Billing 2007

[GBMUD]

If they don't I have a feeling that one or the other will wither & die, possibly before it happens.

My greatest fear is that both shows will turn out to be carp.

Chris

[Fishd]

Thought the facilities at this years LRO show were good, toilets were always clean and plenty of showers available (at least where I was pitched).

Just a shame the show itself was a little lacking, imo.

Anyhoo... if Billing can get it's facilities up to those standards I'll be heading there next year.

[DEANO3528]

I'd been waiting for a certain person to put the story straight and he decided to do it on LRUK.

Page 3 of the thread is here but I reproduce the words here. I'm sure he won't mind

Over to you Mr Morrison:

As one who has no connection whatsoever with the people who side-tracked the LRO Billing Show a few years back, formed a magazine on the back of the show to promote the next one, which they then renamed after their low circulation publication, and then pulled out of the show in 2006, I'd just like to clear up a couple of misconceptions.

The Billing Show was first dreamed up by the two major shareholders of Land Rover Owner magazine, John Cornwall (Publisher) and Richard Thomas (Editor) plus Richard Green (Accounts & Subscriptions), as a way of meeting their public at a 'family off-road weekend show'. Prior to this, other than ARC and AWDC events, there had not been much in the way of Land Rovers shows, in the way we now recognise them. LRO was the only Land Rover magazine in existence at that time.

In the early nineties, as LRO had been so successfull, the publishers of OR&4WD started Land Rover World (LRW)to try to cash in on the new market. Once this mag was established, their competitors EMAP decided to buy the then independent LRO magazine from its publishing team in the mid-nineties. However, as part of the deal they asked the Mail Order side of the old company to handle subscriptions and LRO Billing Show organisation on their behalf. John Cornwall and Richard Green administered this side, while Richard Thomas looked after International Off-Roader (IOR), which the old LRO team had also set up in the early nineties.

In the latter half of the nineties, once an embargo date caused by the sale of LRO magazine was reached, Richard Thomas (now Howell-Thomas after he married publisher Cathie Howell) founded Land Rover Monthly (LRM) with his wife, and invited as many of the original LRO contributors that were free to join them. I was still on an exclusive freelance retainer with LRO, and under its terms was not allowed to write for LRM; though by late 1998 EMAP released me and I took my Military Scene column straight across to LRM.

At the end of the nineties, the deal with EMAP to handle distribution and LRO Billing Show organistation ran out and the title LRO Show (which had not been part of the magazine sale) was sold to EMAP. However, bookings for the next two traditional Land Rover shows at Billing were made in the name of an individual and not in the name of the LRO Show.

That individual tried to persuade the publishers of LRM, and also I believe the LRW management, to take over the LRO Show under their magazine's name. I sat in for part of the LRM meeting, so know that to be fact. After short consideration, LRM said: "Thanks, but no thanks." The show was, in their views, morally LRO's.

When no other magazine stepped in to take on the Billing LRO Show under its name, LRE was formed. The following year Billing was advertised as the LRE Show.

LRO now have their own show, at Eastnor. They also tried running Northern shows for a couple of years, but these were nowhere near as successful as the Midlands area shows. Presumably, as they already have their 2007 LRO Show booked, they felt unable to take on the Billing 2007 Show when the previous organisers withdrew. The LRM crew - from the very first issue LRM carried the cover headline "the monthly magazine for all Land Rover enthusiasts" and from issue 10 the strapline "written and published by enthusiasts for enthusiasts" - were only too happy to step in and keep this little bit of Land Rover community history alive, rather than see it vanish.

Billing Aquadrome has been the annual venue for a Land Rover magazine weekend show since 1991. The tradition continues. Hopefully I'll see you all there.

Bob

I think he got muddled up LRW and LRO re the Eastnor venue though.

It's no secret that a lot of people on here share a dislike of all things LRe and it seems we aren't alone

[Guest diesel_jim]

Richard Thomas (now Howell-Thomas after he married publisher Cathie Howell)

what kind of bloke changes his name when he gets married?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

I think the entire management team at LRE would be hard pushed to run a bath

... let alone run a show

Legends in their own lunchtimes

Nige

[DEANO3528]

what kind of bloke changes his name when he gets married?

Funnily enough, I said the same thing a few months back, and then a guy I know did the same thing. He did explain it all to me, "...but I was very, very drunk!"