# Amphibians at S.W.A.R.E



## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

Just to let you all know we have had a good response to the sware event in Newport on the 14th April and have quite a lot of amphibians available on the day.
Im unable to put names of sellers down but can tell you there will be quite a few different amphibians available and not just dartfrogs. There will also be a lot of plants and amphibian products available. 
I will be there and will be doing 25% off all vivs ordered for pickup on the day including planted setups.
Obviously we will also have lots of snakes, lizards and spiders etc there so something for everyone.

For more information go to S.W.A.R.E - Home

Richie


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Looks exciting! Now, if only we had something similar down here...


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## linket22 (Dec 16, 2007)

I will be there Richie, looking forward to a great amphib show, may have to take you up on your discounts too ha ha:whistling2:


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

25% off :gasp:


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

Ron Magpie said:


> Looks exciting! Now, if only we had something similar down here...


Yes its a shame you dont drive Ron but at least theres PRAS : victory:



linket22 said:


> I will be there Richie, looking forward to a great amphib show, may have to take you up on your discounts too ha ha:whistling2:


Nice one Mark ill see you there Ben did say hes booked the day off to come as well, looks like its a good job i moved into a bigger workshop :gasp:
Im doing lots of offers on the day also, plus showing off a few new things 

cheers
Richie


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

richie.b said:


> Yes its a shame you dont drive Ron* but at least theres PRAS : victory:
> *
> 
> 
> ...


Yep, I'll pretty definitely be there. :2thumb:


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## Cornish-J (Sep 4, 2011)

richie.b said:


> Im doing lots of offers on the day also, plus showing off a few new things


tell us tell us tell us


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## FrogNick (Jul 2, 2009)

linket22 said:


> I will be there Richie, looking forward to a great amphib show, may have to take you up on your discounts too ha ha:whistling2:



Mark if there's space in the car i would like to go down with you and Ben.


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

it will be a good day.

jay


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## theboyw (Jul 21, 2009)

*i'm driving*

Sorry to high jack the post, i have a seven seater live in horsham west sussex and thinking of going if any one would like to jump in and split the fuel bill.


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## dart2dart (Nov 11, 2012)

I will be going to this show,need to add more darts to my collection.


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

theboyw said:


> Sorry to high jack the post, i have a seven seater live in horsham west sussex and thinking of going if any one would like to jump in and split the fuel bill.


If you are passing anywhere near Zone 6, I could be interested...


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Ron Magpie said:


> If you are passing anywhere near Zone 6, I could be interested...


that would be ace, come and say hello. 

jay


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

Cornish-J said:


> tell us tell us tell us


Ill tell you but youll have to wait until the 15th April :whistling2:




dart2dart said:


> I will be going to this show,need to add more darts to my collection.


Well with the table bookings weve had there should be a good assortment of dartfrogs there

Richie


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## jme2049 (Jan 11, 2008)

About time we had something this side of the bridge.:no1:


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## RhianB87 (Oct 25, 2009)

I wish I could make it but its a long journey to not buy anything 

Will they be yearly?


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

Important announcement from SWARE.

Due to a problem with our original venue, being forced to close due to budget cuts by Newport City Council we have had to relocate the SWARE show.

It will now be held at Newport International Sports Village, Velodrome way, Newport NP19 4RA.

This is a much more prestigious venue than the previous one, larger and more accessible and should benefit the show greatly.

Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause but we the organisers believe that this will be an excellent venue for the SWARE show.


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

richie.b said:


> Important announcement from SWARE.
> 
> Due to a problem with our original venue, being forced to close due to budget cuts by Newport City Council we have had to relocate the SWARE show.
> 
> ...


These things happen- well done on resolving the problem so quickly. Doesn't look like I'll be able to make it this time, but who knows what the future may hold? Good luck with it, guys and guyesses! :2thumb:


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## Marwolaeth (Oct 29, 2012)

Atlast! Something interesting happening in Wales! :2thumb:

Hopefully I'll be getting a phib or two. 

Does anyone know if there'll be Garters snakes there?


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## mike mc (Nov 27, 2006)

anyone from manchester area going and would like to split fuel costs?


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## sallyreed (Mar 4, 2012)

I'll be looking for adult white trees and lots of other frogs 


_Posted from Reptileforums.co.uk App for Android_


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

hi richie, off topic but do you attened the reptile shows in doncaster?


