Well our readers have let us know in no uncertain terms how they felt about the Supreme Show at the NEC.

Cat people are clearly not shy at stating their case.

However, having attended, worked and part organised more shows at the NEC than I care to remember (every Crufts show, cat shows, pet trade fairs, fashion, food, even basketball finals) I do have a certain sympathy for the GCCF or the organising committee of the Supreme, which ever way you look at it.

You cannot always choose the dates you want and you cannot dictate what other shows or events will be on at the same time. If those other shows either last longer or are much bigger, then you get lowered in the pecking order.

And thatís what happened in this case.

However, as Betty Shingleton Chairman of the GCCF & Supreme Cat Show Committee says on this page, the cat show requires special treatment...not least of which because you are dealing with live animals. Catching buses on a wet and windy Birmingham Saturday from somewhere near Solihull is not really an option, especially if you struggle with any kind of handicap. So the NEC people must take some responsibility for not making provision, or for not instructing key staff in the drop off area for example. As we queued with others at the drop off point I watched one traffic attendant hold a lengthy, amiable conversation with a coach driver, apparently oblivious to the stack of traffic building up behind him. (A line of frustrated exhibitors!)

This is not how you want your day to begin, whether you are an organizer or an exhibitor.

Let’s hope lessons have been learned on both sides in all areas; it really should not make any difference whether you are in Halls 3 and 4 or 19 and 20. Let us also hope that people do not boycott next years show, as some suggest in their comments, because the world of show cats needs a showpiece event and in the post Whiskas sponsored era it behoves one and all to make the Supreme the Crufts of the cat world, as one reader has already suggested on this page.

But its not just down to traffic management, the Show Committee has a renewed challenge to keep the Supreme on track in 2007.

Vince Hogan, Editor in Chief

Parking at the Supreme Cat Show 2006

The start of the Supreme Cat Show 2006 could not have been a lot worse for many of you.
Apologies I know will be of little comfort to those of you who suffered the worst traumas. Action is what YOU want and the Committee are resolved to do just that.

For several weeks before the show, Ketill Game, our Hall Manager who liaises and deals with the many problems and issues at the NEC, had been in intense negotiations with the Car Park Officials. There is no doubt that the NEC is under huge obligations with Health & Safety Policies and Workplace Transport Management Systems.

Having obtained permission for exhibitors to “drop-off” at the Plaza entrance, and having five people on “guard-duty”, we really had hoped for a smooth arrival for you all. This was not to be and was not helped by the fact that there were half a dozen other shows on at the same time.

The “chaos” that ensued was down to failures in the NEC’s procedures, and they admitted they got it wrong. It is really beyond belief that after all the years we have been at the NEC, they failed to understand that the Supreme Cat Show was unique in terms of its requirements.
Negotiations are now going on the ensure that this DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. I will keep you informed of our progress and can assure you it is our top priority.

Betty Shingleton Chairman GCCF & Supreme Cat Show Committee

Supreme - ‘highlight of the cat world?’

IMPERIAL GRAND PREMIER SIBIRICA GOLDEN LOLA, the first golden Persian in the country to hold the title of IMPERIAL.

I have been very proud of Lola in the short time that I have been showing her, she has gone through from Premier, Grand Premier, Imperial Grand Premier and even SUPREME BEST OF VARIETY PERSIAN NEUTER 2003.

Like all other exhibitors, I love the Supreme show. This year Lola won her first UK Grand Premier Certificate but will she gain her second?

The venue for the show changed from halls 17, 18 and 19 to halls 3a and 4.
Vetting-in starts at 7.30am and as my condition does not let me stand for long periods of time, I arrived early as usual so as to avoid a very long queue for vetting-in (7.05am).

I displayed my pink exhibitor’s label in the car window and on approaching the car park, I asked the attendant how far it was to walk to the hall as I had a lot of items to display and, as I had a friend with me, I could drop her off at the Piazza entrance with Lola and our gear.

