At the beginning of December the Museum of Power at Langford near Maldon used to hold a Christmas Fair. This was a fund raising event with mainly charity stalls selling Christmas items.

For the 2009 event I put on a display of my models with a Christmas theme. The idea of my display was to once again, as I did in 2008 recreate the nostalgic feeling of a 1950s shop window, busy and crowded with lots to see rather than concentrating on particular models. There were eighteen of my models in the display plus two sets and reproduction Meccano showcards. Models range from a 1913 windmill to a model Dune Buggy made with 2007 sets. Seven were running continuously and two others had to be wound up. The most popular items were the Ball Roller and the Blackpool Tower, with its lights and lifts going up and down. The Dune Buggy also had a lot of interest demonstrating to visitors that Meccano is still around and not all plastic! There was certainly a lot of interest in the models and Meccano itself I think nearly every visitor had seen the recent James May TV show.

There were also some non Meccano items such as a Bayko signal box made by my wife Anne and a 1950s Hornby clockwork M0 train set rushing round the Blackpool Tower.