"Salute 2006 - Good Gig or Zeppelin Hanger?" Topic

So guys what did you think?

I'm in two minds.

Big Up for John T and the Warlords for making it work first time out.

Speaking as an exhibitor who promised himself never to do Salute again, after 2003 at Olympia (getting in and out of the venue, nothing to do with the Warlords) I was pleased with the new site from that aspect and thought ‘the Boys (and Girls) done good!' in the face of the necessary Excel regulations.

Oh by the way Warlords, please have someone at the end of the loading area who knows where the prepaid car park is next year. Promised person was AWOL between 08:00 – 08:30 (my only real moan)

Lining up like waiting for a cross channel ferry on the way out was a pain but being able to drive into the hall to pick up the gear more than made up for it.

As for the hall, biggest doubt – Hardest floor I have ever stood on but given its working brief that's only to be expected. Still killed the feet and ankles though (yes I do have a sit down, day job)

Lighting took some getting used too and it was too hot at times.

Only other whinge was the floor layout was odd. Big spaces in some places and a bit like the bad old days in others.

What was that all about?

Heard a lot of people mention the word soulless about the hall and have to agree but there again I wasn't going there on a date!

All in all, given that my preconceived concerns about getting in and out of a site with two big events going as well as our show, turned out to be unfounded and the crowd was its normal friendly self (chatted to folks from Sweden, France, Belgium, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the US) felt it was worth it.

I'll be back (as someone once said)

Could it be both? Maybe I have an issue with crowds, but it was a good deal more comfortable than last one I went to at Olympia, just due to the space. I actually quite liked the venue, and I was impressed by the Warlords' ability to bring it all together.

Thanks Trajanus.

Like the first year when we moved to Olympia in 2000 (remember the lifts for the gamers?) there were some kinks to sort out this year. ExCel staff were, perhaps, not quite as helpful as we were led to believe in the Marshalling of vehicles area (moral: don't ever believe a commercial organisation that says "our marshals will sort all of that out for you: they're experienced…").

The new venue is big and we need to find ways of both doing things ourselves and encouraging games and traders to make more of the vertical space: without height on stands it's hard to navigate the show no matter how clever we can be with a printed plan for people. I mean I got lost and I've been staring at that damn plan since Christmas! We wanted to add more signage but we just ran out of money (the venue is fearsomely expensive: the joke we tell is the reason that there are no windows in the venue is that ExCel will charge us for the light coming in through them…). But when it gets to the point were you are directing people by saying "you see the Forge World stand (subtext: the one with the big sticking up banner) it's to the right/left of that".

We think that for ease of trade access (if you get their Friday the ability to just drive a vehicle right into the show is phenomenal) plus the public experience in the (embarrassingly named) boulevard outside makes the venue the only choice to be had. The lack of carpet (coz we just cant afford it) and the big ‘aircraft hanger' style roof are issues that we are going to struggle with.

The spaces between the trade stands are a compromise: we just do not want anyone to feel crushed and – what's more – we have to pass the plans past very exacting fire/health & safety assessments. But we'll tinker with that in following years I'm sure.

I'm just glad so many people seemed to enjoy the day!

John, it went a whole lot better than many of us feared at first. Yes, ExCel looks like they assemble Boeings during the week, but I can live with that.

I don't know if you could suspend some kind of markers/signs from the ceiling to give some kind of visual reference point.

As for banners that would be up to the individual traders. Even with a banner, it took me half the show to locate Steve Barber.

I think that adding an extra seating area might not hurt either.

It's a new venue and yes there are were bound to be problems, hopefully they will get resolved and the experience can only get better.

Hi John,

One thing I did think of (should be low cost) is could you hang a sign off each game table and trade stand edge, with their floor plan number on it?

Need only be A4 but at least it would give a direct reference to the floor plans you give out.

Most people were having trouble just working out where they were in relation to the plan!

John
I have to say that I found the traffic control staff of ExCeL to be most helpful. But, I talked to them, asked the routines, told them what I wanted and it worked!

The chance to unwind in the van for the hour prior to 17.30 was actually a good end of the show for me but I could see probs here for the solo trader – if you had any.

Unbelievably, 27 minutes after the shutters went up at 17.30 we crossed the M25 (on the M11) with a full van. So there's a challenge to the trade for next year!

