SWPP – Hotel Metropole – Trade Show

I arrived at Edgeware Road in plenty of time to visit the SWPP Trade Show in London on Friday morning, so I strolled in the hotel’s direction with the idea of using the time to find a Post Office to pick up the forms to renew my passport, but as I crossed the road I spied the familiar bronze statue of the window cleaner. Familiar only because back in the days of film I had caught sight of it and taken some shots of it – it’s a brilliant piece of work in my eyes; he is so obviously a window cleaner complete with ladder looking up at this towering office block, and lifting his cap in awe, and to my ears is saying: “Blimey, Guv!” When I took some shots of yore, some wag had completed the picture by placing a half-smoked fag in his mouth! Obviously in these PC times that is no longer dangling from his lips! It was as I was grabbing a few shots that a photographer stopped to watch me and we got chatting; in the course of which conversation he mentioned he had come from Tring, and it turns out we have a mutual friend in Vanessa Champion who I would later be meeting at the show.

I picked up my Passport forms and headed for the Metropole and the first familiar face that greeted me was that of Ness, who was manning (or should that be womanning?) the Creativity Backgrounds stand on the ground floor. One of the reasons for my visit to the show was to see whether any dealers were likely to offer me a deal on a brand new EOS 5D MkIII, and after a brief visit to the Canon stand learned there were two sellers present, and the timing of my arrival at the Park Cameras stand was absolutely perfect, I arrived as a Canon gentleman was finalising a further reduction with presumably the Sales Manager of Park, so I was the first purchaser to benefit from a great show deal with only five more cameras to go! My day was definitely starting on a high note!

I met up with ‘Image 2’ wife and husband team Patricia and Nick Rayner and spent some time watching a demonstration from a Past President of the AoP, Simon Leach, and much later spoke to colleagues from my earlier days of working with Adobe on their exhibition stands, Peter Lovelock, Andy Johnson, Richard West, David Odouro, Keith Hern and David Mallows. Ness also mentioned I should speak to Richard Curtis of Adobe, suggesting she was sure I would know him, but I was certain we had never met, and it turned out I was right, but I did manage to catch up with him and have a good chat, which might bear fruit, as we got on really well.

Whilst I was photographing Simon Leach and the proceedings on the Creativity Backgrounds stands, a film cameraman with whom I had enjoyed a wonderful skiing holiday in Meribel a good few years back tapped me on the shoulder and had obviously thought I’d not remember him, as he said: “You probably won’t recognise me, I am Richard…” but he was wrong – I recognised him straightway from a skiing trip in Meribel Mottaret – Richard Hill and was delighted he had come up, so he promised he would email me, so there is another pleasure to come from my visit – I look forward to catching up in the next few days.

The event was really enjoyable, enlightening and thoroughly worthwhile, and there was a very positive buzz all around, and I congratulate the SWPP; I feel certain they will be very happy with all their efforts, and I hope the next two days turn out as well the first.