As readers of FW will discover next week I have been to Agritechnica in Hanover, otherwise known as the DLG. A friend and I decided we could spare a couple of days and not having been there for 25 to 30 years thought we needed an injection of machinery mania. You don't get it much in the UK these days what with Smithfield closing and the Royal being so poor.
So, we booked some flights to take us from Norwich airport via Amsterdam to Hanover and back. The only trouble was we had to get up very early in the mornings (4.00am) to catch both outward and return flights. However, that did not turn out to be the biggest problem.
KLM were late leaving Norwich and equally late arriving in Amsterdam so that, even though the onward flight was also KLM, we missed our connection by 3 minutes. Needless to say this caused some strong language to KLM staff and I have already demanded compensation. But we found ourselves having to fly to Hamburg and then catch a train to Hanover. So, to cut a long story short, having rolled out of bed in the middle of the night we did not arrive at the Show until mid afternoon.
I will leave impressions of the show to my column next week and to the FW reporters who covered the event. Suffice to say it was an incredible event. Bigger than Paris. Arguably one of the most important farm machinery shows in the world. And our injections of machinery mania will last for a while. I would recommend anyone with similar cravings to attend next time it is held in November 2009. But I would not recommend KLM as a carrier unless they improve their service.