Clwyd Veteran and Vintage Machinery Club 2015

[8_10 Brass Cleaner]

We took the Marshall part finished to a couple of the Plassey rallies, also I think its very first event after steaming, drove her there on the Friday, home on the Sunday night. This was when Bill 'the beard' was the 'steam' officer.

About that time I joined the club and attended some of their meetings. I cant quite remember where the first one was, but in a working mans club in Wrexham somewhere, but also in another at Weston Rhyn

To put it bluntly the club isnt a 'steam' club and there was much resentment evident at the meetings of paying the steamers and giving them coal. I recall Fred Dibnah had made an appearance with Atlas and I think the 'fee' had put a few noses out of joint.

On top of this we had a load of aggro off the 'safety officer' for driving the engine up the hill on the show field (after 5pm) to make it chuff, apparently it was dangerous. Basically he was a prick.

I guess this probably echos the attitude of the security Ken notes at the show.

The Marshall has not been since. Given I'm now nearly 50 miles away, probably never will. There are far better options.

[rustexpert]

8-10 is quite right really. I also used to be a member for quite some time. The Plas Coch Shows were quite good for their day and the Plassey Shows had a generally excellent atmosphere. There is a couple of other Plassey exhibitors on T.T.
I also got chastised at one of the later (if not last) Plassey for circulating on my Cat D2 in the evening because it made it dangerous for the children playing football in and amongst the exhibit areas! This attitude was taking a grip of the whole club and was unusual then. Years earlier Jasper (club chairman) had a favourite trick of running his John Deere rowcrop in first gear climbing off, walking alongside then climbing back on; not sure if that would go down well these days! Bill the beard was good ambassador for the club.
As I remember it Fred Dibnah was paid to turn up and do the celebrity bit; which was all very good until he really started to be big time. Then one year he turned up with a couple of friends with engines; setting up an encampment within a separate enclosure with a fence all round. On the Saturday evening whilst his "gang" were intending to have a pleasant barbeque and a few cans there was a crowd of allsorts several deep massed around the camp pushing and shoving to gawk at what was going on. This was obviously not pleasant and quite an embarrassing reflection on society and celebrity, etc, etc. The following year he agreed to turn up again but insisted that he and his entourage was accommodated elsewhere for the evening; this on top of his growing celebrity got all a bit out of hand cost wise and came to an end. The following year the club decided to get two stars from "Brookside" or "Corrie" or one of each whatever; this actually proved much cheaper and was very popular with the "masses" to boot and was clearly the way forward (however odd that seems) I don't remember any particular problem with modest payment or coal for the steamers; but quite right it wasn't and probably still isn't a "steam" oriented club.
The club meeting were always in Llay Miners Institute don't think that's changed. The meetings were well above average with regular speakers, demonstrations, etc. but when the Plassey site was lost; it was a committee decision to move to the Oswestry Show venue which was an easy option. This decision didn't sit well with many ordinary members as the site is well out of the clubs notional "patch" (and quite clearly on others) many members including myself lost interest and drifted away. I did visit one or two of the early Oswestry site shows and was generally disappointed with the atmos or lack of it; maybe it just wasn't the Plassey anymore, a show I had grown up with. About this time one of the previously mentioned committee approached me at a show, having never being previously very chatty; he started going on about how a young man like myself (as I really was then) should get involved with the club a bit more and should consider a post on the committee as he was retiring. He had obviously not noticed that I had by that time stopped going to meetings, nor exhibiting at the show and probably working away much of the time.