We'd arranged to have a stall at the UK Congress, so the Friday morning arrived and we had all the stock we needed - cd's, dvd's, clothing, shoes, etc. Earlier in the week, Mel had decided to book herself in to get her hair done on the Friday morning. After the trauma of our Poland trip, I decided to take no chances and arranged to drive down with Sizzla early, leaving Jojo to stress!
We left at about 10am, and had to stop off in Hampshire to visit the offices of International Record (Salsa-International, Latin Soul, Mary Lou Records) to pick up some more stock for the stall. Had a coffee and chatted for a bit with Ian Morrisson, then back on the road to Bournemouth and the BIC, the new venue for the UK Salsa Congress!!
Got to the BIC at about 3pm, found our table upstairs and round the corner from the top of the escalators - the perfect spot to not do much business, as everyone was downstairs in the registration area along with all the other stalls!! We started setting up, then Mel and Jojo arrived just after 4pm. Me and Sizzla left the girls on the stall and went to sort out our B&B.
We were staying just up the hill, about 10mins walk from the BIC (we drove though). Went to check in and there was already someone in one of the rooms we'd booked! However, there was another room free, luckily!! Checked in, then headed back to the BIC and worked on the stall until just after 8pm. Went to the local Chinese for dinner, then headed to the venue to watch the shows. In between each show, there was a sketch of either a newsreader or 'roving reporter' to fill the time, which would have seemed a good idea in theory, but didn't quite seem to work and seemed a bit of a last minute idea that had been rushed together. Once we'd finished watching the shows, we headed back to get changed, then it was the first night of the party.
The main venue was the Purbeck Hall - a domed wooden room - and was fairly busy!! The music was good, but the room seemed to lack the atmosphere I was expecting - may have been the (very) high ceiling, or lack of moving lights or projections. The atmosphere in the Cuban room was better, and was where Jojo spent most of the night. I left the party at about 2am, and ended up being woken at about 4 by Mel (didn't have a key), then at 5 by Jojo, who couldn't get in the front door.
A big breakfast was required the following morning, courtesy of Jorge, our hist for the weekend, then back to work from 10am. Saturday was a lot busier, and our spot at the top of the escalators paid dividends that day. Another day of hard work over, an authentic seaside dinner of fish and chips, watched England beat France, a quick powernap (well, 2 hours!), then back to the venue for about 1am.
The Saturday night was a lot busier, and we got there in time to see Frankie Morales perform. It was DJ Mauri's birthday on the Sunday, so he was quite hammered by the early hours and seemed to be enjoying the show!! There were a lot of circles going on (where everyone stands around, watching the 'good dancers'), but they seemed to be either by the main door, or by the bar, which made getting in and out or buying a drink a bit of a hazard!! Jojo hated this and again spent the night in the Cuban room! Me too!
The next morning, we arrived with our stock, ready to set up the stall at 10am, only to be told that we couldn't trade there. Donny Osmond was performing that evening, and most of the stalls had to be moved as a result. We ended up moving into one of the bar areas along with a few of the other vendors, which was actually a better setup than the original pitches, but the whole thing was still very unorganised and we lost a couple of hours trading time that we'd paid for!! Another hard days work, dinner at the local chinese again, then a rather subdued effort at the party!!
I drove back with Mel then next morning, and Sizzla took Jojo. We stopped off at International Records to drop off the unsold stock and have another chat and brainstorm over coffee before heading home.
