The Shepton Mallet Autumn Show 2006
With our paintwork bright - and lights all glowing
It’s to the Shepton RV Show that we are a-going!
Times had been somewhat tough since our last report, Mo’s sister had unexpectedly died from the effects of cancer and the date of the funeral was set as Wednesday 6 Sep 2006 but that was also the day that we had arranged to travel to the US RV and Motorhome Show at Shepton Mallet. We had spent several weeks building up a suitable stock of Big Pitch Guides for sale at the Show, which we hoped would provide us with sufficient money to last through the winter at Carvynick but the problem, if it can be called that, was that every time we completed a run of the book we had a sudden postal demand which took up most of the books that we had had printed, and once again we were back to printing more books. Since we started this project, we have actually worn out two expensive ‘small-office’ printing machines and were faced with the problem of going to the Show with less books than we thought we needed – or yet again, spending even more money on another printer and increasing our overhead expenses beyond our means and storage capacity.
We were travelling to the funeral in our car so we decided to leave the cats locked in the RV, albeit with the air-conditioning set to keep it cool if the sunshine shone as forecast – and we set up a couple of extra litter trays just in case. The family had arranged to meet up in Llandogo prior to the funeral service at the Crematorium in Cinderford and we had arranged to collect Mo’s younger sister from Bristol Airport on our journey up from Cornwall. Through sheer embarrassment, I won’t go into the events of that day, except to say that we got held up in road works for three times longer than expected, TomTom, our satnav system, got us completely lost in Bristol and again in Gloucester - with the result that we not only ran out of diesel but also missed the actual funeral service and only just managed to meet the family at the ‘wake’, needless to say, my name was synonymous with that substance you tread in when not looking where you are walking!
Thursday and on to the Show, we got up early to run through our ‘pre-movement’ routine, stashed away in the car, all the stuff we were not going to take with us, checked to make sure we had our pre-paid tickets available, set-up the disgraced TomTom and finally started the engine to pump up the air pressure in the tanks. Disaster, the dashboard alarm was chiming and a red light was flashing to say that the alternator was not charging – we had not long ago fitted a battery-master to the chassis battery, so we knew that the battery was fully charged – all the local engineers had already departed to the Show so we had nobody that we could ask advice of – we had started the engine only the weekend before and all was well then - so we took a calculated decision to ignore the warning and go to the Show anyway! With our heart rate in super-drive, we turned out of the site onto the main road and set off on the three-hour drive to Show at Shepton Mallet.
Apart from the annoying alarm chiming away on the dashboard, the drive turned out to be quite pleasant, with the sun shining brightly, one cat fast asleep in her basket and the other hiding under the passenger seat biting Mo’s heels occasionally – it really was nice to be back on the road in the RV. We got safely through the troublesome road works of yesterday, although we were both having nightmares in fearing a breakdown in the contra-section and causing a ten-mile tailback whilst an AA man on a motorcycle towed us to safety – the imagination was running riot, I assure you! Then, just as we came off the motorway back onto the A30, something happened within the engine, the chiming stopped and the red light went out, thank goodness, but in some ways that was even worse than when the alarm was working because, with the alarm chiming, at least we knew something was wrong - now we didn’t know whether we had thrown a belt or blown a fuse or what - so on the assumption that if something really was wrong then we would soon find out and grind to a halt, we carried on regardless. TomTom thought he would get in on the act, once again, by trying to send us up a farm track off of the A37 just as we were nearing the Showground, but I was having none of it – today was a day for complete ignorance of all warning bells and besides, I had already done my homework and read the route instructions supplied by the Show organisers, which said that we approached the entrance straight off of the A37. What the Show organisers did not say was that a Flower Festival was held at the Showground that week and all of the signs pointing to the Showground were for people attending the Flower Show so once again we turned “Nelson’s Eye” to the signs and carried on regardless and thank goodness we did, because just a mile or so down the road skirting the Showground, we came across the proper exhibitors entrance. A very short queue at the gate where one yellow-jacketed official collected our entry ticket and directed us toward another official who directed us straight into the hands of the Phil Dando, our Rally Marshall. He was most apologetic in telling us that he had run out of grass pitches and ‘unfortunately’ we would have to park on a gravel hard-standing right by the side of an electric hook-up, close to the fresh water supply and what is more, if we wanted 16 amp electric, it would probably cost us as much as a tenner for the four days of our stay! Then to cap it all - we found that we were in a 3G-telephone hotspot and our Internet connection on the computer was trying to act like a broadband line – so within an hour we had wired up, fired up and were sitting down drinking a cup of tea watching ‘neighbours’ on Sky TV – honestly, I swear to you, Heaven is actually situated in the middle of a car-park in the Shepton Mallet Showground!
