\ said:
However, I think this particular show is the only one I've been to where 'under the bench' sales don't happen (Mind you, I've only been to about a dozen shows in total so maybe I've just not seen enough). D'you reckon the other shows allow it and take the chance they might be closed by the H&S Nazis, or is Telford such a prestige event they daren't risk being closed?
I don't want to second-guess the behaviour of other organisers, and the ruling is not concerned with the kit sales, it's for keeping exit aisles clear. If a fire breaks out, and people's vision is impaired, you don't want someone tripping over a carton, or running into it with a wheelchair, and others, following, piling over him.
There is a thick dossier of rules, drawn up by the EU, which, however many groans that engenders, are designed to keep people safe. You are not supposed to use paper for table covering (fire risk); you're not to have banners which hang over the aisles, and can fall and do damage.
That's just a small sample, and I'm not going to talk about actual money, but can you imagine (if the committee, by negligence, allowed the show to be closed down) the reaction of the traders, who basically fund the show and, at the very least, would want their money back?
Should that happen, the committee, as directors of a limited company, risk jail, if the society, as a result, goes bankrupt (I'm talking as a former committee member, and co-organiser of the old Halton show.)
Quite frankly, in a really big show, under-table sales can be a flaming nuisance, since it's so easy to barge into somebody's backside, as they suddenly bend down to see that must-have bargain, and shove them into the tables, scattering models, and bodies, everywhere (I've seen it happen.)
Having the separate Kit Swap has worked for several years, now; it's tried and trusted format, and Telford is big enough to handle it, without hassle.
Edgar
