Pickering Steam Rally

[Mister_D_Lister]

Fair do's, the steamers have a very expensive hobby - restoring, maintaining, insuring & transporting their pride & joy, & are a major public attraction, especially at a steam rally. It's fair for them to largely cover their costs. If they are making a profit from showing that is a little bit rough on us.

It would be nice to get the price of a can of petrol as a thank-you for showing our engines, but apart from the 1000 Engine rally what other major event will draw in the crowds primarily for our engines so we can justify a cut of the gate money?

The events at Pickering highlight what can happen when things get too commercialised. It's our hobby, we enjoy doing it & our costs aren't that high - I don't expect to be paid for showing my engine, a free weekend camping & some laughs with friends will do for me.


Paul.

[martinpaff]

Originally Posted by listerdiesel

Thanks for the update, Andy, much appreciated.

It's a huge shame that such an enormous show and a big part of the summer calendar should have these sort of problems, especially in view of previous occurrences.

Mr Boak should really place his side of the account on record so we all know what has happened, having one side of the story is not going to help matters for the future.

Peter

Hi Peter (and anybody who has time on his hands for a little light reading)

I thought the following, in no particular order, might be of interest:

http://www.radioryedale.co.uk/story_...p?StoryId=2349

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?thr...age=1&desc=yes

http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/45371...s_block_exits/

http://www.maltonmercury.co.uk/news/...irm.5034298.jp

Working on the basis that; "there's rarely smoke without fire", this individual appears to take up more internet bandwidth than is normally healthy! I suspect that history is doing the talking here...

Martin.

[Mister_D_Lister]

As an IVA is one (voluntary) step short of bankruptcy it would seem that Mr Boak's days are numbered as a director of events organisers. If any of his creditors applies to the courts & he is made bankrupt he will be barred from directorship.

Paul.

[Headless]

It appears that the steam men will travel great distance if paid sufficiently, and it is fairly common knowledge that Pickering has been paying over the odds to attract the showmens engines.
From what I have been told a well known Scottish steam preservationist took 2 Showmens engines and 2 Sentinel wagons and possible another as well. A major collection from bedfordshire also attended with 4 showmans, organ and famous fairground ride. Transport payments and attendance money for this lot would not be cheap.

The moral is that you cannot pay out more than you will take on a reasonable weekend. The said Mr Boak appears to have done this many times over the years and going bankrupt is just another part of the job. In this instance it appears that Mr Boak was employed as a consultant and was the main organiser for the Pickering & Astle Park Steam Rally to agreed budgets, but these budgets were flawed.

It would appear that gate money taken at Pickering was about £220K plus stalls, food, beer tent and camping. Expenses are said to be over £400K.

[Headless]

He was declared bankrupt earlier this year as reported in Old Glory, debts were in the region of £400K. The creditors agreed to payment of 7p in the pound followed at yearly intervals of 10p in the pound for an additional 4 years, Total payback 47p for each £1 owed.

[Stationary Stu]

Well it's quite obvious the guy (SB) can organise a good event but has no grasp on money. As far as payment for exhibitors goes it should have a maximum per exhibit and they'd find the crowds would still attend with half the engines on show, people go for a day out not just to count n see if there's more on show then the rally a few weeks earlier. Then you find other rallies that charge exhibitors to show (well I won't pay as an exhibitor your spending enough just to show).
But as for the guy (Director of Events and Exhibitions Limited) who looks like he may have to cough up out of his own pocket doesn't seem to have a lot common sense, why just take someone's word for the income and out goings and not double check yourself. He should have seen it a mile away to be that much short with just a few basic checks. Also how much would they have been out of pocket if the event had been a wash out and the paying public stayed away?
Well looks like more good events bite the dust due to incompetence and people trying to get rich out of these events. (I wonder if there's any kind of insurance for such mishaps). But as in any business, if they had made thousands of £££'s he wouldn't be crying into his beer now, no, just rubbing his hands till the next one.
Sorry to spout of as much just I've organised rallies in the past and done it all from sponsorship and hard work and we had some great events.

Stu.

[swinz]

I would not exhibit at one of Boak's rallys, he took over the running of Astle Park Traction Engine Rally a few years ago and turned it from one of the best rallys in the area in to one of the worst, gate prices rocketed and were charging more on the gate than the advertised price, and the toilets were absolutely disgusting.

When 1000 rally started on the same site he was responsible for the rumours and Internet posts about the rally being cancelled.

Paul

[air-cooled]

There's another group of people getting hurt by these peoples actions. A lot of you may not be aware but the various sections, like engines, tractors, commercials etc., of their shows are organised by enthusiasts like you and me. These section leaders send out the entry forms, send out the passes, have various costs like stationary, postage, photocopying, telephone calls, and probably some things I've forgotten. They have expenses which they bear all year until the rally and then hopefully they get reimbursed. Well I know several who didn't get paid last year and there are probably more this year. These are good people, genuine enthusiasts, who selflessly do the behind the scenes work, year after year, for nothing other than the pleasure of helping you and me exhibit our engines at a show. It is these people who are getting hurt, and I guess they won't be continuing to do it next year, or possibly ever again for the "Events" people.

And I agree with Martin, why should steamers get paid to exhibit. These guys can afford to buy some very expensive toys, so surely they can afford to run them.

Phillip

[jdouglas]

at one time you used to get a good plaque as well as £6 attendence money all this went about 10 years ago all s.boak is interested in is the rent of the fair stalls ect at one time alot of toilet-coal and generator suppliers were owed alot of money that no one hired to the co. un less the cash was there up front the fair ground men (which i am some times involved in) have also had some problems with this co.ie supplying to little coal for a ride to opperate all day and night as for the blockades this is nothing new 2 years ago the steam engine men blocked the entrance and exits at astle park and threatened to tow his landrover behind an engine till he paid up money owed from pickering the weekend before as well as cheshire steam the month before but they keep attending the shows,also the big fair organs also get money for attending

[3PhaseMotorman]

SIMON BOAK UPDATE, Just been told that, on Sunday night, at Pickering, he was taken into Police custody for his own safety!!! as the steam guys went on a `lynch mob` mission