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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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I want to say a special thanks to Martin and Rebecca. You have both been very
patient waiting for me to get this page out here.
J
