What did you think of BBKA new Venue

[MuswellMetro]

well, bit the bullet early and travelled up to Harper University College to the New venue for the BBKA spring event and ended up parked half a mile from the BBKA venue in a farm yard as the car parks at the venue were small and inadequate

so what else went wrong....no mobile G3 service as the local phone transmitter was not working....ok you think you can live with no Phone then find out that therefore hardly anyone was accepting credit cards because the PDQ electronic handset could not phone the bank to verify the payment

so cash only was preferred...or quite long queeues waiting for the credit cards to phone home...no cashpoint found after 30 minutes search then found the limited £100 cash facilities set up for emergency money unfortunately did not take electron or lloyds Cashpoint cards

so went to collect items pre order...so sir, long wait the WiFi is down and we cannot check orders yet

Ok eventual got all the orders confirmed, walked back acrcross the field and drove to the collection point and yes all ready for collection....at least something worked

so in all a good idea for a venue, nice area but get the basics right, not impress with the BBKA organization of it at all

cost £16 entry, £66 petrol. M6 Toll £4.80...took my own sandwiches but food and the food prices seem ok and better than stoneleigh...went to the Gents.....unable to cope with the crowds, rather smelly

driving time 5hours (2hrs 30mins each way)

will i go again to the same venue....probably not...now off to clean the mud off the car..£5 car wash

 

[Poly Hive]

Sorry to hear it.

However another masterpiece of organization from the masters of nothing.

They really need to begin to do some serious thinking.

PH

 

[MuswellMetro]

After lunch, things improved a bit with the phone, but still no WiFi, i got all that i wanted , trade hall was larger....less crowded ,difficutt to tell if it was less people or larger hall, definely larger stock at Th**nes and maisemore...You could picked up even near the end 2nd Quality 14x12 Cedar broods for £26/£25 and Cedar supers at £12 and £11.50

much easier to compare as more stock for Poly nuc and other bits etc

I would have bought some of Chris B honey beer but ran out of cash!!!!

Perhaps they could hold it on the Olympic Park ,east london next year...they need a use for it...and i could use my OAP Bus and tube pass to get there for free

 

[itma]

Being even further away, I opted to pass.


Amazed that the parking should not have been adequately considered.
Was it better attended than previously?

 

[melias]

My main gripe was that the lecture rooms weren't large enough. I was turned away at 2 of the 4 lectures I wanted to attend and I met a man who was turned away at three lectures. These weren't the events that required per-booking.

 

[victor meldrew]

I have mixed feelings .
The plus side is ,it's nearer to me than Stoneleigh .
I agree the vendors had much more room ( not the usual scramble )
Parking was far to far from the sales area . I wish I had a pound for each time I saw people struggling with piles of gear . One guy dropping most of his whilst his wife was gamely trying to retrieve the situation
Reception was taped off into 2 lines Members and none members , having gained entry your way to the toilets was on the 'non paid'side of the tapes . Not good after travelling a distance .
Still it was a first at a new venue and allowances should be made . I overheard a couple of stewards discussing their ideas of improvement
VM
I expected more forum subscribers to be there but wasn't spotted ( I was clearly visible )
VM

 

[drstitson]

MM - why did you take the M6 toll?

aside from slightly better have all the sales in one hall it seemed to me to be little different as a venue. same sort of scale of campus. wax exchange less accessible.

honey tasting was oversubscribed.

other rooms too small for demand- full 10 mins before time.

good bob smith talk on bee space towards end of the day - pointed out importance of proper spec hoffman side bars with wide top bars and wide bottom bars.

BEST BIT OF NEWS - MB will now be offering a feeder for the 6 frame LS nuc. Hoorah!!!! will save me extra time and expense cutting up full sized feeders.

Luckily no room in the Smart for a fancy uncapping machine or other stainless monstrosity from the european suppliers.

 

[VEG]

DR you mean you didnt fill the smart car?

Was looking forward to seeing you top the amount of gear you got in last time

 

[drstitson]

"DR you mean you didnt fill the smart car?"

I didn't say that - although must admit i did have enough space left for a couple of packs of 50 seconds frames if i'd needed them.

No. I took the precaution of 2/3 filling the car before setting off for the event!!!!

Didn't have much to get - picked up a couple of items missing from previous orders from P and KBS and a few things for Mons Ab (saving him the bother of the quick jaunt to Rand!).

 

[MuswellMetro]

MM - why did you take the M6 toll?

followed my TOMTOM traffic which said accident around Birmingham

noticed the stainless stuff, very £££££££££

 

[drstitson]

fair enough - perhaps tomtom get a cut of the tolls!!!!

no accident when i was on the M6 sometime after 8.15am.

Don't think OH will allow a full paradise farms automated line in the living room!!! (BTW why was Gunther von Hagens manning their stand?)

 

[Chris B]

honey tasting was oversubscribed.

Sorry about that. I couldn't believe it when about 30 people came in half an hour before the start.