He advised that we could not go to the Piazza entrance to unload until 7.30am but that the car park was only two minutes walk away from the hall, so with that information, we parked our car and unloaded. We started to follow the other exhibitors to the hall and when they all started to turn round, we asked why? They told us it was too far to walk and we would have to get the bus.

We all waited for the bus. The first one came along empty, looked at us all and drove past. It then started to rain and we all scrambled under the bus shelter, but with everyone having trolleys it was not easy to access as the entrance was on the roadside.

Along came the next bus and everyone had to unload their trolleys and cats onto the bus. There was no proper access for any of the trolleys and everyone tried to help each other - the cats were also not impressed. We eventually arrived at the Piazza entrance and were directed up a very steep ramp with all our heavy trolleys, some exhibitors even dropped their cats off the trolley as the incline tilted everything off the finely balanced loads.

We queued to the vetting-in area and then wound our way through one hall to the other end of the second and started to unpack. By this time we were already exhausted and stressed and the day had only just begun. Well, it actually had begun at 4am but at that time there was no stress!
We set up our display and managed to get the cat in her pen with a few minutes to spare before judging began.

We then spent the day following our cat to the Judging rings and were delighted when she won First, Best of Breed and her first UK Grand Certificate. We enjoyed looking at the other exhibits and the rest of the show but when it came to packing up, there were not enough bins at the end of the rows as usual and the bags that were in the bins were totally inadequate.

We were unable to purchase anything at the show because of the situation of the car park. It had been bad enough trying to get on the bus at the start of the show, there was no way we could carry anything else.

While we were packing up our display and emptying the pen, it was announced that the electricity would be turned off at 5.45, a real rush for anyone that was actually up on stage at the last. It was also announced that they had closed the access to the trains and with everyone then wanting the bus, we decided to walk with our trolleys and cats.

I decided that as we had a long walk and journey home, I ought to pay one final visit to the toilet - even that was a disaster as there was no toilet paper in the cubicle. Being an ex girl guide, I had my own supply of tissue and was not too upset but hope this did not affect anyone else.
We then set off on our car park walk, which took us half an hour to get back to the car. By the time we had loaded up we were extremely pleased to be on our way home and totally exhausted.

Today, it has taken most of the day to recover and I have made the decision that if the Supreme is held in the same halls next year Lola WILL NOT be going to the Supreme to gain her second UK Grand Certificate. I am not up to it and listening to the other exhibitors they are of the same opinion.

I really hope that the powers-that-be who decide where, when and which halls the Supreme will be held in, will make sure that the exhibitors do not have to endure the same problem next year as I am sure the number of entrants would be much less and that would be disastrous for everyone.

Let’s hope that the Supreme is moved back to its original slot next year as I really do not want this to be the end of Lola’s show career or indeed the show career of any of the cats.
Pamela Ambrose

Buck up GCCF!
I feel I have to write to you today and complain about the Supreme Cat Show on Saturday 25th November.

I have been going to this cat show for the last 16 years and have always been able to park within a short distance from the show, but Saturday was an absolute disaster.

We were not able to drop our cats and luggage off at the front doors as we had been told for reasons we do not know, so we parked in the South car parks as directed. We then went to the bus stops and you couldn’t get on a bus with all the luggage and all the cats (it was a nightmare) so we set off walking. It took half an hour to walk to the main doors; some people had problems as the cats were falling off the trolleys and the rain was too heavy and all the cats were getting wet.

We got to the halls and went though vetting-in, then came the task of putting the curtains up. A lot of the pens were twisted one way or the other and it was very difficult to put the curtain up.
At the end of the rows you normally have large bins to put rubbish in. Well I don’t know what happened this year, but there was less than half the bins and they were smaller. The cat litter and rubbish was all over the floors it was a stinking mess.