Thanks again to the Warlords

Mike B

The show was excellently handled by the Warlords themselves, and my main gripe is that a good contingent of us Hasslefree staff(including Kev) had to walk almost a mile(possibly an exaggeration on my part) to the car park to collect food that the very generous James "Chopper" Mok brought with him.
In all the show was great and I enjoyed it immensly the new venue is well spaced which works great for someone like me who hates to be cramped :D
Thanks once again to the Warlords and I'll see you all again in 07

My only problem with Salute this year was that I was so busy I didn't get a chance to go round and see/talk to other people…

The marshalling could have been better in the morning, but we parked in the right place eventually – next year it will be fine because we will have done it already!

Gav

It did seem soulless, but I was able to get a good view of all of the demo games, kind of a strange benefit/downfall balance…

I'll be back…

Thumbs up from me.
I'd like stock tables on the menu for next year. I did get some this year, but like to see them as an option.

All good feedback guys: keep it coming!

I'd agree with most of the points made above. Lots and lots of House Points and Gold Stars to the Warlords. As a trader you fork out a lot for space at Salute, but I think it's the only show where you can see where your money goes. Very slick, very professional.

ExCel was an unknown quantity for both organisers and traders. We've all learned from the experience and I'm sure both parties will make the next one even better for all concerned.

We had a great day. Thanks to all our customers and to SLW.

Cheers

Peter Berry
Baccus 6mm

John and Co.
Thanks very much for all the work you all put in. The venue was like a zeppelin hanger, but it was much better in terms of getting round to see everything. We got lost a couple of times, but thats no big deal, as we found stuff we'd missed!
All in all, it gets a big thumbs up from me, and thanks once again to the Warlords for all the hard work they put in. See you again next year!
Bill T.

My only complaint is the inability of many wargamers to act normally or with consideration for others..

The number of backpacks my face contac ted as people just barged about was insane. Also the lack of manners shown by many people barging infront of me at traders stand made me cringe. I popped over to the Home show and the difference was startling.. mainly for the lack of stale BO.

Is it really a hobby for the semi autistic?

rich1231

semi autistic?

Going to explain the link bewteen Autism and Body Odour ?

John, the Warlords, everyone involved —

Thank you for an excellent day. I echo (no pun intended) the comments about the vast space which seemed, curiously, to dwarf the event at times. I'd be interested to know how many people actually came through the door, because having expected to be jostled at every turn, after the intial queing, it was very pleasantly roomy inside.

I've commented over on WD that I would recommend that more traders consider the three-dimensional aspect of their stands, which would certainly have assisted in navigating one's way around, but I also understand the additional commitments of time and money may be prohibitive for the smallest businesses.

Having been to large exhibitions related to other trades over the years, most of the atmosphere at such events has to be artificially created by building extraordinary theatrical pieces, much like a film set. There is, of course, a hefty bottom line involved in doing so. This falls upon either the traders themselves, for the promotion of their own products; or it falls upon the organisers, who then have to commission expensive design and build work, which means that they have to charge either a higher entrance fee, or increase the cost of pitches, or both.

Companies like Games Workshop, of course, have their own purpose-built venues like Warhammer World. It would be nice, wouldn't it, if the historical gaming community had something comparable, but the only way this could be achieved would be with deep pockets and a huge level of commitment.

On a side note, I was pleased to find the 'boulevard' and the Fox@ExCel as pleasant places to eat a bite, drink a coffee, chat with friends and so on. The only fault I could find was the curious dysfunction of several of the hand driers in the gents loo!

Meanwhile, I would like to congratulate John and his team for an excellent beginning in the new venue, and I can say that every helper I came into contact with was a credit to the event.

Henry
Battlegames

Mike – 27 minutes…slowcoach. We drove off the site at 17:35!!!

John and the rest of the Warlords, thanks very much for all the hard work. As a trader I have mixed feelings about Excel, the getting in and out seemed a lot smoother than Olympia. The atmoshere of the venue wasn't brilliant, concrete floors and breezeblock walls, I think Olympia had spoit us. It seemed quieter, but that might just have been the extra space.

Graham
Behind the Lines

Shorcut,

I wasnt trying to make a diagnosis.

