With a stash of diecast trams and stuff to dispose of, my Dad and I headed to a toyfair at the NEC. We'd not been to one for many years, eBay having eaten all the little local events, and wondered how they had changed.
We learned some things:
- The NEC event is big.
- Walking past stalls looking sideways makes your neck hurt after a while.
- There is a lot of stuff, and some of it is very tempting.
- A surprising amount of traders haven't bought a little machine to take card payments. There must be some big wodges of cash walking around the hall, or a lot of expensive models going back in the vans they came in.
- You are going to come back with stuff. This was not the point of going.
- Toys you remember as a kid will be on sale and this makes me feel old.
- Some of the stuff is just junk.
- Some children got Matchbox cars and never took them out of their boxes. I feel sorry for them.
- I still want to buy a stupidly expensive toy car and "Broooooom" it along the concrete floor.
- A disappointing number of punters do not wash their hands after going to the toilet.
- Realising this, and knowing that they will have been handling the goods for sale makes me feel icky.
We still fancy the fun of having a stall one day. Maybe not at the NEC (£55 a table) but at a smaller event. Of course, being there all day means more temptation...
I read your blog every day but so often I feel "That event looks good I wish I'd heard about it" Like you I live in Leamington so all the things you travel to, except maybe Canada, are feasible.
ReplyDeleteI teach a class of people from overseas to speak English and every now and then do a thing about events coming up - maybe you could do the same?
Thanks for the blog - keep up the good work
Oh , classic.
ReplyDeleteJust for a moment, I thought I was reading a RMweb thread about a model railway show - and some of the visitors - then I woke up.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, with a number of the comments on sites like RMweb, it's possible to play "catchphrase bingo" - very few of them seem complete without words like "malodorous" or "skunk", or references to soap, deodorant, gas masks, or load of other aromatic delights. Well, it's either that or "weaponized" rucksacks.
In practice, the reality is rather different - think a typical shopping precinct or market and you probably wouldn't be too far from the truth.
Of course, where would be the fun in people reflecting the reality in your measured terms?
I always keep a pack of surgical gloves in the car for swapmeet attendances.
ReplyDelete