IAM AT THE MANCHESTER BIKE SHOW 17-18 MARCH
Was the Manchester Bike Show all that we expected?
The day started the night before with the stand set-up. In fact, the day really started a couple of weeks before Christmas last year when the show was first announced, but that’s by the by. Loads of us turned up at the venue at around 5:30 on the Friday evening. We met up with the SLAM and SCAM guys, who we’d asked to join us, pool resources, share the opportunity, and generally come together under the IAM banner in the spirit of cooperation.
None of us entered into this expecting to set the world alight, but the Committee agreed that our presence alone would be a positive thing. After all, it would be a valuable exercise in raising public awareness and because of that, worthwhile even if no new Associates were recruited immediately.
Having committed to putting the effort in a deal was done with the IAM allowing us to offer Skill for Life courses at the discounted price of £119 for the duration of the show. In turn, the three groups involved agreed amongst themselves to offer a further £20 discount on any course sold during the show. This brought the course cost down from £139 to a very attractive £99 and, if nothing else, would give us something tangible to talk to the public about.
Set-up went relatively smoothly once Paul R’s giant TV and industrial stand had been manhandled from Chris’s van and into the exhibition hall. Andrew eagerly set about hooking up all of the media we had prepared and only then discovered that Paul R’s TV was not only enormous but utterly useless. Fortunately we had a spare TV and Andrew M’s office PC to use instead.
For reasons best known to them, the SLAM lads had arrived at the venue a good three hours ahead of everyone else. This gave them a jump on finding our allotted hall space and erecting the gazebo. How they managed to fill the other two and three quarter hours is anyone’s guess. Within 40 minutes of everyone else’s arrival the stand was basically laid out and just about ready for action.
John C then arrived with his CBR 600, closely followed by Paul K and his lovingly restored Suzi 350 stroker. Both bikes bookended the central set up and the stand was complete. Given that about 20 large and over-excited blokes had knocked it together in a heady rush of juvenile enthusiasm, it didn’t look too terrible at all.
The next morning started around 8:30 and the first job was to make final adjustments to the stand and track down coffee. Amongst other things, this meant finding a temporary home for Paul R’s humongous but utterly pointless TV and its incumbent Teutonic scaffolding. Fortunately we were situated within spitting distance of the Organiser’s Office and, after applying for and getting local government planning permission; the TV was ensconced in a suitably vacant corner.
Manning the stand on the Saturday morning were two people from SLAM, two from SCAM, and three from MCR500. Overkill you say? Perhaps, but with occasional tea, toilet, and butty runs, and a rapidly filling exhibition hall, everyone was soon hard at work. Big smiles, confident greetings, and an incredibly jovial young woman from SLAM, pouncing like a trapdoor spider on every unsuspecting passer-by, soon got the punters engaged.
A second wave of six eager volunteers from the three groups was drafted in for the afternoon shift and Sunday followed the same format with a further 12 volunteers stepping up throughout the day. Other members from all three groups also very graciously dropped by throughout the event to lend a hand and, most importantly, provide support.
Contrary to initial feelings, promoting the notion of advanced riding, and subsequently the Skill for Life course, wasn’t nearly as difficult as imagined. On the whole, the members of the public attending the show were innately receptive and whilst it’s true that not all were interested enough to look into it a little deeper, a surprising number were.
As the event progressed a quick glance around the stand at any time over the weekend readily saw numerous groups of people gathered around the various Observers chatting about what we did, what we offered, and how we could help with their riding. It was good to witness and even better to be a part of.
I think it fair to say that everyone involved from all three groups had a great time and made some new friends. Together we put on a good show, increased awareness of the IAM and its aims, did the organisation and our own groups proud, increased communication and cooperation between three local groups, and between us enrolled a highly respectable number of new and very welcome Associates.
So, back to the question posed at the beginning: “Was the Manchester Bike Show all that we expected?” In a word, no! It was very definitely so much more.
Manchester 500 thanks everyone involved in making the event such a success – and such a pleasure. All in all, a great job and one well done.
Name Check:
Andrew Melton (for his tireless perseverance with Paul R’s ludicrous TV)
Chris Kelly (for the logistics and not sharing his flask of tea)
John Rowen (for his skills with blu-tac, string, sticky tape, and dinner bells)
Brian Dodd (for his wisdom, stories, and fishtail)
James Wareham (for being his usual charming and generally dashing self)
Paul Kelly (for the loan of his classic Suzuki and all the attention it garnered)
John Callaghan (for the loan of his CBR 600 and secret knee pads)
Paul Rogers (for the loan of his gargantuan but useless TV)
Ian Marginson (for securing the SfL discount)
South Cheshire Advance Motorcyclists and South Lancashire Advanced Motorcyclists (for taking part, your support, your enthusiasm, and your good humour)
Everyone else (for giving their time)
