in turn raised it with the chief executive of Cardiff county council.

In a nutshell, up until 6pm today we were still at risk of turning up and having CB without any authorisation and could even face the risk of being moved on or even arrested for trespassing on council property. The reason I did not make this public knowledge was because a lot of people are travelling with parents etc and I didnt want to start a panic.

Today I have been informed that despite several attempts by high officers in the council, we are not hiring cardiff bay in any way and that the council are considering us a "group of individuals" (sound familiar?). This does mean the meet up can go ahead without the threat of any conflict from the council but it does make a few things difficult for us which I will highlight on the weekend.
The biggest of these is that the basin area will at all time be totally open to the public and we must respect this.
Liability insurance is down to the individual bockers or bocking groups. There will be no official first aiders on site. No free water. No power supply for a PA. Basically, we're just there....kind of like an ordinary weekend out with the welshbockers but with a lot more of you joining us.


I hope this doesnt put anybody off and everyone still comes. It is completely beyond me why the cardiff council do not embrace this event, especially for an activity that is so popular with spectators and strongly promotes outdoor activity for all ages. Personally, I think they are shooting themselves in the foot, but thats cardiff council for you.

As the biggest event in the world thus far, Capital Bocking is extremely important for the growth and future of this sport. It will attract a lot of attention and we need to ensure it is successful in every way possible. We'll only do that with the help from the people who started capital bocking....and thats you, the bockers

the bed is the en-suite!

You seem very well organises Zipp, more so than others and thanks for offering up your space.

Etaphotel is cheapo hotel, the rooms are like a shoebox but thats their business.
Rooms are £33 per night and they allow 3 in a room which works out £11 each. This is all listed on the CB site.

XD most people i know have been leaving their bocks alone and taking the utmost care not to snap springs etc before the weekend

and then you have idiots like me who goes and fractures his knee :/

haha super jelly to the rescue INIT!

you can tell me jelly but if i puke or cry then it's your fault.