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

creg said:


> hi richie, off topic but do you attened the reptile shows in doncaster?


No i dont go to Doncaster. I do the CREAKS one in Kidderminster twice a year 

Richie


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## creg (Jun 10, 2012)

richie.b said:


> No i dont go to Doncaster. I do the CREAKS one in Kidderminster twice a year
> 
> Richie


ok mate thanks for letting me know :2thumb:


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

Due to demand i have now stopped taking orders for vivs for SWARE. Thank you to all those that ordered them and see you on the day

cheers

Richie


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

*S.W.A.R.E. Announcement. - The facts.

As you may or may not be aware due to pressure from the A.P.A. A few ill informed Newport City Council officials have now decided to cancel our booking at the International Sports Village.

This is due to unfounded claims by the A.P.A. that their world class, prestigious venue was about to be infected by salmonella and other various contagious diseases!

Now for the good news -

We have a new venue. This building is situated in Newport but is not under the control of Newport City Council. We have now finalised arrangements with this venue and our show will go ahead as planned on the 14th April.

We trust that we can count on your continued support as we have put a lot of hard work and effort into organising what is going to be a great day for all concerned.

Due to safety reasons We will not publicly name the venue until 5.30 pm on Friday 12th April.

In conclusion there will definitely be a S.W.A.R.E. event in Newport on the 14th April 2013.

In the words of the late, great Freddie -

“The show must go on!”*


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## Rubu (Mar 23, 2008)

We'll be there, wherever 'there' is lol, such a shame you're having all these problems and well done for battling on and managing to find alternatives.


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

All together now: "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you ain't never gonna keep me down!" :lol2:

Councils can be a nightmare. There was a show being arranged for down here in Medway, a few years back, that got cancelled for the same reasons. Good luck and keep fighting, Richie! :2thumb:


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## Marwolaeth (Oct 29, 2012)

Glad it's going ahead! 

Is it even legal for those apa nutters to spout their nonsense about salmonella when they have no evidence to back up their claims?


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Marwolaeth said:


> Glad it's going ahead!
> 
> Is it even legal for those apa nutters to spout their nonsense about salmonella when they have no evidence to back up their claims?


I would think so- it's 'opinion' rather than hate crime or advertising. Unfortunately, it's a *loud *opinion, and craven councils cave in to it.


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## Cornish-J (Sep 4, 2011)

getting close now, looking forward to it


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

Well not long now we are still getting huge support from everyone and only have a few tables left so things are looking good. Its going to be a busy week for me but it will be worth it.
For all those off here coming just to let you know ive got 3 shipments of plants coming this week from 3 different suppliers with a lot of nice things among it. This will be the most plants ive ever taken to a show, obviously ill have my usual broms from Bert but hes added some nice ones from his personal collection for me, thats if i bring them of course :whistling2:

Will update at the end of the week with the address

cheers
Richie


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

richie.b said:


> Will update at the end of the week with the address
> 
> cheers
> Richie



Tease...


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

*OFFICIAL CREAKS STATEMENT REGARDING SWARE SHOW!!!!!

Please can anyone and everyone read closely to this and copy,like share and send the hell out of it.
This message is one of the most important and vital points of interest to your reptilian hobby at present.
The SWARE show has come under a lot of attack from the ANTI’S and this show NEEDS to go ahead and be successful, not for CREAKS to boast about but for the reptile hobby to boast about. To show yet another battle won against the misleading animal rights groups whom use scare tactics and fake science to peddle their propaganda to the masses. 

As promised the SWARE show will take place on Sunday the 14th April 2013 and the venue is

Pill Millenium Centre
Courtybella Terrace,
Pill,
Newport.
NP20 2GH

The show starts at 10:30am
Table holders can begin setting up from 8am.
Also do not forget that our one day off for a full calendar year membership to CREAKS at a massively reduced rate.

There will be NO photography or video-ing of the show at all. ONLY our official CREAKS photographers will be permitted to use any recording devices, anyone else found recording of any sort may be asked to leave!

