Yep, It's Nostalgia Time Again

NAH and I had another trip down memory lane last week, this time in the form of Kemble Steam Fair. This event was similar to the one I reported on last month, but a lot bigger. It also had a number of unique features I'd not seen at other fairs. It's held on Kemble airfield, so if you get bored with all the usual vintage stuff, you can go and hang around some serious vintage airplanes instead, such as this Gnat jet trainer as formerly used by the RAF Red Arrows display team. Kemble used to be their base and they often return for a flying visit. Also from time time small aircraft take off as Kemble is one of the largest privately owned commercial airfields in England. Some of these planes then perform jaw dropping aerobatic displays seemingly just for the sheer hell of it.

Another feature was the unintentionally hilarious ferreting display by a young man who obviously loves his job and wants to tell everyone (a distant audience of 10 in this instance) in the minutest of detail. His rabbit warren was built in the best of Blue Peter styles - all plastic drain pipes and camouflage netting. After about 20 minutes of talk and no action he finally whipped out a ferret from a box and put it into the 'warren'. The ferret promptly escaped out into the field whilst he wasn't looking and the man's two sleepiest of dogs just carried on with their nice little nap and didn't alert him to the fact. Neither did we. In the meantime, he was using various stuffed toy rabbits dropped in strategic places around the field to demonstrate various capture techniques. It took him some time to realise what was actually going on!

I won't reprise the kind of photos like the ones I took at the last show, but I couldn't resist this fine example of the stationary engine displayman's art. It's the best I've seen yet.

I also came away with a couple of unexpected souvenirs from the day. There was an excellent plant stall with the healthiest of Dahlias and Chocolate Cosmos that took all my willpower to resist. However, I did succumb to this Agave for £3. I was also resisting this whimsical lamb quite well, but NAH saw my inner struggle and bought it for me instead.





Comments

  1. Aunt Debbi/kurts mom7 August 2008 at 22:10

    What a cute little lamb.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Zoë8 August 2008 at 00:25

    I bought my Dad a flock of very similar lambs for his birthday a while back, including a black sheep{ to represent me lol)

    The problem he had was they weren't frost resistant. They are very cute though, despite the bits that have fallen off due to frost damage.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8 August 2008 at 08:11

    so funny - I have been eying up a very similar lamb - I think its cute too.
    K

    ReplyDelete
  4. Catherine8 August 2008 at 10:01

    The ferring display sounds fascinating! I think we should book him for our next duck race in Loose!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Arabella Sock8 August 2008 at 14:24

    I'm afraid the Red Arrows aren't the best kind of nostalgia for me..

    I think it was 1980 and I was sunbathing on Brighton beach by the (now collapsed) West Pier. Suddenly the Red Arrows zoomed over just above our heads with a noise worse than thunder. When I say just above our heads I could clearly see the pilots faces and were covered in fumes from the planes. They performed various acrobatic stunts at low-level including flying straight at each other over the top of the pier and then each turning sideways at the last moment. I was sick with anxiety and convinced they were going to crash and we would all be taken-out by the fireball.

    Then there was a loud bang in the distance and guess what? Yes one of them had flown so low they clipped the mast of a boat moored between the two piers. The Red Arrow pilot had ejected and the plane had flown over the Palace pier out of control and nose-dived into the sea just off shore. Friends of mine on that part of the beach thought it was actually part of the display and were waiting for the plane to zoom out of the water!!

    I developed a life-long fear of aeroplanes after that which means although I fly it is an unhappy experience for me. We didn't have 'compensashun' in those days else maybe I could have sued!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Arabella Sock8 August 2008 at 19:06

    Oops - sorry, whilst I got carried away about the red arrows I forgot to say nice agave and a bargain too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous9 August 2008 at 18:41

    Your picture shows a Hunter not a Gnat! xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. VP12 August 2008 at 23:46

    Deb - yep. And there's 2 larger sizes I'd wish I'd bought too

    Zoe - I take mine in for winter just in case.

    AG - do get one. They're fun as well as cute.

    Catherine - sounds like just the thing!

    Arabella - oh dear what a tragedy.

    Arabella again - it was wasn't it!

    Flighty - thanks for putting me right!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous13 August 2008 at 20:57

    Sounds as if it was a grand day out - don't know how you resisted the chocolate cosmos - admirable willpower VP!

    ReplyDelete
  10. VP22 August 2008 at 22:25

    Not much willpower needed Anna as it was all or nothing and I couldn't afford to buy them all!

    ReplyDelete

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