The Sporting Gun Show saw good weather and a decent attendance and gave us a chance to enjoy something of the game fair atmosphere.

I was there on Saturday August 11 and was really impressed with Althorp as a venue. It is incredibly convenient as it is such a central location and very close to the M1. Obviously as the burial place of Princess Diana and the home of Charles Spencer there is a very topical interest but we were not there to dwell on these issues.

Following the cancellation of the CLA Game Fair this was our first chance of the summer to meet readers in a show context and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The event is nowhere near the same scale as the CLA Game Fair but as with many smaller shows the atmosphere was very relaxed and the smaller size means getting around is so much easier.

Things were certainly helped by the fact that the sun shone, a rare occurrence in summer 2007. We got the chance to meet many readers on the stand who were also able to take advantage of a great subscription offer and meet cartridge collecting aficionado Tom Grange - an ever-present with Shooting Gazette. As ever The rest of the team on the Shooting Gazette stand worked hard and the feedback was very positive.

The whole event went some way to dealing with the withdrawal symptoms after the cancellation of the CLA Game Fair but it also made me look forward to the Midland Game Fair at Weston Park, Shropshire, on September 15-16 with even more relish.

There will be a great subscription offer at the Midland and we look forward to meeting as many readers as possible there. For more information click on the link below and see the September edition for details of the brilliant competition to win a beautiful Ian Greensitt snipe sculpture in bronze worth more than £2,500.

Midland Game Fair