Events: ...

These 2 events coming up in Dublin in June are not strictly militaria related but may be relevant to some people here who have an interest in European Military history.

http://www.ambafrance.ie/Newsletter/Newsletter_June2009.htm

Exhibition
Napoleon Emperor of the French

Even today Napoleon casts a long shadow in Europe. His law reforms and political ideals remain important influences on the shape of the continent and its sense of identity.

The exhibition uses contemporary prints and books from the library’s rich collections to illustrate the career, influence and memory of the Emperor, a formative figure in modern European history.


Sponsors: The Embassy of France and Veolia Transport Services.


18 June – 1 November

Trinity College Library, The Long Room

Opening hours: Mon - Sat 9.30 am – 5 pm; Sun 9.30 am – 4.30 pm

Admission 9€ (includes admission to the Book of Kells)
__________________________________________________________________________

Conference

Napoleon, Empire and Europe

Lewis Glucksman Memorial Symposium
Speakers will include:

Dr. Sudhir Hazareesingh (University of Oxford), author of The legend of Napoleon (London, 2004);

Professor Tom Bartlett (University of Aberdeen), co-editor of 1798: a bicentenary perspective (Dublin, 2003).


Thursday 18 June - 3pm

Synge Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin

Trinity College Library, College Street, Dublin 2
Tel (01) 896 1661
jmcellig@tcd.ie

Admission Free

enfield wrote: »

The militaria fair in Gorey will take place at Christ Church Old School on Saturday June 27th from 10am-3pm. I cannot make it as it clashes with a show in Charleville on the same weekend. If anyone attends please let us know how it goes.
Regards.
Tom.

Can't believe it's been a year since the last one ! I will more than likely head down but probably wont spend much due to the timing. Does anyone know if the North Star or Teachers' one is on this weekend ?

enfield wrote: »

Does anyone read this stuff? Hardly anyone replies or posts now. Its like I am posting into a secret blog and no-one reads it. Come on guys lets keep this topic open with comments and reviews of events otherwise interest will wane on both sides.
Tom.

I do read them !

I was ill all last weekend (weekend before last that is) and couldn't leave the house.

As a result this weekend just gone I had too much catching up to do. Have also made some big purchases recently and am financially recovering

I know what you mean about posting in this thread, I have also posted questions on here which have gone un-answered.

Normally I would take the time to review the event if I attend, also have tried to arrange a militaria forum social event which was spectacularly un-successful in terms of people bothering to respond.

In fairness I think people do read them whether they respond or not.

I know people who post here & who (like myself) make plans based on what information is confirmed in here. General attendance of militaria fairs of posters on here is poor. Myself, Paddywhack would be the regulars who attend events in my view. I don't know why most others don't, maybe its that they are usually dublin-centric, or maybe its the prices in comparison to internet prices ??

The only thing I would say is that all posts in this thread mentioning events should contain dates, and not just 'on saturday' as that gets confusing.

Also wherever events have their dates moved the post should be updated to reflect this rather than adding an additional post. I have actually turned up (with people I dragged along) to attend events which were cancelled and so I think it is always important to keep all information clear and concise and updated wherever appropriate. By all means keep them coming, I am raging to have missed Gorey as I got some fantastic bargains there last year.

I think even though the internet prices can be cheaper it is always better to attend militaria fairs.

Where else do you get the chance to haggle, check out items in your own hands and see a range of whats on offer from different periods.

It can be a real learning experience and also there is an element of camaraderie among collectors. Sharing gossip, hints & tips on who to buy from who not to buy from, where is the best place for certain specialty items, how to handle shipping all sorts of stuff that you dont necessarily get off the internet. Fairs are more local and relevant to Irish collectors in my opinion. Also you are meeting real life people who have more experience and can help you with your own collections, give valuations, opinions on items and so on.

There are some real finds to be had there & every now and then a real bargain pops up if you get there early enough. Not all sellers necessarily know what the item is if it is from outside their specific area. Of course the majority will try to charge higher but even so they are well worth attending. One major problem is publicising the events and this thread is one of the few in Ireland (that I am aware of) where all the information is more or less easily available.

Cool pictures - I didn't realise there were so many re-enactors at that. Raging I missed this now !

I am heading off to Beltring tommorrow, The War and Peace Show in Hop Farm, Kent. I will take the usual pics and let you know how it went.
Regards.
Tom.

