Webber & Co. Head for IWA

[webber]

Webber & Co. Head for IWA

 

In April last year I travelled to Italy to attend the EXA gun trade exhibition. I returned home with the Bernardelli UK distributorship and a head full of ideas. One of the ideas was to drive to Brescia this year, attend EXA, stuff the car with guns and return home. I planned a route and put a team together. The year soon slipped away as did virtually every element of the plan; Christmas was soon upon us and it was time to get weaving.

 

It transpired that the Italian government had changed the export licensing requirements which ruled out part of the plan. Then the team started to fall apart for various reasons, all of them valid and honourable.

It looked like the trip to Italy, EXA and Lonato was doomed. I was having a brew with PW member JD2130 explaining how my efforts to organise the trip had come to nought when the computer pinged indicating a new incoming email. JD2130 supped up and left, as he did so I opened the unread emails. One was from the commercial manager at Bernardelli, written in a style of English that only he can manage; the bottom line was that he wanted to meet me at IWA in Germany.

 

Hm, this could be a semi dry run for the trip to Italy I thought; same ferry, basically the same route, but about half the distance. The nice Rangie that Mrs. Webber presented me with may well come in very handy! A few phone calls soon had Team Norgas Deutschland organised, raring to go would be an overstatement, but up for the challenge for sure. Me, JD2130 and the apprentice Phil, soon to be christened Frenchie Phil were soon packing extra shirts and underpants and organising a supply of Euros.

 

Wednesday 5^th. March soon dawned, I went into work to finish a couple of loose ends and fuel up the Rangie with Autogas and Petrol then returned home to pack the gear, breakdown kit, medication etc. and set off to Garswood to collect Phil and JD2130, we left at 11:40 and took our time headed for the M62 and Hull. I’d not been to Hull before and felt that I’d been missing something. We topped up the Autogas on the outskirts and headed for the ferry terminal.

 

The Humber Bridge was impressive, I’ll return one day just for the hell of driving over the magnificent fete of British engineering. As we got closer to the terminal we drove past an arctic expedition ship and Odyssey of Discovery Channel fame. We arrived at the terminal at 2:40 having driven very slowly past a compound almost full of John Deer porn, well that what it sounded like given the groaning coming from the back seat! We were first in line for the terminal opening at 3 pm. Passport and documents checked, boarding card in hand we moved about 100 yards to head the queue for boarding to start at 4 pm.

 

As we waited we watched a welder working on a pipe bridge on a nearby oil terminal, JD2130 produced a rather fine pair of Swarovski binos that a grateful customer had given to him. We took it in turns to watch the odd bird and a man on the bridge of the Pride of York that we were about to board. Embarkation was smooth and efficient, we were soon on blue deck searching for our cabin or cell as it was soon to be christened. As we arrived at our cell the tannoy was belting out an offer to upgrade to their club class cell, sorry cabin, I have to say that the other two were tempted, but as I switched out the light the cabin fell into 99% darkness I asked them what they could see? The answer was “nothing” followed by numerous expletive requests for the light to be switched back on, which I did. I explained that by the time we would get to bed, and be getting up again, a TV, brewing facilities and a complimentary glass of Champagne would be as much use as JD2130s holdall which was big enough to fit him into and only just fitted through the cell, sorry cabin door. Point made, we set off to explore the ship.

 

A brass plaque on one of the bulkheads advised that the ship was built a Govan and was launched by the Queens mum; it was however launched under a different name of MV Norsea and was in very good nick for its 30 years of service. Rather concerning was a clothes rack full of what looked like surgical greens. I thought that I’d be able to get my kidney stones zapped on the way across, but couldn’t find a surgical menu anywhere on the ship; we did however locate menus for the two eateries on board, one a proper restaurant jobbie with full waiter service, the other a buffet serve yourself effort at a slightly lower price.

