There's a special preview on the 8th; has anyone been brave enough to
plump for the rather eye-wateringly-expensive tickets and will it be
worth it?

In article ,
says...

There's a special preview on the 8th; has anyone been brave enough to
plump for the rather eye-wateringly-expensive tickets and will it be
worth it?

I wouldn't. It's only an evening, part of it dark, which is IMO not
nearly long enough for a keen gardener; and some stands close up shop
early. Preview tickets are on sale to the public at a price Londoners
are used to paying for an evening out. So it may not buy "exclusive"
peace and quiet either:-) If you're going to HC, make a day of it.

Hampton Court show is well worth going to IME; a much more spacious
and enjoyable site to get around than Chelsea and (unlike Chelsea)
plants for sale on the spot, an advantage to anyone coming from afar who
would pay punitive delivery costs.

Janet

On 01/07/2013 10:11, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...

There's a special preview on the 8th; has anyone been brave enough to
plump for the rather eye-wateringly-expensive tickets and will it be
worth it?

I wouldn't. It's only an evening, part of it dark, which is IMO not
nearly long enough for a keen gardener; and some stands close up shop
early. Preview tickets are on sale to the public at a price Londoners
are used to paying for an evening out. So it may not buy "exclusive"
peace and quiet either:-) If you're going to HC, make a day of it.

Hampton Court show is well worth going to IME; a much more spacious
and enjoyable site to get around than Chelsea and (unlike Chelsea)
plants for sale on the spot, an advantage to anyone coming from afar who
would pay punitive delivery costs.

Janet

After having been to Hampton court show since it's second year I went to
the preview evening a few years ago, would have been good but rain
before the event had made getting around difficult, and the wife wasn't
feeling to good didn't help. The fireworks were good.
If you don't want to spend a lot of time going around the outside
"Trade" strands, and just want to see the plants then it's a good choice.
If you are a member then £53 including free parking is good value, and
you do get up to 5 hours.
David @ a bright but sun free Swansea Bay

"Janet" wrote

almarsoft. says...

There's a special preview on the 8th; has anyone been brave enough to
plump for the rather eye-wateringly-expensive tickets and will it be
worth it?

I wouldn't. It's only an evening, part of it dark, which is IMO not
nearly long enough for a keen gardener; and some stands close up shop
early. Preview tickets are on sale to the public at a price Londoners
are used to paying for an evening out. So it may not buy "exclusive"
peace and quiet either:-) If you're going to HC, make a day of it.

Hampton Court show is well worth going to IME; a much more spacious
and enjoyable site to get around than Chelsea and (unlike Chelsea)
plants for sale on the spot, an advantage to anyone coming from afar who
would pay punitive delivery costs.


The problem when we used to go on the Preview Evenings (friend was an
exhibitor and gave us free tickets in exchange for food/drink) was that most
of the stands, especially the plant stands, were not manned. So if you saw a
plant you wanted to purchase there was no-one there to buy it from.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 01/07/2013 01:18, Emrys Davies wrote:
There's a special preview on the 8th; has anyone been brave enough to
plump for the rather eye-wateringly-expensive tickets and will it be
worth it?




Not me, Emrys. If I want my eyes to water, I can poke a finger in them,
so saving £53 to spend on plants.

I am going with friends on Sat 13th, as we have for about the last 10
years. Looking forward to it. Hope the weather's user friendly. I
don't mind a light shower, but stairrod rain and gale force winds I can
manage without.

So are you going to be tempted?

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

In article , says...

"Janet" wrote

almarsoft. says...

There's a special preview on the 8th; has anyone been brave enough to
plump for the rather eye-wateringly-expensive tickets and will it be
worth it?

I wouldn't. It's only an evening, part of it dark, which is IMO not
nearly long enough for a keen gardener; and some stands close up shop
early. Preview tickets are on sale to the public at a price Londoners
are used to paying for an evening out. So it may not buy "exclusive"
peace and quiet either:-) If you're going to HC, make a day of it.

