Inappropriate Stands at NEC

[Robert Draper]

I was saddened to see inappropriate stands creeping into what should be a fishing show. Barringtons may have been justified in showing some of their knives but swords and nunchaku have no place in fishing and indeed should not be shown where the general public might be tempted to buy them.

I have been training in the martial arts for four years now and I have seen the damage a pair of nunchaku can do in a supervised environment, most respectable shops will only sell them to people with a license issued by a recognised organisation.

As for swords, I have trained in Iaido and just like fishing this art is coming under threat from the antis, in this case people campaigning for the banning of all swords whether in experienced hands or not.

The tool stand was just a waste of space, if I want poor quality tools I will go to poundland which doesn't cost a fiver to get through the door. A better use of the space would have been to increase the seating for the tackle clinic or to put a proper area in for the carp fishing seminars rather than the frankly awful "Carp Dome" where only the front row could see or hear what was happening.

Sorry for the rant...

 

[Ron Clay]

Souns like I made the right choice this year. Rather save my money for fishing trips than visit useless exhibitions

 

[Robert Draper]

Don't get me wrong, the majority of the show was excellent. I sat through three Game fishing seminars/demos and four or five coarse fishing ones and was thoroughly satisfied with them, I just couldn't get near enough to the Carp Dome to see what was going on.

 

[Dave Lindsay]

i think the standard was not as good as last year although bob james gave an excellent talk on lure fishing. what was the point of knives and bad tools i came home with money in my pocket not a good sign although did pick up some very cheap lures from shakys stand...dave l

 

[Michael Hall]

I saw the stand and was shocked at the size of some of them! They were extremely sharp and a great danger if in the wrong hands, isn't there no law or restriction to the size of weapon that people can sell/carry with out a license?
They could of caused great damage in in the wrong hands! However the NEC should of refused his acceptane to the show!

 

[Kevan Farmer]

I thought that there was some sort of size limit where knives are concerned. But, this is yet another of those grey areas. I can walk into Boots - or a kitchen ware shop - and buy a damn good Sabatier cooks knife at 10 inches long. These knives in the wrong hands are absolutely lethal and have been proven to be so in the past on numerous occasions. What happens if I am stopped by PC Plod? Depending upon his mood I could end up arrested just for taking this knife home - I have to be out in public with it for a short time to actually get it from shop to home. I personally use a US K Bar marine knife when I am sea fishing - excellent for bait preparation. However, I am always very wary when I take it out of the tackle box on the beach as if somebody were to report me again I may be up in court for having an offensive weapon in public.

Kevan

 

[Paul Williams]

Kevan,
Good point mate....i would guess that most knive attacks are made with kitchen knives rather than replica weapons.

 

[Laurie Harper]

Sad fact of modern life, I'm afraid. People love violent films, weapons and associated crap. Unfortunately, angling, being an outdoor pursuit, often gets lumped in with all the Rambo bullshit. My local tackle shop has stopped selling airgun pellets and knives, because it used to attract the wrong sort.

 

[Mike Parker]

I don't go to such events these days on principle, and one of the reasons being precisely what you say Robert. You also get the 'Barclaycard' and Double glazing Merchants turning up! and we pay to get into these events! The organisers say that they need these sort of things to keep costs down, which is a load of dangling male genitalia - its to keep profits obscene!!!!! Well at these sort of entry fees they can stick it where the sun don't shine.
Next year perhaps we can have the Miserable Old Gits exhibition somewhere eh Ron? ;o)

 

[Kevan Farmer]

Paul. Next time there is a news item on the tv showing a knife amnesty look carefully at the footage. I guarantee that a great deal of the knives will be cooks knives and vegetable knives.

Incidentally, I was amazed a few months ago. I was able to buy a machete from our local market for ?7.00. The blade is about 14 to 16 inches long. They didn't even bother to ask what I wanted it for - garden actually. Surely, there ought to be a least a register of people buying these things. I mean, for the cost of a cheap notebook and popping into the local police station say once a month. Perhaps only allowing a purchase with a couple of proofs of identity - standard when you want to join a video library for heaven's sake. It seems a simple way of at least trying to keep track of these things. They are after all lethal weapons in the wrong hands.

Kevan

 

[Ron Clay]

I'm also peeved off at the timing of some of these exhibitions - at the back end of the river season.

In the past such shows were held in April or May, so that they don't clash with your fishing. I'd much rather go fishing than traipse around one of these boring shows