Some of you may or may not be aware that a certain animal rights group whom we will NOT name have given a press release the other day stating we are taking our reptile show underground. They have also given a whole host of incorrect and quite frankly made up lies to bulk out there statements, but it is no surprise when they have nothing better to do. 
We would just like to clarify that we could not give out any details prior to this as it would have given to much away to the anti’s but at this moment in time we are confident all is ok to go ahead with.
Some facts we should clear up are the following. Newport Council are on board with us and are very happy to have the show go ahead, there legal department have confirmed with us that we are well within the law and breaking NO laws what so ever. We are NOT going underground, simply withheld information from the animal rights groups so they could not spit there web of lies.
The police are aware of the event taking place, we have a fully qualified reptilian vet with us all day and will be inspecting every animal for sale with his staff. The environmental health department will be present throughout all of the event. The police, the council and the venue are all very happy for the event to go ahead, we are very happy for it to go ahead. It SHALL go ahead and we hope as many of you reptile keepers can come and support us on the day and really show them all what it means to stand together united by a passionate hobby that we all share deep in our hearts!!!*



See you all Sunday


Richie


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Richie,a proper thanks for going through all the **** and for making it such a stonking show/get together,:notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:

It seems like your kin like their reps and even moreso their phibs a fantastic turnout. Ahh mate the moment of the day was the policeman jokingly quizzing one exhibitor on why the geckos were kept on canabis,sphagum moss to us:lol2:

Ben& Ben thanks again guys

Jaime thanks for catching up sorry as always I was a bit distracted,but I did get there eventually huh:bash:

Richie again well done mate please thank Byan from us both aswell

seriously good job guys

best

Stu


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

From what I can gather, it went really well- well done and congrats! :2thumb::no1::2thumb:


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## Cornish-J (Sep 4, 2011)

extremely busy, queued up for ages trying to get in!

Hardly any frogs that i saw, apart from Stu and one other chap down by richie, i didnt see any other darts, all snakes and lizards etc.

Worth the trip as i got what i hope is at least one female Leuc to go with 6 pent up males!!

Nice to see you again Stu, hope you did well mate.


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## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

Cornish-J said:


> extremely busy, queued up for ages trying to get in!
> 
> Hardly any frogs that i saw, apart from Stu and one other chap down by richie, i didnt see any other darts, all snakes and lizards etc.
> 
> ...


do we have anything like this down in cornwall ?


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## Cornish-J (Sep 4, 2011)

unfortunately nothing that i know of. wasnt too bad for travelling - took about 2hours 15 mins door to door.


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## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

Cornish-J said:


> unfortunately nothing that i know of. wasnt too bad for travelling - took about 2hours 15 mins door to door.


not bad, missus should pass her driving test at the end of the month, then cornwall is my oyster lol


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Cornish-J said:


> extremely busy, queued up for ages trying to get in!
> 
> Hardly any frogs that i saw, apart from Stu and one other chap down by richie, i didnt see any other darts, all snakes and lizards etc.
> 
> ...


Great day mate,good company and some good homes for some kids, gotta say i'm really hoping you got 2 lasses mate,without seeing all the siblings and blind guesses who knows 

To the guy who posted above my(mate I can't see your name at this time ,my bad not yours ) no I think you'll have to travel,but dart keeping involves this as does most branches of herps I guess. The trick is to find like minded souls and travel together.

Ron, Richie( and helpers) did our hobby proud, there is never enough phibs sure,but we are the minority,so I guess have to push harder 
bring it on

Stu


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## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

Had I joined a facebook group a couple of days ago, there was a bus organised to go u to this event


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

*I know many of you have been waiting for this follow up statement so here it is. 
The show that was held yesterday on the 14th April 2013 was the first one ever in Wales and it was a show that people had been trying to do for over 10 years and they could never get it off the ground due to all the ideas being shot down in flames. So the simple thought of doing the show was against the odds to be begin with. We did however know just how many people wanted a show in Wales so wanted to give the community what THEY wanted.