Hampton Court show is well worth going to IME; a much more spacious
and enjoyable site to get around than Chelsea and (unlike Chelsea)
plants for sale on the spot, an advantage to anyone coming from afar who
would pay punitive delivery costs.


The problem when we used to go on the Preview Evenings (friend was an
exhibitor and gave us free tickets in exchange for food/drink) was that most
of the stands, especially the plant stands, were not manned. So if you saw a
plant you wanted to purchase there was no-one there to buy it from.

RHS current website actually warns "preview" customers of that. I'd be
furious to pay £63 quid then find stands unmanned and sales unavailable;
but I suspect their preview evening is aimed at people going for dinner
and fireworks rather than plant and garden shopping.

Janet

On 01/07/2013 10:50, Martin wrote:
On Mon, 01 Jul 2013 10:26:34 +0100, David Hill
wrote:

On 01/07/2013 10:11, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...

There's a special preview on the 8th; has anyone been brave enough to
plump for the rather eye-wateringly-expensive tickets and will it be
worth it?

I wouldn't. It's only an evening, part of it dark, which is IMO not
nearly long enough for a keen gardener; and some stands close up shop
early. Preview tickets are on sale to the public at a price Londoners
are used to paying for an evening out. So it may not buy "exclusive"
peace and quiet either:-) If you're going to HC, make a day of it.

Hampton Court show is well worth going to IME; a much more spacious
and enjoyable site to get around than Chelsea and (unlike Chelsea)
plants for sale on the spot, an advantage to anyone coming from afar who
would pay punitive delivery costs.

Janet

After having been to Hampton court show since it's second year I went to
the preview evening a few years ago, would have been good but rain
before the event had made getting around difficult, and the wife wasn't
feeling to good didn't help. The fireworks were good.
If you don't want to spend a lot of time going around the outside
"Trade" strands, and just want to see the plants then it's a good choice.
If you are a member then £53 including free parking is good value, and
you do get up to 5 hours.
David @ a bright but sun free Swansea Bay

Free parking isn't mentioned on their website. Odd?
http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/R...r-visit/Travel


Access to the Exclusive Preview Evening between 5.30pm and 10.30pm on
Monday 8 July
Complimentary Show Catalogue (one per couple)
Complimentary car parking
Live music throughout the showground
Musical Fireworks Finale

"Janet" wrote ...

BobH says...

"Janet" wrote

almarsoft. says...

There's a special preview on the 8th; has anyone been brave enough to
plump for the rather eye-wateringly-expensive tickets and will it be
worth it?

I wouldn't. It's only an evening, part of it dark, which is IMO not
nearly long enough for a keen gardener; and some stands close up shop
early. Preview tickets are on sale to the public at a price Londoners
are used to paying for an evening out. So it may not buy "exclusive"
peace and quiet either:-) If you're going to HC, make a day of it.

Hampton Court show is well worth going to IME; a much more spacious
and enjoyable site to get around than Chelsea and (unlike Chelsea)
plants for sale on the spot, an advantage to anyone coming from afar who
would pay punitive delivery costs.


The problem when we used to go on the Preview Evenings (friend was an
exhibitor and gave us free tickets in exchange for food/drink) was that
most
of the stands, especially the plant stands, were not manned. So if you
saw a
plant you wanted to purchase there was no-one there to buy it from.

RHS current website actually warns "preview" customers of that. I'd be
furious to pay £63 quid then find stands unmanned and sales unavailable;
but I suspect their preview evening is aimed at people going for dinner
and fireworks rather than plant and garden shopping.


The plant tent used to be all but deserted, only a few of us seemed to even
bother walking round there which was wonderful except there was no-one to
buy from. My friend used to take money on that evening (pond plants and
equipment) so I always failed to understand why other stall holders
disappeared.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK