Our decision to continue to attend the Earls Barton Rally & Country Fair rather than the inaugural North Cambridgeshire Country Show appears to have been the correct one, as our intelligence from the latter event informs us that they struggled to put on a show, lacking both exhibits and attractions (see report elsewhere). That cannot be said for Earls Barton where the welcome is as warm as ever, and the attractions quite varied. The ability to camp from Wednesday to Tuesday is another plus in this peak holiday season, allowing us to visit the Grand Union Canal at Stoke Bruerne where we saw an excellent restored Russell Newbury engine in one of the narrow boats.

Back at the rally, although lacking entries in the programme, the fire engine section was excellent this year, with examples of Landrover series I & II, Carmichael Range Rover 6-wheel drive, Cheshire Fire Engineering Bedford TK, HCB Angus Dodge Commando, very rare Chubb Pacesetter, Saxon SPV (formerly CFE) Shelvoke & Drewry and a couple of later Dennis appliances, equipment suppliers not noted.

The commercial section was quite a bit different to last year with several vehicles attending this year not seen last. However, most of these new exhibitors were at Lincoln steam last weekend, but the exception was the bright yellow Mack B61 6x4 prime mover, a common sight in the USA and Australia but rarely seen in the UK. That was worth the trip alone.

The stationary engine section under the respected stewardship of Tony Bradfield offered some rare engines including a 1½hp water-cooled Blackstone, a 1914 Moteur Japy vertical, Novo and an Australian Roseberry horizontal engine, along with the excellent pair of John Deeres. This section was almost full to capacity this year, and accordingly, we exhibited again in the bygones section with our miscellaneous collection of oil company memorabilia, which went down quite well.

The cars came and went over the weekend with the line-up changing daily. I was glad I snapped the Allard late on Saturday, as I don’t think it came back, but some such as the Lea Francis & Lagonda did attend all three days. The line up of Triumph sports cars ranging from TR3-6 to the Stag was excellent, and a smattering of light commercials such as the 1930s Bedford baker’s van, GPO Morris Minor and a brace of Ford Thames 300E vans added interest.

There was the usual auction of miscellanies on Saturday where my bargain buy didn’t quite work out as I wished, but suffice to say the van was lighter coming home than going so overall, we were in profit. The ploughing match on Sunday gave us the unusual sight of a grey (of sorts) Ferguson working with a trailing rather than mounted plough and the traditional Fordson N and Ransomes outfits were out in numbers. The horticultural section offered the diverse range of Trusty pedestrian, John Deere L, BMB President and Gunsmith at work.

There didn’t appear to be too much happening with the Garvie threshing drum over the weekend, but a number of horses added to the atmosphere. Tractors in the main were classic diesel with only the John Deere GP (local to us) and the Trantor being particularly unusual. The steam section expanded to six this year plus the Nuffrush conversion, but “Rebel” left on Saturday night and I believe the roller “Success” left on Sunday, no doubt both bound for the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

Other attractions around the site included the Northamptonshire Film Archive showing a selection of shorts including newsreel footage of the Red Baron during WWI, a compilation of farming footage and the most-excellent Keystone Cops.

The Tug-of-War federation held their annual championships on Sunday with at least eight clubs offering several teams in a round-robin format. Several fairground organs entertained around the site and a good time was had by all.