I left my home here in the Lot et Garonne at 11.25am local time via Bergerac airport en route to Southampton and just four hours later I was travelling on with Mike Seaton.
There is a touch of irony that I should make this rather long journey in better time than some of the turf care industry professionals that were also in attendance from around the UK.
Reading the comments on the Pitchcare Forum it seems that Saltex has all but run its course with many people reluctant to travel from the north of England or Scotland in search of the latest kit.
I have attended the IOG Saltex show on and off over many years and even attended when it was held at the BBC sports ground in Motspur Park. In those days, the show and the meeting of the heads of grounds and greenkeepers was very much a hub of activity.
It was also a place where staff could get together and talk or reunite. However, the internet, mobile and the speed of communications means that everyone can stay in touch daily and research new machinery via the internet.
Companies who are selling their latest machine can visit a single venue or a collection of clubs on a single day at a lot less expense than dragging several staff, many machines and half the company to an extremely inaccessible venue in what is arguably the most congested area of the UK.
Getting in and out of the main entrance can take an age although this time, adding to the lower numbers theory, the waiting time to exit the show was much reduced.
Listening in to many conversations I heard the same story. Practically, Saltex is in its death throws and will probably not continue in it's current form for much longer.
The smallest of stands cost circa £3,000 for the week and it takes nearly two weeks out of the year to load up, set up, set down and return and of course the plans that have to be made too.
Marshalls, the Chelsea sponsor who is giving Glee a miss this year, seem to be taking the line that it can serve its markets better in a more controlled peer to peer fashion than with one big scramble on what is a tiring and drawn out day.
The show itself is free to get into but catering within, unless you are fortunate to know one of the exhibitors who are providing food and refreshments, is not cheap.
We started off with breakfast in the one of the race grounds permanent cafeterias. It tasted better than it looked but I was somewhat put off by the 'bleached' scrambled egg bathing in a milky juice but the overall taste of the food was OK. However, the price tag of just under nine pounds for breakfast seemed to leave a lingering after-taste - considering I can get a five course lunch, including wine and coffee for eight Euros (about £6.00 at today's exchange rate) and prepared and served with care and attention.
I stopped for a cup of tea in a cardboard cup for £1.65 buy I drew the line at paying £1.00 for a single chocolate digestive biscuit.
The stands are easy to walk round and I would say the set up is generally good with lots of space to move and no real cramped feeling (although the general consensus is that the numbers are way down on previous years which supports the view the show has had the best it is ever going to get).
There were several demonstration areas and it is always interesting to see machinery going through its paces - although the conditions are rather contrived and do not replicate real sites too closely.
I will go into detail on some specific items in coming posts but highlights are:
Laser guided white line marking from Fleet - probably one of the most fascinating products at the show?
An alternative to Indian Stone - a sandstone garden bench at just £350.00
Why garden fitness has become so much fun and may rival Wii.
How a health and safety lapse could have had implications for the Saltex show.
Plus comment and opinion on Worldskills UK Landscape gardening competition in association with the British Association of Landscape Industries - Has the landscape boom caused a skills vacuum?
I am going to finish this post off with an amusing incident on the Terrain Aeration stand.
I had just been introduced to Lynda Green, who is one of the directors and co-owner of the company, and we were chatting about their aeration machinery when two gentlemen came onto the stand enquiring as to what the machines did.
However, Lynda's assistant looked a little alarmed because both men were French and did not speak English. Lynda, quickly realising that there was an opportunity to press gang me into service, volunteered my translation services. I am pleased to say that I pulled it off and managed to explain, perhaps not one hundred percent correctly, what the machine did etc but events overtook me with that universally acknowledged language called a demonstration.
Recent Comments