"Tracks to the Trenches"

Sunday 14th September saw us head off in Mr Happy to Apedale in Stoke on Trent to Apedale Heritage Centre in Apedale Country Park where the Narrow Gauge Railway there were hosting a WW1 event.
Now I am self confessed Narrow Gauge geek, but this was much more than just trains which were,granted, superb. There were other WW1 transports as well as re-enactments by the WW1 Society. The group had built a trench network complete with a simulated gas attack and evacuation.
There was also a cavalry demonstration.
It was a great day out even if Milo the dog pretty much had  a nervous breakdown with the gunshots and explosions, and was only happy when we headed for the exit.

A Belated Bank Holiday Report

August Bank Holiday saw us make a return visit to Cannock Chase for a quick break before the return of school for Alison and college for Zoe

Aside from the usual walks and a stagger too & from the excellent Park Gate Inn for lunch the highlight was a visit to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust at Westport Lake Visitor Centre. It is a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hour walking by the lake on the banks of the Trent complete with Kingfishers a resident Terrapin, and a great boardwalk.

Monday night saw an absolutely torrential downpour with no wind at all which all but overwhelmed the Gazebo and which saw me shoving water off the roof at 2 am & 4 am!
This made me determined to find an alternative quick erect awning. We thought about an AirBeam type thing but these tend to be a tunnel type which previous experience has told us are restricted in available space.
So we opted for a Khyam Motordome Classic in the end of season sales. It certainly erects quickly and we now need an opportunity to try it out before the real autumn sets in.