2nd September 2007

Richard, Nina and "Mini". Nina swears this has nothing to do with the doughnuts mentioned below .....

Great Dorset Steam Fair 2007

To the Great Dorset Steam Fair:

(see http://www.gdsf.co.uk) - largest in the world - where for a few days in August/ September some fields become a temporary city full of weird and quirky wonders such as jam doughnuts stuffed with clotted cream - mmmmmm!!! But first of all, some of the traction engines as they prove they can make it up the hill - albeit very slowly ....

... so someone has a good sense of humour!!

Nothing is too big for the Steam Fair - however this did travel around the arena on its lowloader - see second photo above - brought over from the Mid Hants railway (the Watercress Line).

A very smart showman's wagon. The display stand next to it surrounds an enormous keyless organ - thank goodness this blog does not have sound!! This year the organs all seemed to be playing music from the shows and it was annoying to find ourselves singing along!

For sale on one of the junk stalls - a paraffin fired Rippingille's cooker with oven and 2 hotplates, as used and loved by Mike's mum for her family of 5 in the 1950s.

I'm cheating and including my cousin Celia from the 2004 Woodcraft display tent. Sadly not at the 2007 show - her designs are fantastic and each carved from one piece of wood.

And this is the quirky - some proud person's collection of blowlamps .... the collections were mindblowing - tractor seats; rat traps; spanners; milk bottles (what did the stuffed toy rabbit on the stand have to do with the display?) and policeman's helmets "No I haven't got Gloucester here but I've got it at home"! I wanted to get the collection of picnic hampers but I was seen by the collector having such a fit of the giggles that I think taking a photo would have been the last straw!! A sandwich short of a picnic hamper I think ....