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Welcome to todays diary entry! Weekend Work & Show Prep Mode. It feels like forever since I last worked a proper weekend shift, though in reality, it’s just one out of the next three. The difference now is that the next two are full-on show weekends, which are in a league of their own. They’re not your average working weekends—these are physically demanding, mentally exhausting, and logistically complicated. But also… kind of exhilarating. That strange mix of dread and anticipation. You know it’s going to hurt, but you also know it’s going to be worth it.
Saturdays I can handle. There’s a rhythm to them. You get the buzz of customers, the banter, the flow of the day—it passes quickly, and you usually feel like you’ve accomplished something by the time you clock off. But Sundays? That’s a different beast. Sunday is pack-down day, and if you’ve ever packed down after a multi-day outdoor event, you’ll know exactly what I mean. It’s where tiredness peaks, tempers are short, and Mother Nature often decides to go full drama queen with either scorching heat or a torrential downpour. There’s no in-between.
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The brutal part of it all is that you’re already running on fumes. The sunburn from Saturday starts to sting, the soreness sets in from the endless walking, lifting, bending, problem-solving—and then comes the dreaded realisation that you still have hours of packing, loading, and de-rigging ahead of you. No matter how much you prep or plan, the pack-down is always messy. Always harder than it should be. And usually, it rains. As if to test your resolve one final time.
So yeah, I’m hoping this current run of decent weather holds out. The warmth is welcome, of course, but even that can turn into a challenge. When the sun’s shining, people stay out of the shops and head for beer gardens instead. Can’t blame them really—I’d be doing the same if I weren’t on the clock. But that does mean we need to be clever with our setups and our stock to make the most of the footfall we do get.
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I’m trying to get ahead of the curve for the North West Regional Meet. My goal is to have the van packed and everything ready to roll by Tuesday or Wednesday, then get to site by Wednesday night. That early arrival gives me breathing space—to set up slowly, methodically, and without dragging poor Rory out of bed at the crack of dawn. It’s all about reducing the chaos where I can. There’ll still be enough of it when the show kicks off.
This time around, we’re using the show as an opportunity to shift some of our ex-display bagged awnings—stuff that’s been loitering in the warehouse for far too long. Some of these things have been there so long I’m tempted to start charging them rent. But they’re solid awnings, just no longer in pristine packaging, and we’ve decided to price them to clear. A proper stock cleanse. A chance to reset before the bigger events like Camper Jam and Dubbed Out.
Of course, that means hiring a Luton van and then the small matter of actually loading it. Probably by myself. Great. Nothing says ‘fun’ quite like manhandling a dozen oversized awning bags into a van solo. But that’s the job. That’s the grind. And oddly enough, there’s something satisfying in it—knowing that each item you load, display, and eventually sell is a win. A piece of the puzzle slotting into place.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s real. It’s ours. And I wouldn’t swap it.
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