26/10/2025
I don't do sour grapes posts, they're so, well, unattractive.
But every so often I get sick of having my nose rubbed in it like a naughty puppy.
So, here goes.......
I make pies, to sell at craft fairs.
Predominantly, for the last 2+years, I've booked with KLH EVENTS who give us some amazingly organised, well advertised, wonderful fairs in some fabulous locations.
I also book with Little Fox Charity Craft Fairs .
Imagine my joy a couple of years ago when KLH announced an event in my home city, even better, in The Ridings Shopping Centre , a place I've always had a fondness for.
We had a fantastic three day event to kick things off, all 3 days of the Wakefield Rhubarb Festival .
(This year the onsite organiser held a 1 day fair.)
We then went on to hold a monthly-ish tabletop craft fair on a Sunday in the exhibition space, middle mall .
It fast became our best trading site, other traders in the centre were happy because be brought extra footfall into the place and their trade was up too.
I had some regular customers and met some lovely people like the organisers of another tabletop fair Wakefield Antique & Collectables The Ridings Centre Wakefield ..
People who regularly post to Wakefield Council pages and other local groups.
But then......
KLH were informed that tabletop fairs/events were no longer "in the owner's vision" for the centre and we would have to stop holding our fairs there.
Despite protestations and emails of complaint nobody ever had an explanation from the centre owner, because of course you don't get to communicate directly, all emails, letters, calls, pigeons, telekinesis etc fall directly onto the centre manager's desk.
A year or so on, I regularly see tabletop events in the Ridings despite them not being "in the owner's vision" for the centre, and I'm often left wondering if other things/people/events company were instrumental in another events company being cast out.
And then you, so very frequently, see posts like the one I've screenshot and posted below.
I believe one post suggested that an event in Sheffield wouldn't have been possible without the help of the "gentleman" in the photo.
Another how helpful he was with an event at Cannon Hall Farm and these posts are shameless, gushing and prevalent.
NB the "gentleman" in the picture, is the person onto who's desk all communications to the Ridings centre fall.
