Staplefield Fete 2025

By Steve Rowland

Some members have been attending for 42 years, longer than SEAMS has been around! The event seems to revolve around the car show element, with each car entry paying £5, and the public paying £2 to view the cars. I get that the organisers are trying to raise as much money as possible, but it feels like it’s lost some of its original charm.

As usual, John Peters and I exchanged emails with our contact to confirm SEAMS’ attendance. They were keen to charge SEAMS to participate, which didn’t sit well with many of our members.

So, I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and pointed out that the cars tend to arrive after us, remain static throughout the day, and leave before we pack up. This means we incur expenses just to exhibit. Our contact passed this on to their committee and they agreed not to charge us, so we were all set to go. John and I arrived at the site around 9:00 am on the Saturday to set up.

We laid out the pins and ropes in our usual spot, but the organisers didn’t get there until 10:00 am. When they arrived, our contact said, ‘you’re not supposed to be here’. She claimed to have sent us an email, but it was sent at 5:45 pm on the Friday, hardly the ideal time for John or me to be reading emails.  As a compromise, they asked us to move the ropes 30 feet to make room for some bouncy castles. We moved the setup, only to be told later by another woman (who was a bit less polite) that we had to move again. It was a bit frustrating, but we complied. If you attended, you’ll know that the cars ended up being backed onto our pen, blocking the usual walkway for the public. People were confused, but we directed them to the organizers.

The whole thing seemed a little off, but despite the hiccups, it was still a good day with lots of engines running and a solid display.