expandablog

4:30pm, Friday 29 October.

It's a Friday afternoon, the wet weather is finally clearing, and there's a poolside deckchair with my name on it. Oh, sweet joy. I breathe in heavily and slowly exhale the previous 5 days away. Hello, weekend!

As I drive homeward along the rural farmland road of Shongweni, South Africa, my eyes catch a wild blur of vibrant colour. I put the brakes on ( I live in the sticks. No real traffic to speak of.) and squint to get a clearer view. An enormous marquee is being erected and dozens of shiny trucks, motorbikes and cranes are parked on a giant vacant plot of land. And scattered amongst the vehicles and the huge white blanket of the tent are hundreds of banners. Teardrop-shaped, telescopic, gazebos and instant canopies - it's like a piece of branding heaven, stuck in the arse-end of nowhere! 

But my weekend has officially begun and that means no more work-related activities. Sort out your boundaries, woman! Put the camera down, drive away, and forget this ever happened. Like pulling off a band-aid, I manage to get the car into gear and tear myself away from the bevy of brilliant banners before me.

9:21am, Saturday 30 October.

As I'm shlurping on my morning mango juice, my cellphone vibrates across the coffee table and beeps loudly. A text from The Boss showing an image of some banners with a blurb about the Shongweni Car, Truck and Bike Expo and that I should try and get there to take photos of our products. Feeding my branding addiction. What an enabler. Why doesn't he just throw me a crack pipe?

6:38am, Sunday 31 October.
Can take it no more. Must...see....banners....
As I roll out of bed and peel the curtains open, a sight of thick fog and heavy rain welcomes my morning.

Pah! I've dealt with worse. I'll show the rain who's boss. 

7:40am.

Boots. check. Windbreaker. check. Umbrella. check. With my camera around my neck, I begin my tour of signage splendour.  I'm early (small print said 8am opening) and the only person here. No matter, I'm only in it for my banner fix.

Oh, and what a fix it is! I am positively giddy at the mere sight of the 3 BMW Ex-Dome gazebos. Side-by-side, housing the powerful bikes beneath, displaying the brand with pride. 

I'm not sure but I may be overdosing when I see the Small, Medium and Large Flying Banners and Feather Banners around me. From international companies to small local juice shops, they're all out in force.

The rest of the day is a blur, but I read today in the paper that the 3 day event enjoyed record-breaking attendance and was declared to have been a great success. I'm ridiculously biased, I know, but I reckon it was all thanks to the banners.

Cheers,

EAS