GREAT GLASGOW FAIR: May 28

[Eck]

I think that some of the dealers won't ever get involved unless there is a lot of money to be made from attending and that is ok, I am not sure a lavish affair at the national stadium would attract many more people at first and the dealers would sit back and wait to see how it goes first, that would not be a help, there is also the question of the bill for hosting such an occasion.
I'm very happy with the way things are progressing, there is a real interest again, and people are enjoying these occasions, i'm looking forward to more, health permitting.
I think there is no doubt if you were involved it would add to the success but as I said, although your ideas are good I still think it has to be built up and we shouldn't dive in too quickly.
As you said, there is a place for smaller fairs and maybe it will always be that way here but it is better than no fairs.

[Auchinleckian]

Re Scottish fairs. I understand both points of view, but my only concern is ensuring there's at least one in Scotland - at Auchinleck - and that I make money for regenerating our ground out of it at the same time.

The small fairs are, I would suggest, far more sociable events than the big ones as used to be Edinburgh and Glasgow. I stood at these fairs from 1991 until their demise, and to be brutally honest I'm still not sure why they finished apart from "main dealer" apathy? Brian at Almondavle has his shop and I fully understand why he doesn't see the need to attend. Peter Rundo, like many of us is at the age where we think more about putting our feet up rather than travelling the length and breadth of the country trying to flok football programmes. I much prefer smaller fairs where folk know each other and are happy to spend a couple of hours there having a good time, rather than fighting the crowds trying to find the vastly over priced items.

Gordon, if you ever want to come up to Auchinleck you're more than welcome, but it'll be balmy November again this year. This gives those dealers who want to have a stock of current season programmes available - at least three of us - ample opportunity to do so. August is therefore out of the question. Boyd Miller, who is an ever present at our fairs, and also a Junior football stalwart at Ardeer Thistle, has been in touch about a air at Stevenston in north Ayrshire towards the spring of next year when the perma frost will hopefully be away. Steveston is a similar distance away from Glasgow as Auchinleck is, so there should be no shortage of folk travelling from there.

At Auchinleck we now have a regular and loyal clientele, who travel from all over the central belt, and also from the Dundee area. If you nurture fairs and don't try to rip the arse out of both stallholders and collectors they will be a success, no doubt about it.

Can't comment on the Glasgow Fair as I wasn't invited, but there you go.

[Tynie Topics]

You cannot guarantee success of course, but I think if you can get Hampden (and I have a few contacts in that area) for nothing more than the cost of a city centre hotel suite, with the added attraction of the Museum on-site (and the shop selling Scotland merchandise), then you already have a very attractive base to start from and should get plenty interest if advertised/promoted correctly.

The smaller fairs have shown that the interest is still there. On a slightly larger scale a combination of traditional programme dealers/sellers mixed with other areas of collecting would attract different kinds of people, for example I know guys who have vast shirt collections who might be interested in selling off surplus items (match worn and replica shirt collecting is growing). Ticket collecting has grown massively over the last decade. Badges are obviously always a strong collecting area, Cig Cards/Panini etc.

People will always have their preference to big fairs or small fairs. I see the smaller ones as filling the gaps in between one large annual fair. Northern Ireland and RoI have one, no reason why we cannot.

Good to have more feedback though.
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