WOMAC gets hooked
at the Knowl Hill Steam Rally and Country Fair August 9-10 2003

WOMAC went fishing for cash at the Knowl Hill Steam Rally, near Maidenhead, and netted more than £1300.

Patron Anne Hope is a regular at this huge annual show for lovers of all things steam, plus country crafts.

In among the fabulous old traction engines, steam organs and ranks of classic cars and bikes, Anne and the British Waterfowl Association create a village pond and fill it with beautiful ducks and geese.

This year she persuaded the BWA to raise money for WOMAC. So, having emptied motor industry cupboards and wallets for prizes, Chairman Liz Turner and her partner Richard Eccleston, Treasurer Allison Kempster and Vice-Chairman Huguette Boyagis manned a Hook-a-Duck game, while Anne organised a bookstall and a grand auction on both days.

Volunteers from the BWA ran a Treasure Island tombola and offered refreshments to helpers and the public in return for donations.

Welcome help was given all weekend by Sarah Turner, who works for all-terrain vehicle maker Pinzgauer. Sarah will be raising money for WOMAC as she travels from Alaska to Arizona via all the toughest tracks in her 10-year-old Land Cruiser. However, she went away as the proud owner of two ducks: now called Alaska and Arizona.

Auctioneer Steve Nash gave his time free to get the best prices for an incredible range of lots including ducks, motoring t-shirts and hats, a beautifully decorated duck-themed cake, a design sketch of a Mercedes signed by Stirling Moss and a brand-new BMW SlideCarver scooter.

Liz Turner said: ‘We had a lot of fun, and it was fantastic to make so much money, but it was lovely, too, seeing the faces of the children when they won a prize.’

Thanks to everyone who contributed to making the weekend such a success. If anyone would like to help at Knowl Hill next year, please contact Liz on liz.turner@haynet.com

British Waterfowl Association

The BWA is dedicated to conservation preservation and education, and gives plenty of advice to anyone wanting to keep or breed ducks and geese. See www.waterfowl.org.uk. Membership Bridget Burman 01525 402253.