Likewise I thoroughly enjoyed the Thurs/Fri and just as much about meeting up and chin waking than taking money. I didn't have a great deal to sell this year but was well pleased with the cash injection to the shed fund.

Due to a combination of lack of stock and the buggering off to Beaulieu of my friends and other stall holders....I also went home at Sparrows fart on Saturday.

As Ian indicated though I also think the show has declined over the years and there were some definite cut backs by Mortons. I'll probably keep going, if only to meet up with others and especially since we've now found a MUCH BETTER grub/pub than the one we've used for years. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I have been to every Netley,bar one,since it started.

This was my last time ever, what a dismal event, no vintage parts to be found, private stall holders very much diminished, apart from the trade stalls, and the rest a load of old tat with a peculiar similarity of the same sort of stock. Usually old wheels as far as I could see.

I also spotted quite a few stall spaces marked out but empty.

I went with a list of machine tool bits I need but none of those stall holders were there either.
Vintage tyres guy was well cheesed off at being stuffed out the way,but I could have bought repro german WW2 gear, or jewellry, or toy cars....

Pockets full of cash, but all I bought was an inner tube, a pack of cable ties and a MT211 rear lamp off Rons mate.
10 quid to get in; any bargains gone on thursday set up.

£35k for a pre war Gold Star?????? good to see the optimists are still about.
another 10 quid to look at old tat in the auction?

Nope, as ever, Mortons kill off everything they meddle in. As for the Mortons parking crew,... power crazed jobsworths..........

I was there at 9.30, out before 1.00pm

Never again.

Incidentally a public footpath runs through that site, how do they get away with obstructing it?

('another 10 quid to look at old tat in the auction?')...

You can't have looked very hard at that...Someone I know spent well north of £10,000 in the auction and got some of the best stuff I've seen in an auction for years....

Personally I don't think Mortons is killing off this event...They haven't altered it that much since it first started and I have been to every one as a stall holder...

What is killing it is traders who leave during the first day to go to Beaulieu...I've even seen some leave on the evening of the set up day in the past, before the show even opens to the general public...

No punter in his right mind is going to continue to support an event where the traders aren't even there for the duration...What makes a good event for the public is the support of traders and it isn't there any more...

That and the detrimental effect on many jumbles of e bay trading are the main effects in my opinion...

Everyone likes to knock Mortons but what, exactly, is it that they have done wrong at Netley?....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Neither Netley nor Beaulieu provided much in the way of parts for me (in all fairness, I wasn't really looking for much) but both still work as a social occasion. I prefer the atmosphere at Bealieu and although big business, the whole organisation seems friendlier.

Fortunately, prior to the rain yesterday, we were blessed with good weather so both were pleasant to be at.

If the fence at Netley is in the same place then there were a lot of unsold plots.

Although I understand Ian's view, I have to say that if I couldn't combine the two on one long weekend visit to the UK, it would probably be Netley that dropped off the calendar.

Bealieu is also a useful cross-over with the MV and old car worlds. I got in trouble once on the NOC site for suggesting that I had more in common with the owner of a pre-war car than I do with someone running a new Norton, but it's true.

I had a great time at Netley Thursday and Friday. Took £400 with me and had £15 at the end of Thursday so had to go to the bank of Ron for the goodies I found on Friday. I picked up 2 dollshead gearbox casings in perfect condition at a fraction of the eBay going price. I wanted a Norton 1" throttle and I found 1 for a fiver plus a 1" matchless throttle with canvas grip for £7, a Commando cylinder head for £20 and lots more stuff. If I had more disposable cash I could have bought a lot more stuff I could have sold on and made a few quid. I've only been going to Netley for 3 or 4 years and it is a Thursday Friday event, they should let punters in for a couple of quid on the Saturday as stalls have gone. Even the auction is on the Friday, so unless people have had a day off work you'll miss it. As long as you realise this its a good jumble.

