I'd been to the NEC show a couple of years ago but only as a member of the public. The stand on that occasion was more central and seemed more spacious, plus we'd a greater "breadth" of models on display from an era perspective.
This time we were allocated a stand in the "appendix" hall (No 5) of the show, ie almost at the furthest and hardest to get to part of the NEC, this had a few plus points but more negatives I think personally.
From a positive perspective, on the Saturday I attended, the public who made it our way noted that they could get closer to the cars, much less crowded generally and there were members on the stand to engage with and answer questions. This meant they could take photos, have a friendly chat and enjoy the cars on a personal/intimate basis. Therefore their individual experiences were much more rewarding and was what to me, a Classic Car Show is all about.
From a less positive perspective, we were 30 odd metres from the Wheeler Dealer stand, plus in a hall which was labelled Motorcycles and on entering you were met with a stand of tractors! So apart from enthusiasts, previous owners and those who'd belonged to the LMC previously, I interacted with very few people who sought out our stand specifically or on merely passing, the cars caught their interest. Having said that we all handed out a number of membership forms etc to recruit new members or welcome back previous members. As Steve explained to me the main reason why his fabulous Integrale attracted so much attention from the younger people was due to its appearance in some game or other, but it stood out certainly and was a wonderful example. The two Zagato models attracted less attention and sadly the B20 wasn't as fawned over as it should have been.
I thoroughly enjoyed my day, the 10 odd hours passed very quickly, it was a delight to meet quite a few members including Simon, Steve, Chris, Peter on the stand plus Don, Roger and son-in-law, Tony, Martin and Frank.
I know there is a post show debate and feedback, interested to hear what else is being said.
I will also post up a separate thread with a few queries raised by members of the public for the forums help.
Photos to follow.......I make NO apology....repeat, NO apology for fuzziness, colour shift or being poorly composed!!!!
P
