On Saturday I was demonstrating at a new local event, one that we hope will become a regular fixture, the Heathland Wildfire Awareness event at Haslemere fire station.
Heathland fires are a regular problem at this time of year in Surrey and Sussex. Many are small, but with a breeze and the right conditions the heath can burn fiercely turning into a dangerous and destructive inferno.
I’ve not tried to demonstrate on tarmac before and it was a bit of a challenge but it all went off well in the end.
There was an interesting range of displays including the animals and plants that colonise or graze the heaths as well as the crafts and products from them. The HCT displayed snakes and lizards, and Dave Elliot (who supplies me with bees wax) had some of his bees there and gave a talk. Unfortunately I was busy on my stand and couldn’t get to the talks. Hopefully next year.
We had a small fire last year , the result of people camping on the common overnight and not taking care to put out the campfire.
I have a friend who used to tell me it was good for business, but not many people are building and selling fire engines to replace those lost in heath fires.
OK, I admit it. It was all an excuse to take pictures of Haslemere’s fire engines, including their Landrover seen here with the monster new machine intended to cope with the heathland terrain. In fact when we were clearing up I noticed that what with the red landrovers, green ones, brown and blue ones, it seems admission was by landrover. Mine was by far the oldest though.
Well done to Mark Busby and Haslemere Fire Station for organising an excellent event. We’re looking forward to next year’s show. Now where was I….Pew, Pew, Barney, McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub…………………….
