Group meetings this summer have seen lower attendances. One reason is that a number of us caught Covid, although always from sources other than club nights. Mercifully, none of us has been badly affected but it is a reminder to be careful.
The other factor has been the high temperatures experienced in the south coupled with the lack of rain which has led to a number of us spending more time watering the garden than doing any modelling.
One side effect of the extremely dry conditions, now officially described as drought for Wessex, is that Josh, who volunteers as a fireman on the Swanage Railway, has not used his shovel for several weeks.
We have, however, been invited by the South Hants MRC to show Chitterne at their Portsmouth exhibition in November. As a result, plans that we have to make a small extension to the layout have been put on hold while minor improvements are being undertaken.
Videos of our two exhibition layouts taken earlier this year are now on the internet and may be viewed here.
This report – written by Joe Newman – appears in issue 234 of the EM Gauge Society newsletter.