For some reason The Royal Tournament came into our conversation today. I was aware that it had stopped, but not really why, and I also hadn't twigged they relaunched it under a different name for four years from 2010, before stopping again.
Seems ticket sales fell and they were making a loss.
Anyway, it ran for one heck of a long time, I now discover, and I do recall going to see it once or twice as a schoolboy in the sixties/seventies. I remember the gun runs of course, and just the spectacle of the thing.
Anyone else remember it? Would you pay to see it back, or have today's audiences "moved on"?
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I believe being part of the field gun crews was an accolade indeed but training was rigorous to say the least.
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IIRC elf-n-safety put an end to the field gun race, although I think there was an event at Culdrose.
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>> IIRC elf-n-safety put an end to the field gun race, although I think there was
>> an event at Culdrose.
>>
Pretty sure they still have gun races now.
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>> >> IIRC elf-n-safety put an end to the field gun race, although I think there was an event at Culdrose.
>> Pretty sure they still have gun races now.
>>
www.forces.net/news/history-made-years-collingwood-field-gun-competition
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK0NdlgavHM
This is not the event I recall.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=32s4qCCFnmk
AHHHH! The real thing.
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>> IIRC elf-n-safety put an end to the field gun race,
Plenty of injuries, some of them serious, usually one of the team members had a missing digit.
>>
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I rememberer going to see it with my grandparents, in the ‘80s I think. It was interesting, of date even then, so I amazed it carried on that long!
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One of those things that was of its day. I doubt there should be much of an audience today for marching band and motorcycle display teams although who knows with Brexit
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Yep went in the mid to late seventies at the old Earls Court, remember going on a coach through the dark London streets and stopping right outside, sat quite high up and of course the gun races.
No idea how much it cost then but I bet proportionally compared to today it would be too much for regular family to go.
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Don't think I ever saw one, I was vaguely aware of what was in it. I don't think I'd pay to go it should it come back. Not to say people wouldn't but if it finished twice from lack of sales then I think that says something.
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As I recall it was MOD budget cuts that did for it.
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Indeed. No Spithead Review either. At least there's the Edinburgh Tattoo, about which all I really recall in recent times is the Swiss Drummers.
What did we do with the money saved? NHS?
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Went to see it at Earls Court several times. The field gun race was a highlight but everything there was calculated to promote the military to the next generation. I recall lots of gunfire , explosions and Marines abseiling down from the roof and plenty of Martial music and marching displays from military bands.
Pretty much the same as the Edinburgh tattoo is today. I also went to that in the early 60's.
As I recall it was stopped because of security concerns at the time of the IRA bombings. Cost probably came into it as well.
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I've never heard of it although I seem to remember the Royals were dressed up as vegetables, throwing custard pies at each other.
Where's Stuart Hall when you need him? (Hanging out at the school gates, probably)
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When I did National service we were offered the opportunity to work at Earls Court. I declined. The people who went said it was very hard work. They slept on the floor in the cavernous spaces of EC.
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>> I've never heard of it although I seem to remember the Royals were dressed up
>> as vegetables, throwing custard pies at each other.
>>
I was going to clutch my pearls, but then I found some YouTube footage of the gun racing, and you're right, there is a bit of Its a Knockout about it all.
Talking of which, last night I stumbled across the Redbull soapbox racing from Switzerland. It's good to see our European friends are still doing such silliness.
Yes, I know Switzerland isn't in Europe.
Soapboxes...
What's the car4play soapbox going to look like? I assume nobody is steering.
youtu.be/p85s4zxG_yk
Last edited by: Crankcase on Mon 3 Jun 19 at 08:47
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>> Yes, I know Switzerland isn't in Europe.
>>
Which continent is it in then ?
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>> Which continent is it in then ?
Pangea.
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>> Talking of which, last night I stumbled across the Redbull soapbox racing from Switzerland. It's
>> good to see our European friends are still doing such silliness.
Red bull soap box race UK
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p85s4zxG_yk
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"....... No Spithead Review either. At least there's the Edinburgh Tattoo, about which all I really recall in recent times is the Swiss Drummers......."
That will be The Top Secret Drum Corps. Awesome!!
Joint gig with the Royal Marines Corps of Drums
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe6r06EIz0
But any of their performances at the Edinburgh Tattoo or even any other event, where they can move around are superb.
PS
Pump up the volume!! :)
Last edited by: Fullchat on Mon 3 Jun 19 at 14:02
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And in a similar vein, what became of the Royal (agricultural) Show, held every year in early July somewhere near Warwick?!
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Think it ended around 2009.
Stoneleigh is still used for all sorts of business exhibitions.
Last edited by: helicopter on Sun 9 Jun 19 at 08:09
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>> what became of the Royal (agricultural) Show
>>
>> Think it ended around 2009.
That sounds about right.
IIRC, prices kept going up and up for traders to pitch a stall. Traders voted with their feet, and told the organisers where to shove it.
I'd been going for a number of years, mainly because my father was a farmer and was presented with a 40 year service medal by royally up there. From that day on he was entitled to free entry to the Royal Show and I think Chelsea flower show too, although we never went to the latter.
To be honest, apart from being a day out, I never really would say I enjoyed it that much. I was mainly acting as chauffer for the day for the family.
The only highlights I remember was watching the birds of prey, dog agility trials, machinery demonstrations, some of the totty there, and free food and drink samples in several of the food halls there. Worst memory was when the show had ended, having to walk past the smelly cattle sheds to get to the exit, and then to the car park.
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Didn't the last lot of Foot & Mouth kill off a few shows?
I remember one 'royal' show that was always on when we went on holiday to Padstow each year, never went in but seemed to cause a lot of traffic jams.
Local ones to me are at SoE showground Ardingly (big yearly one has just finished) and Detling Kent.
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The Royal Norfolk Show still going strong although perhaps not the major event it was when we moved here. It used to be an official school holiday in Norfolk. Only been once - Admission thisi year is £22 per head plus parking.
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>> Didn't the last lot of Foot & Mouth kill off a few shows?
tinyurl.com/yxojp2w3 - www.independent.co.uk
The 2001 show was badly hit by the foot and mouth outbreak, which meant the culling of vast numbers of cattle and restrictions on the movements of live animals. Last year (2008), there was the entirely new problem of bluetongue which, though it did not cost the lives of anything as many animals, nonetheless meant strict restrictions on their movement. Instead of there being 1,200 head of cattle and 1,600 sheep on show, as expected, there were 200 cattle and 400 sheep. The organisers reckon that caused them to lose thousands of visitors.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 10 Jun 19 at 10:27
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The two biggies are still very much alive and well in north Wales - expensive and not particularly of any interest to me, but the areas I have lived are very agricultural in nature and the shows are very popular.
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Likewise, when living in rural areas there were plenty of country shows of all sizes. All seemed well attended that I went to. We went to quite a few.
Then there's the Royal Welsh and the Great Yorkshire show both are pretty big events and have been going on for years.
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We half toyed with going to the Suffolk Show this year, but then decided that four of us seeing three sheep and a carrot wasn't really worth the £92 entrance fee. Crikey.
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The Royal Tournament - Fullchat
