Here are some more images taken in Masham as dozens of historic vehicles trundled slowly through town last Saturday in the early evening sun to take their place in the Market Square to be gazed at by the curious – or closely inspected by fellow enthusiasts.
And some children, schooled by the parents – or grandparents more likely – rushed out into the road before each vehicle passed to place pennies in the path of oncoming vehicles. Malcolm remembers the excitement, as a boy, of finding their now unspendable coins flattened into large discs by those trundling steam rollers and similar. My London childhood denied me such pleasures. Though I do remember fire engines like the one shown as the fourth image here, with one frantic fireman at the front constantly pulling at a rope to ring the tinny bell urging people out of the way.






And here are the children and their pennies …

And here are some of the characters we saw. Though what one little group was doing canvassing for Votes for Womem (sic) escaped me.






Midweek Monochrome
A jolly time had by all. Those old machines are lovely, aren’t they? I kept any pennies I could get my hands on!
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Exactly. Spendthrift little boys!
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I’m sure those engines looked resplendent but monochrome adds a great sense of timelessness.
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That’s what I hoped for. But afterwards I regretted not shooting more of them in Glorious Technicolor too.
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Next year, maybe…
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👍
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Great shots, Margaret 👏 Brings back great memories of going to the fair & steam rally as a kid 😃
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Oh, brilliant! So it was going then too?
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Yep, that was back in the mid to late ’80s 😃 1980s not 1880s 🤣
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🤣
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I forget what’s the singular of wememe
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😆
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Great photos. It seems that Yorkshiremen are somewhat chunkier than they used to be!
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Ay, ‘appen.
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These look very nostalgic in black and white. Interestingly I grew up in London too and I do remember steam rollers – not because I flattened pennies under them (I think my mother would have frowned at such extravagance!) but because I loved the smell of the newly laid tar 😀
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It’s odd, but though I can remember street gas-lamp lighters on their bicycles, and horse-drawn delivery wagons. I can’t call to mind a single road-roller. We must have lived on perfect streets!
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Now I don’t remember any gas lamp lighters!
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I’m probably revealing my age, Sarah!
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Not so different from mine!
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Considering some are pieces of road maintenance equipment, one is particularly ornate.
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I know! I wonder if a few liberties have been taken?
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Black and white is perfect for these.
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It’s got a suitably old-school vibe, hasn’t it? Thanks!
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Splendid! Though I could have done without the topless guy. The bottle he’s holding maybe contributed to his shape! As for the womem, their sashes get it right so why not the placards? Very odd.
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The placard thing was deeply odd. I should ‘of’ asked. The fact that it occurred more than once probaby indicates there was a reason. And yes, that topless guy ….
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Yes, you should of – definATEly.
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I too am somewhat confused about votes for womem.
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Perhaps one of the childrem wrote it?
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😀
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What a fascinating post! I loved those machines.
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They’re great, aren’t they? The smell gets to you after a while though … 😦
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ah, monochrome definitely suits these wonderful old machines
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This black and white photography collection is stellar, Margaret. Black and white photography has a timeless quality that evokes a sense of nostalgia and history, transporting us all back to a different era.
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I love also the photos of the people who are as entertaining to see as the wonderful machines. The machines look more like fairground attractions than actual workhorse vehicles!
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I know. And yet workhorses they were.
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