I have just got back from a very tiring weekend at the NEC Go Fishing Show in Birmingham where I was on the PAA stand for the whole three days. The aim of the stand was to raise money to help in the running of the PAA and to pay the coaches who were out on Pendigo lake letting the visitors to the show have a go at catching some rainbow trout that had been stocked for the purpose.
The stand consisted of twenty four “pigeon holes” in the wall behind a front counter, on this counter was a random number generator operating between numbers one and twenty four. The idea was that the public paid two pounds for a number from the machine and got a prize from the appropriate pigeon hole, which was then replenished by the guys in the back. There were even some rods and reels being given away.
My job was at the front collecting the money, operating the machine and handing out the prizes. We had been squirreled away in an obscure corner and in order to attract customers I had to do my fairground barker’s act. This involved engaging the “punters” in suitable banter at the top of my voice to encourage them to pay two pounds and win a prize. The prizes were allocated by the number generator, as I mentioned, and although (as I repeatedly assured them they were all worth more than two pounds) the prizes were not necessarily suitable for their particular branch of the sport. In other words, just because the customer was a coarse fisherman or a game fishing enthusiast, did not mean that they would not end up with a couple of packets of huge sea hooks.
Most people realised that their prize was the result of the “luck of the draw” and were either content with what they got or tried to swap with other winners (although I tried to ensure that the kids got what they wanted). Knowing that the money was being raised for a good cause, some people handed back their unwanted prizes and I soon had a box of assorted gifts under the counter with which to keep the kids happy.
About an hour into the first day my shouting and cajoling had attracted quite a crowd and Andy Walker and I were quite busy. When I handed two packets of large sea hooks to a customer without thinking about it, I was amazed when he threw them back onto the counter saying “These are no bl**dy good, I don’t go sea fishing.” I replied, “Wait until we’re not so busy and I’ll try and sort something out.” He was very upset and said “Why are you giving away that rubbish, we’re miles from the sea, no one goes sea fishing round here” I was tempted to point out that there was in fact a large sea fishing section in the show but he didn’t give me a chance and stormed off muttering something I’m glad I didn’t hear clearly. Some people are not worth the effort and it took me a few minutes to get back into my role. This was helped by comments from other folk in the queue who were very supportive and restored some of my faither in the human race.
The highlight of the weekend was that instead of being put up in a hotel as usual, Graham Walker and I were house guests of Dr. Bruno Broughton and his anecdotes over dinner were well worth all the hard work the weekend entailed.
The show was well attended but I thought there were fewer people than last year. Tackle manufacturers were also thinner on the ground than before. It was good to meet all the other coaches and a chance to do some valuable networking. As a result of a chat with Ian Welch of RMC Angling, I hope to be fishing for catfish on Split Lakes at Yateley this summer.
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