Haven’t had much time for beach visits recently. Been busy with the field days. Cleaning up the Clovertone property opposite the Fieldays main entrance ready for parking. We are the closest private parking to the Fieldays. Each year we take camper vans, exhibitor and public cars. This includes our own clients who are most welcome.
This year like any other has been very well accepted by everyone. Most exhibitors return year after year and willingly pay the parking fee. The main reason they return each year is because they know they can exit the Clovertone site within 10 minutes and be on Mystery Creek road and their way home. They know that its better than paying nothing, parking in the 18 acres of the Fieldays paddock that surrounds us, and taking upwards of 90 minutes plus to get onto the same road.
This year will be most memorable by the constant shit I have had to take from Fieldays VIP’s and their volunteers. Once these dumb arse people get a special person tag, all sanity escapes them. One very special VIP came into our site brandishing a VIP pass issued by Fieldays. I tried to tell him it wasn’t applicable here, but he just wouldn’t listen. Instead he just drove straight past me at the gate, parked without paying and disappeared back across the road to the Fieldays HQ. He had a very important meeting there. Well this really pissed me off. I got his phone number off his VIP pass in the vehicle window and phoned him. I explained who I was and asked him to come back and pay. After arguing with me, he hung up on me. I phoned him back and the phone went to voice mail. I left him a message warning him if he didn’t come and shift his vehicle, I would shift it with my forklift and it would cost him $100.00 to get it back. This obviously got his attention, because he phoned back asking to speak to the parking attendant. When I informed him I was the owner, he said he would be over within 2 minutes. Sure enough he came over, ignored me and shifted his vehicle into the correct car park next door. A simple google search showed me who it was. AgResearch CEO Dr Tom Richardson. This says it all really. His sense of entitlement knew no bounds.
On a more dangerous note, the following photo is of the floodlights placed at the rear of our factory. I pointed out to the Fieldays volunteer parking overseer, that the floodlights were far too close and higher than the 11,000 vote powerlines supplying power to the Fieldays. He replied that they were ok and that they would reduce the height if it got too windy. I guess he was to busy to listen to me, riding around on his motorbike being important. On the Sunday after the field days had finished, there was an electrical inspector out there taking similar photos to these. He informed me of the stupidity of the placement and said there should have been at least a 4 meter safety margin below and away from these 11,000 volt power lines. To make matters worse, one of the adjustable legs on the generator was faulty and a simple knock could have pushed the floodlights onto the power lines. I assume when you engage cheap labour, (volunteers in this case) you get what you pay for.
Footnote. I guess it couldn’t have been too dangerous as the offending lights were still there the following morning. So much for the urgency of the day before. What is wrong with these people?
We are constantly being informed by the police to lock our cars and secure valuables in the boot. The following photos are from our parking lot. You will notice the drivers side window is down and sitting on the back seat is the officers flak vest and paraphernalia. Just as well our class of client are of the honest type. Who knows what would have happened to this stuff if it had been stolen.
Finally on the Sunday, at 11.30 we were surprised to find a car parking in our site. Not another car in view. They were a family of 4. On approaching them I asked what they were doing. They said they were here for the field days. There were a couple of very unhappy kids when we informed them that the event had been and gone for this year. They had driven for 2 hours down from Auckland just to take their kids to this event. Need I state the obvious about townies. Being poms as well didn’t help. Their purchased online tickets were not great value for money.
