From: Paul Fleischack 
Sent: 17 April 2008 19:18
Subject: RE: SANDSTONE ESTATES AND THE SANDSTONE HERITAGE TRUST

Hi Wilf
Thanks for this. The website is awesome. Just spent a happy while browsing.
I hope Mike Morris was able to help with suitable fungus spores for the wheat.
Best to you all
Paul

Dear Wilf,

Ken & I would like to thank you, most sincerely, for having us at Sandstone Estates for the festival. We enjoyed all the events, the army display being a highlight. What a wonderful combination of cosmos, steam engines, army vehicles, vintage aircraft, vintage cars etc. etc.

The organisation was excellent and we have such good memories of those few days which we thoroughly enjoyed.

With our grateful thanks.

Ken & Maureen (Barnes)

From: Greg Froud 
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 8:27 AM
Subject: RE: Cosmos Festival

Morning Hester

I would like to compliment you and Sandstone estates on a remarkable event. You must surely be amongst the most important “iron” heritage sites in the world.

If I could make any suggestion, it would be to provide more information by way of large boards regarding trips, times, costs, where to get tickets:- as I heard these questions asked often.

Thanks, and I look forward to next year
Greg

Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 8:14 PM
Subject: Steam and Cosmos 2008

Hello to you,

I was lucky enough to be on holiday in SA last week and able to attend the Sat events of your programme.

Wow what a great day - I have never experienced the like before and doubt if I will again - the sheer value for money and range of your preservation activities to enjoy was amazing. A huge thank you from my Son and myself.

I will certainly check your website next year in the hope that I can arrange another visit and take in more of what you offer.

Congratulations and long may you be able to continue to do what seems sadly overlooked and undervalued in so many areas of preservation in South Africa.

Sincere thanks again and best regards. Mike Hutchinson. Exmouth Devon UK.

Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 9:16 AM
Subject: RE: FW: INVITATION TO SHERMAN UNVEILING

Hi Hester

Just a short note to say thank you so much for the amazing day we spent at Sandstone on Saturday. It was an unbelievable experience for both children and adults alike. Your place is absolutely awesome and we were so impressed with how organized and neat everything is. Mrs Engelbrecht did not feel up to vising, but we would like to take her along sometime. Is Sandstone open to the public or is it only over this period of the Cosmos Festival?

We will definately be visiting the Festival again next year - please keep us posted on the dates.

Again, thank you so much for the invitation and the day we spent at Sandstone

Regards
YVETTE AND REG ENGELBRECHT

Dear Wilf

Thank you very much for the cosmos festival , it was a great success seeing the trains, planes , stationary engines as well as military equipment I really enjoyed it. The Sherman tank was one of the highlights of the show.

I really enjoyed to fire on the locomotives especially to work on Sezela No 3 for the first time as these Avonsides where the first Engines I knew as a young child at Sezela.
It was also truly a great experience to fire on the Lawley with Dave Richardson , as this is also my first time on this locomotive a very special engine.

The O&k 2510 looks truly fantastic as well as Kerr Stuart 4063 you can really be proud of engine these engines Lucas did a fantastic job restoring them. Most people upon seeing them before would think they were beyond restoration. They look like he has taken restoration to a new level. I presume he has more experience in the restoration work now . Well done to Lucas and Keith Stevens on the Boiler repair for making a new inner firebox on 4063 .

When all the Reef steamers guys where there I was happy to take some pictures as there where more than enough volunteers and give some of the other chaps a chance to also enjoy them selves working on engines.

It was truly a fantastic event, It was fantastic to be part of it , well done one the event for a great success!

Many thanks for the fantastic time had.

Kind Regards

Gary Barnes
Technical Expert: Design
Toyota SA Motors Durban
e-mail gbarnes@toyota.co.za
Phone +27 31 910 4164
Fax +27 31 9102253 

Dear Wilf, Mike and all others concerned,

A quick "thank you" from Jacqui & I for another enjoyable weekend at Sandstone.

My motto "It's always a pleasure to visit Sandstone" refers.

What a great place - thank you all for looking after us. I do not have an email address for Peter or Hester would one of you kindly forward this to them as well.

Sleeping in a coach was great (Thanks Hester for the nice compartment). I was tempted to get Jacqui (my daughter) to sit outside and tap the wheels ("clack-clack", "clack-clack", "clack-clack") 'till I fell asleep but she did not think it a great idea !

It was good to spend time with old friends and make a few new ones.

Keep the revs up (or down)
Jerry Evans
Near Johannesburg in Sunny South Africa.
Etched Brass Engine Plates made to order:
www.oldengine.org/members/evans/plates/index.htm

Dear Wilf,

Once again I have to congratulate you and the team at Sandstone for staging a seriously enjoyable Cosmos Festival. Thank you so much for including me in on it, I really needed a break from stodgy Boksburg. Thanks also for the use of the Land Cruiser. I would certainly not have managed without it.

By the way, I told Val you said I looked like a transvestite. She said that when you are covered all over with white stuff you probably also look like one. So there!

Kind regards,

Ron

From: Johan Herbst 
Sent: 14 April 2008 04:50 PM

HI MIKE

I HAD A FUN DAY ON SAT 12/04.WILL YOU HAVE THIS AGAIN IN 2009 AND WHAT DATE.

