Exhibitions and Events

Have you ever been to anything like an Ideal Home Exhibition and looked at any of the trade show displays? There is a festival feel about these events, there is often mingling among the smartly dressed sales people clowns and jugglers and the likes to entertain the kiddies. Some sales people even get into the swing of the thing by dressing to a theme that reflects their product. They are places you can get burgers and candyfloss and copious amounts of the wrong types of food as well as the right types. You can also pick up cleaning products and household products that are either just coming on to the market or only normally available by post sales. Like the local community fetes they are always popular.

Last year at my own community's fete an event that raises money for the local school, youth club and some of the services the community offers to the pensioners of the district. I was impressed by the professional look of some of the stalls. When I was young the cake stall was just a table covered with a crisp white table cloth and beautifully presented cakes baked by the local ladies of the community. The decorative truss depicted images from the history of the area, there where old photos and an artistic rendering of what my area once looked like. It was at one time a mill village rather than an area with a collection of housing estates.

The stall I thought was the most amusing though was the religious stall, well it wasn't so much a stall as an exhibit booth in the papal colours of gold and white. At the entrance to it there was a logo floor mat. It had the Vatican coat of arms on it (so I was told). That exhibit booth became Known as the mini Vatican that day. I also thought it apt that beside it Murphy had a stout stall.After visiting the mini Vatican you'd probably need a drink.

In the mini Vatican there where lots of promotional literature and videos about the church. it has fallen on hard times in Ireland many people pay it at most lip service because of its recent history. People have become cynical so they are not the same driving force as they used to be. For sale was a selection of rosary beads, prayers, relics and icons. I couldn't help thinking thats what kicked off the first reformation and that the church needed more than a gaily decorated exhibit booth to win back the hearts and minds of its people.