I'm going to try and keep this positive but I think some of the muddled HSE based thinking needs pointing out. This was my second time at the event and first as an exhibitor
Last year the miniatures had an open field to play on and could move around the site freely. The site being so large and the layout so open it lends itself to this perfectly which adds to the enjoyment for owners and punters alike, last year Stuart Hines took the Aveling up the beer tent on the Sunday or Saturday afternoon. It was great to attend a rally with a sensible view to engine movements, owners also managed to keep away from the busier narrower areas of the site by simply applying common sense
Fast forward to this year and the miniatures were confined to the engine lines 'for safety reasons'. The site and layout hadn't changed and the ground conditions were good, the owners were also told this after they'd arrived and raised steam. I spoke to a committee member about this and pointed out HSE is about Sensible Risk Management not just judging everything as dangerous and banning it. I believe there were other similar issues with the bigger engines
Perhaps it would have been better for the committee to ask a steam person (or two one for models and one for full size) to come along to a meeting where they could put forward their safety concerns and the steam people could explain how it works at other events and how we could all work together to manage the risk and continue to fully enjoy the event. Also it would not be unreasonable to inform exhibitors of the restrictions before they turn up, then they can choose if the new rules are something they wish to accept or if they wish to try a different event
This all said Long Melford is an enjoyable event in an fantastic setting and the rally was certainly well attended on the Sunday, the weather putting people off on the Saturday I think. I hope everything can be sorted out for next year so we can all enjoy the show to its fullest extent, I'll post some photos later when my camera has been revived!
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