Overall more positives than negatives I reckon. But all traders unhappy. People don't want to buy anything heavy when the car is parked so far away.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

My first time.

My reactions:

1) How old everyone seemed. A few younger and some kids dragged along. But the apiary manager from my assoc. was one of the few younger people. And, yes, I'm a boring old f*rt, too.

2) How fusty and old fashioned much of it felt.

3) It was smaller than I anticipated.

4) it was all rather constrained - both in the venues and in the range of exhibitors. Yes, I know it was all about beekeeping, but where were the gardeners promoting bee friendly plants/seeds? Where were the skep makers? The National Trust? Morris dancers? Garden designers?

5) What's the thinking behind, "keep out the non-beekeeping riffraff on Friday and Sunday"?

6) They do need to sort out the parking - though if you go to something like the RHS show at Tatton Park, you'll see people there park much further away. But they do provide a plant/purchases "crèche" to leave stuff during the day - and people to help you carry stuff to the car. (Get the local Scout and Guide troops involved.)

7) BUT.... People were unfailingly cheerful and helpful

And I'll go next year.

Dusty.

 

[REDWOOD]

Lessons learnt for the events manager which can only get better next year

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Oh, and I should have said, I got a top of the range suit from a supplier, who must remain nameless, pard'ner, ya gun-totin lawman.

It was a seconds - an almost invisible flaw in the fabric on the leg.

Normally £135; got it for £50! Brilliant.

It is in a delicate mint-green colour - but I'm exploring my feminine side.


Dusty.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Lessons learnt for the events manager which can only get better next year

good signage for Pickup point or even a secure location with tickets to leave items and pick up later...like John Lewis or large shopping mals have

if you were on your own, you had to walk the items back to the car rather than pick up by car later (unless pre ordered from the vans).

ok ,you could borrow a few trolleys from the big suplliers but it was still a hike, The most helpful trader there was C wwyne jones....,(thats excludes ChrisB and Rooftops)

 

[susbees]

Yesterday was fine. The labs were very well equipped and spacious and the microscopes well up to scratch and the lecture theatres modern and comfortable. A couple of lectures were oversubscribed - but even the larger unis don't have lecture theatres bigger than these so more repeats would be better.

Today we drove straight in at 9am, explained we had jars to collect and with no fuss or jobsworths parked easily between jars and wax and dealt with both quickly, parked in an accessible car park and both managed to attend two lectures separately with no problems at all.

My 10yo attended voluntarily, attended a workshop on her own and had an enjoyable time.

We had excellent service from Freemans and KBS (pre-orders) and Brunel, sorted a faulty zipped suit and bought (yet) another from BeeBasic (microfibre suits rock ), collected our bespoke roofs from Beehive Bits, got a settling tank, and also assorted bits and pieces from M'more, W Jones and a couple of others.

Brought the car round to load with no problems at all (the little step truck was buried under the jars).

Plenty space in the halls, brought our own food, compulsory lunch tomorrow. Saw loads of people we know. Accommodation I believe better than Stoneleigh.

Only one company seemed to be moaning big time...and largely because the bar services on Friday night weren't up to scratch and there were nobbles in the carpet!

 

[Moggs]

• Car Park to Trade Stands - unworkable walk with kit
• Phone and GPRS signals (incl cardpay facilities) poor
• Waited 1.75 hours for Mm wax exchange (diabolically slow)
• Lectures unavailable, even given early arrival

Seemed to be fewer in attandance than Stoneleigh's (probably just as well).

So, paid £££ on petrol and wristbands to pay £££ on kit that I could have paid £££ on from the comfort of my living room.


Poor and, honestly, wish that I hadn't bothered.

 

[onriver]

Having been to Stoneleigh for the past few years and not attending this one I was expecting to be a little jealous but you lot aren't doing it so far!
What about the real impact of a few hundred beekeepers let loose in the same room as a certain overoptimistic supplier?
Any good heckling regarding the BBKA stance on pesticide sponsorship.... were there any strange new hive types being hyped?
Did omlet turn up?
Come on - we want to know!

 

[BBG]

Agree with most but, T***s said their cc apparatus worked well.

Definitely people had trouble wheeling purchases to vehicles.

Some carried heavy boxes a long way and for no other reason than bad parking.

Rather smug, pompous chap in suit and tie (who wears that these days??) was going to have the day analysed to assess suitability as venue in future.

Parking distant for most.

Loos - there and in all buildings but nobody knew this.

Signpost not available until arrival ( should start 10 miles + away in both directions)

Loading/unloading cramped (who designed the place).

Doormen/ticket checkers aggressive and abrupt. 'Tickets please', would have been nicer than 'Where's your wristband!'

Some made us feel Brits were a source of annoyance no matter how much money was shelled out.

Traders dropping prices dramatically to entice new customers - you're welcome - you'll never see us again.

On the + many traders and staff were happy and encouraging.

Fuel £1.47/L and ...

£16 to get in - Ouch! Ouch!