 Mo and I have attended the Shepton Show on several occasions but never as an exhibitor so this time was to be a novel experience where we could see the Show from both sides of the fence, so to speak. On the one hand we were helping out on the Itchyfeet stand whilst selling the Big Pitch Guide and, on the other hand, we had been asked to compile this report on the Show, which meant that we would need to take time out from working in order to wander around and see the Show from a customers point of view. I started on my travels that very first evening while many of the stalls were still trying to set up in time for the opening on the morrow and in the absence of the crowds of people expected to attend. It was an interesting experience seeing first hand just how much work and organisation goes into a Show such as this – the simple logistics of parking several hundred vehicles on the display stands, ranging in size from the mammoth US RV’s down to the relatively small pop-tops, sometimes with only inches between them, in the time allotted, was awe inspiring – let alone the health and safety problems of parking several thousand vehicles in which people were going to live for the several days. Then there was the aspect of feeding and watering the hordes on the days in question – the weather forecast had implied an Indian Summer and all the signs were showing positive for a long sunny weekend.
As I meandered around the grounds, I gradually formed a plan in my mind of the layout of the exhibition stands and, silly as it may sound, I gradually began to associate the map in my mind with some of the historic battles that I have heard about, such as Agincourt and Crecy, where the resident forces set up battle camp in the centre of the plain and planned and plotted how the invading enemy would attack them and thus prepared their defences to counteract such attacks. No matter where one looked the pathways down which the crowds would be funnelled were kept open with a vengeance – Lord help any stallholder who dared to encroach one inch upon the highway outside of their allotted space – and rightly so, the free movement of the crowds and the health and safety issues concerning the vast number of expected visitors was of supreme importance to all of us.
I have to say I really was quite impressed with the general organisation of the Show, where everybody, on arrival, was given a map of the site, where all of the necessary facilities were well signposted and, in general, how cleanliness was maintained throughout our stay – OK, so the combination of the heat of the mid-day sun multiplied by the number of users made the toilets a little ‘whiffy’ at times but, in my humble opinion, smell they might but at least they were clean!
  Getting the show ready for the public called for all hands to help and that included Eric Randle, the owner of Itchyfeet RV Park getting down on hands and knees to apply the final coat of polish to the display before the moon arose over the showground at the end of a long and tiring day.
Friday dawned as a beautiful day, the overnight car parks had filled to capacity with late arrivals but I have to be honest and say that I didn’t hear any of them arrive, in fact, Mo mentioned in passing just how quiet the site was at 7am in the morning – a situation that was not going to last long! Scrubbed, scraped and dressed in corporate uniform, I was on duty by 8am where Eric, Michael and Graham were applying the final touches to the stand whilst I wandered off to take a camera full of photographs which I hoped may be of some use in writing this article or to the RV Magazine in future issues.
My thoughts of the previous evening about historic battle camps came flooding back in abundance as the vibrant colours of the flags and advertising stands flapped and flowed out above our heads, the sounds of music and revelry came blasting out of the stands whilst the delicious smells of freshly baked food wafted around mixing with the general melee and hubbub as the public began to arrive. I strolled around the ‘wings’ of the battle plan where the massed ranks of Romahomes rubbed wheel arches with the Hymers and the Pilotes, where the Motor Caravan Club stood guard by the side of the ARVE while the Caravan Club looked on as only the Caravan Club could. The US RV’s ably guarded the other side of the camp suitably surrounded by the Burstners, the Sprites, the Swifts, the Gems and the Bambis – boy, what an eclectic mixture, from the biggest of the big RV’s to the smallest of the small pop-tops, they were all there in ample abundance.
This very presentable Coachman took the prime position on the Griffin American Motorhomes stand; where also on display between the other RV’s was a decent 38ft Forest River Georgetown. 
Tony James from Luxury LeisureTrailers had an interesting display of Cougar 5th wheelers.
One of the very few new vehicles on display was 25ft Landau twin slide on the Freedom Motorhomes Stand and it caused a huge amount of interest due to its spaciousness when compared to an average European coachbuilt RV. With dual-fuel capability and full RV facilities, albeit in very compact form, it is no wonder that it sold within hours of the Show opening.
The Fifth Wheel Company had a range of 5th wheelers and tugs on display
Destination RV International had a big Fleetwood Revolution with an eye-catching blue and white paint job which meant that it, too, soon sported a ‘sold’sign.
Oakwell Motorhomes showed a range of Btouring/cruising and Vista Cruiser RV’s whilst Westcroft Motorhomes had a wide-ranging display of Damon Daybreak and Challenger, Forest River, Allegro and Fourwinds.
The rest of the day passed in a bit of a whirl, talking to customers, people coming and going, talking to customers, people coming and going, talking to customers – are we beginning to see a general drift of events forming here? To the relief of my very tired feet and ‘voice box’ 6.30pm soon arrived and the first day was nearly over and done, all except that is – the evening entertainment – I ask you who on earth would want to spend all day walking around a motor show then spend all evening propping up the bar interspersed with the odd bout of line dancing, jiving and ballroom dancing ?