 

As it was the first day of our holiday we elected for the restaurant and booked our covers for 7 pm and retired to the bar. As we took our seats the ship was very slowly underway. As it was Wednesday I had fish and chips, the most expensive that I’ve ever had. The service was excellent but food over priced for the quality which was good but not exceptional. Through the window we watched darkness descend and what we worked out was probably Grimsby slip further into the distance. We booked our breakfasts for the morning and headed for the bar. We propped up the bar for a few hours and then headed for the on board casino which consisted of a roulette table and a pontoon table. I was quite happy to watch the other two risk their stakes; it took around an hour for JD2130 to wave by by to his £20, whilst Phil left the table with his stake and £10 up. The call off the cell became irresistible and we headed for bed around midnight.

 

It would have been useful if we had known that the ship operated on “local time” so somewhere the clock shot forward one hour to continental time which meant an hour less in bed and a call on the tannoy that we weren’t expecting for another hour. The ensuite ablutions were compact but fully functional and were rapidly pressed into service. We were soon seated for our full English breakfast and the sight of a glorious day as the ship manoeuvred slowly into Zeebrugge. We were soon in the car and first off the ferry headed for my first experience of driving on the wrong side of the road, Napoleon has a lot to answer for. We’d programmed the Rangie satnav whilst we were waiting for the ramp to be lowered, and decided to do the same with my Tom tom; it’s a good job that Webbers wingman had checked the Rangies unit would get us to Nurnberg, as the Tom Tom hadn’t been loaded with maps for Europe, some use in taking a back up!.

 

Off we set driving on the wrong side of the road, the first roundabout was an experience, but not difficult, I was grateful to Phil who stepped up to being both navigator and drivers assistant. The landscape of Belgium was unimpressive, but the motorways and drivers were good. We briefly entered the Netherlands and then soon entered Germany, where at the border we were welcomed with a sign advising that there were tolls on the motorways. I admit that I almost blew a fuse. Part of the reason for choosing the route was to avoid the French and their tolls; as it transpired we did not pay a single toll. We crossed the Rhine, a majestic river, but nothing compared to the Humber that we had left behind. As we crossed, the tune for a bridge too far entered my head, I whistled it, hummed it and hissed it, hell if I’d know the words I would have sung it; ear worm had nothing on this one, it stayed with me throughout the trip.

 

We drove through many miles of deeply forested area and saw some impressive motorway and railway viaducts, also some major motorway improvements underway, yet traffic was kept on the move. As we got deeper into Germany the quality of driving decreased proportional to the increase in speed, we witnessed some appalling driving in Germany but fortunately no crashes due only to luck rather than judgement. The landscape changed again as we entered Bavaria, we observed numerous well built high seats. We stopped a few times for Autogas which was easy to find, the toilets are spotless but cost 50 to 70 cents and are frequently staffed by geriatric women who insist on mopping around your feet whilst you perform even though they have the rest of the facility to practice their art.

 

We arrived at our hotel in a small village called Elsendorf at around 4:45 we’d had a really good run and not thrashed the horses. The hotel was brilliant, originally built in the 1720s as a brewery and bakery, the structure had been very cleverly and tastefully modernised to keep many of the original features yet provide around 30 rooms, all modern and well fitted. The brewery still remains and produces its own beer. They also have their own distillery producing their own firewater, sorry, Schnapps. Given the performance at the bar on the ferry I got the impression that JD2130 and Phil could drink for Britain; however following an excellent well priced home cooked meal in the hotel restaurant, the boys struggled with one glass a piece and made no further samplings during our stay. We booked our breakfast for 7:30 as I had a meeting on the Bernardelli stand at 10 am and our host had advised that it would take approximately 1 hour to travel to Nurnberg.

 

We climbed the stairs to our room which was fitted out with a double bed with two single duvets and a single bed. As the lights went out and we settled down I couldn’t help wondering why the lads were quietly discussing what sounded like the contents of a cutlery drawer. Spooning, knifing and forking off were repeated several times before they settled down and fell asleep. It was a mystery to me, as generally, I can sleep on a clothes line, the mysteries of the cutlery drawer still elude me.