But if you thing I am far from the mark, I'd be stunned.

Lots of smellies, and people for whom eye contact means staring at their shoe laces etc was the norm is not a good advert.

rich1231

being in the fortunate position of knowing many people with autism, their determination to cope with life and their invaluable qualities far outweigh your obvious misuse of the word autistic and apparent ignornance of what Autistic Spectrum Disorders are. As for their personal hygiene, you can go on the underground in any city of the world on any day and find it full of smelly people looking at their shoelaces – does that make them autistic ?

I think you will be stunned because you are far from the mark. Take out your misuse of the word autistic and I might not disgaree with the facts of smelly wargamers and backpacks, but that has nothing at all to do with autism, and I find your use of it offensive.

If you don't want to make a diagnosis, then don't make sweeping over-generalisations using terms you obviously don't understand.

Shortcut,
be offended then. Likening behaviour to an illness is not a crime. Modern over sensitivity and political correctness is wrong.

Sense of humour bypass completed today? My flippant use of the autistic term was not to encourage some PC backlash. Everyone has a lable to excuse all manner of ills these days.

I dont think I did misuse the term, as there is evidence to support that males in general have varying dgrees of Autism. Linked possibly to obssesive behaviours including hobbies.

If many of the traits of autistic behaviour were not have been exhibited by many at the show I would not have mentioned it. But my point still remains that why is it wargaming attracts so many socially inept people? It's not a solo past time in most cases. The fact that there were two events at the site allowed me to make direct comparisons to attendees of both.

Interesting show.

The venue is indeed quite soulless and I thought the lighting was immediately annoying and poor. It was also quite difficult to find everything – areas blurred into one another! I susecty next year we will see a lot of banners.

Apart from a very few standouts, I thought the games were generally pretty poor. Several were 'green baize abominations' – I thought these had died in the 80's. I would rather have 30 good games than 70 of dubious standard.

Otherwise very good.

Was the attendance up or down?

This was my (our) first experience of doing a game at Salute, though I've been a regular visitor to the previous 2 venues.
Firstly an enormous thank you to Everyone at the Warlords whom without exception were helpful, efficient, interested (!) polite, and all-round great in spite of what must have been a very long and tiring day for them.
Personally I felt a small amount of atmosphere was lost but was more than compensated for by the increased elbow room.
Being (VERY) busy with the game I only got "out" for a couple of brief tours round the stands ( still managed to empty my wallet) Didn't have to wait anywhere, if I got stuck behind a backpack there was enough room to whizz round them, all in all a great show.
The "Drive-in" factor was a HUGE plus. Without it I don't think we could have been ready in time.
Again, Huge thanks, We had a great time, saw loads of friends and despite being the most tiring day I've ever had connected with wargaming I wouldn't have missed it for anything..

cheers Chris (one of the D-Day Gamers)

rich1231

I had little doubt that would be your reply, I suppose I hoped there might be a spark of decency or recognition that you had inadvertedly caused offence, but hey ho, it looks like you meant to insult the Autistic by your dismissive and prejorative remarks. Please don't think that throwing up the cry of PC backlash will fool anyone, as it has nothing to do with being PC, but a lot to do with a small minded attitude towards those who are unfortunate enough to suffer from ASD.

I have a son with ASD, and he doesn't smell and he makes eye contact readily – he can't read, write or even speak, but it is ok to compare him to a smelly, backpack wearing wargamer, because he has obsessional behaviour isn't it?

As for my sense of humour, well I'll keep that for something that deserves it. Would you have been flippant over ethnic origin, or creed or physical disability or is it just the Autistic that pee you off ? I live with ASD every day, but I'm supposed to think it funny that you think it ok to compare smelly packpacking wargamers with those who suffer from ASD ?

Don't think so.

Can you enlighten me as to your medical qualifications that allows you to recognise ASD behaviour in so many of the Salute crowd or are we just over-generalising again ?

As for the socially inept (are you including those with ASD or as being socially inept?) – well I'll agree that there are SOME who behave like that, I think I've met one tonight.

Of course, the 'green baize abomination' does represent wargaming-as-it-is-played for many of us! I greatly admire the high concept scenery games, but do these really get played with, and if so, how many times? Just because something doesn't look great, doesn't mean the game isn't any good.