Well spotted...sherlock!!
I messed up my password so had to re register. When you are this ould people make allowances for doddery codgers like me.
Flying out in the morning, staying with a guy who has a stall and have two days rummaging through all the other stalls before the public (and the guys ye buy off at fairs) arrive. The best stuff usually goes before the public are allowed in on Wednesday at 10am. I will be looking mainly for ww1 stuff and items that are unknown to sellers outside Ireland, i.e. Irish Armys stuff. I remember seeing boxes of Irish Army No 9 bayonets for the No 4 rifles (Lee Enfield, 303) for sale last year. Properly marked P.F. and selling for something like £9 each. I had to check the marking when I got home and it was bang on. Pity I did not buy a single one. Expect the 'finds' at Beltring to turn up for sale at the next few fairs. I noticed at the Gorey fair that prices have come down which is a good thing. A 1916 medal was for sale at 2 grand which is a lot less than they were making last year. The flight to London is 55 euro return and the Joe Maxi from the Airport to Beltring about a fiver each. Its a cheap holiday and the best you will ever have if you are in to this type of thing.
The best stuff I find I get from the Belgians and the Germans. They are straight to deal with but hate to give a discount. The English are all very friendly and there is never any trouble, except I usually fry in the sun. The weather is supposed to be rainy for next week, but who cares I can do my stuff in the rain. Last year I drove my DAF YA 126 to Beltring but would never do it again. The drive was horrendous, 380 miles in a truck that does 45-50 miles an hour and truck stops every 90 miles.
Roll on Tommorow and I get out of this country for some rain rain rain. I know when its summer in Ireland........................the rain gets warmer.
Have a good one.
Regards.
Tom.

Hello Preusse.
Waaaaaaaaaay to much bother to go through at this hour in the morning. I will see if I can sort it out when I come back.
Many thanks for the offer though.
Kind regards.
Tom.

kowloon wrote: »

Sorry, can't change the rules for one person .

Ah here that's a bit below the beltring

/*Sorry !

I think what happens on tour stays on tour (& youtube).

Beltring.
We started out on Sunday and went by the 12 50pm flight by Ryanair to Gatwick and then went by train to Paddock green changing trains at Tonbridge, and Redhill. We got to the site around later that afternoon. I was the guest of the renowned entrepreneur Garry O’Brien. Many thanks Garry. We slept with the Paul Reas tent/pitch. Next morning the pallets of stuff for Garry stall including the marquee arrived on site and we had a big erection. After the marquee was up and the lads were sorting out the items for sale I went across to the pitch opposite where they guy there was selling bric a brac incuding a pushbike for 15 smackers. I arranged to hire said bike for a tenner for the week and used all week. Its amazing the amount to space you can cover with a bike and by the time Wednesday came (when the public are allowed in) I knew where everything for sale was and could tell the lads saving them a bit of time. Even on Sunday there were hundreds of stalls already set up and trading. On Monday I set about on me bike in the fields used by the re enactors and vehicles and as you will see from the videos to follow even at that time there were thousands of vehicles there already. I ran out of memory card just as the show opened so you will not see many crowd scenes. Notable people we met during the 9 days were Fran Dalderup, Eddie Wyer, Ronan Caffrey and his wife (who was the Mammy to us all and always had a cup of tea and a bikkie for the Irish lads when they called to their stall. Fermanagh Liam Wallace and his brother was camped behind Garrys stall as were the Cavan McCabes in their dashing USA uniforms wore down many of the hearts of the local girls. Sean Curtis and the his lads were hovering about picking up the bargains. Oreste Cassoni sadly could not make it so two burger vans went out of business. If I have left anyone out please forgive me. When you get to my age you forget stuff, I forget stuff that never even happened!!.
There were loads of re enactors from ww1 and ww2 in their respective uniforms. I also seen a Japanese guy in a Nazi uniform, a Brit in a Japanese uniform, An Ruc Man from the 1960’s� Mountie, the Russians, German Wermacht guys with British accents, British Soldiers with Polish accents, rather large people with little dogs wearing various ‘uni�ms’, one�ung man had all the gear including the AK47 variant for the Afghan border. It was great to see the public getting into the spirit of things dressing up in period clothing and the make up of the period. The land girls were there looking rather fetching in their own pitch.
In attendance also was the most mororised wheelchairs I have seen yet in Beltring. These are usually used by the veterans (mostly) of ww 2
Bedecked with their medals. There motorised wheelchairs could not be used one of the days and the cleaner had plugged out their long lead they used for charging them to use her hoover. Its strage to say that you can get used to the sound of gunfire which was going all the time in the arena. Its only when there is a BIG battle and the shooting is faster than a guy on a rapid drum solo did I bother heading there. Even the tanks firing was just a passing irritation after a while.
The weather was showers and sunshine and I would have burnt to death but for the timely intervention of Matts Cox’s wife � offered me some sun block, will I ever learn? The wife told me before I went to bring it, but did I?…nah (gobs�n).
Strange thing about the English sun, is it really burns.
Food. Just as well we brought provisions like tinned rice, spam, tinned fish, chrisps, bottled water and booze. There were lots of burger and exotic cuisine vans around the place but there is only an certain amount of that one body can tolerate. I would have killed for spuds and cabbage. The drink was around £3 a half li�e plastic glass in the hall and there was usually loud oldie 60s and 70s music in the evening and a band later, free of course. Everyone was up very early in the mornings and you could buy an BAR from 7 onwards.
Prices and stuff. The most ridiculous price I seen at the show was for a BB gun. A BAR BB was £885, a SLR B�was £445. The de a�guns were cheaper than that!! SLRs £350, SMLEs fro�£240, No 4s from�90, Webley 38 from £135, .455 cheape� was 495, Aks from £200, GPMGs around�,300, Vickers around 1,200 including on that was cut away, .30 browning, cant remember, .5 sniper rifle, 2000, Lewis guns 3,600. Cheapest 1907 SMLE bayonet was £50. There were lot�of uniforms and insignia there but I do not know enough about them so left them be.
I was surprised that there were items there for medeval re-enactors, pikes, halberds, chainmail suits, armour plated suits, steel face and head protection and even Roman bits and bobs. It is a great place to buy, source and make contacts for vintage military vehicle parts. One pitch took about a quarter of an acre and he just sold army tents, most of which if not erected were stacked on different pallets. All, and I mean all the different versions of artillery and mortar shells could be bought but as usual were expensive. Items dug from the battlefields of Flanders and France were not expensive but most of it was in relic condition. Unlike last year I did not see any live fuzes for sale which is a good thing.
Mobile phones. We could not add credit to our phones there so we kept them switched off most of the time. This was for two reasons, one I costs us credit to answer a call and two the battery chargers bought in the euro shop that charge the phone from aa and aaa batteries don’t fully work proper�so we conserved power by keeping them off.
Trade. You could literally buy anything you wanted. I did see live ammo including blanks for sale. Flares and Naval parachute rockets were three for a tenner.
Even though I was shopping for everyone I did buy several leather bandoliers, trench art, insignia, a Gatsby cap a few sam browns, leather leggings (for the volunteers re-enactors) two beautiful Naval Binoculars, a full Swiss Medics medical bag, a tilley searchlight from ww2 in new condition on a tripod with a box of old new spares. The Wallaces bought one also and we will have them at Salute and might even light them up. They are really magnificent. For some strange reason the Germans were using a lot of Northern Ireland currency and the English would not take the notes from them so they asked the Irish to change them for British notes. Strange one that. The Germans were staright to deal with as were the Belgians and the French. They preferred euros and would sell you stuff in sterling prices for the same number of euros.
Toile facilities and showers. There were 4 main toilet areas and only two of those you could shower in. The queues were huge for shower and the best time to have one was 4 in the afternoon. There was mud on the shower floors that was walked in from the display areas. I was having a slash as one does and two girls walked in behind me, I must have been in a communal jax or they were desperate. It does’nt half impede ones f�.
Other things. There was a carnival on site for the kids, an owl sanctuary, a place for old raindeer, llamas and shire horses. A wax museum and a Dickensian shopping street. The shops and pub in the street was full and look brilliant. You could see a cooper and a blacksmith at work. I spent a good 20 minutes watching three guys putting up a bell tent. Now I know how to do it instead of the usual half arsed way I did it before.
Next year. I will not be going next year. There was at least an acre of stalls missing from this years show. Trade was down for stall holders. The amount of people through the gate was down and money for spending was in short supply. Haggling was more common than in pervious years and there were less sales on the whole. I heard many stallholders say they would not be back next year, some of them were traders I had always bought from in the past and was one of the reasons for my going to the show.

