Last Saturday, I decided to set up stall and give it a go at our local annual event, Bevfest (so called because it is held in Bevendean, Brighton and it's a festival). Anyway, you would think nothing could be easier. All I had to do was take a two minute stroll down the hill and set up. Just goes to show how wrong you can be!
On arrival, I was informed that there was a problem with the gazebo I was supposed to be borrowing to protect my wares from the elements. There were three gazebos in all but one had most of it's parts missing and was now being used as spares to build the other two gazebos that were also bereft of vital structural elements. Hence, no gazebo for me.
Small table, huge tent! After a bit of a panic, Mike, a friend of ours, said that he would bring his tent down. I asked if it would be big enough to fit a table and me in the front of it without me having to kneel for the duration of the day. 'Oh yes, no problem, it's quite big' he replied noncholantly. He wasn't kidding! Spread out on the ground it must have been getting on for 30ft wide. Mike, very kindly helped me build the enormous structure, after seeing me look girlishly helpless at the mountain of mind boggling tent poles. As the two central poles went into place I realised the full enormity of this camper's palace. I really wanted to say 'please can we just forget about it' but 30 minutes and a whole lot of swearing in, I thought it would seem a bit churlish! As the tent rose like a blue millennium dome it dwarfed the lucky people's gazebo (which I had so coveted an hour earlier) to the right of me by about 5ft. 'My table was going to look utterly ridiculous' I gasped at Mike. 'It's ok' came his reply 'the origami bloke can use the other side'. Thank goodness for the origami bloke! Five kids chairs and a pile of A4 paper was going to make a world of difference. I even saw a woman walk up to the horse rescue tombola stall next to me and mouth to them (whilst pointing in horror) 'what's that doing there?'. Oh the shame!
Anyway, two hours later and with 20 minutes until the gates opened I could at last set my stall up. Despite our best efforts at protecting my little table, the wind blew mercilessly, for the remainder of the day. Half of my items had to be left in my bag because they kept falling over. The remaining items had to be regularly chased after and retrieved after each prevailing gust. I would like to say that, after all the effort, I made a killing. However, the only thing that came close to being killed was me after a small child tripped over a guy rope and brought the whole porch compartment crashing down on my head. Oh well, at least I had a good view of the bands! Ta ta for now.
Anyway, two hours later and with 20 minutes until the gates opened I could at last set my stall up. Despite our best efforts at protecting my little table, the wind blew mercilessly, for the remainder of the day. Half of my items had to be left in my bag because they kept falling over. The remaining items had to be regularly chased after and retrieved after each prevailing gust. I would like to say that, after all the effort, I made a killing. However, the only thing that came close to being killed was me after a small child tripped over a guy rope and brought the whole porch compartment crashing down on my head. Oh well, at least I had a good view of the bands! Ta ta for now.
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