Well, several hundred people, actually – the music was well played by ‘Cascade’, Gary Dorsey compered the evening with Jeff Alvey supplying the comedy and Samantha Nolan the singing. 
Another beautiful sunrise on the Saturday morning and the day followed more or less the same as Friday, crowds of people, some interested, some not, some wanted to stop and talk, some didn’t, some bought the Big Pitch Guide, some didn’t but it was nice to meet many people who already own a copy and many of whom had stories to tell of new sites or events that had happened when they visited sites shown in the Guide.
Saturday’s social events started with a children’s party at 5pm but I gave that a miss, favouring instead the Motorhome of the Year awards at 7.30pm where Brian Bailey collected the award for the Micro class which was won by the ‘Romahome Outlook’ where the judges had been impressed with it’s innovative design, striking interior and thoughtful exterior. The Panel Van award was won by the ‘IH Oregon’, chosen for its spaciousness and innovative design, especially of its rear panel. Sales Director Nigel Kitching collected the award. The coachbuilt Motorhome prize was awarded to the ‘Adria Coral 660 SL’, chosen for its design features and choice of beds, storage and payload. The award was presented to Mike Lake. The European Super Class was won by the ‘Flair 8000 based on the Iveco chassis’. The judges commented on its all-round quality, design and well-planned layout. The Managing Director of the Company, Paul Kershaw, accepted the award. The best US RV award at the Show was won by the ‘Hurricane’, a superb example of a first-entry Motorhome for owners moving up to a larger vehicle. Based on a Workhorse chassis, it featured a huge lounge with ample payload and storage areas. Adrian Davis from Westcroft (Brownhills) accepted the award.
Finally came the one everyone was waiting for – the Motorhome Industry Personality of the Year Award. This was a new award for 2006 sponsored by Capital Bank Leisure, where owners and buyers of motorhomes were invited to nominate an individual, who in their opinion, had made a real difference to the Motorhome industry or had gone ‘that extra mile’. Nominations closed on the 31st July 2006 and the judges selected Graham Swann who works at Brownhills, Cannock as their first winner and he received his personalised trophy in front of around a thousand people.
Saturday as usual came to a close with a spectacular display of fireworks, this time enhanced by the clear if somewhat cool sky at the top of the showground. The display started with a noisy maroon to signify five minutes to the start and at the allotted time it was followed by a beautiful display of high flying colourful exploding rockets – most of which I simply did not have the experience to capture on camera, more’s the pity!
On Sunday, well what else can I say - except that Sunday morning, once again, dawned bright and sunny – the organisers could not have asked for more perfect weather, it was simply unbelievably gorgeous! Pretty soon the crowds were flocking in, although it has to be said that, in most people’s opinion, there were not as many people as on Saturday nor even as many people as attended last year on the Sunday but I have no statistics to back up that statement, I am merely quoting other people feelings.
I took time out to visit the social highlight of the day, the Craft Competitions, and I have to say that I am very pleased that I did. The standard of exhibits was very high and was a credit to those people who were brave enough to put their entry up for public examination.
Mrs Cockerill won a first prize for her knitted tablecloth, while Jeanette Baker got a second for her cardigan and Sandra Stamp a third for her knitted golfing doll.
The Best Cake competition was won by Norma Hutton, second came Leanne Powell and third, Les Mitchell for his chocolate chip cake.
Valerie Tresize won first prize for her set of ‘Faeries’ in the best Craft competition, whilst in the mens Best Craft section, J Saville won first prize for his cross-stitch picture and Ian Hume came second.
Mary Coombs judged the best cake competition and Sheila Wrixon, a Governor of the Society, judged the Knitting and Crafts items.
That night we helped pack the Itchyfeet stand ready for its transport back to Cornwall, we had had a good show, sales of the Guide had gone more or less as expected and we were going to return to our home base with a few bob more in our pockets than we had left with. We had met and renewed a lot of old friends – Alistair and Sheridan Lines dropped in on their way to (or from) either France or Spain (They are converting an old barn in France but have a holiday flat in Spain so we’re never quite sure which way they are going); Christina and Howard came by with a view to finally buying his dream RV but after a couple of years viewing, he still can’t make up his mind which one he likes best. At the same time we met many new friends and acquaintances, such as David and Linda Goodsell, authors of ‘Our American Dream’, who popped in to say hello and pass the time of day – the end result was that both Mo and I were quite tired on that Sunday evening so instead of packing up to go home, we retired to the RV, cuddled the cats, sipped a cup of hot tea and decided that we would stay one more night and make our weary way home the following day – and so to bed………..
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