Preston Steam Rally 2012 Photos

A few pictures straight from the camera card, don’t know what they will look like as I haven’t seen them yet, here are the links they should all be on the web by about 9pm.

http://michaelsbookshop.com/psr2012/

http://michaelsbookshop.com/psr2012/id2.htm

http://michaelsbookshop.com/psr2012/id3.htm

http://michaelsbookshop.com/psr2012/id4.htm

previous year’s pictures at the following links:

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id5.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id6.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id7.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id8.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id5.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id7.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id8.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id9.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/prestonsteamrally2009/index.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/psr2008/

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/prestonsteamrally/index.htm

Sorry about the delay getting around to publishing them, my bookshop is very busy at the moment and I didn’t get time during the day. 

Preston Steam Rally this weekend

Sorry I haven’t posted about this earlier, if you are wondering what to do this weekend you may wish to consider going to Preston steam Rally, this is at Preston Near Wingham i.e. on the Thanet side of Canterbury.

Here are some links to previous years pictures, so you can see what to expect.

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id5.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id6.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id7.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id8.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id5.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id7.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id8.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id9.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/prestonsteamrally2009/index.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/psr2008/

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/prestonsteamrally/index.htm

here is their website:

http://www.prestonrally.co.uk/

Preston Steam Rally Pictures 2011

A few hundred snaps of Sundays steam rally at Preston, here are the links to them

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id5.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id6.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id7.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2011/id8.htm

As is usual the whole contents of my camera card, so you get the good with the bad.

Preston Steam Rally, the main local event this weekend.

This is one of the largest local events, just outside Thanet on the road to Wingham and is on tomorrow and Sunday.

Hare are the links to the pictures of last years event:

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id5.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id7.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id8.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id9.htm

here is their website:

http://www.prestonrally.co.uk/ you may note this site doesn’t work properly in Internet Explorer.

If you have looked at some of the pictures then I don’t suppose there is much I can do to explain the event further, certainly if you were thinking of camping this weekend it’s well worth considering doing so there and if you want a day out it’s a good one.

Preston Steam Services has a museum run by the same charitable trust that wants to run Ramsgate Maritime Museum http://www.thesteammuseum.org/

When it comes to the Maritime Museum that closed two years ago, it is very hard to see how the blame for its continued closure doesn’t mostly belong to Thanet District Council.

My understanding is that for several years now the steam trust, which is a charitable trust, wants to run the museum for the benefit of local people, has been negotiating with the council.

I think the stumbling point is that the building is one of Thanet District Councils iconic Ramsgate assets, others are or were, Albion House, The Royal Victoria Pavilion, Westcliff Hall, The Pleasurama Site, Nero’s, The Eagle Café and The marina Swimming Pool.

This is particularly ironic while the council is engaged in making a compulsory purchase of the Dreamland site in Margate, while these council owned assets in Ramsgate suffer their various fates at the hands of the council.

What is certain is that for the steam trust to run the museum they need grant funding and to obtain this they need security of tenure in terms of a reasonable lease from the council.

More irony here as at the same time as the council pulled out of the lease they had promised the trust on the grounds that long leases had to be seen as asset disposals and would therefore have to go through a long and probably expensive asset disposal process, they handed out a 199 year lease to the Pleasurama development developer without going to asset disposal.

Since then my understanding is that the trust said they would accept a shorter lease and this lease has been subject to a further couple of years prevarication by the council, now I think it likely that the trust may have given up the idea. Mostly on the grounds that the council are just to difficult to work with.

Whatever the ins and outs the museum remains closed and anyone seeing the obvious resources that the steam trust has to offer would be forgiven for wondering why the council are not welcoming them with open arms.

I would say that the main thing now in Ramsgate’s favour is that we really haven’t got much else in the way of council owned assets to lose, what remains at best is empty and at worse derelict, demolished or abandoned.

Update I have just heard from the council with an update on the situation that sounds encouraging:

“I am pleased to advise that latest iteration of the proposed lease  setting out 

the Council's preferred position as prospective Landlord, is  now with the Steam 

Museum Trust for consideration.

I hope that if there are still some issues to be resolved between the Council 

and the Trust, none of them will be too difficult to overcome.”

I will add to this one as I get time

Preston Steam Rally 2010 pictures

Pictures for those of you who couldn’t get there, I am doing this from my mobile notebook so I can’t really see the pictures until they publish, hopefully I will go through and delete the worst of them at some time in the future.

It was too hot – about 10 degrees hotter than in Ramsgate I would estimate – to stay for a long time with the children, but I did my best in the time available.

The pictures will appear as they publish on to the internet click on the links below for them.

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id5.htm

there will be some more pictures added tomorrow.

Some more pictures here from one of my children

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id7.htm

and some here from another one

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id8.htm
you could say a different perspective.

I think this is the final batch http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/preston2010/id9.htm

Preston Steam Rally this weekend

This is a reminder that the main event in this area this weekend is Preston Steam Rally, for something to do this weekend that is likely to appeal to most people it comes with my recommendation.

Plenty of pictures of previous years, links below

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/prestonsteamrally2009/index.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/psr2008/

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/prestonsteamrally/index.htm

Sunday Ramble

Having just come from the Euroferries posting on The Big Blog see http://ademdjemil.co.uk/blog/?p=1359 it does look as though Bonanza Express is being prepared for service, you can keep track of her at http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=224768000 if you click on the “Last Position Received” you can plot her on the map, once she gets underway.

You can also keep an eye on the shipping at Ramsgate http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100 which is rather fun.

We also have the prospect of Preston Steam Museum http://www.thesteammuseum.org/ with their considerable resources revitalising the maritime museum and restoring the long neglected steam tug Cervia.

Anyone who has been to Preston Steam Rally will know that when they talk of organising a program of events they really mean business click on the links for pictures http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/psr2008/ and http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/prestonsteamrally/more_steam_engines_for_sale.htm

The really attractive thing that we have to offer tourists in East Kent is our wealth of heritage, Ramsgate with its harbour, architecture parks and gardens is particularly well placed to benefit from this.

I will probably add to this ramble if I get a bit more time today.

I have published a few pictures from my copy of the Kentish Traveller, that I am preparing for reprint click on the link to look at them http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/blogpicts2/id81.htm

Preston Steam Rally 2008

As promised a few pictures of Preston Steam Rally, having worked on fairgrounds at one time what I think impressed me most was the carousel. It is unusual to see these rides still powered by their steam engine with their organ still functioning as this one was.

What I like about this rally is the venue Preston Services where they deal in anything steam powered click here to look at their website

I am sorry it’s even more snapshotish than usual it was very crowded and I was concerned about losing my family in the crowd.

Click here for the pictures

Preston Steam Rally

Although not strictly in Thanet Preston Steam Rally is one of the best local events and it’s this weekend, I can thoroughly recommend making a day of it.

Click here for some pictures of it in the past

Click here for their website