Don't blame me, dude – I'm just one of the workers now.
Your main man is Chris Dieth who runs Meridienne Exhibitions and would tell you that Event City is not the cheapest exhibition space in the world for hire. Gone are the days when you can just charge a quid a head for entry – that wouldn't hire you a marquee big enough for a small private wedding reception. These days people expect to see a big roofed arena, ample car parking, proper indoor toilets, facilities for the disabled, catering, cash machines, WiFi, first aiders and all of the other things the HSE love to lay down the law about.
Some of the other model boat shows we attend and which are held in local sports centres are charged on at cost on the door, and that's invariably four quid plus.
With a cinema ticket costing over a tenner, a football match ticket (not Premier League) at over twenty quid and a round of golf at a municipal course twenty five quid plus, I reckon eight sovs is pretty good value for a day out. Lots of pretty model boats to see etc. This show is a multi-disciplinge one, too, so there will be trucks, railways and tanks as well as the more traditional model engineering stuff in addition to the boats.
Finally don't forget that the traders have to pay rent for their stands (several hundred pounds for even the smallest); we don't share in the takings from the door!
DM (Retired first at 54 then again at 61)
No clips yet. I reckon the Chinese must still be celebrating the year of the mug…………..