Woodgreen Model Show 2018

Well as you all know, the reason for the recent sustained work on Sandy Shores was that it would be attending our exhibition - Woodgreen Model Show. This being our 10th year meant it was a pretty big milestone for us, and the weather certainly didn't disappoint!

History of the show:

For those who don't know, this is a brief backstory of the show; Originally, Woodgreen had a biennial model railway exhibition run by Reg & Mary Hunt. This ran for many years (I think 20; so 10 shows?). My dad often attended such exhibitions with his traction engine, and often he and his mates would get together at the event with their engines. Well, 10 years ago, we all decided that instead of having one biennial model railway exhibition, we should mix our interests and jointly host a show every year - this became Woodgreen Model Show, and no longer focused only on model railways. It's a pretty tiny show (the hall isn't exactly big), but it always seems to be much-loved and reasonably well attended. We've always held it as a charity event; every single penny of profit (i.e. with the cost of hiring the hall taken out), goes straight to charity.

This years show:

This year we raised money for 3 charities that are close to our hearts - CLAPA (Cleft Lip & Palate Association - they helped me and my family when I was young), Teenage Cancer Trust, and Help for Heroes.

I can be the first to happily confirm that we raised over £1300 over the two days! All of which will be split between the three charities. No doubt the weather helped the increased footfall over last year, but I hope this means that more people will now know about the event for future years.

This year, we were graciously allowed use of St Boniface's Church, next door, to hold a new portion of our show - local arts and crafts. This proved a hit, and many delightful homemade things were on sale; from jams to doorstops, to lavender products to art!

The Layouts

Binns Road to Basildon - OO - John & Sue Ablett

Buckleigh - OO - James & Chandler Thick & John Penny

Little Bridge - O Gauge - Sedgemoor O Gauge Group

Parracombe - 009 - Peter Hollins

Salisbury - OO Three Rail - Reg & Mary Hunt

Sandy Shores - 009 - Yours truly!

Tramway - Peter Murchison

A huge thanks to:

• Those that offered the money they made from selling their products to the charities of our choice - that was a kind and a very unexpected surprise!
• All the exhibitors that attended, and helped make such a great show happen.
• The various helpers that kindly gave up their bank holiday; from working in the kitchen, to making cakes for us to sell, to manning the door and car park (and everything else in between!).
• The visitors themselves for not only helping to raise money for charity, but also making sure the exhibition will continue on for another year.
• The vicar and local church office for allowing use of St. Boniface church throughout the show.
• And to anyone else I may have missed out!