It all went smoothly for us until the end when a (warlords) "marshall" managed to direct my wife right back around into the huge queue of traffic waiting to load up – the result was one very annoyed wife and a painfully long wait as she had to do 2 full tours of the loading queue – considering our 4am start to the day we really could have done without that.

but.. all in all much better than olympia and not being hidden away behind an obscure staircase on the first floor obviously helped as our takings were up by 300%.

We have to ask though – what on earth is the deal with having to queue again for the silly piece of red paper at the end of the show when you're filling in the exact same details as the first time (on entrance) – "red tape" gone mad.

The hangar is a good thing – lots of air for "vapours" to get lost in – it was airy and odour free without being at all cold – just think Triples 5th Floor for an entirely opposing experience.

Hadn't realised how close to the city airport it was – might have to fly down next year… could probably taxi the cesna into the ExCel hangar and forgo needing a taxi from the airport.

I enjoyed it and don't care about atmosphere as I just want to shop. I thought it would be more difficult to get to but it was very easy (from South West of London by public transport).

I do agree about the light. Next year I will have to take my glasses (which I usually only use for painting) so I can actually read pack numbers. Also I agree that a number on each stand somewhere would be useful so I can cross reference the plan and see where I am. I never did find the Wargames Illustrated stand…

Rich123 1

My nephew's autistic, his dad's bi-polar and none of us were offended – or even marginally depressed, by the comment {gasp shock horror – a "joke" at the expense of the bi-polar! Next thing I'll be saying that the queuing at SALUTE was manic! I must be getting obsessive!}.

It was clearly a throw-away comment and treated as such.

All of you: thanks again for the feedback.

The numbers for this year look to be ever-so slightly down on last year but we're still doing the maths. last year was 500 up on the previous year (about 6000 'wallets', as it were in the building [that's around 4800 paid people coming in, freebies and complimentaries, plus about 1000 gamers running games who all buy and so qualify]) so – with the change of venue and the attendent unfamiliarity – we'd have struggled to top that (and didn't). I suspect we effectively flattened or went down a couple of hundred.

What we have had very good reports of is forthcoming press coverage and aftershow reports in French mags (Vae Victis and Ravage have promissed us lots of pages which'll be great) and we want to follow up on this. We ran out of cash to do more than advertise a half page in Vae Victis this year but we want to do more in 2007, plus Italian and German mags.

I did alot of talking to foreign press during the day (and a live interview with BBC Radio Midlands which might not have helped but you never know…!). Along with restablishing links with the UK F&SF scene (what with the demise of Harbinger [and our advertising in it] we lost a bit of ground there) we want to try hard in those areas for next year.

I dont know what it is but – judging by conversation I have at other shows (when I'm at Sheffield Triples and so forth) it seems that it's easier to get gamers to come from the continent than it is from the north of England…

Perhaps it's just me but when I've had my umteenth lecture on how much it costs to get to London from a show "oop North" it is a bit wearisome. It cant be the internet that's doing this (I understand they have that computer stuff 'abroad' as well as in the UK). It cant be the cost of travel alone (I've been talking on email to Americans who came to the show so taht's probably a bit pricey compared to the bus from Sheffield)). I can only guess that the shows in the North are enough to satisfy wargaming needs, which is fair (I like 'em!) plus London is maybe a scarey place? I dunno… But attracting gamers to Salute from North of the Watford Gap services does seem tricky!

As for games and their 'look and feel', I tell you what was really difficult: even the biggest game was lost in that hall. The lighting showed up bare tables (gamers – please PLEASE bring a cloth to cover your gaming table with!!) and it's really hard to get a scale on a game in a hall that big (I know: I helped with Cloudships in the morning and it looked pretty tiny – and that's a big game). I think there were some really great games there but you really notice the ones with big 'stuff' in them: like the 1/35th scale Gold Beach landing game. ExCel is going to be the sort of venue to think big in, that's for sure. Perhaps the sort of thing to really kick 28mm gaming up a notch. Or 1/48th or 1/35th! I'm looking forward to buying more Action Man sized Imperial Romans to go with the four I've got to do a 1/6th scale ancients game (but – as long as I take these big tablets that my doctor prescribes, that wont happen…)

Anyway, we'll do what we can for next year's show (apart from sorting people's manners out; taking off their rucksacks and or hosing them down… that's all up to the individual I guess!)