THANKS
JOHAN 

Hi Wilf 
........................ a simple " many thanks " .......................... it was really excellent and probably the best organised event I've attended at Sandstone. Photographically, the sometimes cloudy weather presented challenges but - especially with a lot of flukes on Sunday morning - everyone must have got some memorable shots. I don't think I've ever had such good fortune as on Sunday morning. On 5 or 6 occasions I managed to call on the train such that it was in the optimum position during , typically, a 60 second window. Great co-operation from John ( Volunteer - the diesel driver from Bloem )

My son really enjoyed that combi crush by the tank............... he keeps babbling on about it ! 

As you know , I still use film , not digital ....................... I'm sure you'll get a lot of low and mid res digital images sent in by all and sundry , so I'll do something a bit different and arrange for a few 15" x 10" prints to be made and I'll call the Jhb office when they're ready.

Hopefully ( because obviously the slide film hasn't been processed yet ) I'll have one nice shot of the 15F which I photographed on Sandstone property at Kommandonek. Maybe you'd like to send it on to David Shepherd , as something different from the many low/medium res digital images he'll see. I'm keeping fingers crossed that I got the exposure right ( no latitude for exposure error with slide film, as there is with digital.)

I'd be very surprised if anyone gets a more unusual image than Dave Benn's short of NGG16 / Harvard / tractors. I'm sure he's at least e mailed that to you already.

Thanks again........................

See you at the Lawley Saturday pm / Sunday am session if/when that happens. 

Regards
Dennis

From: Charles Pratley 
Sent: 14 April 2008 01:40 PM
Subject: Cosmos Festival

Afternoon Mike

Just wanted to thank you for the great weekend at Sandstone. The organisation of the event was faultless. Thanks also for the Avgas you arranged.

I will definately be back with the Chipmunk at the next festival.

Kind Regards
Charles Pratley

From: Noel Pharoah
Sent: 14 April 2008 01:32 PM
Subject: RE: Invitation

Good afternoon Mike

Just a word of thanks to you and Hester and the rest of your team for a really great weekend

With regards
Noel

Dear Wilfred

Just a quick note to thank you very much for a lovely week-end at Sandstone, we had a most enjoyable time and it was wonderful to meet up with old friends, and it was a great surprise and pleasure to have Lindy come over to say hello whilst I was underneath the Marshall Britannia changing a boiler door joint, it brightened up my day. As always a well organised event. I have to admit though that the Free State nights at this time of the year are a great deal cooler than in Howick.

I did manage to locate the bronze which I required for the McLaren and I thank you very much for this and for the helpfulness of your staff.

Unfortunately the lubricator which I had hoped to find was not there. I did look for you to give you my thanks but could not locate you and as it was getting late in the day and I had to get back to Howick I had to leave without doing so.

Once again my thanks go to you.

Regards
Keith

Hi Wilf

I really enjoyed my self at the Cosmos festival. There was so much going on I often did not know in which direction to point my camera. I have attached a small selection of photographs that caught my fancy. I will sort through the rest and put them on a DVD in the next week or so for you.

Cheers
Aidan

Dear Mr Mole 
Thanks to You, the Sandstone staff and all that contributed to making the event a super long weekend, I enjoyed every minute, a high light was a ride in the Sherman tank on thursday morning. I include a few pictures. 
Many thanks 
Best regards 
Hannes

Dear Wilfred.

I would just like to extend my thanks to you for such a wonderful weekend.
For many years i have dreamed of what i would do if i won the lotto, and know it would certainly go into steam trains, a life long passion of mine.
After arriving home last night i sat down and watched Return of the Giants,which i purchased while up there.
As you see the photo's i gave you, both GMA'S, this is my favourite loco. I even have a model GMA in ho scale 1:87. So when i saw your wife christening your GMA,i got a tripple beat in my heart.
It was also such an honour to meet you, a man with such passion to preserve out heritage.
DId you and your daughter enjoy your flights in the Harvards. 
Once again congratulation on all you have achieved in the name of preservation.

Regards 
Grant

Dear Wilfred,

It was a pleasure to briefly meet you once again on Saturday. This is just a short message from the East London vintage aircraft crew to express our sincere thanks to you and all your good people for once again hosting such a unique and wonderful Steam & Cosmos Festival and for your incredible commitment towards keeping history alive. Long may you continue to do so. This was our second visit and we were most pleased to once again contribute in a small way towards the overall vintage theme. We were well looked after and truly enjoyed the whole experience.

We eagerly look forward to the next time.

Best regards,

Dave Hartmann, Wayne Munro, Reid Wardle, Dave Hart, James Wardle and Clinton Gradwell

Dear Wilfred,

Thank you and congratulations on a lovely Cosmos Festival.
It was great to be part of such a splendid event.

Our thanks and congratulations to the Sandstone Staff and especially to Hester, Leon, Riekie and Peter, you are stars!!!

We appreciate all your efforts on our behalf.

Kind Regards,

Gerhard & Reinette Wille

Good Morning Wilfred

We are back home after a wonderful weekend at Sandstone. 

I particularly enjoyed seeing the new items in your collection.

I had been concerned that my wife Hester might become bored with all the things I was so interested in - but not at all, she enjoyed the event as well - something for everyone!

We really appreciate the invitation - Thankyou

We look forward to seeing you again at the Port Elizabeth MG Indaba

Regards, George Dehlen