Annual Rally 2024: General Information
This year’s annual rally is at Milton Keynes Museum on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May.
Overview
The annual rally has always been the club’s biggest and best event of the year and as always we hope as many members as possible can come along to celebrate. The museum address is Milton Keynes Museum, McConnell Drive, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5EL.
Like all our events it’s very informal. We encourage all members to bring at least one machine from their collection to exhibit, hopefully more. It’s surprising how much you can get in the boot of a car when you try! All mowers are welcome, large and small, hand and motorised. Bring family and friends too - even if they are not interested in mowers, there’s lots to see at the museum.
This Year's Themes
Unusual Mowers: over the past 190 years of lawn mower development there have been several unusual and odd designs that never quite caught on. One of this year's themes will highlight some of quirky, unusual, and impractical designs.
Timetable
The timetable will be the same as last year.
Saturday
All Day: General displays
All Day: Themed displays
Sunday
11:00 - Auction
14:00 - Annual General Meeting (2pm)
16:00 - Awards and Presentations (4pm)
All Day: General displays
All Day: Themed displays
All Day: Competitions
Please read more information about the weekend timetable here.
Auction
This will be held at 11:00 on the Sunday morning.
We cannot accept lots for the auction until nearer the event. Check back later for more details.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
This will be held at 2pm on the Sunday or just after.
Awards & Presentation
The following awards will be presented at the end of the AGM:
- Best Grassbox Article
- Charlie Jones Award (for the member making an extra contribution to the club's activities)
The following awards will be presented at 4pm on the Sunday or soon afterwards. Competition for all of these is likely to be as fierce as ever:
- Spot the Part - identifying mower parts
- Best Working Machine - for a machine demonstrated during Sunday
- Andrew Grout Plate - voted by all exhibitors, their "choice to take home"
Souvenir
As always we will present each member in attendance with a souvenir of the weekend. These are normally given out at the end of the AGM.
If you are attending on the Saturday, please ask a committee member for yours and they will be pleased to give you one.
Club Shop
The club shop will be open on the Sunday
However, the range of items available and volume of stock is now so large that it is no longer possible to bring everything to sell on the day.
Instead, Colin Stone asks that anyone who wants specific items should contact him before the event and place an order. He will then bring those items to the rally for members to collect.
Members can also place orders with Colin on the day for delivery afterwards. Colin will have samples of the main items including clothing and transfers for members to see what is available. Payment will be possible using cash, cheque, or using the club's card reader.
Click here to see the full range of items sold by the club shop.
Click here to see the full range of transfers available.
Housekeeping
If you are planning to arrive on the Friday please do not come before 3pm because there won’t be anyone from the club to welcome you before then. After that, feel free to come at any time.
The museum gates will be closed when it gets dark but are open again from around 7.30am on the Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Please use the McConnell Drive entrance. Do not follow the Museum's "Brown Signs" because these will direct you to the public car park which has no vehicle access to the site.
Once on site turn left through the gate inside the museum’s main entrance and proceed slowly into the field but please keep an eye out for people who may be walking around the grounds. We hope to ask all club members to sign a book when they arrive so that we know who’s been.
All vehicles and trailers must be parked in the designated area as marked by signs or indicated by a committee member. This is for safety and to allow other members to drop off and collect their exhibits without hindrance.
Camping is permitted on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. The toilets and washrooms will be open until late at night and from early morning on each day.
The museum tea room will serve breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning and light refreshments throughout each day.
On the Friday and Saturday evenings we generally send out for a take-away.