Show Time - Thank You

Cliddesden made its public debut on 12th October 13 at the Farnham MRC expo. in Aldershot. This was not only Cliddesden's first outing but was also the first time the operators had exhibited.

Having unloaded the kit some electrical connectivity issues on the layout were manifest due to damage in transit but, like good boy scouts we were prepared with an array of tools and it was quickly corrected. Thereafter everything went smoothly and the 'hand of God' was not evident as much as we feared, except for uncoupling wagons on the layout - how do you elegantly separate Rapido couplers?

Farnham MRC gave us a great pitch and were well organised in providing services and hospitality. We would like to especially thank Noel and Kevin of Farnham MRC for their welcome and others who's names escape us.

The layout was well received by the public who seemed drawn to it by the fine details and/or overall ambiance of the scene, which is actually quite easy to create when a layout is of a real place. Cliddesden did not make it into the top four layouts voted by the public, but it was 'mentioned in dispatches' at the after show party.

To everyone who voted for us - thank you.
To those who enjoyed our little layout and voiced praise - thank you.
To those who attended because they read about it on this blog - thank you.
To those who saw Cliddesden and are now following this blog - welcome.
To the children who were enchanted by it and dragged their parents back for another look - thank you.
To the adults who spent an inordinate amount of time transfixed by the layout - is that healthy?
To those who recognised Clidddesden from their own connections with the real place - we hope it rekindled fond memories.
To those who cited Buggleskelly, Oh Mr. Porter or The Wrecker - you know too much.
To Trevor (brother & uncle) who gave us a break towards the end of the last day by operating the trains - Thank you.
To those who were inspired to start or finish their own layout - that's why we exhibited.


How the layout was received by the public was a test as to whether or not we would exhibit again and start our long talked about Thornycroft project (the factory being a few miles up the line). We received two invitations to exhibit at other shows and are pleased to say we would be interested in attending shows within our local area. With regards to Thornycroft - watch this space.

Finally, one visitor who viewed all the layouts voiced his praise of Cliddesden with one word - "unique".

Ed & David

Spectators

Guest operator