Bloxham Rally 2018

On the weekend of 23rd June I had the pleasure of singing at Bloxham Steam Rally. I’ve known about this event for years, but had never been. Ignorant as I was, I thought it would be a quaint country fair, set in a small field. Oh how wrong was I! Try 3 fields, with steam engines, fun fair, classic vehicles, tractors, stalls, eateries, American civil war reenactment camp (huge), military section, lorries and more.

The weather was scorching and there was no escaping the dust and heat, but I would rather have that than a muddy quagmire. It was wonderful to see some old reenactor friends again and everyone was busy with their tasks for the weekend. Unfortunately we didn’t realise quite how loud the funfair was going to be and it was directly opposite my singing location.

I tried moving to another spot….ooops, there goes the arena tannoy…moved again and was greeted with steam engine smoke and a large mechanical organ. I decided to battle the funfair noise and it was a head to head noise-off between me and the gorgeous antique carousel. I think it won, but I got through my first 2 performances with a small passing audience.

It was my birthday that day, so my parents came along for a little while and brought me a cake, so that was wonderful. I had a bit of poorly tummy, so it was lovely to have some extra support from them, Mr Mew and Betsy Boo. We staggered around the main field and classic cars before our farewells and drooled over some stunning vehicles!

In the evening I was performing at the beer tent before the Dorset Rats went on. The ex-military area drove down 2 vehicles so that I could perform outside with them as a backdrop! We had a few problems with the generator not being powerful enough, but once that was fixed, I had a grand time singing to the crowd. It was a barmy evening and everyone was in a cheery, relaxed mood.

Along came Sunday and I was feeling quite a bit better than the first day. I couldn’t wait to see the full sized replica Hurricane in our military section as I would be performing on the wing today! I hadn’t seen it seen my last ever time at The War and Peace Show in 2014. It certainly brought the crowds over for my performance and I had a swell time up there! My favourite part? Singing on that replica aircraft as a Lancaster Bomber flew overhead. How blessed am I?