June Club Evening.
Blessed with a warm sunny evening encouraged around two dozen members to come out and enjoy a pleasant evening sitting around chatting. There were several G1 engines and trains on show both steam and electric with their respective owners intent on driving them.
There were a couple of unknown visitors with us one of whom, Mr Jefferey Cowe, supplied the black & white ‘photos you see in the slide show. These were taken back in the early days of the Chipperfield track and covering several years of him, aged seven as a passenger, with his father driving and later himself driving the loco. This was when the track belonged to the old Watford club which just faded away many years ago.
Our chairman brought along his tank which seemed very happy on the rough ground but mainly we did a catch up on friends. I was telling Baz I had met someone earlier in the afternoon who knew him, and he (Julian) was interested in G1 and possibly steam boats. I think he is likely to come to one, or possibly more, of our club evenings.
Many of the older members, including me, managed to get lifts to the PP and many thanks to those that drove us there. The club has used the track for over 24 years now but it does not seem that long since we were at St. Georges.
On mentioning the fact to the young lady with Matthew, I was giving her some advice for a Project she was doing, it turned out she was a current pupil at St. Georges! She was coming up to doing her GCSE's and for Design and Technology her project was to construct a model boat. We discussed what she wanted and I said that I would come up with suggestions for her via Matthew.
I left around 9 pm, and after a tiring day was pleased that I had gone out in the evening and enjoyed the last rays of the sun. The PP is such a pleasant area and destined to remain so but with the new owners wanting more emphasis on 'wilding' the area, yet also keeping it tidy and accessible. We are still settling down to being with the new owners but we are no longer responsible for a lot of the up-keep. The area is managed very well by Jack and Neil and their helpers, and we shall see how it all develops for the future.
Nice evening.
Roy Verden
12th June 2025