The other plus side was meeting so many forum folk who I don't get to see that often. Great to see our Dutch and Belgian friends and have a drink. A big thanks to Andy B for your help too

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

What have Mortons done wrong?

Where shall I start?

No, I won't bother.

As for spending over 10k on bikes my days for that are long gone, I'm selling off not buying, but I reckon £10 to look at a sale when I paid 10 quid to get in is a piss take.



"What is killing it is traders who leave during the first day to go to Beaulieu...I've even seen some leave on the evening of the set up day in the past, before the show even opens to the general public..."

There you have it,strip the place of any good stuff, then offer it at Beaulieu.

Thats what killed it, and with the connaivance of Mortons, why not stipulate a specific time to stay on site? but they got their site rent, why care?

The first years were great atmosphere, a good hunting ground for all types of gear and people pleased to get a bike only sale away from Beaulieu.

Early entry at Beaulieu £75... to buy the kit from Netley?

My dad and I had another great weekend at Netley and Beaulieu.

We come at Netley from the start and never missed a year. For us it is the highlight of the jumble-year. and the 2 jumbles combined is worth the trip.

Have to say that there were less motorcycle parts on Beaulieu then we were used to see, so in that way Beaulieu let us a bit down this year. Lots of miles for very few parts. But the atmosphere was great as ever!

Also we did some selling on friday at Netley and it went very well, it was the first time I was not broke when we rode off.

Thank you to all the friendly forummembers we met!

Michiel / NL

email (option): m.wijbenga@hotmail.com

I stopped going to Netley two years ago. Even going on a Friday the Traders were leaving before mid day. If the Traders find Beaulieu more interesting so be it, but don't con the public into coming on a Saturday. So many of my friends who have gone on a Saturday have given up on it. As has been said Netley will die through greed and lack of interest. Just my thoughts.

['Thats what killed it, and with the connaivance of Mortons, why not stipulate a specific time to stay on site? but they got their site rent, why care?']...

The primary blame for traders leaving prematurely lies with the traders themselves...not Mortons...I wouldn't imagine they want to see this show fail completely..

Mortons have exerted pressure for people to stay on, but I'm afraid that legally they don't have the power to detain anyone against their will...

Ian Clare has got it right IMO ..Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

A lot of what was on offer on the trade stands was the same old stuff you get anywhere,off the net or by post.

One has to ask just why traders were leaving halfway through friday? fed up? bought all their Beaulieu stock?

It will die off and I'm not sure that won't be a good thing. I go to jumbles for the private seller stocks,the shed clearances, the vintage stuff, if its not there, there is no point in going.

I thought there were less continental sellers than usual; I have had some good fids from the French ones in the past.

I may be looking at this to simply, but why does Beaulieu and Netley have to be the same weekend. I know it's for the convenience of the traders. As they are not playing the game move it for the benefit of the paying public without whom there would be no jumbles.

Think it should be a one day event only on the Friday. It is not that big, can easily be done in a day. Then the people from the continent would still be comming in combination with Beaulieu.

And don't allow early trading. It is not fair to the general public, they even have to watch trading going on on the field while they are still waiting in the queue for the jumble to open up...

Also can't see the benefit for the traders, the parts they sell on Thursday to the few would also be sold to the general public on Friday.

Seems that on Beaulieu all the nice stuff is already gone on Friday....same story...

Netley Marsh event was deliberately set to co-incide with Beaulieu because of the dissatisfaction in the way the motorcycle element was treated as second class.

It was hugely welcomed and set over the three days it almost took all the bike element away from Beaulieu, and it was a great event and several times I went all three days, there was that much to rummage through.

Then the Nash-Mortons greed and poison set in, complete with the queue/car park stormtroopers

Beaulieu is also far too complacent, expensive and opening hours are far too short, I have queued for half an hour to get in before I stopped going, rummage time lost, especially when the bike stalls were set so far away.

