Bristol 2023

 

When the show opens at 12:30 on Friday, and doesn't close until 7pm - that's a loooooong day...

It makes for an interesting mix of crowds though. Were I local, I'd probably take the afternoon off and go on Friday. But I'd just as happily been waiting on Saturday. As it was the hard-core modellers were split over the two days, meaning Saturday morning wasn't the crush you'd normally expect on the first day of a large event. 

 

 

Our stand had to be relocated to the central hub between the three halls, as the planned location didn't offer enough headroom for our backing banner. Initially, this wasn't great as the visitors shot by us in search of the next bargain, but once things settled down we were soon chatting away, selling subs, and giving away prizes on the tombolla. Three days in a warm, dry hall, and I sounded like I had a cold on the following Wednesday, despite drinking my own bodyweight in liquid each day. 

The show was terrific. I carried out two layout shoots, and would have happily added another three if there had been time. And that takes account of many of the best models already appearing on BRM's pages in the past 

Trade wasn't bad either. Very typical for a big show with a few "box-shifters" and plenty of second-hand on offer. Squires and H&A models provided the more specialist "bits" support as they always do. You could buy loco kits in a few places, but there was nothing to make me skip the "no more kits" mantra. 

Mind you, I did go project shopping with my boss for an hour, to restock the work project cupboard, so I won't be bored!

My favourite sight? IsamBIRD Kingdom BrunOWL, a stunning stature, beautifully painted with scenes from Brunnel's life and work. It's being used as part of a stand, but I'd have found a way to get it in the back of my car if that had been an option - even if I'd had to use a can-opened to take a bit of the roof off!

All in all, a really good, and somewhat underatted event. At under 2 hours from Leamington, it's not too bad a run, but there were lots of layouts from out of my area, and therefore new to me. To many though, it's not on their list of regular haunts - it should be.