weald of kent

[Stephen Fry's left ear]

Yep it was a truly great event and for once right on our doorstep. Loved the guy with the 'miniature' who thought p*ssing off with TWENTY bags of coal so that many of us didn't actually have any to even light up with. Suffice to say there were many words most of them rude....

[Mutley]

Who the heck was that? The allowance of 1 bag of coal per inch of scale was very generous. Great rally as mentioned already, definitely on the calendar for next year.

[Stephen Fry's left ear]

There was a major rumpus but the cheeky bd stuck it out for the weekend despite several confrontations and one out and out threat (not by me I hasten to add). He actually had the audacity to complain to the marshall that people were 'nicking' his coal as I and several others went over and helped ourselves. he still left the showground on sunday with 14 bags stuffed in his van.

Couldn't make it up...

wnaker

[5inchrail]

Originally Posted by Stephen Fry's left ear

Yep it was a truly great event and for once right on our doorstep. Loved the guy with the 'miniature' who thought p*ssing off with TWENTY bags of coal so that many of us didn't actually have any to even light up with. Suffice to say there were many words most of them rude....

Not exactly miniature either as he explained to me that it was a full size to a design that was never built back in the day. When I asked a few pertinent questions I got the impression he was not that knowledgeable about steam. He seemed to be quoting from text he'd picked up in a book from what I could tell…. That was just before he accused my youngest lad (and yours SFLE) of driving our electric steam wagon (and your Toylander) illegally because they are too young and not insured as "its not possible to get insurance on such things”. Once he'd carried on to say that by using these we were putting the public at risk I pointed out that they are insured and driving them perfectly properly and putting people at far less risk than someone driving a full size machine but treating it as a miniature (for the purposes of nicking coal it seems) and that they had a full understanding of the machines they were driving…. unlike some. He did carry on to say that he would be checking with Walker Midgley. And I think you’ll find he had 15 bags of coal not 14 but of course it could have been more because someone else said it was 18.
Barry

[Stephen Fry's left ear]

Well the piles of dead bodies caused through Toylander / electric steam waggon mishaps got cleared up fairly promptly and the bloodshed was hosed down courtesy of Andy Mills so no lasting damage or evidence of carnage...

I only saw the damn thing move a few times on both Saturday and Sunday so it must burn hell of a lot of coal!

I did like it when he barricaded himself in at the end of the miniature line so that nobody else could 'nick' HIS coal. Andy also said he had threatened to call the police because of the ongoing thefts. Lets hope its the ones that investigated my missing Ruston!

[5inchrail]

An interesting threat as it was him that was nicking coal... Dear Plod... The coal I've nicked is being reclaimed by those only taking coal within their rightful allowance... Looked like the sort that might like wearing handcuffs though !

[The Artilleryman]

Originally Posted by 5inchrail

That was just before he accused my youngest lad (and yours SFLE) of driving our electric steam wagon (and your Toylander) illegally because they are too young and not insured as "its not possible to get insurance on such things”. Once he'd carried on to say that by using these we were putting the public at risk I pointed out that they are insured and driving them perfectly properly

Speaking as somebody very new to this hobby, I found the young lads driving the small vehicles to be very competent and aware of what was happening around them, much more so than the 3 wheeler owner, who was somewhat irate as I trundled back on 40psi and held him up (wish I could say it was deliberate - just poor fire management - but justice anyway).

Tony.

[Stephen Fry's left ear]

Hi Tony, Which was your engine? You should have come up and said hello! The half sized landrover was driven by my hooligan of an eight year old who insists on wearing his top hat at shows (and sometimes school). he is a very competent driver and steers well clear of people and if in doubt will stop. Barry lads are a bit older but are likewise careful. All of them are supervised though as where Liam was I was close behind. The showground was big enough for him to travel around a bit and he actually followed me in the ring right behind the Garrett. He knackered the batteries by midday sunday but there was another one that was darker in colour also there and that took a turn in the ring on Sunday.

The bloke was a prize knob who seemed to rub everyone up the wrong way on every level. You should have got off and told hom where to shove his tryke. You wouldn't have been the first that weekend... or second or even third.

[Prince of Wales]

Nice surprise to see two Burrell Scenics in the same place! Chance to compare the differences...

[Grommet]

Full marks. Excellent.