Thanks again for the support, guys: it is appreciated.

PS – and remember, one of the benefits of ExCel is the ability to berth yoor private yacht at the show so we'll have to put that as an option of the booking forms for next year…

John

It may be of interest that YWGS offers members both £25.00 GBP towards travel and a refund of their Salute entry fee. If they book a train soon enough they can actually be ahead on ex's for the round trip. Seven of our members (from around 50) actually attended Salute with that kind of incentive!

I can't see us being more generous but why the other 43 or so did not take up the offer beats me.

Mike B

As a wargamer from the north who attended Salute could I say that it might be the cost of the train ticket that puts others off going? With the £79.00 GBP I paid for a ticket I could have bought a serious amount of lead? I also must admit to finding London a somewhat daunting prospect akin to a foreign country! Lets not mention the underground. However, the exclusive release of new products and the access to various manufacturers who don't venture north often or at all makes it worthwhile. It is also good to meet people and put faces to names! I thought the venue was excellent and don't care about atmosphere. I go to buy and see nice terrain? Finally I don't understand this problem with rucksacks – how the **** am I expected to get my purchases home? If I bump into someone with or without the rucksack then I apologise – thats just good manners whether you have a rucksack on your back or not!
Also one other suggestion for next year. Rather than have odd blokes walking around in strange uniforms/Sci Fi costumes why not hire scantily clad ladies to dress up in a variety of historic uniforms (think Winsome Warriors)and just watch the attendance go up! Just a thought!

Excel salute good!

Antenociti,

I thought it was a harmless throw away remark until Shortcut started defending his "diagnosis" of autism based on the BO, staring at shoelaces and general rudeness.

A simple "sorry, I didn't mean to insult autistic children" would be fine but he choose to say "be insulted then."

John, the North/South divide is a psychological thing, I'm sure *grin8 As a midlands show we would say that the same applies in reverse, that it's hard to get Londoners out of London, despite Newark only being 90 minutes away on a train. Hopwever, as a former southerner I know it can be a pain getting a train to London, tube across the capital and then a second train north, makes it seem like quite an expedition…
Glad to hear things went well, and I hope our club contingent sontributed and behaved themselves
Hope to see you at Partizan.

Oh, and as a parent of two boys with autism I also resent their difficulties being trivialised by flippant comments [rich 1231!], so forget PC, and remember there are real people out here who can be offended by other peoples ignorance and insensitivity.

Laurence

Laurence – yep the North South Divide runs both ways – I know (I've only ever made it to one Partizan (and/or Hammerhead] a year out of three [2]!). The train bit can be alleviated an awful lot by early booking (or coaches with similar early booking) and the best way to get to the show is to share a car as the new place is really easy and has (for London) ‘cheap' parking. Some of the larger clubs actually hire a coach (as the Warlords have done in the past) which makes sense if you have enough members.

Rucksacks are a problem. We've tried cloak rooms at Olympia which didn't work because people are reluctant to take them off (not surprisingly) and reluctant to pay top store them (ditto – and I don't blame them!) so all we can do is hire more space and allow people to stand further apart!

As for BO, as a fat male wargamer in a room full of thousands of varying sized, mostly similar gender types, who for one has been at it all day, I'd have to have a very sensitive nose to notice, to be honest. Still, they always say it's your best friend that has to tell you…!

It was a superb show. I can't understand comments about not finding places.. this year it was a giant rectangle, everything nicely spaced and clear…. last year, 3/4 floors up and down, side rooms, condensed crowds etc…

bizarre.

Now people have adjusted, next year will be even better for all.

The travel costs factor can certainly be worked around with enough advanced planning, and the good old apex fare…. Book well in advance and you'll be able to get a sub-thirty quid fare from any major city to London. Coaches can be a spectacular bargain as well; I came down using megabus.com and paid a grand total of £4.50 GBP for Sheffield to London and back; the Tube and DLR pass to Excel from Victoria cost more…. Made for a long day, but a good economy.