So come on GCCF address all these matters and let us have the car parks that we have always had or I’m sure a lot of people will not return to that show again, including the stallholders, as their takings must have been down due to the fact that people could not carry any more luggage on the return to the car parks.
Barbara Harle

Supreme 2006 - a disaster!
I am writing regarding the disaster of the Supreme show 2006.

I have been exhibiting at the Supreme for the past twelve years and have had two Best of Variety British Shorthair kittens.

Unfortunately I did not show there last year.

The show this year was in completely different halls and the parking arrangements were absolutely pathetic.

I only live ten minutes away from the NEC and if there is the same chaos as there was on Saturdays Supreme I will not be exhibiting at next year’s show.

After the show finished on Saturday evening the poor exhibitors were all struggling to get on the buses altogether, pushing and shoving each other.

There was no organisation by the NEC traffic wardens until all hell was let loose with shouting and yelling between exhibitors as to what buses people got on.

After several minutes chaos the NEC manager intervened and started to get some organisation together.

Hopefully we will all be happy if we are back into the original halls and the parking is sorted out.
If it was not for all the exhibitors, the Supreme and the GCCF would not be around. Looking forward to next year’s usual Supreme standards.
Anne Edney (Rocadanne)

More of your comments...
We have mostly praise for the show itself and had a great day.

Unfortunately we were extremely unimpressed with the NEC. The signage on arrival was unhelpful, directing all exhibitors to the visitors’ car park with nothing to tell you which direction to take with cats. We eventually found our way to the drop-off point but heard of others who were less fortunate.

Having parked, our driver encountered people on the buses with several cats because they had been refused access to the hall with their cars.

The end of the day was equally bad on the NEC’s part, a five minute warning that the hall was to close and exhibitors forced to wait outside with their cats in the same area as various trucks were being manouevered frightening and cold for the cats (and also the people).

The lighting in the halls was dreadful and did not truly display the colours of the cats. Indeed our only gripe about the show itself was that there should have been daylight lamps in the judging rings.

Despite the grumbles we really enjoyed the day and we wouldn’t dream of missing next year’s.
Sheena and Andi

I felt that the Supreme was not as good as previous years, lacking atmosphere, less product trade stands, lots of rescue stalls (maybe too many), many people were complaining that the parking was too far away, it was better in the halls used last year. I heard some say they won`t be there next year if it is in the same halls!!! Perhaps the GCCF show committee should take a trip to Crufts to see how it is really done, after all it is supposed to be the Cat equivalent to Crufts!!
Christine Brooks

THE SHOW itself was very well run (as usual) but in the Oriental Siamese Section pens were unclean! and we felt like the poor man’s relative! as there were hardly any trade stalls, they were mostly in the Longhair and Semi Longhair Sections.
S. Bowen

THE OUTSIDE facilities for the show were terrible this year, the worst ever!
The “parking attendants” were very abusive to exhibitors, they even swore at some!
Disabled people were told to park their car and catch a shuttle bus with cats, show exhibit stuff and wheelchairs, as there was “No Disabled Parking”... actually there was, but you had to get a pin number off the “attendant”.

If you could get to the “entrance” to the show, there was no-one to mind your cats and show paraphernalia, so you had to leave it unattended!
Not good enough!

I was in pain all day due to the long walk to the show hall. I’m sure that quite a few people were unhappy about this, and it caused a lot of stress on a fun day!
Dave Bowen

I SHOULDN’T really moan about the Supreme, as my cat, Gr Ch Edingorse Charlemagne, had a wonderful day - UK Gr and Best Oriental Adult - BUT - when cats are penned opposite the large metal doors there is a howling draught, this is why he looks like he does in the picture right!!
Edna Boddy

TOTALLY inadequate parking facilities for exhibitors. Incorrect information given by traffic controllers. Totally inadequate facilities for exhibitors on buses.
Not enough bins at aisle ends. The two halls felt separate, as you could not see the entire exhibition. Unable to buy any goods due to poor parking arrangements.
Pamela Ambrose