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War and peace - thoughts so far


Alan

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WPR charging MV owners has always been a bone of contention, although prior to change of ownership, entry was free for IMPS members and I understand some funding of expenses for the heavy stuff and the battles also used to be provided.  But I guess the argument for charging was always the cost to put on such a big event over, effectively, 2 weeks.......which made 2 weeks camping v cheap, especially as restrictions on what/ who you could bring on one entry fee were relaxed.  Current owner has tightened things up significantly and I guess everything is now on a fully commercial basis.  

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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, matchlesswdg3 said:

Hoorah!  Just got an email from W&P advising me that tickets for next year go on sale next week!!  Can't wait.  On second thought, maybe I can?!

You better get used to that email, you’ll probably get it 2 or 3 times a week for the next 10 months.

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2 hours ago, SirLanceUK said:

And £400 to put my vehicle on the back of a low loader. 

You quite obviously have quite a rare vehicle and deep pockets if you can afford to have it transported to the show,  I personally drive my 1944 Ausrin 135 miles to the show costing me arround £125 each way and its smiles per mile all the way.

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6 hours ago, LarryH57 said:

Early bird is £50 and 'regular' price £75!!! - please explain.

Is that an increase to the standard £35 vehicle entry

So we have all had a very cheep holiday for many years but now he's charging realistic prices,  had it only been a 3 day show & open to the public on each day then yes I agree that we shouldn't pay to bring our vehicles but its not a 3 day show.

Its a weeks camp open for 3 days to the public, the rest of the time the organiser is paying for security, toilets,  medical tent and hundreds of other things for us to have a cheep weeks holiday.

Edited by Ian L
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43 minutes ago, Ian L said:

Its a weeks camp open for 3 days to the public, the rest of the time the organiser is paying for security, toilets,  medical tent and hundreds of other things for us to have a cheep weeks holiday.

The public are actually there for 5 days from Tuesday to Saturday. 

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1 hour ago, sirhc said:

The public are actually there for 5 days from Tuesday to Saturday. 

Ok 5 days but my point is that the organiser is providing all the amenities we need for a cheap camp & then half way through the paying public come in.

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4 hours ago, Ian L said:

You quite obviously have quite a rare vehicle and deep pockets if you can afford to have it transported to the show,  I personally drive my 1944 Ausrin 135 miles to the show costing me arround £125 each way and its smiles per mile all the way.

I wish I had deep pockets, but at 4.5 miles to the gallon and a top permissible speed of 20 mph it costs me around £400 in petrol and of course the wear of the tracks on roads could add a couple of grand... maybe it will end up as a 4 wheel show

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This may be a bit long winded but please bear with me;

A big show like W&P will cost a lot to run and as such I can understand having to charge a certain amount to cover 'security', staffing & toilets etc. However the basic premise of "without the exhibitors there is no show" is absolutely correct. As such there should be (as i understand Rex used to run it) a financial or logistic incentive for the really big kit... the real crowd pullers that you're not otherwise going to see. Without that and as we have seen, due to the cost of hauling these around, these guys are going to understandably be the first to pull out, then the trickle down starts...

Without the big kit some of the punter numbers drop away as will some of the other exhibitors, then costs will have to be raised slightly to balance the books, with higher costs more exhibitors start to drift away, and as we're invariably camping in groups, this will have an influence on others attending exponentially...all the while, the paying punters are seeing lees and less kit for their entry fee.

Meanwhile in the background as their main customer base is dropping away, the traders are seeing figures dropping because... lets face it, most of the paying public aren't there to look for spares for their Dodge Weapons Carrier, or CVRT and we will see fewer relevant traders and more purveyors of 'fairground tat'

At this point the the organisers aren't necessarily seeing an accurate drop in figures because of their inflated prices and there are still a reasonable number of paying public.

But after a while, as more and more exhibitors (even those who don't mind paying a sensible fee) drop away because their friends no longer go (which I would hazard, is why a good percentage of us make the pilgrimage every year) and there will be a sudden dearth of vehicles barring easily mobilised Jeeps and Land Rovers making it less and less enticing for exhibitors to go.

Suddenly the public will realise the arena goings on aren't as much of a thrall, and as well as the loss of revenue from the exhibitors, you've lost what you had from the turnstiles too

To take it to the extreme, you won't find the manufacturers of roller coasters paying the Merlin group to have their rides at Alton Towers. The main revenue should always come from the paying visitors. 

I can't help but think that W&P has got to die off again so someone else with a sense of what the show is really about can take the reins of an MV show for owners to which public have access, subsidised by the traders and turnstiles. 

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IF you are able to spend the week there, then you are right, it's a cheap holiday, not sure about the 'everything laid on'.

I have no idea where I'll be work wise with holidays/sickness etc, a position I imagine a few other people will be in as well as the politics of a week away from the family.  As far as I'm concerned,  it's a big hike in price and for the couple of days that I'd potentially be able to attend, is not value for money for me.  

 

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Not much has changed in this ongoing saga regarding War and Peace (revival or otherwise). Some see it as a cheap holiday with mates in a field surrounded by like minded individuals. Others it’s an opportunity to talk about the olden days when it was so much better then, than now.  I find it unfortunate some appear to proffer the opinion those who are classed as the paying public (so should be restricted to just a few days) are almost an inconvenience to the real reason behind the show which is nothing more or less than for profit. A profit for those who took the risk and coughed up a considerable sum to bring the show alive. The organiser may choose to sweeten someone’s pocket in order to get something a little special. It may cost an individual a lot of money to bring their pride and joy to the show under its own power doing less the 3-to the gallon. It’s a choice if you are worried about your cost, don’t go otherwise enjoy the event its evolving so I’m told

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We have enjoyed many years at the show but feel the last couple of years the footfall has been slowing down so are going to try some other shows. We will be attending The Yorkshire Wartime Experience - it's a great show, with a lovely atmosphere! We will also be attending The Victory Show in Leicester for the first time! As always, anything that we supply can be ordered either over the phone or on our website! If anyone can suggest a military show for us to attend we would be open to taking a look!

Edited by Anchor
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2 hours ago, Anchor said:

We have enjoyed many years at the show but feel the last couple of years the footfall has been slowing down so are going to try some other shows. We will be attending The Yorkshire Wartime Experience - it's a great show, with a lovely atmosphere! We will also be attending The Victory Show in Leicester for the first time! As always, anything that we supply can be ordered either over the phone or on our website! If anyone can suggest a military show for us to attend we would be open to taking a look!

The Victoty show is back again for 2020 then ? Only missed this year because of Arnhem

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