With regard to the show in general, I thought it was very good, but not the "cut above" that I expected. (My first time making the trek.) To be honest I don't think Salute matched what I want from a show at the moment; I'll go next year if I have a lot of shopping to do, but otherwise I'll swerve it. With Partizan only a month later it's hard to justify the effort, as Partizan offers as many top-notch games, far more convivial surroundings, and a lot less travel. (Another big factor for me is that I work *every* Saturday – going to a Saturday show means using up holiday entitlement; it therefore needs to be something *very* special….)

Dom.

PS – I understand the "I hate rucksacks" posse, but just what practical alternative do they propose for people using public transport…? Oh, none whatsoever, that's right…. (For the record I dropped mine off with a friendly bunch of game hosts for most of the day, but the rabid anti-rucksack types get on my nerves at times….)

I came down from Glasgow by plane. It took me about 4 hours from my house to Excel, paid about £50.00 GBP for the flights, plus a travel pass on the tube. The underground's not so bad, except when there's a 15-minute walk from the station entrance to the platform!

Dom,

You came all that way and you didn't collect your tanks!

Ian

I thought it was one of the best Salute's I'd ever been to: mainly because of the increased comfort factor all round.

By this I mean there were plenty of places to get a decent cup of coffee and a bite to eat, room to move, toilets, plenty of places to sit down, lots of air and light, and plenty of totty walking up and down the main Excel concourse. When I compare it to the vast majority of shows I've been to over the years (crowded, hot, smelly, bad food
and drink, no women) it was a vast, nay super-vast, improvement. Atmosphere, schnatmosphere as they say!

SirG

Most enjoyable and well run Salute I've been to, that's in 22 years. well done.

It was my first Salute and I thought it was great. I had no problem finding stalls, I just used the map provided in my bag!!
As for atmosphere, I went to buy wargaming items, I reserve atmosphere for my mistress.
Top marks to the show organisers, I will be returning, unlike some other shows!

I thought the new venue was superb. Not because I live just around the corner but because the sense of space, air, lack of wargamer smells and easily available seating all made it a much more peasurable experience. Yes, when I first arrived I was a bit confused as to where places were, but after two walks around the circuit I

OOPS…

I thought the new venue was superb. Not because I live just around the corner but because the sense of space, air, lack of wargamer smells and easily available seating all made it a much more peasurable experience. Yes, when I first arrived I was a bit confused as to where places were, but after two walks around the circuit I found my bearings. My only criticism, and it's not a criticism at all really, is that there is just too much to do and see in a day. But is was a tremendously enjoyable day out.

Giles

A great show. Yes, Excel is a bit soul-less but that is more than made up for by actually being able to move. I too got a little lost at times, so some vertical signage would probably be useful in the future. Yes the floor was hard which I fould difficult with a shot knee, but there were no stairs to cope with (apart from down to the gents)so it was actually easier for me (and more seating too).

I have to say I didn't notice a BO problem. I actually managed to meet up with an old friend who was running in the London Marathon, and registering at the other end of Salute. I reminded him that he came to Salute with me the first time I visited in 1986 (which gave me a shock when I realised it was 20 years ago)and I actually commented to him that personal hygiene had definitely improved over the years. Kensington Town Hall honked in 1986.

"I don't understand this problem with rucksacks – how the **** am I expected to get my purchases home?"

Many people wearing rucksacks don't seem to have any idea of how much room they take up. Hand-held or shoulder bags don't seem to cause the same problem.

Thumbs up from me as well. Echo many of the points above. First time I had been on the DLR and to Excel. Communications excellent helped by the guide in MW. Thought some of the games superb eg D-Day. Touching History display brillient. In a perfect world I would have liked some natural light. Found the hall lights a bit dim. Also couldn't get near the bring and buy. Typical rugby scum. Could it be done in a hollow square as at some shows? Not my thing but the enthusiasm/noise being generated at some of the sci-fi/fantasy games was v pleasing to see especially the involvement of younger gamers ie the Warlords Victorian spaceship game. V interested to see some of the products from the European firms. First time I had seen them in the flesh.

Regards,
Guy

The only thing I'd bitch about was the Warlords PA system. Not really up to the job in a space of that size so unless you were near the stage you couldn't hear a thing. Would it not be possible to patch into the centre's own system.

