Despite that, a record crowd of between 12,000 and 15,000 packed into Victoria Park for a day of fun and entertainment.

And the huge turnout means that next year's event will definitely go ahead.

Although the flying displayed was curtailed by the low cloud which persisted until late afternoon, there were plenty of other attractions. These ranged from displays of old cars, original Minis, Harley Davidson motor cycles and even steam powered traction engines.

Ian Spink worked his magic making Smokies in a traditional barrel. Other traders did equally well selling ice-cream, soft drinks and burgers, and the bar did a roaring trade all day.

The programme featured something for everyone, from the Royal British Legion Scotland Pipe Band, to Thai boxing demonstrations; from the Extreme Globe Riders on their motorcycles in steel spheres, to Russ Swift who worked his magic in the latest Mini; from the demonstration by the Alstarz Dancers to the Springfield Puppets show; from the Knights of Monymusk to the Tayside Fire Brigade demonstration and lots, lots more.

The Spectacular is organised by an Arbroath Events committee comprising members of Arbroath Business Association. Events chairman Howard Cargill was fulsome in his praise of all the local businesses and organisations and Angus Council for their marvellous help and co-operation.

He commented: "Judging by the figures from the gate, I would say that between 12,000 and 15,000 people attended the event. It was quite difficult to quantify as the entry fee was £2 for adults and £1 for children.

"Nonetheless, that was an absolutely amazing total, considering how the weather was and how it curtailed the flying events.
"I wonder what the attendance would have been had the sun been splitting the rocks?



"We condensed the showground a bit this year as we felt that last year's event had been a bit spread out. Also, some of those who had taken pitches last year did not turn up, so that made it look even more gappy.

"On this occasion, we tried to second guess the situation so started a bit further into the park and pulled it in a bit at the other end. We realised that the helicopter pleasure flights, had they got here, would have wanted to be part of the main event so we did condense it a bit and I think it helped because people did not have so far to walk.

"The feedback from the traders has been positive. They were delighted with the day and a lot of them have already asked if there is a date set for next year.

"We are nowhere near that stage yet. We still have our planning debrief with Angus Council and the emergency services and we have our own meeting to discuss how things went.

"We acknowledge that there is always room for improvement, particularly as we are learning as we go along. None of us are trained event organisers. We do it for the good of the town."

Mr Cargill is quietly confident that this year's Spectacular will have made a surplus but said that the final figures are still being worked out. He went on: "The way that we have always worked the Spectacular is that if it clears its feet, then we will do another the next year. There is a certain amount of income comes in from traders and any surplus goes towards putting on the next year's event.

"This year we have been very lucky. We got a grant of £5,000 from Angus Council's Civic Pride Fund which was a great help and we are hugely grateful for all of the grants we got. We also got contributions from some of the local trusts and everything helps to make the day a success.

"We had a big section comprising 'It's a Knockout' competitions and it was a fantastic success. The winners, the 'Alarm Belles', from the Community Alarm Service, walked away with the prize of £100. Because we had such grant-aid support, we were able to allow the inflatables to be thrown open to the public free of charge.

"We got a lot of feedback saying that was very good. Most people were expecting to pay extra and were delighted when they found they did not have to. Everybody has said it was a great buzz, a great weekend."

Mr Cargill explained that Lothian Helicopters, which are based south of Edinburgh, were unable to make it north as there was a fog bank over the Forth estuary all day which grounded many flights in the area.

He went on: "Team Guinot was located at East Fortune airfield, which is also south of Edinburgh, and we were 'sharing' them with East Fortune on the day. They were booked for two shows at the airfield and only managed one as the flying at East Fortune was curtailed as well and it was not until the afternoon when the fog burned off here, that they managed to get some flying in there.

"They tried to come north but left East Fortune and just got so far before having to turn back.

"The Spitfire pilot, Iain Hutchison, sat in Perth all afternoon and watched the weather and when it did start to improve he telephoned and said he thought he would make it. He called again at 4.15 and said that he would be taking off shortly.

"I must say that for his first-ever flying display in front of the public he did very well. He had made a supreme effort to get here and put on a sterling show. We have to take our collective hat off to him for putting on a show in marginal conditions. He was very keen to show off the aircraft and I think everybody appreciated the effort he had made."

"A lot of hard work goes in throughout the year to create the Seafront Spectacular."

He revealed that five trustees from Arbroath Events get together regularly throughout the year to organise the event and on the day they are supplemented by Arbroath FC stewards, Arbroath Vics stewards and friends and family for a maximum of 35 people who are responsible for building up and taking down everything except the traders' stands.