Leigh Flower Show & Kingsley Rally 27th & 28th July

A show that has had engines attending for many years, this year had to be the one that rained on us! Despite the forecast, the Tewkesbury family set out with the train set and two of Allan Harris’s engines in tow. We arrived to the usual chaos that was quickly quelled by organiser on the day, Tom Beams.

The space left for us was very tight and quite ridiculous considering the rest of that side was taken up with disabled parking that remained virtually empty. Still we coped and squeezed in Allan’s 3 engines, Luke’s Lister B and Tom’s Mangold Cutter. John and Heather’s Stuart and dynamo, John Peters with a very nice air cooled United, a drag saw and tools display across the end, with our train set the other.

The clouds threatened more than once but unfortunately the heavens opened about 45 minutes after opening. The field cleared very quickly and despite it only lasting 10 minutes or so, there were noticeably less visitors afterwards. The mood was dampened further by the news arriving that Paul Cook had passed away that day.

The Sunday I set off to Kingsley just as a visitor, with some important work to do. However I did manage a bit of a look round and I must say this is a show that organisers Tony and Sylvia Haydon must be proud of. What a display of engines and tractors and a nice friendly atmosphere too. Not only that but it is organised for Macmillan Charity, a worthy cause.

Mark Tewkesbury