The Showman's Diary

Day 1 - Saturday

Today saw the start of the National show build.  We started at 7.30am this morning with a trip to McDonalds for some brecky.  I have hired a van to help transport the gear around from the containers to the showground.  As we pulled into Maccy D’s there was a height barrier.  The van was 1 inch taller and so I drove straight into it.

Lucky it’s a hire van ,not mine. Then off to the showground to start work, and I hit a post with the wing mirror, so a good start.

The marquee people actually turned up on time, not like last year when they were two and a half days late. The centre ring is flying up, and should be finished tonight.

We are using the 'Madonna’s boobies' tents again. They look loads better than the flat top type.

Are job was to start cleaning the vats. This is a job that we all hate. We get wet, and its just a chore, with around 100 vats to scrub.

I had my white wellies on so I looked the part !!! Also my feet didn’t get wet. The rest of me did, and I am soaked as I type this.

Its nearly time to give it a rest for today.  Food is served at 6.30  then its off for a shower, get changed and then chuck around ten pints of bitter down me neck.

So here’s a few pics of what’s gone on today.

 

Day 2 - Sunday

More vat scrubbing today again.  Only another 30 to do. Once again out came the white wellies along with pink marigolds.  We do look like nice boys !!!

Its so hot here today, so we didn’t mind getting soaked to cool us down.

The large water holding vats are now being assembled in the centre ring and also on the outside of the show ground.  Not many people see these as they are behind the long dealer marquee.

No van incidents today.  Hope the hire company people don’t read this.

Day 3 - Monday

Things today have really gone well again.  The marquees are almost complete, and should be by this evening.  All the vats are in place and are ready for filling.

Its so hot here and I keep having to stop work for a beer to re-hydrate myself!

I think Thursday we might be able to have a bit of a rest.  We work from 8am till 7pm each day.
Oh by the way I didn’t hit anything in the van today, but we have been warned about speeding on site.  It wasn’t me though.

We have had an incident with one of the cars today, to keep up the crashing rate.  Peter Robbins , who is society chairman, managed to jack-knife his car and trailer today, making a right mess of the back side of the car.

I’m stopping over at the hotel again tonight, and that means beer for supper. ts great working at the National.  I wonder why.

Day 4 - Tuesday

Its blistering hot today.  The marquee guys finished last night,so that’s all done now. All the vats are in position with ‘Little Jimmy’ taking charge of that.  It wouldn’t be the National without him.

Water supply vats for the dealers is now being sorted, along with the marking out of the marquees for their stalls. Its looking like a show ground now.  Hopefully we should be getting near finished tomorrow, so we can relax a bit.

One setback, is that today we have discovered that when we had the equipment trailers broken into last year, we didn’t realise that some of the air blowers had been taken.  We are now 3 short, so we have been on the scrounge this afternoon to get some as backups.

Filling of the vats has just started, and the usual water fights break out. Kids and water eh !!

So almost time for a well earned beer.  This warm weather really de-hydrates you.

 

Day 5 - Wednesday

Yet another scorching day. Things are looking almost finished, but we still have loads to do. It’s the small things now that take up so much time.

The chairs and tables are being dropped off in the marquees for the dealers .
The vat boards are being cleaned and mounted on the support posts.

It was nice to see a tiddler also coming along to give us a hand. A future koi keeper in the making.
The dealer water supplies and drains system is in place. The big brown pipes really take some handling. So I keep away.

Kylie was doing her usual loafing around and so got soaked for her efforts. Very Happy

Daz was washing the Zeolite and trying to look big and butch with the power washer. Sorry Daz ,it doesnt quite ‘suit you sir’. No No

Now as I have said yesterday a show aint a show without Jimmy. At nearly 135 years old he keeps plodding on.

So only a few days to go till the koi arrive. Cant wait !!!

Day 6 - Thursday

Last day of preparation. Things are almost sorted with just little jobs being done.

The Zeolite domes are now ready to fit on instruction from the water team guys.

All the water holding tanks are ready and labled. All the vat boards and splash screens are fitted.

Dealers have started to arrive and are building up there stands.

Kylie was doing her usual stuff, and I just happen to catch her at vat 69 say no more !!!

So tomorrow its all systems go, with the koi starting to arrive. God I need a rest !!! And a few Pedi’s.

I’m off back home tonight as I am bringing my koi along. A 6am get-up to try and get the koi bagged and boxed so I can get here for 10am in the morning. Then its more work for all of us.

Good luck to everyone bringing their koi along. Have a save journey here.
Fingers crossed for good weather.

I will post pics throughout the day of some of the koi arriving.

If you are bringing koi along tomorrow, please ensure they are on site before 8pm

Day 7 - Friday

Sorry for the lateness of this post. But I have been so busy today.
Last night I had left Newark to be at home. I needed to get things ready to bring my koi to the National.
So at 6am I got up out of bed. This was it. The BIG ONE.

