events and shows 2008 attended by FDG
| 1st-2nd March | The Spring Fly Fishing Show, Newark Show Ground | www.thespringflyfishingshow.com |
| 14th-16th March | Go Fishing at the NEC, Birmingham | www.gofishingshow.com |
| 15th-16th March | West Country Fair, Shepton Mallet | www.contour.uk.net |
| 29th-30th March | Kent Country Show, Detling | www.contour.uk.net |
| 3rd-6th July | The Royal Show, Stoneleigh, Coventry | www.royalshow.com |
| 25th-27th July | CLA Game Fair, Blenheim Palace | www.cla.org.uk |
| 23rd August | John Watts, Grafham Water | see forum for updates |
Reports ..
This was the third time this event had taken place and it was by far the best one yet. The venue is perfect, clean, dry, warm and airy. It is also close to the A1 near Newark.
The show was well attended on the Saturday with all of the stands being overwhelmed at times. The day just flew by with a constant stream of enquiries and recruitment. The attendance on the Sunday was not so great, (it was Mothers Day) but nevertheless the stand was busy up to about 3.00pm when people started to drift away.
There was a good array of celebrity tiers and a constant programme of casting in the pool not to mention the two theatres where demonstrations were fairly continuous. It was gratifying to see that the majority of the celebrity tiers were members of the Guild. It illustrated the quiet effect has upon our sport.
My thanks go to David Palmer who ably assisted and without whose help the job would have been almost impossible. Thanks to all of the existing members who came to speak with us on the stand. It is always good to get the views and comments of the membership
The exhibition season has started and it has started on a high note. I hope to see you at some of the other shows we shall be attending in the Summer.
The show was a bit like the parson’s sermon- good in parts. The show itself was smaller than last year and had an element of “car boot city” about it. There was little for the game angler with most of the emphasis on the carp sector.
We had been requested by Trout Fisherman to assist on their “Have a go” stand and for Saturday and Sunday everyone was busy instructing young and old the intricacies of a Black and Peacock Spider.
There was a competition held for the best effort and at the end of the three days there were plenty of entries to judge. No doubt Trout Fisherman will announce the winner in their magazine.
Despite the lack of fly tying at the show we had a successful show and the slow start. We recruited a number of new members from as far a field as Portsmouth. The show was not as well attended as it had been in the past and its future must be in doubt in this format.
The Guild was well represented by David Bartle, John Reid, Richard Vipond, David Palmer, Colin Heggs and Phil McDade, whilst Alan Middleton, Peter Watson and Ian Fazakerley manned the Guild stand in another area.