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Back in 2002, my good friend Tom Prince came with me. This year I was able to convince my wonderful wife that it was worth
accompanying me on a trip across five time zones so that her husband can network with other people who collect little cards
that came in boxes of tea.
Even though flying is not her thing, she actually agreed! Tina and I combined a vacation to London with a weekend in Scarborough.
We did a lot of touristy things including the London Eye, Zoo, some parks, seeing the Lion King, a few museums and train
trips outside London.
I was told that even though she caught a cold, she had a very good time in Scarborough. The cold was cured with a trip to the
chemist and a pint or two.
Thank you my loving wife for joining me on a journey to Scarborough.
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Here is a shot of the town of Scarborough taken on a walk to the Spa Complex. What a beautiful area. A good stiff April breeze kept us moving right
along. After climbing a few of those hills, I was quite breathless ;-).
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As we continued our lovely beachfront walk, we came upon a sign directing us to the Spa.
There was more walking but the trip would soon be worth it.
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| We are finally at our destination, the Cartophilic Convention! Am I the only one with goose-bumps? |
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| We're in the door now. Wow! Check out all the booths! This is the main hall. The vendors have been working hard to stock their tables. |
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We're walking across the room now and look who we run into! It's the Cahills. John does the Crunch Newsletter as you will recall. John also does
"new card issue" research for the Cartophilic Society. John and Ann were responsible for finding the show dealers our wonderful
accommodations at the St. Nicholas. They make for great company after the show as well!
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Now we are looking across the main hall from the back. Hmmm, where is Bill's booth? I don't know but there are a lot of vendors here. In all, fifty were
scheduled to show up. I believe I counted over forty dealers on hand.
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Hey wait, if you walk out past the cafe, there are more dealers. Hi Tina! Sell, sell, sell! Is that an uncut sheet of cards I see you have for sale?
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| Now how about a shot from the seller's side. Hey look, it's Peter Beer and a fellow collector. |
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Next to Bill's stall is his friend from Ireland, Terry Calleyne. Terry got Bill collecting cards way back when. Who is Terry's
helper? Why, another friend. That that is Mark Knowler, you know, he has that excellent site,
TeaCards.Com. It is almost as good as this site.
(The webmaster of this site must always maintain that his site is better than any other no matter what the circumstance)
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I got to run into another collector turned dealer at the show. This is Dave Curtis and I believe he told me the
Cartophilic was his first show as a dealer. He did the show with his brother. I have talked with Dave over the
internet but it was a real pleasure to make his acquaintance at the show.
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Just in case you are wondering if I really went to the show, there I am with Terry and Mark at Terry's stall. Brooke Bond and
Tuckfield were favorites but Terry has a wide variety of cards and interesting collectables.
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Card collecting can be a family thing. As I said, I was fortunate to convince my wife Tina to come to the show with me.
This year, Terry Calleyne was also able to bring his family to the show. It was great to meet his charming wife Peg, and
two great kids, Martin and Rebecca. It was also great to see husbands and wives together, buying at the show.
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It was great to see so many friends again. I ran into Dave Grimes but I didn't get to snap his pic.
Robin Short was bustling about, just as he does every year. He makes all the work he does look so effortless.
I know better. Thanks for all of your hard work Robin, I appreciate it.
Bill Smart was on the scene again. He is such a wealth of knowledge.
I'm sure I've missed someone. If so, my deepest apologies. It was a great show and the dealers and collectors
really make it special.
If it wasn't for the interest and dedication of the collectors, I'd be spending my vacation in the sunny Bahamas.
Instead I come to sunny old England. No wait, it's Jolly old England. Hmmm, why did I come here again? Oh, that's
right, the tea cards and the camaraderie. The pints in the pub are the best I've had.
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