This year’s hamfest turned out be an excellent show despite the horrendous weather. NWRS members had been planning to make the trip and when Friday arrived we set off. The journey down was a nightmare, not just because of the torrential rain and accompanying spray, but the highways agency are currently replacing sections of the A46 south of Newark adding awful traffic holdups to awful weather. Not a great start! Having left Colwyn Bay at 7.am, we arrived in Newark at around 11.30am some 4.5 hours later!

Cest La Vie! The show accommodated around 2900 visitors this year and was well attended by traders and special interest groups alike.  All the main manufacturers were present so we were able to get up close to  the latest rigs and amateur radio technology. We did ask Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood if they would attend our rally and all three promised to table the suggestion on their return.

We found the refreshments in the cafe to be well upto scratch and not too hard on the pocket, just as well as us amatuers earn our reputation for being, lets say….careful with our hard earned!

The bring and buy yielded one or two bargains, with one of our members securing a lovely MK5 field at a very reasonable price.

It’s fair to say the show was a success and if next year’s event is as good as this one, it will be well worth the trip. Many thanks to the organisers.