And they're off!

Time Was... was back at one of our 7 to 4 odds on favourite toyfairs yesterday at Doncaster Racecourse, which is in Doncaster would you believe. Trained by Mike of MB Toyfairs. Unfortunately despite a great turn out by traders, there were more there than ever before, it was the day of the Sport Relief Mile. Maybe that had some bearing on the turnout of customers, as they were certainly a wee bit lacking and those that did turn out struggled to put too much money on the table.

It was a slow day all round, not just for Time Was... but also for everyone else. We did though pick up a couple of bargains, see we were also helping other traders make a few pounds. Hopefully these bargains will get turned around fairly quickly at Memorabilia at the NEC next weekend, the 27th and 28th of March.

At the end of the day despite a lack of actual sales we did manage to turn a profit, which was nice. No matter how small it was.

Hopefully the next Doncaster Toy Fair on the 30th of May will be back to normal.

So to summarise yesterday, the going was heavy, with just a few jumps throughout the day until the very flat final furlong. Oh and drinks in the winners enclosure when we got back home.

We've moved

Time Was got into the TARDIS yesterday and rematerialised into our new shop. We've moved a long, long, long way through time and space. Well actually all the way from upstairs to downstairs in the Buttermarket Shopping Centre in Newark. It makes us a bit further away from the coffee and the bagels, but a trek upstairs isn't going to stop the cuppas.

Hopefully the change will do us good, it doesn't seem to have hurt The Doctor going from the 10th to the 11th incarnation. This is just our second incarnation so we're pretty new at this.

Bakewell Tarts

Yesterday the 7th March saw the return of the Bakewell Toyfair organised by Mike Bishop of MB Toyfairs. As it was a new one to Time Was... we weren't sure of how long it would take to get there through all the winding roads of the Derbyshire Dales, so we were on the road for 6. A very, very cold but bright start to the day. It didn't take as long as anticipated to get there and a well organised Mike guided us in and so we were ready for the off way before opening time.

The venue, the Agricultural Centre, had the benefit of being the stop-off point for the walkers, ramblers and general tourists arriving by coach, so there was a steady stream of customers through the door. Many hadn't even thought of going to a Toyfair so they weren't ready to part with that hard earned cash, but we'll get 'em next time!

The fair was just 70 tables, but the atmosphere was good, the venue excellent, even though we didn't sample the Bakewell Tarts, just the Banoffee and Chocolate cakes. The Tarts must have been elsewhere!!!

The journey back took considerably longer as the usual bottleneck in Matlock occurred despite the new road round it.

All-in-all not a bad first fair, didn't break any records, just one witch, but it's something to build on. And we did bag a few bargains ourselves. Though 6 o'clock starts are not on the cards.

It's been a while

After a holiday in North Wales, wet & windy as it was it was still good to get away. But it was back to the rounds of Toyfairs and the like. Having missed out on one of our favourite toyfairs at Spalding as we travelled to the land of the Daffodils, Time Was... last Sunday went down to East Anglia and one of Nicholas Parsons' well known haunts, Norwich. It was just like being in Wales, wet & windy, the weather must have been following us around!! Though it was only our second time there, we did have some folks who came back and bought from us again, which was nice. In fact it turned out to be a very good day and well organised as usual by JJ Webb Toyfairs.

The new Doctor Who End of Time figures, featuring the regeneration of 10th to 11th Doctor and the Master and Narrator from the excellent Christmas Episodes were dematerializing at a very fatst rate. Also the new Star Wars figures felt the force of peoples pounds.

Together with the fairy and fantasy figures it was a very good if long day.

Next stop Bakewell.