End of Season

Now here we are at 'The Moat House' at Coughton, near Alcester in Warwickshire.

Yet another shot of 'Linkey' and living van on the way to Coughton, but as you can see from the others, Chris is reversing the engine for parking for the night with Matt Bisp steering. Now Matt was not expecting to join us. He came to the yard in the morning to take some pics and I thought it would be a wonderful experience for him to join us on the run, so a seat was found in Bob Davis's trailer and he therefore came with us for the entire run.

The other shot is all the engines lined up before much merriment was had by all in the pub that night!

End of Season

Now one task that is always performed with the steam boys in what we call 'the end of season' steam run and social gathering.

There were several engines in steam that weekend of 31st October 2009. We left Davis's yard sometime on Saturday morning and called at 'The Why Not' on the Evesham road for breakfast. Following on from that we all assembled at 'The Green Dragon' at Sambourne for another social interlude.

From there most of the engines went onto 'The Jubilee' for quaffing of more ale, but Chris Beale and me took 'Linkey' direct to 'The Moat House' at Coughton as we were the slowest engine.

The photo is taken on the way to Coughton with living van and Land Rover in tow.

Severn Valley Railway

Monday 26th October, we all had a day out on the Severn Valley Railway. Meeting at Kidderminster, there was Matt, his mum and dad, Chris with grandad and mate Jake plus me.

Tornado was in steam that week because it was half term so the place was busy. However it was a lovely day weather wise and we all finally got to have a ride with Tornado heading the stock.

Having had reserved seats, we sat in a 1930's carriage having just been restored to the tune of £120,000. This carriage was largely made from teak and it was an excellent restoration.

A good time was had by all and we returned home later that evening.

Back again!

Sorry folks, it has been a long time since I last updated this blog. My old computer blew up!
No seriously, we identified a serious fault in the motherboard, so a trip to PC World was in order, and here we are.
Don't worry, I will now be sorting through the photo selection, so please be patient and shortly I shall return and bring you all up to date.

Cheltenham Steam Rally

Well that all folks, its all over. No not the blog, the steam rally season as far as Linkey is concerned.

We all assembled at Cheltenham this last weekend. The rally site is part of the Cheltenham Racecourse overflow facilities right by the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway. A wonderful setting.

The rally was fully booked and my young friend Matt Bisp and his Dad were not able to exhibit their little garden tractors. However they did come and visit us on Saturday and brought Mum with them. At the end of the afternoon, Matt had the chance to steer Linkey with me at the controls, then afterwards I let him have a go on my Ford 2000 tractor. I really think he enjoyed the day. Next year Matt you get booked in early!

The weather on Saturday was perfect, and much ploughing was done. Michael Davies from Avon Dassett in Warwickshire provided the other Fowler ploughing engine, 'Achilles'. John Garman presented the plough we used and we got on with it. The evening was cool, quite and we had a BBQ for several of us. Big Dazza was elected to cook and we all had a splendid time. I was the last man standing again, or at least I think it was standing.

However Sunday was the reverse. It rained and the day was effectively ruined. We had to take the engines out of a hole in the hedge and up the main road. Michael Davies's engine had that much mud on it that at 20 tons it slid across the road and up the curb. On witnessing this we cleaned Linkeys wheels so we did not suffer the same fate.

Anyway we all got home in good order and now looking forward to the steam boys end of season run on Saturday October 31st.

Steam Boys at Night

Oh dear, I was reminded to post one of the pics taken on the Saturday night in Cheshire at Mike Priestner's 'do'

Well here I am talking to 'safety' Kev a little the worse for wear. Kevin brought over from Europe some very strong beers, ranging from 8% upwards to 12% and more.

We had a good time and still got up on Sunday morning, had breakfast and steamed up!

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Well the steam rally season is drawing to a close. Next weekend 10th and 11th October I shall attend the Cheltenham Steam Rally, held on land adjacent to Cheltenham Racecourse and very close to the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway.

A fantastic event organised by preservation enthusiasts. ' Linkey' will be there steam ploughing again and this time my Ford 2000 tractor will be in the tractor line up.

The next event for me after that will be the Newark Tractor show held on 7th and 8th November on the Newark showground, then that is it!

My thoughts at this time go towards steam railways. I will be visiting the Great Central on Sunday 24th October with Matt Bisp, but my real inclination is to visit the North Yorkshire Moors Railway sometime over the winter months. I just love Yorkshire and this railway. Perhaps I may just check out the winter timetables and go up for a couple of days. The photos are Levisham in the winter.