I thought this years salute was fantastic. The venue was good, albeit a bit soulless, but I don't go to a wargames show to look at the architecture! Also, is it just me or are traders hiring a lot more young ladies these days? Is this just the fact that more women are getting involved in the hobby or a calculated marketing ploy? Anyway, I thought the osprey books stand deserved 1st prize for 'best wargaming sirens making you spend your cash where you really didn't intend to'. Will they be there again next year…? ;-)

This was my first Salute, so I cannot compare to the previous editions.

1. Reaching the location

Coming from Belgium, it was a breeze to find. Very good connections with tube/DLR and good instructions on the website on 'how to get there'.

I left home at 5:30 GMT (6:30 CET) and was at the venue bij 9:30 GMT (including a 45 minute check-in for the Eurostar)

2. Catering

Excellent catering – plenty of space to eat at your leisure. Lots of choice on what to eat – no complaints here.

3. The hall

I didn't notice the 'hard floor', so that didn't bother me. I don't consider carpet a necessity.

The map was very useful in locating the traders. It would have been more helpful if the booth numbers were visible.

The halls may have looked like a zeppelin hangar, but that didn't bother me. I like the fact that is was very spacious and that you didn't get the 'crowdy feeling'. I hate being pushed and pulled and driven in the direction of the crowd. Anyone who ever visited the Spiel fair in Essen on the saturday morning knows what I talk about. I am willing to have less 'atmosphere' if it means more breathing room.

I thought the lighting was quite good, no dark corners (does anybody remember Crisis 2004 edition, IIRC Dave Thomas was located just underneath a black hole that trapped all the light).
If only all traders would go through the trouble to clearly indicate what genre is on what rack, it would indeed be easier to see what was presented. I think the difficulties mentioned were more due to the presenation then to the lighting.

Some stalls had problems with the presentation of their goods, putting boxes with stuff under the counter made it difficult to see what they had to offer. I didn't get to search some bins. E.g. the Foundry 'bargain blisters', they had a rack and a couple of boxes on the table next to it. When people were goint through the boxes, you couldn't reach the rack (and vice versa). In the end I gave up.

The bring and buy was a disappointment, almost impossible to reach. There was no 'flow' along the table, so you had to hop from one free space to another, and try to see the things from a distance. I would suggest that you make specific areas next year : a table for 'fantasy', one for 'scifi', one for 'Napoleontic',…. It would make it easier to find stuff. The few times I was able to reach a table, things were stacked on top of each other, what made it rather hard to find stuff.

The demonstration games – some very neat things. To be honest, I went rather quickly over them. I hardly had time to visit all the stalls and buy my stuff. I can relate to the 'spaciousness' comment for this. Some games seemed to get 'lost in space'.

Ideal would be to have large walkways and lots of room at the trading stands and try to create a more cosy feeling at the demo tables. At the Spellenspektakel in Eindhoven, the realise this by hanging huge, printed durtains from the ceiling and create several semi-separated areas each with a diferent theme. This is probably hard to realise and rather expensive.

Sound-quality was so and so. The global pa was ok (at least, I thought there was a global pa, the one you used for missing kids an so on), but the announcements for the painting competition were sub-par. Why not use one system (again assuming there were two).

The goodie bag – excellent brochure, nice miniature.

All in all – I had a very good time, and will probably visit again next year (the financial situation permitting).

Very easy to get to. No problem finding anything (am surprised by comments on this) the show weren't that big.

Not wild on venue very souless but appreciate it made for more space. Still got wacked by the dreaded racksack. Don't really matter how much space there is when people are still trying to get onto small trade stands. Why don't people take 'em off when they're looking?

Met some great people but had to escape from a few wargaming bores. Spent way too much cash.

Games mixed – I share view form earlier posting. I also thought the green baize had been thrown out by now for demo games. But a number of games stood out though as excellent. Rorkes Drift, Waterloo, D-Day 1/35th. Which leads me to – I'd rather see fewer good games and wouldn't mind a smaller show in a nicer venue which had more selective choice of the best games around. ie a la Partizan BUT with the Salute type trade support which is fantastic.

Odd really that SELWG seems to manage all of the above with a nice atmosphere, perhaps cos its Sunday.

I may give Salute a miss next year and do Partizan and SELWG instead.