As part of our ongoing commitment to offer a complete service from event management through to catering, games, rides, bars and security we have just launched our latest venture. Details can be found at www.mini-marquee-hire.com

We have just ordered and are awaiting delivery of a range of marquee solutions including lighting, flooring, heating and interior drapes. The intention is to build it up into a standalone business over the next couple of years. It might happen organically, but I am looking at 2 or 3 established businesses that are for sale, and if any of them fit in with what we want then that might be the road we go down. The initial drive behind the marquee was the fact that we have negotiated deals to attend a number of music festivals, an equestrian event and possibly a Pride event with our mobile bars. Looking at these events we felt that we could do with a sheltered bar area for the guests. After talking to a number of marquee hire companies we realised that hiring a marquee for a dozen days or so was more expensive than purchasing one, and once the decision had been made to purchase, I immediately decided that I didn't want expensive kit only being used occasionally and so the new venture was born.




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Over the next couple of months we will be launching a range of new services. The first of these is a tie up with another operator to launch a climbing wall hire service. The initial website is up and running, but to be truthful its still a little basic, however it will be expanded over the coming months. It can be found at www.climbing-wall-hire.com



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The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been in existence for over 100 years, and is the primary trade organisation of the professional funfair industry in the UK. One of their remits is to protect the interests of its members. Unfortunately my direct experience of late has been that not only does the organisation fall short in this remit, but it is actively engaged in working against members.

One of the many companies who offers funfair rides for hire, makes a big song and dance about how Guild Ruling (a subject to complicated to easily explain here) means that anyone engaging a member of the Showmen's Guild to provide rides or attractions at their corporate event, will find themselves unable to ever use anyone other than the member they first use to supply their attractions. I know from direct experience that this has led to some Guild members losing work when the companies they were supplying to became worried and cancelled their bookings. The information contained in this operators website was actually accurate, up until around 3 years ago when the rules were changed to specifically exempt corporate events from many of the rules and regulations that the Guild require their member to adhere to. Unfortunately the company hasn't taken any notice of this and still insists on spreading misinformation.

I decided to contact Central Office, based in Staines, which is the Guild's primary office with full time staff operating on behalf of the Guild. I explained the problem and asked for assistance only to be told that the Guild were not responsible for policing websites. I wonder how long an organisation such as Asda would allow websites to spread misinformation about them before they had there lawyers step in and put things right.

After exchanging numerous emails with Central Office staff, I decided to take things into my own hands, I contacted trading standards who agreed with my reasoning that companies cannot state facts which are wrong. They told me they would sort it out pretty quickly. Job done I thought and put it out of my mind.

The next day however trading standards rang me back to tell me they would not be taking the matter any further. Upon inquiring why I was informed that they had contacted Central Office, explained what I had told them and received the reply that Central Office had no idea what I was talking about and the rules were the same as they had always been! I had purchased the ammunition, loaded the gun, pointed it and all the Guild had to do was say fire, yet their take on looking after Guild members was to choose to allow this non Guild operator to continue stealing work away from its members with its campaign of disinformation. I was disappointed that they felt they could do nothing to help, I was absolutely disgusted that they actively worked against me when I had laid all of the ground work for them.

The most galling fact of this story, is the fact that the Guild is possibly one of the most expensive trade organisations to belong to, and quite possibly one of the most outdated and useless to boot. I do know that Guild officials when in London on Guild business usually have a good time out on the town, perhaps they might consider staying in one night and actually putting some policies into place for the benefit of the members. If they are not going to police websites on behalf of their members, then I think they will rapidly cease to be relevant organisation in a world that is rapidly moving towards an internet business model.

I was tempted to compare their usefulness to a chocolate fireguard, but a chocolate fireguard results in a puddle of molten chocolate which can be quite tasty, which is a damn site more use than a misinformed, obstructive and adversarial trade body that we seem to have. Whilst writing this I did have it in my mind that I could receive a rap over the knuckles, but then again, it isn't the Guilds job to police websites is it?

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