And I am glad to say we DID. We didn’t only give you a show despite it been classed as impossible thing to do, we gave you one that kicked arse and was awesome. So how did we do? We on the day there was well over 1000 people through the door which was bloody awesome. We had over 700 new members sign up to CREAKS. The day was a massive success and pretty much everyone thought it was great. We didn’t have any real complaints from anyone and no major issues either apart from 2 animal rights at the end asking to buy “rare endangered geckos” from people packing up at the end but as soon as police were mentioned they were quick to run with there tail between there legs, and they claim it is us that do the illegal stuff……

We have noticed that a certain animal rights group have put out a statement about the show, of which we would like to give a big thank you out to them as without there poo peddling propaganda I don’t think the show would have been as successful as it was, its partly thanks to the Anti’s and there free publicity that gave us the boost we needed so thank you guys.
We would like to say however despite there recent claims about the show being illegal and wild captured animals for sale on the day was utter rubbish, including the council not being happy with it. Firstly the council did not give any details out to the Animal rights, the anti’s were still trying to find out where the show was at 4:30pm on Friday. The council were at the show all day and they loved it, they had no issues and were happy with how the show went and agreed it was upheld in a correct manner and within the law. We also had the police there , 7 of them in total whom were also happy with the event and praised us on how well we ran it without any problems taking place. The Anti’s claimed that they did secrete filming on the day, however we had multiple security guards on the day whom checked EVERY bag people had for devices, no filming was allowed and non took place from them either. 

I would like to now address some things I have seen on the forums, there were comments about how small the venue was and got cramped. I completely agree with you 100%. However these comments are stated as if we had a option of elsewhere. Do not forget we had 2 advertised venues before this that WERE much bigger and what we wanted, we then had other venues in mind but the anti’s beat us to them. This Venue was the last card we had to play and ideally we would have prefered a much bigger one, but realistically it was a case we either folded to the anti’s pressure or we did all we could to let it go ahead. Many people said and agreed, even if just 2 table holders turned up and the day was crap, it would still have been a success because we would not have backed down and let them bully us. I completely agree, you must remember getting the venue was only half the battle, it was small but to even get ANYTHING was hard enough. We would love to be able to choose where to go but this time it was about placing roots for big things to grow from.

Some did have issues with the whole membership signing up, again yep it was a painful process but , once again it is not like it was an option for us. We either had you sign up or we could not have had the show. It’s not like we purposefully want to create a massive line to make you wait long for the fun of it, as that just creates more work for us. However don’t forget for that £4 you paid (very cheap) you do get a years membership so its not all bad. Signing up us helps us keep track to help safe guard our shows aswell to some degree.

The anti’s did state that many wild caught animals were for sale. Of course we are going to defend this, but I can say I looked and looked many times over along with the 2 vets at every animal for sale. Even if something had abit of nose rub on it that could have looked like it might have been recently wild captured then It was taken off, however non of this happened as everything was very much captive bred and the much rarer animals for sale on the day all came with paperwork and photographic evidence to prove it was born in captivity. Every table had sellers details on them so it was easy to see where the animals came from.

Some did say that there wasn’t any decent animals for sale. However this is said at every show by the people who didn’t get what they wanted. Lets not forget it is the earliest ever reptile show we have had in the UK. Breeding season hasn’t really fully kicked in yet so much of what was for sale was 2012 stuff. However having said that the actual vairity was AMAZING. Very few beardies or royals for sale and I saw less than 30 corn snakes for sale on the day. I did see some very nice crocodile skinks, baron racers, redtailed racers, cave racers, dwarf monitors, leaf frogs, some beautiful rare arrow frogs, wonder geckos, superdwarf retics, rare Indonesian tree geckos, viper geckos, rubber boas, satanic leaf tailed geckos, tri-coloured hognoses and even a guy selling catapillars, plus much more, we counted over 50 different species of reptiles for sale alone. Some of the species for sale I had never seen for sale at UK shows before.

I would finally just like to say a massive thankyou to everyone.We know the day could have gone a lot better if the anti’s weren’t pushing our backs to the wall, we hate that we had to check your bags, but we do thank you that you understood it and didn’t object. We hate we couldn’t allow you to take photos inside but thanks for understanding and for not even attempting to take any. Same goes for the membership , the small space and so on. You guys understood what we had been through to but the event on for you and you were happy and didn’t complain regardless. Many of you didn’t live in wales nor even want to buy anything, yet wanted to show your support. This is something that makes us so happy.
Thanks to everyone who was part of the show, thanks to the SWARE branch of CREAKS for the hard work. Thanks to the sellers for coming, the buyers and anyone and everyone else who supported us in one way or another. The show was massive, it had 4 things against it, the anti’s, the fact it was new.that it was early in the year and the fact that the venue was only known 2 days before hand…. Despite that over 1000 people turned up. When we stand united and never back down, is when our hobby shines the most.
THANK YOU*

Thanks guys to all that turned up off here you did us proud


Richie


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Oh, get a grip and stop faffing, Richie- from everything I hear, it was an *amazing* success- just enjoy it! :bash:


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Ron Magpie said:


> Oh, get a grip and stop faffing, Richie- from everything I hear, it was an *amazing* success- just enjoy it! :bash:


Ron,spot on, difficult for me, from here, to really get across to Richie and crew,how impressed we were,especially considering a) all the hassle and b) the volume of folks. Mate the welsh crowd so wanted this show.

