Fawley Hill steam extravaganza

Over the weekend of 20-22 May we were lucky enough to be at Fawley Hill Steam Extravaganza, thanks to an invitation from Lady McAlpine who organised the event to celebrate her husband Sir William McAlpine's 80th birthday.

We had an interesting position next to the merry-go-round and the station, so we had a grandstand view of the steam train making its regular trips down the hill laden with passengers, and then struggling back up - on occasion having to go back down and take another run at it.

We took the sim and the Junior (in its current cabriolet configuration) and had plenty of visitors, many of whom enjoyed sessions flying around the mountains in New Zealand.

Cabriolet Junior

The sim proved popular

The club members who came along took time out to look around the show with its many attractions - engines, cars, tractors, buses, camels, a unicorn (honest) as well as sampling Somerset cider and Gurkha curry. The only fly in the ointment was the downpour on Sunday afternoon just as we were thinking of packing up, so we got back to Booker very wet and muddy.

More traction engines than you could shake a stick at

We should have brought Mavis

New buggy?

Camels. Why not?

Many thanks to all those who helped out, in particular to Bob Smith who towed the sim trailer there and back, and to Robin Willgoss for tech support on the sim. Also to: Bob Davey, Chris Rowland, Chris Arnold, Julian Saakwa-Mante, David Fogden, Terry Clements, Chris Collett, Hedda Couture, David Humphreys, Symeon Economou, Bob Sinden - and Robert Turner, whose loan of a gazebo saved us from drowning.