To Newark and the new, improved Shooting Show. Early arrival is always essential as this lets the helpful staff lend you a hand unpacking the van and then allow you to drive the van into the hall to aid set-up. The welcome was as warm as last year, with a free mug of tea and useful advice on post-set-up parking. Despite the heavy rain on Thursday night, the site stayed reasonably dry. The new layout appears to have been a success and the heating worked throughout the event.
From time to time, you could catch a glimpse of organiser John Betrand stalking the aisles, offering assistance here and advice there. Gone is the chain-smoking spectre of last year. Here is a man who is truly on top of his game, remaining unflappable even in face of catering van tea which seemed to have filtered through the kidneys of a dead badger, exhibitors who obviously don’t get out much, over-priced breakfasts at the Cedric Ford Pavilion that make road-kill look good and extortionate bar prices which appeared to have been fixed at levels appealing to Al Capone.
But the trade! The first hour in the green pavilion was a bit quiet while the multitude passed through the main halls. By the time they got to my stand, they were primed and ready to spend. After last year’s show, I was uncertain. After the first day of this year’s show, all such doubts had evaporated. I set a new personal one-day record in takings, nobody hit me and I didn’t have to shout at anybody. This is one of the few shows I have attended where I felt in need of a second pair of hands on the stand. Driving back on the Sunday evening, the financial achievements of the weekend made it difficult to wipe the smile from my face. This resulted in a painful facial cramp: an object lesson to those who crave happiness.
This is not to say that everyone was happy. The new layout must mean that some people get stands which get more of the passing crowd than others. This can be fine-tuned in future years. Competition was especially rife among the clothing fraternity, with price and supply determining factors. Most gun dealers I spoke to had enjoyed a successful 48 hours which brightened up the dark days of February, when commercial activity tends traditionally to slow down a little. I think that that is the real value of this show. It not only provides an excellent and well thought-out showcase for the shooting trade, it also does it at the right time of the year, when the season is over and the sector needs a bit of a shot in the arm to take it through to summer. How perceptive of Gun Trade News and its stablemates to spot this potential and support it.
Unpacking the van took very little time, as did repacking the van for a couple of point-to-points at the weekend. I have now learnt that dragging most of my stock from one side of the country to the other is not only inefficient, it is also hugely expensive. As the price of diesel streaks past the £1.40 per litre mark, most traders will be acutely aware that we have more than the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher and the Lockerbie Bombing to bear against the Libyan terrorist self-styled as Colonel Gaddafi. As oil prices increase at the same rate as a banker’s bonus, it pays every trader to cut distances and downsize vehicles. My new rules for 2011 are not to go to any event further than three hours away and to take minimal stock. That’s hardly in the spirit of economic growth, I admit, but by keeping the bottom-line under control I might stay in business longer.
Speaking of bankers, on Saturday I attended The Beaufort point-to-point at Didmarton in the upper Cotswolds. This event has grown over the years and now resembles a small game or country fair as much as a race meeting. It has a good mix of stalls, some good food, some excellent drink and people spend money. There’s a smattering of local Gloucestershire accents but you mainly hear those from the Home Counties and London. Increasingly, this is a weekend in the country for the denizens of South Kensington and Chelsea. And there is no harm in that while these spending levels remain as they are. My expensive belts, best quality shooting bags and leather jerkins sell well here, so this event is set to become a fixture on my schedule.
On Sunday, I was off to Garnons for the South Herefordshire Hunt point-to-point. Set in beautiful parkland (apparently for the last time), this event has more of a country race meeting feel to it but the crowd is smaller, more local and definitely not spending on leather goods. Bizarrely, three of the five trade stands sold hats and all seemed to be selling well. Perhaps the biting cold and wind had something to do with it. Though Garnons may have a more authentic country feel to it, I think I prefer The Beaufort and the townie pound, whether it’s an import or not. After all, we’ve all got make a living.
