The recent postings about the Great Dorset Steam Fair have prompted me
to finally send something in on another steam & organ rally worthy of
your attention, the Lincolnshire Steam and Vintage rally, which was
held August 20-21 at the beautiful agricultural exhibition grounds near
Lincoln.  I've posted pictures from the rally on my web site along,
incidentally, with pictures from Waldkirch and the Bumbling Bruder Tour
earlier this summer:  http://www.band-organ.com/ 

Early this summer I was very excited to learn that an important
conference for work was going to be held in Oxford, UK, at the end of
the summer.  Hot Dog, I thought -- another chance to go to Dorset!

Then the reality of the grant writing calendar set in and I realized
that I couldn't take an extra week off work.  What to do?  I checked
the Fair Organ Preservation Society events listing and, with
encouragement from other FOPS members, thought Lincoln sounded like
the best option for the weekend before my meeting, so I rented a car
and off I went.

What a great surprise!  It was all I could do to see and hear
everything there in two days.  There were at least a dozen large
organs, most paired with showman's engines, many small organs, hundreds
of steam engines, many hundreds of antique vehicles, and exhibits of
all kinds.  It reminded me very much of what the GDSF was like 25 years
ago when I first went -- smaller, less frenetic, and friendlier -- 
but no mud due to the excellent grounds with paved roads and lawn.

The only downside was that they lock all the entry gates but one in the
evening so if you stay for the evening entertainment, probably the best
part, you can end up walking a couple of miles in the pitch dark to
find your way back to the car park.  (You can guess how I know!)
Camping on site would definitely be preferable.

It was my first chance to see the fantastic 98-key Wonderland Marenghi,
in need of some work but impressive nevertheless, White's Gavioli was
there sounding very strong, as was De Grote Gavioli, sounding superb as
usual.  Very interesting was the Reeder (I hope I'm right with the
names) 87-key Gavioli in near original condition, a very distinctive
sight and sound.  I'd also like to offer a special thanks to Andrew
Pilmer for a guided behind-the-scenes look at a number of the organs.

Roger Wiegand
Wayland, Massachusetts, USA
http://www.band-organ.com/