Rally proves a success despite bad weather

More than £3,500 was raised by a Shaftesbury’s Funeral Co-ordinator and her partner through their annual Vintage Vehicle Rally & Family Fun Day.

Cars line up at the Vintage Vehicle Rally & Family Fun Day

Held in the grounds of The Udder Farm Shop on 28 July, the event was held in aid of the Salisbury Hospice charity and Salisbury Hospital Stars Appeal Campaign.

Organisers Tony Fowler and Suzanne Smith – who works at Southern Co-op’s Shaftesbury Funeral home – have run the rally now for eight years in memory of Suzanne’s Dad Barry Smith.

Visitors were treated to the sights and smells of vintage and modern tractors as well as a road run, stationary engines and a range of classic and vintage cars and bikes.

There were also stalls, live music, fairground rides, face painting, a bouncy castle, tastings, a raffle and a barbecue.

Vintage tractors at the Vintage Vehicle Rally & Family Fun Day

Suzanne said: “The day itself started out brilliantly and we had a huge amount of visitors and the biggest ever turn out of exhibits and stall holders.

“Sadly we had to close the show for the safety of the public due to bad weather so to have raised so much for the charities in such a short amount of time was brilliant as they are such special causes to us.

“We have a strong group of friends that have always been available to help out and we can’t thank them enough. But as the show has grown over the past eight years, this year we were in need of extra help so we owe a huge thanks to staff from Southern Co-op who also all came along to help with car parking, marshalling, and donation collecting as well as anything else that needed doing on the day.”

To find out more about Southern Co-op’s Funeralcare in Shaftesbury and its commitment to the local community, visit www.funeralcare.co.uk.