(04 Aug 2016, 6:26 pm)Adrian wrote Tom, to be fair, you never bother going to them anyway.
Michael, I'd suggest its more down to the way the events are organised, rather than what turns up. NEBPT tend to rely on a few local groups to turn out at each event, and in turn bolster their numbers at the rallies. Specifically Tyneside Heritage Vehicles, County Durham Bus Preservation Group, the Northern National Restoration Group and the 500 Group.
THV and CDBPG sent one vehicle each to Durham, and I don't think either bothered with Whitley Bay, which made the rallies look bare. NEBPT have enough of their own preserved vehicles to bring along, but even their own numbers have been scarse this year.
Elsewhere in the UK, rallies seem to get guests turn up from all over. Aside from the odd few at the Metrocentre, that simply doesn't happen here. Lothian have plenty of preserved buses just north of the border, and I can only remember one occasion when they've sent a bus. I find that puzzling, unless non-NE groups simply don't want to take part in our events?
I used to go to most of them when they were actually decent and not the same old crap! Maybe if they done something different I would go but what's the point in going to see the same old buses which don't change