East Anglian Airgun Fayre Up-Date

[Gareth W-B]

Sorry all but I'm pulling the plug on this, as have sent many letters and e-mails asking collectors to attend, and only had six stalls @ £30 each plus 70 visitors at £3 each confirm -- and all of them via this BBS (thank you). Yet I had to pay the booking fee of £400 by today if going ahead, and sort the public liability and personal indemnity insurance (which together total £350), shortly after. Although was happy to go out on a limb a little, the sums just don't ad up and I'm not prepared to put myself potentially out of pocket and spend the next four months stressing myself & my family by trying to play catch-up just to recoup any out of pocket expenses that could have been avoided. A shame but there you go, and at least my epitaph when written in (hopefully) many many moons time can read

"at least I tried" ... .

__________________________________________

Thanks for the continuing interest in this proposed event (loads of e-mails and p-ms ), so here is an up-date. The venue is all booked (with a get out of jail free card for yours truly in case the Police say no), and am currently awaiting a reply to the following from the Fire Arms Dept covering the location in question before I start advertising and taking stall booking deposits etc. Will keep you all posted (pun intended ): Gareth W-B.

____________________________

Dear xxxxxxx,

I am organising a collectors sale and swap meet for collectors of sub 12ft,lb air rifles and sub 6ft.lb air pistols to be held at the xxxxxxx near Chelmsford, and have a provisionally booked date of Sunday 7th September 2008.

The proposed event will not entail the sale of any new air guns, purely those deemed collectable (along with aligned paraphernalia), and shall be a table top type sale and swap meet much like the stamp and militaria meets held at the same venue throughout the year.

In mind of the V.C.R. bill of last October, I will not allow traders or registered fire arms dealers to operate there however, and will prior to the event, have a full list of names and addresses of those who wish to take up table-top space for your full inspection should you so wish.

I will ensure all safety measures and conduct regarding air guns are adhered to (eg. all air guns must be bagged or boxed when being carried in and out of the hired hall), and will insist that all who attend have a recognised form of photo I.D. with them.

This event is not being organised for profit, but for genuine air gun collecting enthusiasts like me. I am a member of Springfield Air Rifle Club, and am also a current F.A.C. holder.

Before I take the arrangements of the event as detailed to the next level however, first I wanted to check that it met with your approval as if not, I will shelve the idea completely out of respect for you and your officers.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding the above at your earliest convenience.

Yours Sincerely:


Gareth Woolven-Brown.

[Binners]

Well done.
Top man that Gareth.

[ogilkes]

Looks good.

[Gareth W-B]

Well done.
Top man that Gareth.

Looks good.

Thank you guys, your support is greatly appreciated. Also on this subject, a BIG thanks to Baz, who has cleared the way for me to promote this event here on the BBS with full fervour once a favourable response to the above letter is received (which am sure we will).

[mjohno]

Gareth,
I wish you well with the fair, unfortunately it is too far for me to travel as it looks like a winner.
ATB mjohno

[Sakerman]

Hi Gareth, what a great idea. I'll be there.

[Paddy_SP]

If only it was a bit closer...

Anyway - whether I manage to make it or not, I wish you all the very best with it!

[baldy1]

Gareth,
I have pencilled this date into my diary, if you get the full all clear for the event, count me in mate.
I will car share with anyone in the Barnsley area.
It will be nice to see and handle collectable air rifles and to touch base with the lads on here.
Cheers,
Carl.

[keith66]

I hope it all goes well, i will be there hopefully with some moolah!

[shootin al]

Gareth

Well done you, hope it all comes together.

As a fellow Essex resident, I will attend if you are sucessful and comisterate with you if you are not.

Once again well done for going for it.

[Phil G]

Good on yer Gareth. Takes a lot of balls to get this sort of thing together, don't be afraid to delegate, I'm sure there are many on here who will be willing to lend a hand. Just my two cents worth, don't let the word profit be a dirty word, if you're so minded any surplus could be given to a worthy charity.
Good luck Phil



=
just this once ignore my signature picture

=

[Gareth W-B]

Cheers chaps, all comments and support appreciated . Another BIG thanks to hand out here however, this time to Terry Doe who has said that if it goes as planned he will feature it in AGW (and hopefully I can get him to give it a little bit of a pre-event editorial plug too ) ... Will continue to keep you all up to speed: Gareth W-B.

[exmoor beast]

Gareth, Any truth in the rumour that Pauline Quirk is going to be guest of honor?
Well if not best of luck & lets hope it becomes a regular thing.

[Gareth W-B]

Gareth, Any truth in the rumour that Pauline Quirk is going to be guest of honor?

... All depends if I can tempt the hot pie man from Upton Park to take a stand or not ... and ...

Well if not best of luck & lets hope it becomes a regular thing.

Cheers Jason, will give it my best shot (pun intended ), and if it works I will try to make it a regular event ... If it all goes Pete Tong and I do my dough though, well at least I tried. Will do an up-date when I hear back from the Police. Atvb, and thanks to everyone for the on-going p-ms and posts of support : Gareth W-B.

[Gareth W-B]

It's on and happening . Had many a meeting with the head of FA @ Essex and the Police Chief Constable, and although the VCR bill prohibits traders, providing all ticket sales are in advance with names and addresses recorded along with a declaration that the ticket buyer is not a prohibited person under section 21 of the fire arms act, and that all are happy to have their details sent to Essex police and Trading Standards for random/sample checking etc, and that everyone who attends will have with them a recognised form of photo I.D. (driving licenece and/or passport), and all under 17 are accompanied and not allowed to buy in person, it is on.

All I need now is a minimum of 100 agreed pre-ticket sales at £3.00 each and ten table top confirmations (double width table top stalls for those wishing to move on examples from their collections available for £30 in advance), we are up and running. To this end, could all who are interested in either an entry or table-top ticket (two entries included per table-top fee ) please now register their intensions below. Atb all : Gareth W-B.