A trip to Bexley Heath yesterday to see the penultimate showing of John Howe's 'Dog Kennel Hill'. A strange show; I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The exhibits -with a couple of exceptions- were poor. But. There was a real buzz about the show which was in two rooms: one a community hall, the other a scout hut. The later had essence of jumble sale about it, but we found books that we didn't know existed and many s/h examples which were long out of print. Out of the dozen which I could have bought, I limited myself to a mint copy of the Oakwood Press volume on the Newhaven Branch - a subject close to home and a book I haven't seen for a long time. (I may dip into it on this page in the future). The tables in the cafe were dirty, the layouts were badly-lit, but I would recommend it for a visit. We walked away with three books between us plus three built and finished Cambrian POA/SSA scrap wagons for Rhiw at £4 apiece and a packet of figures for same. And after cycling the 26 miles to my house in the morning in an hour and forty minutes (of which he was justifiably pleased) at the door of the show Nigel was presented with a pensioner's discount ticket (he's 57).
I didn't take the piss too much...
I went to this show last year and felt exactly the same; I think the thing that made it enjoyable was the very evident enthusiasm of those putting the show on. It just goes to show that "high fidelity" isn't necessarily the only way......
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