The Olympia Experience

I travelled to London on 30th July. This was my second year as a volunteer at GBBF and I wanted to try as many jobs as possible, so I started with loading vans and lorries from the HQ warehouse in St Albans. Here I met my first group of volunteers who were all friendly and extremely professional. They knew what they were doing and I soon got the hang of loading everything on the transport. It really is everything too, right down to the beer mats! Finishing work mid afternoon, we decided to have a drink and something to eat. The first pub we went to was the Robin Hood, where I had Adnams Bitter, then on to the Farmers Boy for a meal. The meal was good, but the beer left a lot to be desired. Something not quite right there, but will hopefully soon be sorted.

After eating we travelled to our digs at Imperial College in Kensington. These are provided by CAMRA on a bed and breakfast basis for the princely sum of £50, which is refundable if there is no damage done to the room. I donated my £50 to the Campaign as I think I got good value for money paying only £50 to stay in Kensington for 8 days. The rooms are cleaned daily and the breakfast includes egg, bacon, sausage, hash browns, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, fruit, cereals, toast, fruit juice, tea and coffee. See what I mean about good value?

I had already purchased a weeks bus pass for £11 so the short journey to Olympia each day was paid for. I first went to Olympia on Monday 1st August, where set up was well under way. If you have never been to GBBF you might not be able to imagine it. Two great big halls with glass domed ceilings. It is a lovely building. All the stillage was in place and mostly casked so the beer would be ready for serving on Tuesday, trade and press day. Some of the side stalls were still under construction so for the first hour or so I spent time finding out where I was going to work, meeting with folk I had met the year before and having a pint, a free pint, in the Volunteer Arms. This is situated on the balcony and is a welcome respite when it gets busy in the main halls. Food is served lunchtime and evenings and the bar is open then too. The beers change each time so it is a great opportunity to try something different and, believe me, I did ! It is funny though. Many folk think that getting free beer means you get a little errmmmm....tipsy every day. Not so; there is so much to do workwise that there is not that much opportunity to over indulge. The bar is open after the public have left the building so is a nice place to put your feet up, talk about the day, and wait for the free staff bus home.

Workwise, I did all sorts. Jobs are allocated from the staffing office each day. As I am still a newbie, I try and go wherever help is needed so that I can find my niche. On the first day I was moving tables and helping to set up the CAMRA Members' Lounge for a couple of Corporate Hospitality events. This continued into the second day. This day was the day that CBOB was announced and I walked around with a great big grin on my face when Grainstore Brewery was announced as silver medallist with their Rutland Panther after winning the Best Mild Catagory. The atmosphere in the hall was much nicer than last year when a certain IPA was announced as winner!

On Wednesday I wondered where I would be working and soon found out help was needed in the foyer. I love the team who work there. They are so friendly and work so very hard. Imagine trying to get about 12,000 people through the doors in a day. Each one comes through the foyer and this year had to have a bag search too, so it was definitely very busy. Each customer who comes in has to go out too, so the foyer staff have to check that any glasses they are carrying are in carrier bags, and the day ends about 11pm. That's when the Volunteer Arms is so welcome!

On Thursday, help was needed on the Real Ale in a Bottle stall, so off I went. I had not worked on this stall before and was soon made to feel welcome. The managers and permanent staff were very hospitable. The customers were few and far between when the festival opened at midday but soon came along for their take-outs when it was time to go home. The hardest thing to do was to locate the bottles in the four fridges. I finished at 5pm that day as I had tickets for a radio recording in London. Just shows that the organisers do not have you tied to your work all day.

Friday and Saturday, I was again in the foyer. On Friday there were 12,748 people through the doors and it was generally very busy. I did manage to get a lunch break at the time a Blues band was on stage so ate my cheese and real ale baguette with half a pint of something nice whilst listening to a very good band. No worries for me! Saturday was to be an early finish and staff party night. The hall closed at 7pm, we finished working in the foyer at about 9.45pm and then it was time to let our hair down. The atmosphere was brilliant. Good food, good beer, good company and good music. All till 2am when it was time to get the staff bus home. I came back to Leicester on the coach from Victoria after breakfast on Sunday, very tired and very happy.

All in all it was a very good week. About 1,000 volunteers turn up to help out each year and are very good company. Work can be anything: stewarding, bar work, glass washing, shop work, fundraising, foyer. It can be front of house or working behind the scenes. Those cask jackets all need cleaning and someone has to do it. There is something for everyone so if your energy levels are not too high, you can try a more sedate job. I enjoy being busy, and believe me, I was. As long as you can cope with long days and short nights for a week, all will be well.

I will be back next year at Earls Court and, hopefully, each year for many years to come. It is worth a try, at least once, so why not come along and join us in the first week of August 2006.

Sue Wilkins.

This page last updated: April 15, 2011

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