I really enjoyed my day at Kettering. I didn't spend too much and I was careful with what I did buy. If the "item of lust" didn't fit my immediate plans, then the rule was "walk on by". On the other hand, I met some great people behind the various stands (commercial and society) with whom I spent some quality time and in the process learned a few things.

So, to recap:

Jim McGeown (Connoisseur) was shown a photo of the LMS 4F progress. He was both pleased and, I think, impressed.

Had a long chat with Laurie Griffin about his inside motion kit for the Midland Compound and decided to "go for it". I will report on this later in the year when I work on the model.

Bought an MSC Models motor gearbox for the Compound kit. So all I now need is the kit itself.

Had a great conversion with the owners of ABC Gears and am convinced about their motor/gearbox coupling being suitable for a future kit.

Met the people behind Guilplates, having had an email exchange just days beforehand. I now look forward to receiving my shed plates!

Spent some cash at Poppys stand, buying a locomotive chassis building box and a new venture on their behalf, a rolling road box. It works really well.

Bought a Midland Compound book from the Midland Railway Society and spent 30 minutes with a contemporary reminiscing about New Street, Tamworth, the S&MJR and so on.

I also met a number of new people I had not done business with before. I learned a lot from all of the above. Hopefully they got some positive feedback from me!