Transport Festival Page 3

Feedback tells us that the Transport Festival was a great success again this year. We had more vehicles than ever on show and raised a good sum of money for this year's charities. The show grows year on year but this year the Croft was full and maybe we allowed in too many vehicles there. It was a little crowded and the management committee would appreciate your views on whether we had too many exhibits and whether a few less would have made a more relaxed day. Unfortunately it is difficult to see how we can meet the growing demand from the many people who want to bring their vehicles to show. Again, any ideas would be very gratefully received.

It is difficult to estimate how many people actually turned out to look at the exhibits but judging from the amount of money we took on the gates and for the brochures there must have been well over 2000 visitors, possibly nearer 3000. There were some wonderful exhibits. We had Malcolm Campbell's Rolls Royce, which attracted lots of attention. The Service Station seemed to become a focus for US 'muscle cars' and there were some really impressive cars there.

There was much to see and you can see the 'highlights' on the internet on Burton TV News.

The main objective of the day is a good day out for everyone and this was achieved. The secondary objective is to raise money for local charities. This year we made a surplus of £4000 and we gave £3000 to kick-start the Almshouse fund-raising effort. The other £1000 went to Rolleston Scouts to be spent on the orphanage they are building in Kenya. Normally we only support local charities but the Committee considered that the experience for the local youngsters going to Kenya is a life changing one for them and the orphanage is so desperately needed.

The Festival is very much helped by the Grand Garage Sale Tour which runs in parallel and raises money for St Mary's. This is appreciated by the exhibitors at the Festival and makes the whole thing a 'Grand Day Out'. Both events gain by being on at the same time. The two vintage buses taking people around the sales is still one of the major attractions.
The Committee would like to thank everyone who helped on the day. Without the helpers it would not happen. A very early plea for next year; if you enjoyed the day please put your name forward to help, next time, on the day – the late May Bank Holiday, 2014 – Please follow us on Facebook

John Morris

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