Somerset Steam and Country Show
Since I started this thread and was mentioned above, can I have my pennyworth?
I am well aware that for every rally / show we attend, many people have put in many, many hours of unpaid hard work and any criticism I make in my reports does try to be constructive. I hope anyone involved in the Somerset Show will not take this personally. Size isn't everything, it's all about making the most of the limited resources available and using a bit of imagination. Yes, once you reach a critical mass, it becomes rather easier and events like Onslow Park and Welland in my area are magnificent spectacles. However, the fact is that some smaller events seem to have that extra 'sparkle' and for me that revolves around what use they make of the steam engines. Marcle this weekend for me had it just right as there were two saw benches, steam ploughing and steam threshing. In 10 days time, Torbay will offer something similar, I doubt the people putting on these displays will have been paid a fortune. These two and the Somerset Show will have had a similar number and range of steam engines in attendance. I am not going to name names, but in the last two years while we have never failed to enjoy a visit, there have been those events which could 'try harder' and those which the rally inspectors would rate as 'excellent'.
In Gloucestershire this past weekend there was stiff competition for the family pound, 150,000 attended the Fairford Airshow and 150,000 a Food Festival in Gloucester Quays. It's the same everywhere else and our rallies cannot afford to relax and have to adapt. I'm not really very interested in tractors, buses, trucks and the like but if they bring in the punters and allow other kinds of enthusiasts their moment in the (hoped for) sun, that's fine by me. However, any event which includes 'steam' in its name has to produce something special and that means more than a row of shiny engines and a quick whirl round the arena.
And indeed a veteran engine owner said to me at the weekend that the best part of a rally was roading his engine to and fro...
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