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Just 3 Months to go!

I realise that it has been a while since we have given a status update and with 3 months to go, now is a great time to do so.

Over the last few weeks the organisers have been working to maintaining the show field and implementing improvements. We have recently had a new gate installed at the main entrance to improve security. The gate has been widened and set back to enable larger vehicles to swing into the show site more easily.

We have had several hedges cut back, in some cases several meters of depth has been removed, which has opened up various areas of the show field providing more space for exhibitors and re-enactors. You may remember the rather large bramble bushes near the stream which runs through the re-enactors field, they have been significantly reduce in size, which we hope will enable the public to see across and encourage them to interact and explore the show more thoroughly.

In particular there is was a working party at the show field today in which we spent securing the other entrances and improving emergency access to the show field, as well as replacing the posts to which water supply taps are mounted. We were also pleased to have the attendance of several members of the Wessex Hillrunners 4×4 group who plan to support the show this year by very kindly offering to assist with groundwork and constructing a bridge to provide access for vehicles to the plastic camping field. You’ll also be able to catch them at the show, see them in the arena or in their “mud run”.

We have a good number of vehicles, re-enactors and traders already booked in. If you haven’t done so already, best get a move on. Please to the online forms, which can be found in the menu bar under their respective headings, if you have a vehicle or a re-enactor group. Vehicles will receive an immediate response and confirmation of acceptance to the show. Re-enactors will receive an immediate confirmation of their application information. The re-enactors coordinator will process these applications and undertake some checks and will confirm any requirements in full at a later date. Traders should download the forms available and post them along with full payment to our Traders coordinator.

Show Flyer 2017

Here’s our 2017 Overlord Show Flyer.

Overlord 2017

The show team is currently working hard at planning the Overlord Show for 2017.

We hope to make vast improvements over previous years with an all new Show Team, so lots of new ideas to be considered for implementation.

There will be a lot of work going on behind the scenes to improve the way the show operates in terms the application process for exhibitors, re-enactors/living history and traders, new improved forms and dedicated contact links for each department. We will be opening up for applications in the coming months, so keep an eye out.

Flyers have been designed and we are just waiting on a decision from SOE as to what will be the headline charity for 2017.

We are looking at ways to improve the showground, access, drainage and appearance. Teams will dispatched to tend to these matters throughout the year. There may well be some changes to the arrangement of exhibits around of the show ground.

Make sure to mark 27th-29th May 2017 into your calendar.

We hope to see you there.

 

 

Our Chosen Charity for 2016

Each year we support a charity with free stall space, advertising in the programme, shout-outs over the PA and free range of the showground with collecting buckets. We pledge a proportion of any surplus we are lucky enough to make and try our best to make the charity welcome. This year the club members voted overwhelmingly for Scotty’s Little Soldiers – a charity begun to help bereaved children of services personnel by someone who had lost her husband in Afghanistan. Best to let Nikki Scott tell it in her own words:

Inspired by the experience of Army widow Nikki Scott, the charity honours husband Corporal Lee Scott’s memory – both as a loyal soldier and a loving father – and provides a practical yet personal way for the public at large to show their appreciation for those brave individuals who make the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.

Nikki and Lee have 2 children, Kai and Brooke, so Nikki saw first hand the effect the loss of a loved one in these circumstances can have on a child. It was on a family holiday some 9 months later that Nikki saw her son Kai, 5 at the time, laugh and smile for the first time since his Dad’s death. She realised that there must be so many more children who had also lost a parent in the British Armed Forces but hadn’t had that opportunity to smile again.

She decided to set up the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers to do just that, to help their children smile.

The charity provides opportunities for the children to smile again by offering holiday’s at it’s Scotty Lodges, gifts at difficult times of the year, special experiences and an amazing Christmas party.

 

As well as these fun activities the charity also provides access to professional bereavement counselling and a range of grants to help with the children’s personal development. These grants can cover the cost of music lessons, swimming clubs, after school activities, driving lessons and even University tuition fees.
The charity now supports hundreds of bereaved British Forces’ children across the UK, many of whom are still very young and will rely on the activities offered by Scotty’s for years to come.

We are proud to help the charity and hope that you will be too!