Time to bag and box my koi. Daz my mate , who was also working and showing at the show came round to help me. I chose 12 koi to bring along in 8 boxes. I didn’t bring my big 85cm Chag [ Fanny ] along as she has a parasite mark on her pec fin. Gutted I am, but that’s koi keeping for you. I did though,box up ‘Damien’ my Hi Showa. This koi has done so well for over the years, I now even have a tattoo of her on my arm.

So I arrive at Newark at 10am and unload the car. I float the bagged koi for 30 mins, and then release my koi myself. I opted for a showing a vat with purely just Showa’s in it, and the second vat with a colourful mix. I was pleased with what I had bought along, but I felt that some were not at 100%, again, that’s koi keeping again for you.

The koi were benched a few hours later. All got through, and my vats were within the maximum 30points.

So time to start work again. As show vice chairman, I tend to flit around and make sure everyone working at the show is ok. If anyone needs anything, I will try and do my best to help.

Exhibitors and dealers appeared on site in increasing numbers throughout the day. I felt proud to be part of the show.  saw fantastic koi being put into the show vats. These are peoples pride and joy. Well done guys, the quality of these koi was amazing.

The show ground was buzzing with people, getting ready for Saturday morning, the opening day.
9 pm quickly came round, as we finally finished all the benching of the koi. A tiring day for all. Well done everyone who had worked at the show today.

Off to the hotel now for a quick brush up, and then into the bar for a well deserved slurp of Pedi. Yes, the bar has just put it on tap. I aint saying how much I drank, but it did make me sleep well.

So, the jobs almost done !! All is left is for you guys to come along and see what we have on offer. But I can tell you this, you will see some of the best koi outside of Japan here this weekend.

Remember, the National needs your support to keep running. So come along and have a great day.
This is the National show.

See you later guys.

Day 8 - Saturday

So today the doors were open to the public.  It was a mad rush to get the final things in place.  But we did it, and soon people came very slowly through the gates.  At 11am attendance seemed very low.  We couldn’t understand why.

Come 12 noon things were different. The showground was getting full, and the sun was trying to break through.  The comments about the koi were all encouraging. The quality of koi on show was very high.

I had decided to fill one of my vats with just Showa’s, which caused quite a lot of interest. Maybe I will do this every time I show.

A few vats had koi spawning, which makes quite a mess and gives the water team plenty of work to do.
Judging began mid-morning with Grand Champion picked first.

Then it go in order from size 1 upwards to size 8.  Judging finished at 5.30pm

Dealers have reported good sales , above last years takings, which is good news.
Attendance was also good, again well above last year.

We put on entertainment in the lecture theatre and outside with the Ninjitsu display.
Come early afternoon, people were spread all over the showground enjoying the summer sun.  The beer was flowing, and the food this year seemed a lot better.

I am very pleased with peoples comments about the show.  But it wont stop there, we need to build on this to get even more people to come along.

So tonight it is the dinner dance in Lincoln.   I might have a thick head in the morning as i find out the results from the show.
 
I hope you who came along today enjoyed it, and you definitely saw some great koi.

Keep an eye on the site for the full results as soon as we can get them on here

Day 9 - Sunday

Time to drag myself out of bed to go back to the show ground after last night dinner dance.
Getting up at 7.30 isn’t my cup of tea on a Sunday morning, but there was still work to be done.
Getting the award stickers put up was priority, but these couldn’t be found.  Panic stations !!!  So we had to print out some new ones, that in the end were too small.
Oh well we cant do everything right.

The Champions notices were put up, and the public came through the gates.
The weather forecast was iffy to say the least, but it just got warmer and then the sun came out. It was scorchio !!!

More vats had spawning’s which made the water look so bad.  I think 8 vats now had done this.
Attendance again was up, even more than yesterday.  This is encouraging for the work we have put in.  Dealers were again doing very well.

So 4 pm saw the prize presentation. This was done by Dave Pope this year, and he did it really well.  Bill Oakley again took Grand champion with a different koi this year.  But pictures were hard to get, as this koi had spawned today as well.

There was also an announcement of a new show chairman for next year, but you had to be there to hear that one.

So time to de-bench.  Time to take the koi home.  This is usually a mad rush, but I just sat back and had a well deserved beer talking with the society chairman , Peter Robbins.

I helped a few guys bag their koi then it was time to bag up my 12 koi to take home, it doesn’t take me long as I’ve done this so many times now.

So I am back home with the koi back in my pond, but it doesn’t end here.  Tomorrow at 6.30am I go back to Newark to help with the breakdown.  Then it’s the end of this yeas show.
 
I am tired.  I need a rest.  So I will go back to work on Tuesday for that.
 
So this is the end of my daily write-ups. I hope you have enjoyed what I have written, but more importantly ,enjoyed the National show.

See you all in 2010