Ron towards the end of the day I watched the door man talking to some kids,before they went in,he patiently explained to them to be gentle/quiet around the animals not to touch without asking etc etc.The guy had probably done that with near 1000 folks by that point,and was still patient still totally professional,it's just one little insight, a snapshot of how the event was run.Ha the same dude quite possibly wished every single person a good evening and thanked them ALL!! for coming. 

Ron, it would be impossible for Shaz and Ben I to see everything,alot of time we had our heads down talking to folks about darts,some had clearly never seen one before.But what we did see were alot of kind folks(staff) all the way around doing their best to be polite and get things sorted. I don't think anyone could have foreseen the numbers,or done a better job,baring that in mind.Richie would have heard of any incidents what we actually saw was utter professionalism
nuff said

Stu


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

soundstounite said:


> Ron,spot on, difficult for me, from here, to really get across to Richie and crew,how impressed we were,especially considering a) all the hassle and b) the volume of folks. Mate the welsh crowd so wanted this show.
> 
> Ron towards the end of the day I watched the door man talking to some kids,before they went in,he patiently explained to them to be gentle/quiet around the animals not to touch without asking etc etc.The guy had probably done that with near 1000 folks by that point,and was still patient still totally professional,it's just one little insight, a snapshot of how the event was run.Ha the same dude quite possibly wished every single person a good evening and thanked them ALL!! for coming.
> 
> ...


I've always been impressed when I've met Richie- and Stu, you above all will appreciate what I mean when I say that's because he is a down-to-earth, totally* not* pretentious guy. I'm sure he cuts his toenails in bed, or something, but he has never been less than courtious, helpful and friendly, anytime I have met him- so I'm glad his venture worked out. Maybe next time, I'll work out a lift or something!


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

soundstounite said:


> Ron,spot on, difficult for me, from here, to really get across to Richie and crew,how impressed we were,especially considering a) all the hassle and b) the volume of folks. Mate the welsh crowd so wanted this show.
> 
> Ron towards the end of the day I watched the door man talking to some kids,before they went in,he patiently explained to them to be gentle/quiet around the animals not to touch without asking etc etc.The guy had probably done that with near 1000 folks by that point,and was still patient still totally professional,it's just one little insight, a snapshot of how the event was run.Ha the same dude quite possibly wished every single person a good evening and thanked them ALL!! for coming.
> 
> ...


Thanks Stu really glad you had a good time and done well thanks for coming buddy, always great to see you and Shaz just sorry i didnt have more time to chat. 
Stu there wasnt really any incidents as such few minor things but Allan our doorman soon sorted those out, he done an amazing job all day as well as everyone else involved. So a good day was had by all.



Ron Magpie said:


> I've always been impressed when I've met Richie- and Stu, you above all will appreciate what I mean when I say that's because he is a down-to-earth, totally* not* pretentious guy. I'm sure he cuts his toenails in bed, or something, but he has never been less than courtious, helpful and friendly, anytime I have met him- so I'm glad his venture worked out. Maybe next time, I'll work out a lift or something!


Thanks Ron thats really nice of you and if i knew what prententious meant i would be flattered :lol2:
Be good if you could make it next time if not ill see you at PRAS anyway.

Would also like to thank Arcadia and komodo and all the table holders at the event for all the prizes they gave to the raffle with procedes going to Newport City Wildlife Care our local animal rescue centre that does some amazing work.

Right im off to start organising the next one now :2thumb:

cheers
Richie


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Pictures and video will be coming shortly. 

jay


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## richie.b (Oct 27, 2008)

Well here it is the long awaited video of SWARE enjoy

Richie

SWARE reptile show - YouTube


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