Vegan cake! I tried some vegan chocolate cake - and you know what? It was OK. I still had a sausage bap for lunch later in the day though.
Aside from cakes without dead animals in them, Stamford show is one of those local events that punches above its weight each year, and so well worth a visit. The day dawned sunny, but as this was just another nice Sunday, after several others, the show wasn't clobbered numberswise as it had been last year when their doors opened on the first nice weekend of the year.
Thos that did attend found an impressive selection of layouts. I'm not going to pretend that I took photos of all of them, or that I'm bringing you all that I took (some are hidden for mag usage), but quite a few things caught my eye.
A Clyde "Puffer" seems to have found its way to Porthllechan. Nicely done, and the finicular (is that the correct term for a goods lift) worked well too.
Megsdorf is another layout from Norman Raven, whose layouts I've photographed for BRM in the past. The loco here caught my eye as it's unusual, and I'm pretty sure I have a DJH kit to build it in my stash somewhere. No, I have no idea how that happened.
St Judes bay is rather nice. We're talking to them about a fuller pagazine feature, but when that happens, I always take a few shots to remind me of the model.
Market Deeping clubs own layout, Corsham is a nicely done N gauge model, and this little corner appealed to me. I don't suppose I'm the only visitor to take a photo looking under the bridge!
Providence Colliery is another I'd have signed up for a shoot, but it turns out the owner is a friend of Tony Wright, so he's going to do this. It's local to him too, always a bonus.
If you like novelty micro layouts, and I do, then Moor Boxes, by Kevin Staden is up your street. Over a dozen boxfile based N gauge layouts, each one different from the next, showcased the builder's imagination and ingenuity. Unlike a lot of novelties, the modelling wasn't bad either. Some ideas for a future Phil project perhaps?
Finally, the Kwai Bridge, built by James Spence. OK, it's novely, and the plastic plants are clever, if a little garish, but nice to see something very different at a show.
Events like Stamford are my answer to those who only go to the larger events, because the little ones aren't worth the effort. Not every layout was amazing, but most were pretty good, and more than worth the cost of admission. Market Deeping also make great efforts to entertain youngsters and get them to sample our hobby.
And the cakes are pretty good too.