It was 30 years ago when Julie Sprague travelled nearly 500 miles from Devon to Edinburgh to take part in the 1995 Rural Youth Europe European Rally. She didn’t know it back then, but she was about to meet a group of people she’d be friends with for life.
When the YFC Travel opportunity was announced, not many people applied because it was being hosted in the UK. A keen traveller – Julie had already been to Morrocco, Germany, Brussels and worked in New Zealand for six months through YFC – she decided to tick Scotland off the bucket list.
“It was amazing. I don’t think anyone expected it to be so good,” said Julie who was joined by Jane Anderson, Andrew Woodward and Richard Stagg from the England team. “Woody [Andrew] was a national officer at the time, so he was appointed to go on the trip, and he moaned about it before we went. You should have seen him at the end – he admitted it had been amazing. There was a whole vibe of ‘everyone’s got to do this.’”
The week included a royal visit from Princess Anne and presentations from the Lord Mayor of Edinburgh, alongside farm visits, international meals, entertainment skits and plenty of Ceilidhs.
“You still had to do everything right the next day, whether you were feeling up to it or not,” remembered Julie about the workshop elements of the week. “The home countries bonded really well – which was probably to do with the language, and we were all a bit livelier.”
While some of the team were in contact through NFYFC Council activities, remaining connected with their new friends in Scotland and Ireland was more of a challenge – especially in the days before social media.
“For everyone it was about maintaining that experience we’d had. We all had such a good time, we all bonded even though it was only a week. We did end up going back for Hogmanay for a few years and went up to the Royal Highland to get everyone together. That cemented the friendship.”
As the years passed and everyone had been guests at each other’s weddings, contact tailed off in the early years of starting families and juggling work. Julie was managing a busy life on a dairy farm on the coast and raising three children, but Rally memories were never too far from her mind.
“When Facebook came along, we got everyone on it and it helped improve our contact again,” said Julie who now lives near to Richard Stagg who moved to Devon from Gloucester and is now Julie’s land agent. “He got the work because I knew him through the rally.”
As well as celebrating together during the good times, they have been there for each other when life hasn’t been so kind. One member of the group lost their husband very suddenly in recent years, which hit the group hard as everyone’s partners had been part of the reunions too.
Catching up isn’t easy for the group due to their locations around the UK but they were eager to mark the 30th anniversary since the rally and the four from England reunited with Christine Carruth, Ann Redpath, and Jack Lamb from Scotland, and John MacCallister from Ulster.
“We went to Liverpool for the weekend. The weather was beautiful, it was hot, so we sat outside just reliving memories. Anne from Scotland turned up with loads of photo albums so we had a good reminisce and a laugh,” said Julie, whose children are now members of YFC and experiencing their own travel opportunities.
“My son Harry has been on the rally in Germany – I told him to go for it. It was really sweet, as they had the same experience as we did,” said Julie. “Christine’s nephew was also on the same rally representing Scotland – he told him: My auntie knows your mum!”
Despite Harry’s trip being a similar format and experience to his mum’s – the difficulties around remaining in contact were not the same.
“I don’t know how we did it without phones. How did we manage it? We just caught up with people enough to maintain the friendship. I’m not brilliant at Christmas cards, that’s for sure.
“I think it’s easier for them through social media to maintain gentle contact, whereas we didn’t have that. We had to have names and addresses, and landline numbers.
“We all have loads of photos, hidden away in personal photo albums though, rather than all over the internet!”
Julie’s love of travel was sparked by YFC – being in Newton St Cyres YFC when NFYFC President John Lee was the club leader also meant she was given even more opportunities to travel. John invited Julie on a CEJA trip to France with him and he also organised a club trip to Brussels.
“I did a lot of travel. I think my kids have been quite tame in comparison,” laughed Julie. “I got married, went on honeymoon and since then I haven’t been abroad! I had to buckle down and do some work.”
She’s grateful for the opportunities YFC gave her to travel and encourages current members to go for it.
“YFC made a difference to me mainly because it meant knowing people everywhere. I wouldn’t have done as much travelling if I’d not been in YFC.
“I made friends for life through it. We’re all a lot greyer but some of us haven’t grown up.”
