Oh what a day!

So … left the house just before 7am allowing plenty of time to get to Earl’s Court. Ready for Day 1 of the LBF 2009.

5 hrs later, still in car … Got there just after midday (A4 had issues as did a road near Earl’s Court which seemed to bring that part of London to a complete standstill … bah humbug)

5 hrs and 15 mins later arrived at the now polished and utterly fabulous looking interiors of Earl’s Court. Stands painted, carpeting laid out, everything looking like a book world mini-city! 

Approached stand Y285, greenbirds, to find that 8 copies of Catch a Fish from the Sea (Using the Internet) had been stolen.

Was advised by a colleague to not display them on Sunday as we were setting up stand.

‘Oh no .. come on! No-one will help themselves, people have too much respect here,’ I remember saying.

I don’t know who it was, members of the public or contractors (although from the transformation of the interiors, to be honest, I doubt that the contractors had time and probably worked through the night to get the place looking the way it is looking right now), but I must say am extremely disappointed…

If that wasn’t bad enough, cannot remember if entered Congestion Charging Zone but have paid the £8.00 charge ‘just in case’, during that period that was driving around whilst trying to find alternative routes due to Talgarth Road being closed I may have entered the CC zone. Bah humbug again.

Mayor Johnson, Sir, Boris .. oh the lengths you go to to gently ease me into using public transport …

The first steps are always the hardest

 

As I mentioned in another post today, went to set up the greenbirds’ stand for London Book Fair 2009.

greenbirds is a first time exhibitor at the annual and prestigious industry event that is the London Book Fair. Been a day of mixed emotion; there was a part of me that didn’t want to go ahead with the exhibition. And nearly stayed in bed when it came to trekking over to Earl’s Court for stand build-up.

Walked in and everything was bare. The greenbirds’ stand (Y285) is opposite the Cook Book stand and the contractors were still installing the equipment when we arrived at 8am. I looked over to our stand … what were we going to do. How were we going to prepare it??!  No-one was there, the carpet had not been laid out, everyone was running late, how would they get it finished for tomorrow morning when the visitors start pouring in through the doors???

PANIC MODE !!! Arggggggggggggggggh!!!

But … there was no other solution but to deal with it, and so reluctantly .. found myself trying to figure it out.  When I left the stand earlier today, it looked like in the picture above and I walked away proud ..  ♥

I am glad I did not give in to my fear. You don’t know what something will be like until you face it. And that is always the scariest part, but then again:

When just starting out on a new journey it’s only natural to feel vulnerable. After all, it may seem that you have much to lose. But may I remind you that never again, at any other point in the same journey, will you have so much to gain.”

Mike Dooley

 

( … That reminds me: Mayor Boris Johnson is at the opening of the LBF tomorrow …  hmm … will be a good chance to confront him about that parking ticket that was enforced upon me recently – hmpff! )