Stoke Goldington Steam Rally 2002
If you take the Rushden Transport Cavalcade, transplant it to just east of Milton Keynes, halve the size of the arena and turn up the thermostat by a good 18°C, then you have a fair idea of this event.
Lots of steam, smoke and - gasp! - sun. And an awful lot of Public.
The Club Reps for this event were Dave Fish (SIIA 88" Recce), George Jackson (SIIA Lightweight), Sue Cummings (SIII Lightweight) and Mike Allmey (SIII 109 Ambulance), with part-time support from Dave & Liz Simpkins.
The commentary for the arena during the weekend was, thanks to the PA, more or less continuous and genial, rather like Statler and Waldorf (the Two Old Men in the Box from the Muppet Show). It was, however, seriously lacking in information when we were in the area. The noisy entrance of the Ambulance on Saturday (not mechanical trouble but two-tones) merited "And here is a Land Rover", followed by silence. On Sunday they weren't caught out by the appearance of a line of military Land Rovers - they only ignored half of us.
| Vehicle | Un-edited Commentary |
| Mike, SIII 109 RAF Ambulance | "And this is a Land Rover ambulance... owned by Mr Mike Allmey... that served with the RAF." |
| Sue, SIII Lightweight with Radio Repair Trailer | sound of tumbleweed rolling across commentator's desk |
| George, SIIA Lightweight | "And this is another Lightweight Land Rover, owned by Mr George Jackson." |
So what was the purpose of the numbers we had to display all weekend? Actually, this did become clear as we left - a plaque the size of a small Russian republic. Perhaps the sunburn was worth it after all.
The last word can go to Caroline:
Enough said really.