Section : Duxford

Duxford 2005

Posted By : Stephen Abbott, 21-Aug-2005, 08:51pm

• Duxford 2005

  Posted By : William Davies, 21-Aug-2005, 09:17pm

  According to the adverts in the Courier there will be no traders this year,
  Cheers,
  Bill.

  • Duxford 2005

    Posted By : Andy Cook, 22-Aug-2005, 10:47am

    From what I've heard this is down to the Duxford it'self putting the ban on Traders and nothing to do with the Herts and Beds TSSC who are organisers of the show.
    
    I used to help organise the show when it was first run by the Essex area and remember that the Duxford staff do seem to be real "jobs worth" types and seem to think that they are part of the military and have all sorts of rules and regulations!
    I know when we set up the first Duxford show that they only agreed to traders attending the show providing no 2nd hand parts were going to be sold as they had rules prohibiting anything which may be considered as an autojumble......
    
    I know that Duxford also gave the Herts and Beds guys lots of grief by playing hardball on the entrance price this year, I would not be surprised if this is the last TSSC show there which is a real shame as I still find it one of the most enjoyable TSSC events as there is so much else to see and do at the show as well as the cars.
    
    

    • Duxford 2005

      Posted By : Barry Huffer, 22-Aug-2005, 01:58pm

      As one of the Herts & Beds Area organisers of the Duxford event perhaps I can clarify what has happened.
      
      It all starts with a change of management, a new Finance Director and a new Marketing Director, from the Caravan Club, who believe that they can make more money from events at Duxford
      
      Duxford didn't so much play hardball as give us two choices, double the gate price and have trade stands, with all the red tape, H & S etc, or keep the gate price and have no trade stands. Incidentally we always got a contribution from the gate money for area funds but because the finance people at Duxford couldn't work out how to separate it from their money we can't have that either.
      
      Considering that at the end of the event last year we were planning to try to expand the trade side and have some autojumble, to be told at a meeting earlier this year, with no prior warning, that they were adopting our ideas for organising all similar events but these were the options and the no trade option was only offered when we said we would have to cancel was a bit of a shock.
      
      This was on top of being told we could not have a September date because of pressure from flying days and other large trade events, a recent look at their events calendar would suggest they had a lot of cancellations.
      
      Whether it will be the last event will depend on you the members and your reaction and Duxford. Organising an event like this does cost money and without the gate money that leaves the raffle which has been subsidised by traders and the gate money in the past.
      
      Nobody in the Herts & Beds area wants it to end, and we are looking at alternative venues, but it may unfortunately be inevitable.
      
      Barry Huffer
      
      
      
      

      • Duxford 2005

        Posted By : William Davies, 22-Aug-2005, 03:13pm

        Hi Barry,
        Sorry to hear about this, we really enjoyed trading at last years show and we were disappointed at the changes this year. We had assumed the changes had been forced on you, it seems to be a problem with events organised within other attractions.
        Good luck with the event, hopefully we will be able to support you in the future,
        Cheers,
        Bill.

      • Duxford 2005

        Posted By : Andy Cook, 22-Aug-2005, 11:38pm

        Barry,
        
        I hope that the Duxford event will be able to continue in the future, it's a damn good event and is a firm favourite on the TSSC calender with many members. Plus I have a bit of a soft spot for it as I was part of the team that organised the frst one (along with Matt Hollingsworth who is now in your area).
        
        Shame that the Duxford Bean counters have put a bit of a spanner in the works.I'm sure that Duxford already make a handsome profit overall from this event, it's a couple of hundred or so extra people through the door that wouldn't be there if the event wasn't on.
        
        I appreciate that it will be a diffiult event to fund without having a share of the gate money as I remember just how expensive the event is to run what with programme printing, trophies, raffle prizes etc. I seem to remember that the club HQ have been able to help out local areas with funding shortfalls in unprofitable events in the past. May be worth having a word with Bill Sunderland as I know he was always a bit of a fan of the Duxford show to see if you can have some sponsorship from the club.
        
        I wish Herts and Beds best of luck with this years event, I'll definitly be there and have already booked the family into a local travel lodge the night before to ensure that we can make a full day of it.
        
        Cheers,
        
        
        Andy Cook
        
        ex Essex AO..... (Now living in exile with the Hants and Berks area!)