 

We awoke in good time for our breakfast, mainly due to the church clock which struck every quarter throughout the night, and then went into a full rendition of goodness knows what after striking for 6am. I did contemplate muffling the sodding thing with some socks, a hacksaw may not have been appropriate, but probably a better fix. The village has a population of around 2,500, few of which were evident when we went for a stroll around on our first night. We concluded that they all went to bed early so that it didn’t matter when the town clock from hell went into overdrive at 6 am.

 

We headed off for Nurnberg at 8:40, I left the brewery yard and joined the road as you do, and then wondered why some bloke in a big Merc was coming straight at me, it didn’t take long for the penny to drop, so I headed over to the wrong side of the road. The motorway connection was excellent and we were soon on the outskirts of Nurnberg. As we stopped at some traffic light another Range Rover pulled up alongside us, the passenger window went down and the driver shouted across “very nice car ja” I replied in my best school boy German. As the lights changed he moved off first and we could see on the side of the car an advert for a hunting magazine, we concluded that he was also headed for IWA and followed in close convoy. At the next traffic lights his well built female passenger got out of the car and came to my window “ was ist der dual fuel” I explained, and contently she arrived back at her car just in time for the lights to change; at the next lights he advised that we needed to turn left which was spot on.

 

8 Euros later we were parked up and headed for the entrance. I’d pre registered on line and within a minute we were searching the show guide for the location of the Bernardelli stand. We had a look around the stand, JD2130 and Phil went off for a mooch whilst Piero, his secretary and I retired to an office built into the extensive stand. Piero took to time to explain the new products which would be officially launched at a party on the stand at 4 pm. On Saturday, we were of course invited. The new products were the completion of the semi automatic shotgun range with some additions to the 20 gauge series and some additional barrel options aimed at what we know as wildfowlers who need to wang steel shot further than is normally achieved. Sadly the long awaited over and unders have yet to be presented to market, a nominal price increase is in the pipeline.

 

The meeting over, I contacted JD2130 by mobile and we were soon reunited. We discussed a strategy to cover the halls 7 and 7A and set about our quest. In browsing the RWS stand for goodies etc. I spotted some rather good pens, and what looked like sachets containing ear plugs, a quick squeeze confirmed this and I handed the goodies to my companions. A few stands later JD2130 advised me that Phil had decided to try the plugs as the noise was getting to him, he showed me the latest innovation in disposable ear plugs, ones you could actually eat, the sachets actually contained jelly sweets, but Phil did an excellent job of modelling them in their alternative function. The world of gun making and its ancillary products was well and truly represented at IWA there were makers of guns and rifles that I had never heard of, there are some German rifle makers who are truly in a class of their own, the show is truly awesome. Britain was quite well represented with a British pavilion, several of our shotgun cartridge manufacturers present. I had a chat with two ladies from John Rothery representing Parker Hale; one asked if I knew the two looking into the cabinet, I replied that I did. They look foreign! The tall one (Phil) looks French and the shorter one (JD2130) looks Italian, we had a laugh about it and christened Phil for the purposes of Pigeon Watch which he will almost certainly join as Frenchie Phil (FP).

 

I tried on a number of occasions to speak with someone on the Holts auctioneers stand, which eventually I did. I have a client with a number of guns which will need to go to auction; the chat was enlightening to say the least. Promatic put on a good stand as did Bonart, DayState and Air Arms, a number of British stands had soon run out of literature, that’s good and bad in equal measure. We left the exhibition slightly ahead of the cleaners brooms, cranked up the Rangie and headed for Elsendorf and a well earned excellently cooked evening meal. Friday had been an enlightening day.

 

Thanks to the clock from hell Saturday soon dawned, but we were in less of a hurry as I had no appointments to make; an excellent continental breakfast with freshly cooked eggs on demand, you could not go wrong.

