King of Steam Michael Oliver

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lydden Vale
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 16 Aug. 2013
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 149 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0956940927
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0956940926
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 240 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14.5 x 1 x 20.5 cm

For over four decades Mike Oliver bestrode the Dorset landscape like a giant. He took an idea and with determination and true grit borne out of a lifetime of labour on the land and in the cab of a lorry and with the help of friends, John Garrett, Arthur Field, Ted and Gordon Hine, Doc Romanes, Betty Marsh, the Coles’ and Antell families and others, he built the Great Dorset Steam Fair. From its early beginnings with the family binder, a wooden threshing drum and a field of wheat the show hasn’t changed in over forty years, only has it got bigger, much bigger. From a few thousand visitors on 200 acres in 1969 to over 200,000 on 600 acres in 2012, the show retains its simple appeal. The original threshing drum works on site and the corn is cut with the same binder that harvested the first crop. There are hundreds of extra attractions but it remains the show where you can step back into the 19th and early 20th century and be at peace with the world. This book is a tribute to the man who made it happen and whose spirit lives on.

Written by Brian Moore