Rain before seven, fine before eleven so the old saying goes. Well it was certainly raining when we arrived in the high street at eight o’clock. Alan had a £5 bet with Gloria that it would clear up by eleven. Come ten o’clock and it stopped raining and Gloria was standing there with five £1 coins in her hand ready to hand over to Alan. I bet she was relieved when he gave her the money back at the next committee though.
As usual the place was a hive of activity with people rushing around getting their various stalls ready for action. The Lions were doing a very good del of a cup of tea or coffee and a hot dog for £1.50 so Colin had one of those, and I daresay a few others of our ‘lot’ did too.
This year the punters were a bit slow in arriving due to the wet start but once they filtered through it was the usual crush. Not so many engines this year, about eight or nine I believe, but I’m sure everybody enjoyed the day. Plenty of spectators asking questions, looking really interested, as they probably don’t visit rally’s to see these ‘curiosities’.
Quite a few of the shops open that day and I’m sure they were glad they did going by the ones we were sitting outside – people coming and going the whole time, but whether they spent or not is a different matter.
The mayor of East Grinstead did his usual presentation of our plaques with Lynne standing by, camera in hand.
Another enjoyable day, and the weather did it’s best in the end, so next year, come on, we need a few more engines. I’ll remind you nearer the time!
Report by Joan Boyer, Pictures by Alan Cullen
* Click on the image for more details
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