 

We set off for IWA on the lookout for LPG stations, we marked one quite close to the Nurnberg Messe, it would prove to be handy. Another 8 Euros for parking and the quest continued. I collected data for a few interesting new products and will report on them in due course. You could not go wrong for food at the facility with numerous offerings spread throughout the complex, not cheap, but food at such venues never is. As the day drew to a close I was on a stand looking at cleaning kits; sat at a table was a man of Chinese appearance, the Chinese were also well represented in numerous product types. The man asked if I had a shop? How many you have? You sell Beretta? Browning? I answered his questions; come with me! Off we went to a part of the hall that I had yet to discover. By now I had deduced that he was from Singapore, and that the big Bs wouldn’t supply him either. He took me to a stand of an Italian gun maker whose gun I had previously come across, he introduced me to one of the directors, instructed him to look after me and explained that he sold a lot of these guns and that they were excellent guns and good value for money. He invited me to join him for a drink tomorrow at 3 pm. The director showed me the guns, the lads handled virtually every gun on the stand and were both impressed with the fit and quality, knowing nothing about the prices. The day came to an end and once again we were chased by the cleaners.

 

The German motorways are generally not provided with lighting, one slip up on a junction meant a 10 minute detour to correct an error, none the less we were soon back at our hotel and straight into the restaurant to order our evening meal. Whilst we waited for our starters to arrive I poured through the gun catalogue and trade price list, neither of the lads could believe the anticipated retail prices that I’d quickly calculated, provided that the deal comes off, I’m confident that I’ll have another winner.

 

Sunday soon dawned, you’ve guessed it thanks to the clock from hell and goodness knows how many bells, thanks to JD2130 the volume was all the greater as he’d opened the double glazed window in the night to establish the outside temperature at -2C, and left the window open.

We set off for IWA on the right but wrong side of the road. As we left the village to cross a tram track I pointed out 3 roe deer on the crest of a small hill, the other two didn’t see them but went on to discuss at length how it was that webber struggled to see traffic lights in Nurnberg but could spot 3 deer as specs in a field and identify the species and sex. My response was that not only did our continental cousins drive on the wrong side of the road but they also didn’t put their traffic lights in the right place either, and what’s the point of having an assistant driver if he doesn’t assist?

 

Our third day at the show; another 8 Euros for parking. The lads decided that they would get a taxi back into the Centrum to do some shopping and possibly some sightseeing. Meanwhile I made my way to the entrance and back to the gun stand that had impressed me at close of business on the previous day. Deal done, I set about navigating my way around to a few stands that I’d wanted to return to, collected some samples and information. At around 3:30 I received a call from JD2130 enquiring where I was, within a few minutes we had met up and made our way to a few more stands of interest. It transpired that the shopping had come to nought as the shops were closed; the lads had however enjoyed some good sightseeing and an excellent Italian meal. I’m not one to quit, but I know when I’m beat, I was amazed at how well I’d stood up to the demands of the exhibition, but my leg really did feel like it had been chewed by a lion and we agreed that we’d done IWA to the best of our ability and fortitude and made our way to the exit.

 

We collected LPG at the previously earmarked station and made our way back to Elsendorf. An hours kip prior to our well earned evening meal, and breakfast booked for 7 am as we had a long drive ahead of us and a ferry to catch. We enjoyed another excellent meal and settled our account to save time in the morning.

 

The village chimes ensured that we arose at 6 am, by 7:40 we had breakfasted and was on our way headed towards Frankfurt. I drove until about 11:30 when I decided that it was time for someone else to have a drive, we refuelled and JD2130 took the wheel whilst I had a kip in the back. Somehow I missed a chunk of Germany and all of the Netherlands bit, coming to again about 100 Km. from Zeebrugge. We refuelled and stopped for lunch, we’d made good time. Driving on the Belgian motorways was a more pleasant experience; we soon crossed the Albert canal and were soon on the run up for Zeebrugge.

 

We were soon checked in and customs checked and boarding the ferry. We soon located our cabin. We had a wonder around the on board shop full of smelly stuff. Out of a sense of duty I had a rummage for Mrs. Webbers favourite stuff, but fortunately was unable to locate anything remotely suitable. We made our way to the kitchen buffet, I purchased a deal for evening meal and breakfast whilst the others just bought the meal.