Behavior. The English were friendly as usual, the Belgians and Germans were very precise in what they said and did not seem to have a sense of humour but would cut a tiny bit of the price if you were persistant. The staff in the pub/hall
were friendly and the drink was not as good as we have it here. I asked for a large jack daniels and although it was cheaper than here it was a shorter measure. The English in the chip vans did not impress me with public relations, speed of serving and did not seem to want to impress anyone with the ‘customer is always righ�attitude. Having said th�I had fish an chips once and it was great. The Thai food van was friendly and the food was great. Walls had ice cream vans in attendance from 7,30 every morning and the ice cream was really nive and the staff were friendly. I bought 5 tickets for a fiver and then had a chance to win a willies jeep. So far I have not heard if I won or not. On the whole I found the whole atmosphere very relaxed and like our Irish shows there was no trouble except the Brits stole the South Africans Flag from their mast ( about 60 feet high). War was not declared and a peaceful time was enjoyed by all.

Five aircraft circled the field at various times. There were different helicopters in use that you could hire to fly you around the show. I would have gone up in one but I had run out of memory in the camera. A Magnificent Lancaster bomber flew twice around the show on two separate days and impressed everyone that was there with the roar of her mighty engines. A Messcherschmitt ( or however you spell it) and a spitfire did the same. One other aeroplave did a flyover also, I am not sure of the name of it but it was like the plane James Garner escaped in in the Great Escape.

I enjoyed the 9 days and can now file it in the back of my mid because there will not be a repeat, but then again, I have changed my mind in the past.
I got to Cork airport on the way back and paid my 68 euro long term car park fees, went to get the car, got to the barrier and it was up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Up I tells ya,
aaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggggggggghhhhh. I need’nt have paid.
I will start �oading videos and pictures over the next few days. Some of these videos might look a bit shaky in places this is due to me cycling holding the camera in my right hand and the handlebars with my left. Yep still mad a hatter.
Here is the first set of a lot to come, enjoy.
Please let me know if you can get the five from this one link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p5NxFG9ZiE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cabcpfBBTQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R82CAIOY3gg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEjs6t0FBII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdI99PFxXgE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqgXBHvH2Xo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q72Mn9cHxvU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VeCUiGbUEo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onexmD_rQxg

Lots more to come. It takes a lot of time to upload.
I will post them as they become available. Next lot will be 136 photographs.
Regards.
Tom.