Farewell to the Earls' Court Exhibition Hall.

Sunday is the last day, and the 17^th consecutive day at Earls’ Court for me; or 18^th if you count the setting up day. After a poor night’s sleep when Jane’s cat insisted on sleeping on the bed and getting attention we loaded the van and set off for the show. It’s definitely the best time of the week to drive in London; early morning on Sunday. The traffic is so light you can just cruise along. We parked the van for the day and made arrangements to park it close to the exit for a quick getaway. At times my eyes wanted to close, but of course there is nowhere to sleep at the show so I wasn’t able to get the rest I so badly need. At 3.30 I write these lines, the last of my Earls Court blog, and simply want to go home. It’s been a great experience but I am left with a feeling of sadness that I am not the right person to engage and sell to the public in this kind of forum. We don’t have the money for the kind of stand that attracts attention and I feel that my days of exhibiting are nearly over. I do want to do at least one Irish Show before I stop though. Above all I hope that enough of the contacts turn into sales or it will have been a very expensive mistake.

As a footnote, I only learned towards the end that this would be the last ever Ideal Home Show at Earls’ Court because it is about to be torn down, along with Earls’ Court 2 and much of the surrounding area. The whole neighbourhood is going to be flattened in order to build the largest housing development in Europe (so I am told) and it fills me with sadness that such an iconic building has to die. Looking at the scale of it fills me with awe, and the thought of the amount of metal, concrete and fittings comprised within it staggers the imagination. Like a vast ocean liner being towed to its last resting place it looms over the landscape, casting a long shadow into the future. The Show will transfer to the much smaller Olympia exhibition hall next year.