 

We were spoilt for choice and regretted not having made use of the facility on our outbound journey. We enjoyed our meal, but the bar was calling. We resisted the opportunity to buy bingo tickets and made our way to the pontoon table. About an hour elapsed, but this time the house won. We’d had a long day and bed beckoned.

 

Not surprisingly I was up at 6 am; I took my time and tried not to waken the lads. I had an appointment with a breakfast, they had elected for a little longer in bed. The breakfast was excellent; I was spoilt for choice and well worth the £6.50. I returned to the cabin to find the lads leaving to buy a coffee, the Costa stuff is fine, but I need it in a paper cup as I find the cups too heavy. The ship slipped quietly into the lock to enter the dock.

 

We made our way down to the car deck but couldn’t enter, so we stood around waiting for the door to be unlocked. Suddenly the tannoy was giving out my registration number, then a crew member came down the staircase, we explained our dilemma, he switched a switch, pushed a knob and pulled a lever and the door opened, we may have been one of the first to board, but we were the last to clear customs at 9:05 am. Driving on British roads again was a pleasure, we made good time I dropped JD2130 and Frenchie Phil off and made my way directly to work. My mobile had started to ring as we were going through customs, I’d been back in the country all of one minute and the **** was hitting the fan. I arrived at work shortly after 11:30 to discover that our main high pressure compressor had died; a lot of head scratching and a little ingenuity saw it back up and running some 16 hours later; Tuesday was a long day.

 

IWA was an awesome trade exhibition; I’m already giving thoughts to next years trip and will be better prepared. The hotel was excellent and an almost chance find on booking.com. Anyone visiting Bavaria would be well advised to check out Langasthof Sternbrau in Elsendorf. My sincere thanks to Mark and Phil for their support and company.

 

Webber

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2014 by webber

[Lord Geordie]

Tried NOT to wake the lads? I would have recorded to clock at 6am on my Phone and deliberatley played it on max volume :lol:

 

Sounds like a very interesting trip Webber I always fancied trying my hand at being a FD but can only imagine how much bending backward is involved with licenses, rules, insurances.etc!

 

I hope this new deal you speak of works out well for you

[88b]

Very interesting read, hope the new brand works out for you. Booking.com is brilliant we use it for all of our trips across Europe on the bikes. I'm surprised at your observations of the motorways in my experience the Germans are pretty good it's the Belgians you have to watch especially around Brussels .

[hawkfanz]

hey john is that a practice run for a new book writing venture ???hope it went well for you.

[davecooper1]

A good and interesting read John, sounds like you lads had a good trip.

[webber]

Just posted a couple more pictures.

I'm still waiting for pictures fro Frenchie Phil!

 

webber

[webber]

I'm waiting for the credit card bill landing before I do the accounts in full.

 

I don't have a problem staying sober, alcohol would screw up my medication.

The ferry cost £255 for the 3 of us return, I don't think that it would have cost any more for 4 in the cabin, sorry cell!

 

The Rangie runs on LPG which is generally cheaper than UK, the Belgian prices were pleasantly pleasing, so we ensured that we filled up in Belgium on both legs.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by the wall? Is it the large screen?

 

webber

[PhilR]

Small world John. I've stayed several times at the same hotel as you in Elsendorf. My trips were to shoot in Slovenia and the hotel is a good halfway stopover. I can testify the beer is excellent, food good and the rooms clean and tidy. Can't recall the church bells though, must've slept well after the beer. I've got a picture of me somewhere posing by the giant barrel top in the courtyard.

[webber]

See if you can post the picture Phil.

JD did take a picture of the barrel but it got corrupted in the email transfer.

 

webber

[bakerboy]

Good read, and seems you all had a good time.

[PhilR]

here you go John taken in 2011

 

[Scully]

Good write up; really enjoyed that.

[SneakyD]

Always enjoy your travel write ups