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Comment... September 2011

There are plenty of rally reports coming on to my desk this time of year of course, and I can’t help but notice that it seems that almost every event now sports at least one example of an American-built traction engine. Are there noticeably more coming into the UK I wonder, or are examples that came in a while back now being restored?

Personally, I think I can take them or leave them, but they’re good to have at rallies so that visitors can see the basic, and usually very obvious, differences that our cousins add to their engines. However, I do admit to having a soft spot for Buffalo-Pitts engines, having been up close to some surviving examples in Australia.

Being out and about in the last month, I have received several comments about the story we ran in the last issue regarding the Boconnoc Rally in Cornwall charging exhibitors to attend the event, just to make ends meet. Talking to some Scottish enthusiasts, they tell me that they have been charging classic car entrants for some time. This is on the basis that a car owner would book into more than one event of a weekend, then choose which one to attend come the weekend. Therefore, if they choose not to attend and leave a yawning gap on the peg line, then at least the rally has made a few bob out of them.

We’ve all heard stories citing the family that turns up at a rally in a Winnebego of the size that wouldn’t disgrace the Pacific Coast Highway – and out pops (no pun intended) a Lister D stationary engine ‘exhibit’ and free camping for the family for the weekend… or the classic car that turns up midday Sunday with five adults rammed inside.

But Boconnoc was news because it was the first time, to our knowledge, that a rally had adopted a catch-all approach. There’s no problem in doing that because for reasons of geography, a lack of volunteer labour and balancing the books at what is a popular enthusiasts’ event, the committee made its decision and stuck to it. And it worked for them. And I say congratulations.

However, I made sure that my reporter gathered at least two quotes from people involved in Boconnoc’s organisation for the story, which he did. I also let two individual committee members have sight of the story before going to press AND let them change wording within it if they thought it was necessary – right up until going to press.

I was also assured by them that our reporter would be welcome at the show.

But come the day of the show our reporter was decidedly made ‘not welcome’ every time he passed a member of the show’s organising committee, and, given the circumstances, soon left.

Now the story was also flagged up on the Traction-Talk chatgroup, indeed comments ranged from good or bad decision and in support or otherwise, and extended to no less than 11 PAGES of comments. Therefore I wonder if that website’s moderator would have been similarly shunned had he visited Boconnoc? Or does that just apply to the print media?

Boconnoc’s Mr Ellway wrote on Traction-Talk accusing the media of “jumping on the bandwagon”. Sorry Mr Ellway. If reporting the news, as is our duty, is jumping on bandwagons (a story which we heard first from disgruntled exhibitors last winter), then I hold my hand up and stand accused.

Colin Tyson
Editor