As I said earlier, you need to forget about the Saturday at Netley and treat it as the Friday only for punters. You have to allow the traders to set up on Thursday ready and you can't stop traders buying from each other. That's how it's been all the years I've gone. So if you want to get in early, get a traders ticket. I've only been to Beaulieu once and there were no parts at all for my bike. It's ok for old tools and autobilia and I probably won't go again, but a lot of people enjoy it so each to there own. The bottom line is if you don't like it don't go, then you've got nothing to moan about :-)

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

These are probably still for all their faults two of the best jumbles of the year, as time pass's its not really a surprise that there is less parts of our period to find.

Complaining won't bring back the good old days so go or don't go its your choice.

This year it wasn't convenient for me to do more than a one day visit and I chose Beaulieu even though I have always found more parts at Netley, I still think its about my favourite day of the year.

Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk

I agree, simple complaining achieves nothing..(unless, perhaps, complaints are made to the organisers)...

However, it's interesting to discuss the (ever changing) old bike and jumble scene and to try to determine which way it's all going...If you happen to run a business in that area such observations are essential to determine on going actions!

Personally I've always taken a great interest in the general scene and have seen the failure of the British industry, the rise of the Japanese, the resurgence of H.D. and the European manufacturers and the beginnings of the influence exerted by far eastern manufacturers such as India and China..

Then there's the emergence of the classic scene, the 70's chopper craze, the dominance of the sports bike, the arrival of 'biker clubs', the appearance of large jumbles and then e bay, the general change from transport to leisure use, not to mention rafts of legislation governing the way bikes are built and used...

The current dilemma surrounding the long term survival of many jumbles (have you noted the reduction in the number of smaller jumbles lately) and the slow decline of printed publications (when did you last buy a spare part from Old Bike Mart?) can be found as much in the way spares are sold as in how and when jumbles are organised...

I can assure everyone here that as a trader over the last couple of decades I have found that just about ALL jumbles are suffering from declining attendance and 'turnover', not just Netley....

Another thing that is looming as well and which is already having an effect...The generational change. The fact is that no one under the age of around 60 was likely to have started their motorcycling on a British machine and it makes me wonder just how much interest there will be in these once all the old duffers such as myself have departed...

I already know some younger 'old bike' enthusiasts who just can't understand why I want to own a 'technically inferior' British bike...

Then there's the pending (2030 or so) change to an all electric vehicle world...Food for thought?...Enjoy your old bike while you can...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Very well put Ian.

Except for one thing.

Complaining to the organisation of Morton/Nash defines banging ones head on a wall.

2030?
we'll see. Its a sop to the car hating green lobby.

wandering a bit of the topic but..........

Those big container ships carrying 20,000 containers of chinese made goods round the world will need some very big batteries to push them along, and we won't even go into the filth pumped into the air by planes, or India or China coal fired industry etc.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Just to point out the degree of paranoia of the most virulent detractors of the DIESEL vehicle, it is necessary to reveal to them the data of the maritime industry which has demonstrated that, considering the size of the engines and the quality of the fuel used, the 15 largest Cargo ships pollute as much as the entire 760 million cars of the planet.
You know, those container ships that feed us with products that were manufactured in our offshore plants, today they each burn 10,000 tons of fuel for a round trip between Asia and Europe.
These unfortunate 15 ships are part of a fleet of 3,500, to which must be added the 17,500 tankers which make up the whole of the 100,000 ships that criss cross the oceans.
To avoid leaving the maritime domain, let us recall that the French yachting fleet is about 500,000 units, including 5,000 yachts over 60 meters in length.
The average of these burns about 900 litres of fuel in just one hour, while the 24% of French households that heat with oil with fuel have difficulty to fill their tank for the winter.
To continue on the path of paranoid schizophrenia, let us take into account the whole fleet and the 4.7 million heavy goods vehicles in transit across France, the thousands of planes that ply the sky and whose consumption per passenger per km travelled is 3 times more harmful to the climate than the automobile. "

Nobody said Government policy was based on logic.. ..Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com