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I see it this way to the top comments, Im in the south of England, more than Blackpool, so surely its just as fair to have a convention for southerners who cant afford to get to the north the same time as the blackpool one, at the end of the day,the only reason for one party to be angry is because they are worried its going to effect them meaning they believe there event is less than adequate.,

Mandrake wrote:

Klangster1971 wrote:What am I missing.....? Why is this a bad idea...?

The proximity to the Blackpool Convention, the aggro over the last SEMC vs Derek Lever's ruling over exhibitors who support both etc... It's all in the old threads somewhere and it's a very sorry tale. I can't help but think a bit of common sense this time round would have picked a different date and thus avoided all such problems in one stroke. It's almost as though another confrontation is being encouraged... I just hope I'm wrong.

I agree. He should just roll over and do whatever Derek tells him to do.

One person runs conventions in England and it's Derek. He's the man!

Anyone go? Was it good?

David

It was ... interesting

aporia wrote: ... interesting

Whereabouts on a scale of 1 to 10...?

Comments on Facebook from some of the featured performers suggest that it was indeed very "interesting"

It was good fun. It was entertaining. Some of the lecturers were worth watching. The attendance was a bit small (which added to the friendliness) and some of the dealers pulled out after pressure from Derek Lever, I gather. The gala show featured some good acts, including an Irish dancing illusion act, Celtic Storm, which was very good. There were many technical problems with the evening, but people enjoyed the show.
There were two hypnotists featured, and Fay Presto was very funny. Overall I enjoyed the weekend away, and would definitely attend again.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend due to the gas boiler packing up leaving us with no hot water and heating. The British Gas engineer did a great job but copped for my convention spending money.

I have to say that I'm very surprised that after two years Derek Lever is still interested in the SMC. The word vindictive springs to mind.

I can understand the reason for not wanting to change the date. Venue hire charges are at their lowest this time of year to try to drum up business, whereas in the summer places know they can charge a fortune because people will pay it. Probably a similar reason why Blackpool is at this time of year to be honest.
I didn't attend but the stories I hear, and from the events leading up to it, the fault lies with one individual for the bad reports. That being said I am hearing some positives from this year, and the negatives have all been looked at and measures to prevent repeats have all been noted (whether or not they will see implementation is another story, see indivudual at fault for the negatives)
Sadly, with the decline in ticket prices leading up, we will more than likely see a low uptake for next years, forcing much the same situation and expect tickets to eventually be listed for about a tenner before people decide to shell out.

To be perfectly honest, I commend the organisers for creating the convention and having the strategic vision to realise their idea. On the whole I enjoyed the day, as has been mentioned the lectures were entertaining and the show was startling: goldfish production and sequined dancers on the same stage. What more could you want?

My favourite observations of the day included Fay Presto deflating the myth that one needs to learn more than a dozen tricks to earn a living; a couple of individuals refusing the explain the exact workings of their tricks, I give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they forgot that learning the workings is the reason for attending; Johnathan Royle's explanation of his minimum-effort-maximum-payoff attitude and the most amazing sparkly purple tie I've ever seen on a living being.