Classic & Vintage Commercials Magazine vol.20 No.2 SCAMMELL CONTRACTOR Back Issue

Despite its title, the Great Dorset
Steam Fair is one of the major
events in the classic commercial
vehicle calendar – in fact it’s arguably
the most important ‘CCV’ event in
the whole of the south west. While
the ‘steamers’ are the main attraction,
there’s also always a lot of interesting
petrol and diesel-powered commercial
vehicles there. At five days, I suspect
Great Dorset is also the longest
‘preservation’ show in the country – but
it needs to be as there’s always far too
much to see properly in a day, or even
two. I couldn’t get there this year, but
several friends did, including a local
farmer for whom visiting ‘Great Dorset’
was a long-term ambition.
Sadly, in the recent past, Great
Dorset has become synonymous with
muddy conditions underfoot, with, by
all accounts, this year’s event having
the worst start yet, with the organisers
appealing for the loan of tractors
and drivers to help get participants
and visitors on to the campsite and
showground. They certainly deserve
enormous credit for running the show so
well in these conditions, and for doing
so without any significant incident. At
the end of the day, no-one can control
the weather, and the days leading up to
this year’s event were, to put it mildly, a
bit wet..
Unfortunately – but I suppose
inevitably given this event’s massive size
and profile - the ‘muddy problems’ were
well-publicised in the mainstream media
– local ITV news and the national press
both showing lots of pictures of people
in wellies and vehicles being towed
by tractors, along with interviews with
people who had, it was claimed, been
waiting ‘more than four hours’ just to
reach the campsite.
I think all that’s a bit unfair – after all,
the ‘Glastonbury Festival’ isn’t exactly
renowned for dry conditions…