Far be it from me to turn this blog into a whinge-but on this occasion I'm prepared to make an exception and let rip !
I realised last week that I have covered the Crufts dog show at Birmingham NEC for several consecutive years now.
It doesn't get any easier and this year was the worst of all-much more crowded and a lot more obstruction than usual from NEC security.

This year the parking arrangements were changed. Despite an early start I had to park a long walk away from the event and pay £8 for the privilege ! Next the usual waiting in line to get a form to fill in at the Press Centre and then a wait while they print out a pass. Finally, nearly an hour later, I get to do my job and actually take some photos.

Trouble is the pass the Press Centre have given me has the wrong coloured strip on it. So instead of getting to photograph the heelwork to music competitors in their collecting ring, together with the Sunday Telegraph's reporter, I am thrown out by security and we are told to go back to the Press Centre for purple striped passes. Problem-that is a twenty minute journey through heavy crowds,
by which time the heelwork to music will be over. Sadly, the security jobsworth is unimpressed by this argument and derives obvious pleasure from ejecting us.

So I take my seat at the allocated area for the press-it's a long way away from where I need to be to get decent photos and most of the 'reserved for photographers' seats are occupied by members of the public who just want to see the show, bless them.
It's a shame because there is one photographer taking shots from where I needed to be-plus lots of empty seats and a few members of the dognoscenti snapping away on their mobile phone cameras from the same position.

Back at the 'Press Centre' I ask one of the staff on their 'information desk' for some help. Unfortunately they are too busy sharing a private joke to help, so I end up answering my own question by looking on the Crufts website!

I guess all this proves that Crufts is big business now and The Kennel Club feel they no longer need to worry about publicity any more. Plus what I already knew about what happens when you put somebody with the IQ of an amoeba in a security uniform, of course!