written by on 09/04/2015
My friend let me know she could not attend at the last minute so I went on my own but that's fine because (a) she had a lucky escape and (b) I didn't feel so bad leaving so soon! The place looks great from the outside but inside it's just a mass of cramped stalls with no obvious path to follow so you end up going round in circles, suddenly finding yourself back in the same place you were 30 minutes before, or probably missing whole sections (good for me but not great for exhibitors). They need to offer a decent, free, hand-out floor plan instead of making you pay (£5?) for the programme with it in. Last time I went to an IHS, I at least got a half decent goody bag at the end. All I got this time was a pile of advertising leaflets (straight in the recycling bin), a voucher for £1 off kitchen towels, a minute piece of rancid chocolate and a pack of "pleasure gel" (relevance to a home show??). I would never in a thousand years pay even £5 to go another IHS unless I was sure the whole thing had had a major revamp and ALL of the above were improved upon. Oh, did I mention long queues for overpriced refreshments?